Help- college app stuff

[imtheoneandonlyD]

Alright so i applied at MSU-Mankato and i didnt get accepted. Not a huge suprise because i really fucked up my freshman/sophmore year in HS and graduated about 2-3 months late. Now im in the process of appealing the decision. I have to get 3 letters of recommendations from previous teachers. I also have to write an essay. Now im not sure on what i should include in this essay. I has to be about a page long explaining why i want to go there.

Im terrible at making papers longer, im usually always straight to the point and its almost ALWAYS to short. Anyone have any tips on what i should include in this thing?


Any help is appreciated. I have to get this done by the end of the week.

[Jet-Lee]

Double space it.

[2.2 Straight six]

jus pad it out. give background information one verything. like for the college i want to go to wants a personal statement. so if say i want to go there to learn about tuning car i just explina what i already know about it. if you know stuff they have to teach you less and you'll do better. make your self mroe attractive, and im not talking a two-piece.

[clawhammer]

I'm writing an essay right now. I'll give you some tips. Move the right margin closer to the center by .5". Make the spacing 2.1, 2.2 inches. Increase the character spacing to like 110% (that's the width of the letters). I do this stuff on basic essays, but not sure if I'd do it on a college app.

[quteasabutton]

size 13 font. as far as content goes, be genuine and really play up your strengths. do mention where you went wrong, an explanation of why and what you did to fix things and get back on track. that shows them that ur mature enough to admit to your mistakes and aren't trying to make urself seem too perfect just to get in.

include any activities that you did in school or major hobbies. these days with how competetive it is, schools are looking for more well-rounded individuals, not just people who did well in school. and since you said you fucked up earlier on, not focusing so much on your academics will probably help.

if ur really serious about writing a good essay, go to places like barnes & nobles or borders and buy a book about writing the college essay. there's tons of books on it to pick from. good luck!

[TexasF355F1]

Originally Posted by Jet-Lee

Double space it.

For something as formal as this I don't think I would double space it.

One page is far from long. Try writing 25+ pages. Anyways, if you really want to go there it won't be hard. Just make sure you have it proof read by more than one person. Preferably english teachers. Even talk to them and they should help your ideas flow.

Good luck.

[vinnym86]

just write in a unique style, kinda whatever ur thought process reflects. talk about what you wish to become, how you want to succeed in life, and how this college will help you achieve your goals and mature in life.

good luck!

[jon@af]

If you'd like to make a good impression with your essay, don't try anything that would be considered "half-assed" such as tricks with fonts, spacing and things like that. You want them to notice the fact that you put effort into the essay. The best way to build a good essay is to tell them why you want to go there and then explain why you feel that way. What I mean by this is you should be able to cite examples of life situations that made you feel one way or another and that pointed you in the direction of their university. that should be more than enough for a page of information. Good luck .

[imtheoneandonlyD]

Thanks guys. There are a few ideas listed that really helped me here. Im probably going to start tonight. Hopefully i'll be totally dont with it by thursday(being proof read and all)

[sidewayzS13]

its only a page cant be that hard even if you are the short winded type. dont do tricks just bull shit but not flat out bullshit. for every reason you give for wanting to go there expand on it w/ some bullshit make the reasons sound more exciting then they may actually be. just expand on each reason more and you will be fine. and make for damn sure no grammar mistakes

[Knifeblade]

Wish ya well. Avoid the "word-processing" tricks, C'mon!!!! This is a college, actually University app. board, they'll see through the fonts and spacings in a freshman minute.

Qute and Swigs have some good thoughts, incorporate them. Attempt to use multi-syllable words, in proper context. Utilize correct grammar and sentence structure. Draft before you begin, that will keep you organized and focused to the task at hand. Run a spell-checker, and have someone you believe to be cognizant of good writing approaches proof-read the final draft, prior to final printing. Outline your intended course of study area, electives you may interested in, social activities you may be interested in pursuing [e.g. a fraternity, various clubs, sports, music]. "Dot the i's and cross the t's".

Best Wishes

[fredjacksonsan]

If you need extra padding, consider just telling the story about high school and how you realized it was important, got your act together and succeeded your last two years.

And make sure your punctuation, grammar and spelling are correct. I'm nit picking, but in your post you used "to" where it should have been "too". Those kinds of things will get their attention in a bad way; you don't want to stand out in a negative light.

[turtlecrxsi]

Originally Posted by Knifeblade_03

Wish ya well. Avoid the "word-processing" tricks, C'mon!!!! This is a college, actually University app. board, they'll see through the fonts and spacings in a freshman minute.

Qute and Swigs have some good thoughts, incorporate them. Attempt to use multi-syllable words, in proper context. Utilize correct grammar and sentence structure. Draft before you begin, that will keep you organized and focused to the task at hand. Run a spell-checker, and have someone you believe to be cognizant of good writing approaches proof-read the final draft, prior to final printing. Outline your intended course of study area, electives you may interested in, social activities you may be interested in pursuing [e.g. a fraternity, various clubs, sports, music]. "Dot the i's and cross the t's".

Best Wishes

Originally Posted by fredjacksonsan

And make sure your punctuation, grammar and spelling are correct. I'm nit picking, but in your post you used "to" where it should have been "too". Those kinds of things will get their attention in a bad way; you don't want to stand out in a negative light.

This is the best advice. You want your essay to be perfect. Revision can be done as many times as needed. Spelling, grammar, vocabulary and content should be flawless.

[thrasher]

I would say the most important thing is to BE HONEST about why you want to go there. You have to have legitimate reasons for wanting to go there, so don't write what you think they want to hear, they've heard it all before. IMHO, they'll be more impressed by a genuine, honest response than anything else.

[2.2 Straight six]

keep adding "screw flanders" until you've reached the quota.