Hello everyone!
I recently wrote a blog about Tips for University Applications, and now that I can finally say that I am completely done the process, I have decided to make a part 2. So, here are some more tips that I have used that have helped make the entire process bearable. Hope this helps any current or future Grade 12 students!
Stay Organized
Be as organized as you can possibly be. I have folders on my desktop for each school and scholarship that I have applied to, and believe me, it will make your life so much easier in the long run. Furthermore, when editing my essays, I create different document versions. For instance, I have 4 versions of my UBC essays. For me, this helps a lot with backtracking, because oftentimes I find myself liking my original wording more, so this way it is very convenient to refer back to previous work.
Learn to reuse essays
As you write more and more essays, you’ll notice that many prompts are very similar, or simply ask the same question with different wording. Recognizing these patterns is key to minimizing the amount of work you ultimately have to do. (And if you’re very organized, it will be easier to remember where you had written the exact essay you could use!)
Another aspect worth mentioning about essays are word counts. For instance, one institution may require a 100 word perseverance essay, while another may have a 300 word max. Knowing how to shape your essays to different word counts is a valuable skill that will save you so much time. To practice, I’d recommend for each “primary essay idea” ie. ideas that can work for various different prompts, write out a fully developed version. From there, highlight and note the parts from most to least importance. This will facilitate word count changes, as you can just take the most important parts of each essay rather than writing an entirely new one.
Accept Criticism
I can’t tell you the amount of times that I have had to restart because someone told me I didn’t respond to the prompt or my idea itself needed to change. Once you find a handful of people who you trust to help edit and improve your work, believe in the process. It can be frustrating to spend hours on an essay only to have to spend another 3 changing it. During these times, I often try to block out all criticism because I am too emotionally invested in my own original work. But try to remember that the others around you are only trying to help and that all the work you put in will be rewarded in the end.
That’s it! I hope you learned something new, and good luck!