Last Minute College Application Tips

Three Last Minute Tips for Applying:

(1) What to Write About in Your Supplementary Essays: If you are a science researcher, it may seem enticing to use that subject for your personal statement and then again to write about that research experience for your supplemental essay, and perhaps, to even write specifically about one of your science competitions in the activities essay. This is deadly. The purpose of a supplement is to help peel away the layers of your personality and intellect. Admissions wants to see a different side of you through the lens of each essay prompt. So if you’re a researcher who has written a personal statement about science research, but who is also involved in the martial arts on the weekends, write a supplement about discipline, focus, choreography of the moves, or the mathematics behind that choreography. Then, do not write about that activity again on the application.

2) Do NOT Wait Until the Night Before Deadline to Submit Your Application! The Common Application is replete with glitches every year, and it is not unusual to experience technical difficulties right before deadline. Technical issues aside, if you have waited until the 11th hour to complete a college application, it is also likely that you have made a few careless errors on your supplementary essays. Please understand that Admissions takes grammatical and spelling errors very seriously. After all, if you do not know how to write a short, cogent, and formal essay for an application, admissions officers will assume that you will not be able to handle the written assignments for courses on their campus. Give yourself a couple of weeks to work on your personal essays and at least a week for each supplementary essay. It is more difficult to write a compelling and interesting 250 word piece than it is to write a 1,000 word essay. In the 250 word piece, every word must have impact and every word must move the theme forward.

3) Ask for Expert Advice: Finally, if you are unsure of how to write that all important supplement and you are coming down to the wire, please do not hesitate to give us a call. College Admission Central has 20 minute emergency phone sessions to discuss anything and everything involving your college application. Successfully applying to and gaining admission at the best fit and most intellectually stimulating university is not an easy process. We know it; and that’s why we’re here for you.

Author

Deborah Bedor

Dr. Bedor is CEO of College Admission Central and writes frequently on topics of interest to college-bound high school students.