Tis’ the season for college applications. Completing college applications is a task that provokes stress in all high school students with the essays being the most stressful portion of the application to complete. The essays are where a student can separate themselves from the thousands of other students applying for the same college. The essays provide a chance to become more than just a name on an application. Here are some tips that will help students reduce anxiety and stand out:

Be smart about your essays. This sounds redundant but colleges are looking for the way a student’s mind works. When picking a topic for college essays write about something that is important to you. Pick a personal experience or subject that speaks to you and shows through your writing how it speaks to you. Talk about what you have learned and what you think, but give very specific reasons.

Be creative but direct.
This college essay is a story, and in this case it is your story. When writing college essays provide vivid details that will help create a picture in the reader’s mind. Help the reader visualize the setting through words. Also, provide names (or create them) for other people making an appearance in your essay. This will make the essay more real and human. The reader will appreciate the thought and attention you have put into your essay, and that it’s not just another essay you were forced to write.

Don’t try to cover an array of different subjects in your essays. Your essays provide a synopsis of who you are; it’s like covering one moment from many in your life. Stick to the one moment or subject. If you attempt to jump all over the place to try and cover many subjects your essay will be disorganized, impersonal, and hard for the reader to follow. The admissions department knows that the essay is a synopsis. They won’t dock you for it.

Be truthful about your experiences, accomplishments, and/or titles. It’s not going to make a huge difference whether you were the Editor of your school newspaper or the photographer. Every person has different talents and strengths they bring to the table; focus on this instead.

Last but not least, be mindful of the length of your essay. There will be a minimum word count, but don’t go overboard. The admissions department has thousands of essays to read. You don’t want to test their patience if your essay is extremely long. It’s better to be specific, detailed and to the point.

Finally, if you need help, Study Hut is here for you! We are open during the break so come on in and get those apps done!