Admission Essays - What They Are?
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A college admission essay is an important part of your college application. It helps you tell university who you are and why you want to study there. Many foreign universities ask for an essay or a personal statement when students apply for admission.
This essay gives you a chance to talk about your dreams, goals, and what makes you different from others. You can share your story, what you learned in life, and what inspires you to choose a particular course or field.
While there is no rule of thumb for the kind of essays that universities might ask for, we will discuss the question-answer type essays in this section.
Writing a college admission essay is not about using fancy words or big grammar; it’s about writing honestly and simply. You should write it like you are talking to someone about your life and plans. In this guide, you will learn how to write a good college admission essay and some easy tips to make your essay clear and strong.
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- What are Admission Essays?
- Are Admission Essays and SOP same thing?
- Types of Admission Essays
- How to Write Winning Admission Essays
- Shiksha Guidelines for Admission Essays
What are Admission Essays?
Admission essays are, essentially, written statements submitted by prospective students as part of their application to universities and schools. They provide applicants with an opportunity to demonstrate their personality, experiences, achievements, and aspirations, allowing the admissions committee (Ad Com) to evaluate their suitability for admission. These admission essays often require self-reflection and articulate the applicant’s reasons for pursuing the chosen program; they also discuss his academic and professional goals, how the program and the university are an ideal fit for him, and how he would be able to add value to the department and the institution.
For example, a university may look for good leadership qualities in the applicants, thus they would have specific questions that require you to discuss various facets of leadership that you have demonstrated in the past. Similarly, a prompt for Management Information Systems (MIS) may be aimed at finding out if the applicant is innovative or has an agile mind. Therefore, to summarise, admission essays may make or break your chances of getting into a particular program and university.
Also Read:
Are Admission Essays and SOP same thing?
There is a difference between admission essays and the Statement of Purpose. While SOP covers a broader range of your personality, admission essays require you to respond to specific questions asked. You need to stick to the question asked and not include other topics apart from what is required in prompt.
Here are some SOP samples based on different countries:
Types of Admission Essays
Admission essays are of different types. So, applicant must understand different types of admission essays to write the appropriate response. Admission essays can be divided based on various criteria such as:
Specific Word Limit - the length of the essay
- Very Short Answer questions/prompts (30 – 200 words)
- Short Answer Questions/ Essays (200 – 500 words)
- Long Answer Questions/ Essays (More than 500 words but less than 800 words)
- Full-Length Essays (More than 800 words)
Content - what are the admission essay questions about?
- Goals Essay: These are basically to know what your academic and professional goals are in pursuing a particular program at the university
- Leadership Essays: Ad Com here wants to know if you have leadership traits/ potential to become a future leader, or if you have taken up leadership positions in the past.
- Career Progression Essays: These essays are mostly asked from business schools to understand the applicant’s professional development, experiences, achievements, and goals.
- Ethical Dilemma Essays: This essay aims to understand your value systems.
- Achievements Essays: This is not only a chance to showcase your achievements but also to demonstrate what, according to you, is an ‘achievement’.
- Failure Essays: In this, university will be able to gauge if you can reflect and analyze your failures, handle them with strength, and learn from them.
- Situation Essays: This typically involves writing about a specific scenario or a set of circumstances; the aim is to assess the applicant’s critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and the ability to articulate his/her thought.
- ‘Why’ Essays (why this program/course/university?): In ‘why’ essay, applicants are asked to provide their reasons for choosing a particular program or university. This will ascertain if program/ university is the right fit for you and vice versa. This will show your motivation, commitment, and preparedness for the program/ university.
Reated Read:
- Importance of Vocabulary in your Admission Essay
- Importance of Grammar in your Admission essays
- Word Limit and Essays: How important are they
- Sample Essays for Study Abroad
How to Write Winning Admission Essays
There are thousands of applicants, so you have to make yourself different with your admission essays. Writing winning admission essays calls for research about the intended program and university, clarity of thought, effective communication skills, and preparation. For instance, in a top MBA program or B-school, you must ensure that your admission essay gives the edge to your application. You need to learn how to write a winning essay.
The admission essays are subjective so one can only guess what a winning document looks like. However, there are some set standards such as adhering to the word limit, answering the question completely making sure that no part of it has been left out, usage of correct grammar, and an engaging writing style. Make sure that the content is not copied or plagiarized. Read: MBA Essays
Shiksha Guidelines for Admission Essays
In case you are confused about what admission essays are, Shiksha has you covered. Shiksha has also made a separate set of guidelines that an applicant can refer to for writing his/her admission essays. To know more, read Shiksha Guidelines for Admission Essays.
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The word limit is specified by the university along with the question/ prompt. The word limit can be anywhere between 100-1000 words, depending on the university. The candidates must strictly adhere to the word limit specified.
The number of admission essays required may vary from university to university. The applicant must attempt all the essays.
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Statement of Purpose
Letter of Recommendation
Student Visa Application
Admission Essay Writing
Student Curriculum Vitae
Comments
(100)
A
2 years ago
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a year ago
K
2 years ago
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2 years ago
Hello Kingsley, you can narrow down the universities you wish to apply to in the US and check their respective deadlines, course fees, scholarship availability and the program commencement dates. Masters admission applications are usually filed through the official website of the US university. If
G
3 years ago
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2 years ago
Hello Gursimran, you are eligible to apply for admission to these universities. You have an added advantage of the apps that you have created which you can mention in your essays. Thus, you can apply, you want to get more info you can get in touch with our counsellors at - https://studyabroad.shiks
M
3 years ago
3 years ago
Most universities require the applicants to write essays on the prompts that they provide. Admission essays help the Ad Com to learn about the personality and other qualities of the candidate that are not reflected anywhere else in the application.