College Essay Guy - Personal statement and college essay tips, guides, resources, consulting, and webinars for students, parents and counselors. Why it’s Important to Use University Acceptance Rates and GPA/Test Scores When Building a College List: A Guide for International Students Why Study Religion. Students built this Torii gate in the Crum Meadow as a project for Professor Mark Wallace’s course Religion, the Environment, and Contemplative Practice.. by Mark Wallace. Why is it important to study the world's religions in the college and university curriculum? Jun 26, · Part 2: 5 Steps to Writing A Great Why This College Essay Part 3: “Why This College” Essay Samples. Editor’s Note: This series was originally published in July and has been updated to include additional information and examples. Sharon Epstein is owner of First Impressions College Consulting in Redding, Connecticut
8 Tips for Crafting Your Best College Essay
College Essays. Did you think you were all done pouring out your blood, sweat, and tears in written form for your personal statementonly to be faced with the "why this college" supplemental essay? This question might seem simple but is in fact a crucial and potentially tricky part of many college applications.
What exactly is the "why us" essay trying to understand about you? And how do you answer this question without falling into its many pitfalls or making any rookie mistakes? In this article, I'll explain why colleges want you to be able to explain why you are applying.
I'll also discuss how to generate and brainstorm topics for this question and how to make yourself sound sincere and committed. Finally, we'll go over some "why this school" essay do's and don'ts. College admissions officers have to read an incredible amount of student work to put together a winning class, so trust me when I say that everything they ask you to write is meaningful and important.
The purpose of the "why us" essay goes two ways. On the one hand, seeing how you answer this question gives admissions officers a sense of whether you know and value their school.
On the other hand, having to verbalize why you are applying gives you the chance to think about what you want to get out of your college experience, and whether your target schools fit your goals and aspirations. First, they want to see that you have a sense of what makes this college different and special. And third, they why is college important essay to see that this school will, in turn, why is college important essay, be a good fit for you.
Throughout this process of articulating your answers to the questions above, you will also benefit in a couple of key ways:. Finding specific programs and opportunities at schools you are already happy about will give you a grounded sense of direction for when you start school. At the same time, by describing what is great about schools that are low on your list, you'll likely boost your enthusiasm for these colleges and keep yourself from feeling that they're nothing more than lackluster fallbacks.
Writing the "why us" essay can act as a moment of clarity. It's possible that you won't be able to come up with any reasons for applying to a particular school. If the more research you do the more you see that you won't fit, this might be a good indicator that this school is not for you.
At the end of your four years, you want to feel like this, so take your "Why This College" essay to heart, why is college important essay.
Want to write the perfect college application essay? Get professional help from PrepScholar. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We'll learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay that you'll proudly submit to your top choice colleges.
Don't leave your college application to chance, why is college important essay. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now :. The "why this college" essay is best thought of as a back and forth between you and the college. This means that your essay will really be answering two separate, albeit related, questions:. Colleges usually use one of these approaches to frame this essay, meaning that your essay will lean heavier toward whichever question is favored in the prompt.
For example, if the prompt is all about "why us? If the prompt instead is mostly configured as "why you? It's good to remember that these why is college important essay prompts are simply two sides of the same coin.
Your reasons for wanting to apply to a particular school can be made to fit either of these questions. For instance, say you really want the chance to learn from the world-famous Professor X. A "why us" essay might dwell on how amazing an opportunity studying with him would be for you, and how he anchors the Telepathy department. Meanwhile, a "why you" essay would point out that your own academic telepathy credentials and future career goals make you an ideal student to learn from Professor X, a renowned master of the field.
Next up, I'll show you some real-life examples of what these two different approaches to the same prompt look like. I hear the Rings of Power Department is really strong at that school, why is college important essay, too. Check out the Gandalf seminar on repelling Balrogs—super easy A. Tell me all about Sure, Ultimate Frisbee is cool, Whitman College, why is college important essay. But when I get to campus, I'm starting a quidditch league.
No matter how the prompt is worded, this essay is a give-and-take of what you and the college have to offer each other. Your job is to quickly zoom in on your main points and use both precision and detail to sound sincere, excited, and authentic. How do you effectively explain what benefits you see this particular school providing for you, why is college important essay, and what pluses you will bring to the table as a student there? And how can you do this best using the small amount of space that you have usually just one to two paragraphs?
