College Life Essay (2024)

FAQs

How do I know if my college essay is good enough? ›

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit. If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words. You should aim to stay under the specified limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely.

In general, 500 words or so is pretty safe for a college essay. It's a fairly standard word limit length, in fact. (And if you're wondering, that's about a page and a half double-spaced.)

If your institution doesn't provide a specific word count, it's best to keep your essay between the length established by the longer college admissions essay format: 250 to 650 words. Word count is just one factor to consider as you craft your college admissions essay.

If a student's essay isn't great OR good, the admission officer will probably just skim past the essay and move right on to your transcript and your test scores to evaluate your candidacy for admission. Bad essays don't get read.

The best way to tell your story is to write a personal, thoughtful essay about something that has meaning for you. Be honest and genuine, and your unique qualities will shine through. Admissions officers have to read an unbelievable number of college essays, most of which are forgettable.

For all college admission essays, it's best to come as close to the maximum as you can, as long as you're not filling space with meaningless sentences. For the Common App, I would recommend a bare minimum of 500 words, about 75 percent of the maximum.

While timelines will differ depending on the student, plan on spending at least 1–3 weeks brainstorming and writing the first draft of your college admissions essay, and at least 2–4 weeks revising across multiple drafts. Don't forget to save enough time for breaks between each writing and editing stage.

The primary essay for your college application, often called a personal statement, is typically around 400-600 words. The Common App personal statement — which is used as the primary application essay by more than 800 colleges — must be 250-650 words.

Is 700 words a lot for a college essay? ›

Many schools set a word count or page limit for college essays and personal statements. If the program that you're applying to doesn't have a limit, you'll want your essay to be around 500-700 words. Either way, you should keep your essay concise, while at the same time fully explaining your main points.

Absolutely! It's possible to write an essay in one day. All you need to do is prepare and do the research in advance.

Yes, every college essay is read if the college has asked for it (and often even if they did not ask for it). The number of readers depends on the college's review process.

The person who reads your application in a college admissions office might be a dedicated admissions officer, a faculty member, or a student or part-time essay reader. They are reading your essay in the context of your application overall.

It is okay to write about mental illness and Depression in your college essay as long as it proves that you're a suitable student. Thus, you should be asking yourself, “how does my experience with mental illness or Depression make me a strong candidate?”

Not only is the first line important, but also the entire paragraph. Making sure the introduction is well crafted and fits all the requirements of a good essay makes this the most difficult part of the paper. Like with most things there are ways to help make the writing of the introduction easier.

Colleges look for three things in your admission essay: a unique perspective, strong writing, and an authentic voice. People in admissions often say that a great essay is one where it feels like the student is right there in the room, talking authentically to the admissions committee!

What should you not write your college essay on at least 5 topics *? ›

Preferably not. If possible, mom and dad should stay out of the essay writing business. A teacher or a counselor are better. However, some parents are able to understand that over-editing essays is not a good thing.

At the top 250 schools, your essays generally account for 25% of your overall application. This is only slightly behind the 30% for extracurriculars. Essays are actually ahead of the 20% for grades and coursework, 15% for test scores, and 10% for recommendations and interviews.

There is no set number of paragraphs in a college admissions essay. College admissions essays can diverge from the traditional five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in English class. Just make sure to stay under the specified word count.

Establishing deadlines for a one-day essay is key. Budget 5-10 minutes for brainstorming, 15-20 minutes for creating an outline, and several hours for writing. You can also set aside an hour for feedback and review, and another hour for any necessary revisions.

Good writing takes time, planning, deep thinking, and revision. While one week is enough time to write most high school and college essays, some advanced research papers require more time.

You don't need a title for your college admissions essay, but you can include one if you think it adds something important.

How long does it take to write a 1000 word college essay? ›

It takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes to write a 1,000 word essay. How long does it take to write a 1,250 word essay? It takes about 4 hours and 10 minutes to write a 1,250 word essay.

An essay word count has been specified for a reason. Writing too much would likely result in your essay being cut off, and writing under the word limit may cause readers to think that you are not interested in their university. In case, no word limit is given, it is best to stick to 400-600 words.

Quick Answer: For an average typer working on an easy project, it takes about 30 minutes to write 500 words. For them to complete a difficult project, it can take up to 5 hours to write 500 words.

