10th Edition
by G. Gary Ripple, Ph.D.

DO

1. Plan Ahead-leave time to write and rewrite your essays-with time in between. This will allow for fresh reviews and possible revisions of the original work. Your applications will take longer than you think!

2. Tell the truth about who you are and who you are not. Be sincere. Be yourself.

3. Tie yourself to the college: Why are you interested in attending, and what can the institution do for you? Be specific. Go beyond "XYZ College will best allow me to realize my academic potential.

4. Read the directions carefully and follow them to the letter. In other words, if the essay is supposed to be 500 words or less, don't submit 1000 words.

5. Consider the unique features of the institution, e.g., a liberal arts college will be impressed with the variety of academic and personal interests you might have, while an art institute would be most interested
in your creative abilities.

6. Be positive, upbeat and avoid the negatives, e.g. I am applying to your school because I won't be required to take physical education or a foreign language.

7. Emphasize what you have learned, e.g. provide more than a narration when recounting an experience.

8. Write about something you know, something only you could write.

9. Make copies of everything, just in case.

DON'T

1. Force it, be too funny, too sad, too cute, too silly ("I enjoy playing the piano and the guitar but not simultaneously").

2. Be redundant-essays should not be a rehash of information already provided on other parts of your application or your high school transcript.

3. Let modesty cover up your greatest assets and achievements.

4. Worry about trick questions. Your readers are genuinely interested in your answers to the questions.

5. Be afraid to confess your anxieties or indecisiveness. Admission officers are people who enjoy helping people and can be quite moved by the knowledge that you need them.

6. Use any of these ideas (or similar ones):

"Webster's Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary defines courage as mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger..."

"The following list gives a pretty good idea of the person I really am:"

"I think it is totally unfair of you to ask me to write about myself because it is so hard that it hurts."

"I think you have no right to ask me all these questions because you don't care about the answer-you just look at SAT scores!

What else do admission officers hate to see?
What mistakes do applicants repeatedly make?
Get the book, then get in!

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