Post by The Big PINK One♥ on Aug 20, 2009 11:54:56 GMT -5
{From CosmoGirl.com}
4 tips that will send you straight from your favorite store to your first choice college.
It’s easy to head to the mall to pick out an awesome outfit, but it’s much harder to sit down and crank out a winning college entrance essay. I know you’re thinking that these two tasks couldn’t be more different — but both are majorly important and have a lot more similarities than you would think. We had a chat with Dr. Katherine Cohen, an extremely stylish woman and one of America’s most in-demand experts on college admissions, to find out how the fashionista in you can help bring out the scholastica!
Be Your Own Stylist
You would never catch Serena and Blair wearing matching outfits — they love to accentuate their individual fashion sense. And for your college entrance essay, you should rely on your own style too. Get creative and use personal examples to make yours stand out in a crowd. But at the same time, you don’t want to do anything you don’t feel comfortable with. So if you are one that doesn’t feel comfy in a formal dress, stay away from formal writing and use your own voice. Colleges want to know the real you, not the fake one.
Eliminate One Accessory
Over-accessorizing is a definite fashion faux pas. Coco Chanel always said to remove one item before leaving the house. Well the same thing goes when writing your college entrance essay — it should be clear, concise, and stick to the point. Having too much info and going off on random tangents can lead to confusion and even, boredom. Remember, schools get thousands of essays, you don’t want yours to get lost in the clutter.
No Knockoffs
They may be tempting, but you know you will never really be satisfied with a fake Louis Vuitton bag — you’ll always know that it’s not real. When it comes to a college entrance essay, it’s okay to look at other ones as examples, but plagiarizing is totally not in style. This may seem like a no-brainer, but you have to always remember that you want your own unique voice to shine through.
The Little Black Dress
Whether it’s an LBD or a perfect fitting pair of jeans, everyone has that one go-to staple item in her closet that is a surefire way to look great with no fuss. Sure sometimes you want to experiment, but when writing your college essay it is not the time to take risks. It’s important to stay within your own "closet" and write about what you know best.
Dr. Katherine Cohen is the founder of IvyWise and most recently ApplyWise as well as author of two books, The Truth About Getting In and Rock Hard Apps: How to Write a Killer College Application.
