The Application Essay

Most students get very nervous when it comes to writing their applicaiton essay.  What do I say in my essay to impress a college or unviersity?  Which topic should I write about?  What if my English grammar isn’t very good?

These are all great questions and we set out to help answer them for students.  We spoke with Wesley Roy, the Associate Director of International Admissions at Roger Williams University to find out what he had to say about the application essay and I thought his response was very reassuring for itnernational students.

Here is a little of what he said…

When it comes to English writing skills and the essay writing piece, it’s extremely important that these essays are well written. We’re looking at grammar, punctuation. We’re looking for it to make sense. Some schools do not have remedial English programs or an English language center, but nevertheless the English really has to be up to this standard of acceptable in order for the admissions officers to feel confident that these students are going to be successful in the university setting.

The essay should be something that students spend a lot of time on. Whether it is a one-page or a two-page essay, you need to follow the instructions and the directions of that particular university. I think it’s good to have two or three essays insert in your back pocket to make sure that the universities you are applying for, the essay that’s probably the most appropriate goes to that university.

If you want to read more from Wesley or listen to his podcast check out goSwoop

Students need to be confident in themselves.  Yes English may not be your strongsuit but admissions recruiters are already aware of that.  Do the best that you can and be confident in what you are writing.  The application essay is a glimpse into your life so don’t be afraid to share what makes you unique!

Choosing the right school for you

We have been getting a lot of question from students on the goSwoop Q&A about the type of school a student should apply to based on the grades they have.  This is really a difficult question to answer because there is so much more to choosing a school than just grades.  Yes grades are an important factor but a student should think also about other factors such as location, size of the school, teacher:student ratio.

You don’t just have to take our word for it.  We spoke with an international student college counsleor Curt Nichols from the Lahore American School about it as well.  Here is some of what he had to say…a

I ask students to think about their preferences and also consider their parents’ preferences in terms of choosing a college or university. There are several preferences you need to think about.

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The first and probably the most important one is location. It’s not the best thing to apply to several different countries. I think you should narrow it down to one country or two countries because there are so many colleges and universities out there with so many different kinds of curriculum.

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You also have to think about whether you want to go to a big city, or a college town and also think about the weather. Don’t discount the weather. If you’re from a warm climate you need to consider if you can live in a few feet of snow.

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Second, think about the program. I’ve had a lot of students who applied to colleges and universities who don’t even offer the major they’re looking for. Find the program you are looking for, find the schools that offer it and find out what the quality of that program is.

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Third, think about the size of the school. I don’t just mean the size of the campus, I mean the number of students that attend. In the states, it could be anywhere from seven hundred (700) to tens of thousands of students.

You can read more about what Curt had to say by clicking here or listen to Curt’s answer in his podcast by clicking here.

Choosing a school that is the right fit for you academically, socially and financially is very important so please take some serious time and consideration in the type of institution that you would like to attend!  You can learn more about different schools by visiting the university section on goSwoop.