Are you applying to different colleges and universities? Many schools require you to submit a college essay (or several college essays) along with the rest of your forms and support documents.

Colleges and universities receive thousands of essays every year. How do you make yours memorable? Contrary to popular opinion, you don’t have to be an exceptional writer. You just have to submit something that is very personal and sincere, intelligent and well thought out, and uses examples and organizes information well. In other words, it’s not about style but substance and logic.
How do you accomplish that? First of all avoid being too general with your ideas. Keep the focus very specific. For example, if you want to be a Biology major, instead of writing about “my childhood” talk about “the summer I discovered my love for animals”. The more narrow a topic is, the more arguments or examples you can give to illustrate your point. If you’re too general, you’ll have the dilemma of trying to say a lot of things and end up not saying anything at all.

Common mistakes include using too many cliches, or trying to sound smart by using long words. It’s not about being high faluting, but using the appropriate words. Randomly using the thesaurus to pick put a word, when it does not have that specific meaning, will just make you look ridiculous and pretentious.

Organize your ideas well. Make an outline first, and decide what main points you want to make and the minor examples or statements you will have to place under each one. Be as logical as possible. Remember that the people who are par of the college admissions boards have several essays to read, and if your essay is very vague or confusing, they will just move on to the next one.

Ask someone to read your essay when you’re done. They should be able to grasp your point right away. Edit it according to their comments. Check for grammar, spelling, logic, and comprehension.