Navigating the Word Count

The current word count is between 250 and 650 words. The online application won't accept essays that are below 250 words or over 650 words. Your essay must stay within the word count limit.

Since there are several essay types, it is crucial to understand the length required of your assignment. On average, an essay should be at least 700 to 1,200 words. It shouldn't be too long or too short.

Writing 750 words will take about 18.8 minutes for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 37.5 minutes for handwriting. However, if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay, the length can grow to 2.5 hours.

5 pages is 2,500 words single spaced, 1,250 words double spaced.

On average, college students will write about 10 to 15 essays each semester. That's averages out to 40 to 60 pages of writing. English classes or writing courses will have the most essay writing assignments. In these language-focused classes, there will be about five to six essays per semester.

If you've already written an essay that happens to fit with another college's similar prompt, then it should take you no time at all to spruce it up and submit it. Reusing the same essay is just fine.

Some students find themselves spending more time on editing than they did on drafting or writing, and that is perfectly acceptable. Editing should consist of multiple rounds, with two being the absolute minimum number of times you make changes to each essay.

Do you send the same essay to every college? ›

Can I use the same essay for all my college applications? You can use the same personal statement and additional information essays for all of your college applications. The supplemental essay is a bit different as it tends to be more specific school focused.

If a student's essay isn't great OR good, the admission officer will probably just skim past the essay and move right on to your transcript and your test scores to evaluate your candidacy for admission. Bad essays don't get read.

Curating and word-smithing a compelling essay is a key factor to getting accepted by your college of choice. If you are applying to top colleges, you do not get a pass for poor essays, you get a rejection.

Not only is it fine to make “I” statements in your application essays, but colleges expect your essays to sound like you, too! Always be yourself in your application, not the candidate you think admissions committees want to see.

Every admissions office has a goal for the number of essays that must be read during any given week. However, college admissions officers and admission readers may read approximately 50 applications per day, spending approximately 15 minutes per application.

Under the Readability section, you'll see a numerical score. The higher the number, the easier it is to read your document. In most cases, you should aim for a score of 60 or higher.

The primary essay for your college application, often called a personal statement, is typically around 400-600 words. The Common App personal statement — which is used as the primary application essay by more than 800 colleges — must be 250-650 words.

Colleges look for three things in your admission essay: a unique perspective, strong writing, and an authentic voice. People in admissions often say that a great essay is one where it feels like the student is right there in the room, talking authentically to the admissions committee!

Admissions officers look for students whose essays reveal their character and perspective through their real experiences, not contrived situations. Admissions officers say most essays they read are safe, generic and do nothing to make them remember or want to advocate for the students who wrote them.

What are the 3 traits of college level writing? ›

While your written assignments will be graded on a number of assignment-specific factors, all students are expected to demonstrate three traits of effective written communication: 1) organization, 2) use of evidence and 3) mechanics.

At the top 250 schools, your essays generally account for 25% of your overall application. This is only slightly behind the 30% for extracurriculars. Essays are actually ahead of the 20% for grades and coursework, 15% for test scores, and 10% for recommendations and interviews.

In general, then, schools really look at the score, but it's not one of the most important parts of your application or even your SAT score. Your best bet if you are interested in a given school that requires the essay and you want more specific guidance how they use the essay is to call the admissions office and ask.

Since the Grammarly Editor uses a 0 to 100 readability grading scale, the higher your score, the easier it is to read and understand. A lower score means the text is harder to read and is considered more complex as your readability score nears 0.

The readability of your essay is just as important as the content. If your essay is hard to read, it's unlikely that admissions officers will pay attention. Follow these tips to present your essay in the best possible light, and to make it as engaging as possible.

The Flesch Reading Ease gives a text a score between 1 and 100, with 100 being the highest readability score. Scoring between 70 to 80 is equivalent to school grade level 8. This means text should be fairly easy for the average adult to read. The formula was developed in the 1940s by Rudolf Flesch.

Main application essays are generally 500-650 words. For example, the Common Application, which can be used to apply to more than 800 colleges, requires an essay ranging from 250-650 words. Similarly, the Coalition Application, which has 150 member schools, features an essay with a recommended length of 500-550 words.