Jessica Brenner - College Admission Essays For Dummies (For Dummies (Career/Education))

College Admission Essays For Dummies, 2nd edition

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Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2021946252

ISBN: 978-1-119-82833-4

ISBN: 978-1-119-82834-1 (ebk); ISBN: 978-1-119-82835-8 (ebk)

1. Chapter 4
2. Chapter 7
3. Chapter 16

1. Chapter 5
2. Chapter 8
3. Chapter 9
4. Chapter 11
5. Chapter 12
6. Chapter 14
7. Chapter 17
8. Chapter 18
9. Chapter 19
10. Chapter 20
11. Appendix A

Getting into college can be extremely difficult. More students are applying to four-year universities than ever before, tuition is higher than ever, and the number of college campuses has stayed almost exactly the same. There are no guarantees when it comes to college applications.

And yet one aspect of college admissions has never been more important: college essays. The impression you make and the stories you share can tip the scales in your favor and distinguish you from the thousands of other applicants with the exact same GPA and test scores. Whether youve been an aspiring storyteller since you first picked up a pen or the thought of writing anything longer than a text message makes you want to hide under the covers, you are capable of crafting memorable college essays. This book can explain how to write creatively, authentically, and well giving you the best possible chance at admissions. Just as important, a well-paced writing process can help you discover valuable insights about yourself (and its ideal that you know yourself well before going off to college) and even be enjoyable much more so than working yourself into a frenzy days before your deadlines.

This second edition of College Admission Essays For Dummies gives you a road map around what I call essay sand traps (those unsubstantiated claims, vagueness, and cliched topics, among other things) that can sabotage your application, as well as strategies used by the most successful applicants. This book helps you decide what to write and then guides you through the process of creating essays that present your best self to the admissions committee. Because many scholarships require personal statements, this book may also pay off in cold, hard cash. Moreover, youll find this new edition useful even after you plunk down your last tuition payment. Chances are a few employment-related letters and essays are in your future, especially if youre applying for internships or jobs on the professional level.

If youre applying for admission or hoping that your eloquent essays will translate into scholarship money, you probably already have your hands full: Youre asking for letters of recommendation, tracking down your Social Security Number, and assembling that resume youve been tinkering with for months. You dont need another chore, but you do need help. Never fear. This book demystifies the process of writing an application essay from topic search through final draft, without wasting your time. Of course, I like to imagine you glued to these pages, devouring every syllable, but Im a realist.

You can find information on the following topics (and so much more):

• A questionnaire a personal inventory that helps you discover the best topics for your essays
• Proven techniques for jump-starting your creative process
• Techniques to gather ideas, focus on a topic, and choose the best structure for your essay and how you can seek help without violating any university, school, parental, or personal code of honesty
• Tactics to demystify the rough draft, including why you should show not tell your story and the lowdown on topic sentences, use of detail, and strong introductions and conclusions