The college application period can be one of the most stressful times for any person who has ever attempted it. ‘Advertising’ yourself to your dream schools, knowing that they are open to hear your voice and giving you due consideration among a pool of thousands ofothers can not only be taxing, but it can also leave you with plenty of self-doubt and few words to say as well. The process is even more difficult for international students who not only have to wow the admissions officers with great personal stories; they also have to do it in great English unlike their nativities too.
One of the most difficult parts of the application process is the essay-writing process. After all the great grades and the distinct paper-like achievements, what remains?When you first start out on the journey of applying to your dream colleges, everything seems like it’s going to be a hit, especially when you think you know you have the perfect recipe to wow them.
Most admissions officers are quite happy about the fact that their applications look good on paper. But here is where it gets really personal; where do you draw a line from others and what marks you out in a crowd? Your application is what sells you to someone who hardly knows your name and has zero-mental pixels of you, and this is what makes it so crucial.
This is why many students will opt for reliable Custom Writing services at the desperate ends of the process. The great thing about professional agencies such as these is that they have written numerous applications and they might have tangible feedback, so they know what works and what doesn’t.
Try Writing an Imaginary Letter
One of the most effective ways of talking to the admissions officer without the undue pressure that hanging yourself on a silk sleeve brings is to talk to your future roommate. You heard it right! Write a letter to your future roommate and talk to them. Tell them what you’d like them to know about you. You’ll find yourself giving all the info that you’d have liked your future admissions officer to know. Stanford actually demands this of every pool of applicants as part of the application process.
The focus at this point should be beyond your transcript, as in a hypothetical situation, everyone having similar credentials to you.
Imagine talking to someone you’ll be sharing the same space with for a year or more. The everlasting friendship that you could build and what new personalities you could discover. Humans are extremely pre-disposed to clamor for their own space, or as Nat Geo would put it, highly territorial. The idea of living with someone totally unlike you can be extremely unnerving, but seeing as you’d like that relationship to work, what would be your counteroffer? What would make a total stranger totally look forward to sharing theirown piece of solitude with you?
- Powerful Intro
Not powerful in the sense of Superman or outrageous human activities at a young age, but powerful enough to capture one’s imagination and make them want to go beyond the first paragraph. Here is where the pressure sets in. How do you beat the urge to be corny or try to come across as extraordinary, brilliant genius when in real life your 17 years can’t be totally accounted for by a human’s worth? Yes, most applicants feel the pressure to aggravate or exaggerate their achievements in the first paragraph.
The admissions officer isn’t looking for miracles about winning or taking a loss; they are looking for a story that’s different. With an intro to the letter, think about how you’d introduce yourself to your own mates minus adult pressure.
- Be Yourself
Again on accomplishments, we all feel the need to look up to something. If you are an applicant, we always tend to think admissions officers weigh us on a physical scale of achievement. We tend to think of them less as fellow humans with actual thoughts and feelings, but bots are looking for keywords on an application matrix.
A disingenuous story can be felt and screened from a thousand applications away. Writing to your roommate should take care of those undue pressures to showcase yourself as a genius achiever, instead of making the conversation ordinary and interesting.
H3: Don’t Bother Discretizing Your Achievements
Remember, you are not writing a job application. Your future roommate will certainly have the same aspirations as you,andthat’s why they were accepted to the same college. You don’t want them to feel put down by your own achievements. That’s why you should focus on who you are and what motivates you rather than what you have done. And if you must, steer clear of any condescension.
- Find an Interesting Story about Yourself
It doesn’t have to be about how you worked in a secret lab by the age of 12. Or how you came back from behind to win the most important game of your life, all while injured. But it should be something interesting. Something that even a million applications might not have. It should be a story that tested and showcased your character and one that has served as a good bedrock of where you are from and where you are going.
Build a Rapport with Your Future Roommate
Your letter should not be narcissistic. It should have afull consideration of the roommate you are anticipating. Try to find common ground with both your experiences. You could ask if they enjoy a certain activity, say fitness. And if you have a habit within the acceptable confines of collegiate living that you’d like to let them know about, better to do it now. Maybe you need your yoga every morning.
Expressing yourself to a future roommate and friend helps loosen the tongue and make you speak with sincerity, even to your future admissions officer.
