Posts Tagged writing
Avoid These College Application Mistakes
If you or your child is currently in the process of applying to a variety of colleges, you need to know what mistakes to avoid. Here is a list of commonly reported goof-ups in the admissions process.
Two of the main mistakes that an admissions office will notice are misspellings and grammatical errors. An application is one of the first impressions that a school will receive about a student, and careless errors are not a good reflection on your work ethics. If a student won’t proofread an application for errors, how are they going to perform as a student? Worst of all, some students have even made a spelling mistake when listing their major.
Make sure that the student reads the application carefully and follows instructions exactly as they are written. Mistaking the word “county” for the word “country” can cause an embarrassing error. As a courtesy to the admissions office, make sure that your son or daughter practices their best handwriting on the application. Illegibility won’t leave a good first impression, and it is likely to get your child a rejection letter.
Always check the standard academic requirements of a college. While there are a few factors involved when trying to gain admission, the most important factor is classroom performance. Too many students make the mistake of not spending enough time on college preparatory classes. Make sure that the bases have been covered by choosing college-prep or advanced placement classes instead of study hall.
When researching schools, make sure that your son or daughter uses all available resources. From alumni and guidance counselors to school guides and DVD’s, there is an abundance of information on schools around the country. Talk to financial aid officers for specifics on the admissions process. They will help your child create a timetable for their application process, and they may even help your student choose the school that’s best for them.
Another common mistake is to choose a school without taking a tour. Any college or university will be happy to show prospective students what they have to offer, and it’s critical for your child to see campus life firsthand. The right school in theory may not be the right school in reality. School websites alone are not a substitute for a campus visit.
The big name colleges have extremely high academic standards, and most that apply are turned down. Many smaller colleges offer an education equal to the big names at a fraction of the cost.
Speaking of price, keep in mind that the “sticker price” isn’t necessarily their final offer. When financial aid packages are taken into consideration, pricing will change completely. What if your family makes too much money for government aid? Two-thirds of current students receive some form of financial aid. Merit-based scholarships and community grants make financial assistance available, even for families with high incomes.
A little research goes a long way. Begin by shopping around; make sure that performance is priority and ask several questions. These steps will ease the search for the perfect college.
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College Essays: How To Ace The Selection Process
College essays are something that students aspiring to enroll themselves to colleges must complete during the entrance examinations. The essays are used to assess a student’s literary prowess. As such, students are often tensed when composing the essays and rightly so. The authorities usually go through the essays carefully in order to get an idea about the student’s personality, his/ her sense of humor, discipline and his/ her other core characteristics.
Students should take great care when composing a college essay. It may be used as a measure of the student’s creativity and prowess of writing. College essays follow the common five paragraph structure, with the first paragraph carrying the introduction to the topic and the final one stating the conclusion based on the points put forward in the paragraphs in between. It is best to create a rough draft of the main idea first and later, to form it into a complete essay. This way, the student will be able to maintain a cohesive structure throughout the essay, and will be able to create a superior quality work. Each paragraph should highlight a particular point, and expand it into a complete idea with the help of appropriate references and quotations.
Style of writing is very important when creating a college essay. The words should be carefully chosen. Colloquial words and oddly formed phrases may look all right in a review, but should be avoided as much as possible in college essays. Use of slangs should always be avoided, unless those are part of quotations that must be included. The use of personal opinions is allowed, and should be liberally used to show the student’s eagerness to showcase his/ her ideas properly. The essay should be well-structured overall. Repetition of an idea is something that should be avoided cautiously. Also, no idea should be left vague without proper citations. It can cause the person evaluating the essay to form a very bad impression about the candidate’s creative abilities.
A well written college essay can help a student create a good impression on the minds of the evaluators and help him/ her gain an edge in the selection procedure. Essays should ideally be written personally by the student. But, in case the student is not confident enough about his/ her literary abilities, getting a little help can never hurt anyone. There are many sites on the Internet that can provide high-quality uniquely written essays to students for a small fee. These sites are instrumental in helping students to gain a significant edge in college examinations and getting the position of their dreams.
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