College application essays have long been an issue even for the most successful students. One of the main problems facing learners is how to make a difference between college application essays and scholarship application essays. They look identical; however, if you take a closer look, you will see that they are more different than similar. As a person who has all chances to get to college, you should know what a college application is and how it works.
College Application Essays: How Do You Excel in Writing?
Colleges and universities want to be sure that you are the right person for them. When you are working on an application essay, you describe your personality, history, accomplishments, and possible weaknesses. They do not care about your grades, since they have your grade sheets. They care more about who you are and what you want to accomplish in life. They want to see a person behind your grades, and you are in a position to describe yourself in the most truthful colors.
In contrast, when working on a scholarship essay, your task is to prove that your career expectations, your skills and competences, and your abilities align with the expectations and needs of the selected educational institutions. Putting it simply, college scholarship committees want to be sure that they money they give away goes to the right hands. Most colleges expect scholarship recipients to be ready to work hard to justify their scholarship status. They also expect that the scholarship recipient will contribute to their performance and improve their image locally and globally.
Please do not disregard these differences, since they may have considerable implications for your future studies. Whether or not you get to college will depend on your ability to produce a perfect college essay according to the requirements of your selected institution.
College Application Essays Tips
While working on your college application essays, remember about your creativity and use your talent for writing to its fullest. The best college application essays are always unusual; they draw attention and stand out among others. However, you do not need to try to pretend that you are perfect. Believe it or not, members of college admission committees can sense the spirit of something false (or artificial) even if they do not see you personally. The moment you sit down to write your college application paper, brainstorm ideas and list them in the order of priority. Be ready to write a lot. You will need at least three drafts before you finalize the paper. Your admission essay will be between 600 and 1,000 words long. Therefore, it is better to make a good outline. Follow the plan, and you will be able to organize your ideas in a logical and persuasive manner.
Your college application essay should be focused on your personality. That is, you do not need to waste your time and the essay space on unnecessary details that do not relate to you personally. As you seek admission to college, your task is to describe yourself, your personality, and your accomplishments. Members of the admission committee should have a feeling that they have known you for ages. They should be confident that you are the right person to get to college.
Scholarship Application Essays
The whole process is likely to be slightly different if you are working on scholarship essays. Well, in many respects, it will be similar to college application essays, as you will have to prove that you deserve admission and need financial support to complete the program. However, your scholarship essay will need you to refocus toward the selected college or educational institution. That is, you will still be writing about yourself, but you will have to align your writing with the needs and requirements of the target college.
Begin a thorough review of your college’s website. You need to review its mission and vision. When working on your scholarship essay, you will have to persuade the scholarship committee that your actions, expectations, and needs support the mission and vision of the college facility. Again, be truthful, and try to be objective. The good news is that your scholarship essay will be shorter than a college application essay. Be ready to write 500 words on average. Follow our scholarship essay tips to produce a brilliant essay.
Great Scholarship Essay Prompts
Now that you are working on your essay, plan your activities beforehand. You have to be very thorough trying to prove that you are worthy candidate for your college. Write down the ideas you want to include in your paper. It is a useful exercise. You will see what you need and what you do not need in your paper. Once your first draft is ready, review it. Almost always, you will have to delete some information and add something new to keep your narrative coherent and logical.
Note that college application essays and scholarship essays have a lot of commonalities. However, you should also see the difference, and this knowledge will define your success as you seek admission to college. You will need to be clear about your target audience. You will need to exercise your creativity and talent to create the best picture of your personality and persuade the admission committee that you are the right candidate to get to the college of your dreams!
Follow our advice to produce a great application essay! Try to produce a paper that resembles a human being – members of the admission committee should see the life bursting out of your paper. It may seem difficult at first; however, once you focus on writing, you will add smaller details that will make your essay vivid, visible, and memorable.
Do not forget about your target audience. Well, it is enough to sit a minute and imagine the people who are going to read your essay. What would you do if you had to present your application personally? What would you do to persuade your target audience that you are worth being admitted to college? As you answer these questions, try to incorporate them into your paper. Your readers should understand that you respect their needs and consider their expectations. Write as if you are speaking to your audience in person. Do not try to hide emotions, but be balanced and ethical in what you say.
Do not try to squeeze your entire life into a couple of sentences. This is the worst scenario. Instead, you may want to select the most meaningful events and tie them into a single, coherent essay of 600-1,000 words. You may also want to focus on a single event that has changed your life forever.
Remember that members of the admission committee are humans, too. Therefore, if you do not have a talent of Ernest Hemingway but can express yourself logically and literally, you have all chances to win this battle. Seek help if you need it!
Present your story as the best story you the admission committee members can read in their lifetime!
