College Admissions

College Admissions Whichever essay prompt you choose, make sure you zero in on a specific example that you narrate in an engaging and thoughtful way. Allow enough space for self reflection so that whatever your topic is you spend at least some time talking about its significance to you. Even if you take advantage of the full length available to you, keep in mind that 650 words is not a long essay. It's roughly the equivalent of a two-page, double-spaced essay. Understanding what makes the provider/college unique and what their motivations are, will allow you to incorporate that information in your essay. For example, many scholarships are funded by private companies that sell products. It lets the reader know the main topic, point of the essay and the ideas you'd like to discuss. It will become very clear to the reader if you've not researched your topic enough. You might want to reference those products in your essay. You’re telling your story, so write from your perspective! You can provide an overview of what you learned from your experiences. However you choose to answer the prompt, we recommend writing in an active tone, and using “I” and “me” throughout your essay. It's about the same length as this article on essay length. Most essays tend to be between three and eight paragraphs depending on the applicant's writing style and essay strategy . My teacher told me that I needed to write an essay that had 2500 words. Is this really something that’s worth complaining about? The important issue is to write the best essay you can, not the length of words. If you’re focus in only on the words and not what you’ve written, your writing is never going to be good. In most academic essays, you will be required to produce a thesis statement. The thesis is a clear outline of what your essay is about. Don’t be afraid to let your strengths, challenges, and personal stories shine through in your essay! Scholarship and admissions committees love to see that you’re self-aware how you can improve as a person, or how you’ve grown because of your experiences. To write an engaging and effective 650 word or shorter essay, you need to have a sharp focus. Narrate a single event, or illuminate a single passion or talent. Focus on what’s important, not on things like this. Since there can be a large variation on the number of words needed to fill a page, most papers are no longer assigned by page count. That is, an assignment, essay or paper will likely be assigned as 1500 â€" 2000 words rather than 3 â€" 4 pages. This way it is much more difficult for the writer to “game the system” by using large fonts and excessive spacing to meet the writing criteria. I think five paragraphs is a good number to shoot for when writing, but it isn’t a hard-fast rule you need to hit every time. Each essay is different and require more or less paragraphs depending on the information you need to provide in the writing. If you’re applying for a scholarship, research the scholarship provider. If you’re applying to college, research the school. I got marks off for not writing an essay with exactly 2500 words. That’s completely ridiculous but my teacher refuse to reinstate the point she took off because she said 2500 words and not 2498 words. I could’ve just said that my was 2500 words and she would’ve never known the difference. I don’t understand why I’m being punished for being honest.