For many potential grad school students, writing the admissions essay is one of the most difficult parts of the application process.  After all, how can you possibly sum up your sparkling personality and outstanding qualifications in a few short paragraphs?  Don’t worry – you won’t be immediately dismissed because of a bad essay, as there are many other factors that will be taken into account.  If you’re having trouble getting started, check out the following tips for writing your admissions essay:

Follow the instructions

Grad schools all ask for different subjects for their admissions essays, including everything from, “Tell us why you want to attend this university,” to “Share a moment of personal growth from your life.”  The most important thing you can do – regardless of the topic – is to clearly answer the question at hand.  You won’t earn any points for talking about all the volunteer hours you’ve logged if the essay question asks about the person who’s been most influential in your life.  Of course there are ways to relate the two, but make sure your essay answers the original question.

What to talk about?

Maybe you haven’t taken year-long backpacking trip around the world or raised enough money to build a new school in South Africa – that doesn’t mean you don’t have anything worthwhile to write in your essay.  Of course, you shouldn’t lie about your experiences to sound more interesting – just try to find a meaningful event from your past that fits with the theme of the essay question.  If you’re asked to talk about your volunteer experiences, a well-written essay on an afternoon spent working in a local soup kitchen can be just as effective as one that discusses the year you spent chained to a tree in protest of deforestation.

Relate it back to the college

The admissions officers reading your essay want to know how you’ll fit in to the campus community, so try to relate your response back to some special characteristic about the college.  If there’s a professor you’re interested in working with, talk about your passion for the field and how you plan to contribute to his or her research.  Or if the school offers a special volunteer or internship program, express your interest in participating and how the program would help you advance your career goals.

Triple check your grammar and spelling

It should go without saying that there should be no grammatical errors or spelling mistakes on your grad school application – although you’d be surprised how many sub-par essays are turned in.  As soon as you’re happy with your admissions essay, print out three copies and give them to trusted friends and family members to review.  It’s easier to catch mistakes in print than it is on the computer screen, and you’ll find that a few extra sets of eyes will catch errors that you’ve missed.

If you’re absolutely stuck on your admissions essay, check to see if your undergrad college has a writing assistance program.  More schools offer these than you might think and the advice they can offer in the essay writing process can be incredibly helpful.