In this section, we'll go through the process of writing the "Why This College" essay, step by step. First, I'll talk about the prep work you'll need to do. Next, we'll go through how to brainstorm good topics and touch on what topics to avoid. I'll give you some tips on transforming your ideas and research into an actual essay.
Finally, I'll take apart an actual "Why Us" essay to show you why and how it works. Before you can write about a school, you'll need to know specific things that make it stand out and appeal to you and your interests, why is college important essay. So where do you look for these? And how do you find the detail that will speak to you?
Here are some ways you can learn more about a school. If you're going on college toursyou've got the perfect opportunity to gather information about the school. Bring a notepad and write down the following:. Try to also connect with students or faculty while you're there. If you visit a class, note which class it is and who teaches it. See whether you can briefly chat up a student e. and ask what he or she likes most about the school or what has been most surprising about being there.
Don't forget to write down the answer! Trust me, you'll forget it otherwise—especially if you do this on multiple college visits. You can also connect with students without visiting the campus in person. Many admissions websites list contact information for currently enrolled students you can email to ask one or two questions about what their experience of the school has been like.
Or if you know what department, sport, or activity you're interested in, you can ask the admissions office to put you in touch with a student who is involved with that particular interest. Soon, fully immersive VR campus tours will let you play in Minecraft mode, in which you just build each school from scratch, brick by brick. If you have an interviewask your interviewer questions about his or her experience at the school and about what going to that school has done for him or her since graduation.
As always, take notes! If you have a chance to go to a college fair where your target college has representatives, don't just come and pick up a brochure. Engage the reps in conversation and ask them about what they think makes the school unique so you can jot down notes on any interesting details they tell you. Colleges publish why is college important essay and lots of different kinds of things—and all of these will be useful for your research.
Here are some suggestions for what you can use. You should be able to find all of the following resources online, why is college important essay. Read the mission statement of the school—does its educational philosophy align with yours? You should also read through its catalogs. Pro Tip: These interesting features you find should be unusual in some way or different from what other schools offer, why is college important essay.
For example, being fascinated with the English department isn't going to cut why is college important essay unless you can discuss its unusual focus, its world-renowned professors, or the different way it structures the major that appeals why is college important essay you specifically. Are any professors highlighted?
Does their research speak to you or connect with a project you did in high school or for an extracurricular?
Sometimes alumni magazines will highlight a college's new focus or new expansion. Does the construction of a new engineering school relate to your intended major? There might also be why is college important essay columns or letters written by alumni that talk about what it's meant to them to go to this particular school. What stands out about their experiences? Students write about the hot issues of the day, which means that the articles will be about the best and worst things on campus.
It'll also give you insight into student life, what opportunities are available to students, why is college important essay, what you can do off campus, and so on. Your target school is most likely on FacebookTwitterInstagramand other social media. Follow the school to see what it's posting about, why is college important essay.
Any exciting why is college important essay campus developments? Professors in why is college important essay news? Interesting events, clubs, or activities? Wikipedia is a great resource for learning basic details about a college's history, traditions, and values. I also recommend looking for forums on College Confidential that specifically deal with the school you're researching.
Another option is to search on Google for interesting phrases, such as "What students really think about [School Name]" or "[School Name] student forum. So what should you do now that you've completed a bunch of research? Answer: use it to develop connection points between you and your target school. These connections will be the skeleton of your "why this college" essay.
Reading My Essays that Got Me Into Stanford University (Plus College Essay Writing Tips!)
, time: 15:30How to Write the "Why this Major" College Essay | College Essay Guy
Why Study Religion. Students built this Torii gate in the Crum Meadow as a project for Professor Mark Wallace’s course Religion, the Environment, and Contemplative Practice.. by Mark Wallace. Why is it important to study the world's religions in the college and university curriculum? This is important because admissions officers want to make sure that you will thrive in the independence of college life and work. This is why finding a great college essay topic is so hugely important: because it will allow you to demonstrate the maturity level admissions teams are looking for Aug 23, · 5. A college degree is correlated to lower unemployment rates. BLS data suggests another answer to questions of why is college important: job security. The BLS reports that college graduates may benefit from increased job security, as individuals with college degrees have a lower average unemployment rate than those with a high school education
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