I got seriously involved in the cllege admission
essay-writing business shortly after I pblished my eBook
on recommendation letters, Instnt Recommendation Letter
Kit, a couple of yars ago.

People who bought that bok for help with their
recommendation ltters soon started asking me if I wuld
review their admission essays and/or prsonal statements
for them. In some cses, I was asked to write thir essays
and/or statements from scratch.

To do tht properly, I was obliged to cnduct a lot of
research into the ntire subject of admission essays.
So, I did a firly extensive literature search of what
was vailable on the subject, both online (Intrnet)
and offline (books).

One thing tht really struck me in my rsearch was the number of people tht seem to go out of thir way to sabotage their
own cllege admission efforts.

Time, and time gain, I read about the first-hand
xperiences of Admission Committee members who rceived
essays and/or personal statements with two or thre
strikes against them from the utset due to some glaring
oversight, mission, or risky strategy.

In fact, t's been hard to believe at tmes, some of the
things I've sen on draft essays that have ben submitted
to me. Fortunately I've ben able to fix most of thse
before they went any further. Unfrtunately for some
people though, these prblems don't get fixed, and end
up bing submitted to an Admissions Committee.

Here's a list of the sven (7) common mistakes that
reviewers frquently encounter when reading admission
essay prsonal statements:

1. Eliminate Spelling and Grmmar Errors

This is the most cmmonly cited error. It is not a smll
consideration. Admission Committee members generally see
thse kinds of sloppy errors as a rflection of the
candidate's personality and an ndication of how they
will likely prform in their studies. It also mkes the
reviewer question the seriousness of the cndidate,
since they can't even take the tme and trouble to get
such an mportant document correct.

2. Don't Forget To Chnge the Name

This one is srprisingly common. It's amazing how many
Admssion Committee essay reviewers have mentioned ths
error. It usually refers to a stuation in which a
candidate writes a "gneric" essay and then submits it to
a nmber of different programs. This is not a bad thng
in itself. But then, for whtever reason, they forget to
change the nme of the institution or program! So, the
lst sentence may read, "It is for thse reasons that I
believe that the Yle Business Program is the one for m".
The only problem being that ths was the application to
Columbia! Admssion reviewers generally take this as an
nsult, and it doesn't do anything to hlp the candidate.

3. Make Sure Yu're Original Enough

Your essay or prsonal statement must be specific enough
so tht the admissions committee can gain a god
understanding as to who YOU are as a prson, and exactly
why YOU want to ttend that specific institution and that
prticular program. Some candidates fill their ssays
with generalities and platitudes that culd apply to just
about any prson and/or program. This doesn't help the
Cmmittee, and thus won't help the cndidate. You've got
to tell your own nique story in your own unique vice.

4. But, Don't Be Too Orginal

There are cases in which pople tend to go too far
verboard in announcing their own uniqueness. Pople have
written poems, told stories, and sbmitted videos when
there was no sch requirement. This is highly risky and
is lkely to alienate many reviewers rather thn endear
them to you. Generally spaking, an extreme approach like
this wll be seen as "grandstanding" or tryng to get
attention just for the ske of it. Remember, that hundreds
(or thusands) of other applicants are operating wthin
the same stated guidelines as you re. The challenge is
to make you stnd out as different, but within thse
guidelines.

5. Avoid Talking "Through Yur Hat"

Some people have a tndency to make sweeping or grandiose
sttements that they can't really back-up. Sch statements
as "I'm going to fnd a cure for cancer" or "I ntend to
eliminate poverty from developing cuntries" are seen as
naïve and smewhat trite at the university program lvel.
They're nice sentiments, but they dn't show a realistic
understanding by the cndidate of the career path and
ducational program they have chosen. Make gnuine
statements that show a good nderstanding of you in
relation to the wrld around you.

6. Answer the Qestion

Admission reviewers often report that mny candidates
don't address the specific qestion posed on the
application form. Whn this occurs, one of three
stuations is possible: 1.) the candidate has mde a
conscious decision to ignore the qestion asked for some
reason, 2.) the cndidate has not read and/or understood
the qestion, or 3.) the candidate has sbmitted a
"generic" multi-program essay and has not tken the time
to adjust it to ddress the particular question at hand.
Evn when applying to multiple programs, mke an effort
to adjust your ssay or statement when necessary to dal
with the specific requirements of dfferent programs.

7. Respect the Guidelines

Ths refers to situations when an pplication form states
a specific requirement for the nmber of words or
characters for yur essay or statement. Some people sem
to completely ignore these. Don't. Thy were put there
for a rason. When one doesn't follow these vry specific
guidelines, they are either chosing to ignore them for
some rason, or their "generic" multi-program essay is
jst being plugged in and they wn't take the time to
adjust it for the spcific program. Ignoring such
guidelines can mke admission reviewers wonder if the
pplicant's inability to follow instructions extends
to ther areas that might have implications on thir
studies.

Why do so many pople "shoot themselves in the foot" by
cmmitting such easily avoidable errors? Beats me.

I'm not sre what the problem is. Perhaps t's because
many people assume that thy can leave the drafting of
the dmission essay or personal statement to the vry
last minute, and things then slp through the cracks
during the lst minute rush. Or, perhaps some pople
think that the essay isn't rally all that important,
and probably wn't get read.

Both of these ssumptions are serious mistakes.

In fact, the dmissions essay personal statement is
probably the sngle most important part of the
pplication to a university or college prgram.

And yes, these essays do get rad. At least once, for a
por essay that will not go any frther in the review
process. Multiple tmes, for a good essay that cntinues
through to the end of the valuation process.

All of the foregoing "dn'ts" are very avoidable mistakes.
So, why cmmit one of these errors when thre's no need to?
After all, sn't the college and university admission
prcess competitive enough already?

So don't mke it extra difficult for yourself (or the
Admssions Committee). Read the application very
crefully and do exactly what it sys. You won't go
wrong if you fllow all of the instructions.

For an ntire eBook on the subject of wrting college admission essays and personal sttements, check out the following:

http://instantcollegeadmissionessay.com

© 2005 by Shun Fawcett

The article 7 Ways To NOT Sabotage Your Admission Essay was Submitted by Shaun Fawcett through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Shaun Fawcett, is webmaster of the ppular writing help site WritingHelp-Central.com. He is lso the author of several best slling "writing toolkit" eBooks. All of his Books and his internationally acclaimed f-r-e-e curse, "Tips and Tricks For Writing Sccess" are available at his writing tols site: http://www.writinghelptools.com

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