Application essays may include a question that asks you to specify why you are interested in attending a particular university. Occasionally these types of questions are included in addition to another essay or personal statement. The questions are designed to encourage you to describe the relationship you intend to have with the university and its programming. Though it is useful to open an essay of this kind with a description of what specific aspects of the university encouraged you to apply, a section that defines the value that you bring to the university adds distinction to your essay.
Responding to a famous or meaningful quote is a common tactic for approaching university admissions essays. The university may supply an inspiring quote and ask you to respond, analyze or evaluate its truth, but quotation prompts are also useful if you are free to write about any topic you choose. The most useful quotations include a statement about a value or judgment, and your essay evaluates the validity of the judgment based on your own values or experiences. Quotation prompt essays challenge your analytical and persuasive writing skills while requiring you to make conclusions about your own personal beliefs or integrity.
If a university provides several options for admission essay topics, its likely that one topic invites you to describe the most influential person or event in your life thus far. These essays ask you to evaluate the most integral aspects of your identity through the lens of an influential person or moment. Though the topic allows for great freedom in writing your essay, the essay is susceptible to a range of pitfalls. Avoid dedicating the majority of the essay to talking about a person other than yourself. Another concern is creating a balance between telling the story and analyzing its relationship to a value or belief you now hold.
One of the challenges of writing a university admissions essay is standing out among thousands of other applicants without writing about a topic that might put off the admissions representative. Deena Maerowitz, a college admissions counselor, advises applicants to avoid a range of topics that are either cliched or too controversial. Overcoming physical or emotional challenges, learning from unrequited love or describing the challenge of writing the college essay are tired and overdone topics that admissions representatives see time and time again. Deeply personal experiences that reveal too much information are also a turn-off for admissions counselors. If your topic elicits great feelings of anger or pain as you write it, it is likely best that you choose a topic that triggers less emotion and is more likely to demonstrate your growth as a person rather than your struggle to move forward.