Schools Essays for university applications

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Universities in the United States seek to understand the authentic voice of applicants through their essays, emphasizing the importance of personal storytelling over mere academic achievements. Applicants should focus on "show vs. tell," using vivid imagery and experiences to convey their passions and personality. It's crucial to illustrate personal growth and resilience, demonstrating how challenges have shaped them. Additionally, attention to detail in spelling, punctuation, and grammar is essential, so proofreading is advised to ensure clarity and professionalism in the writing.
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what do they generally look for? i need to write about how one of my hobbies and what i learned from it. english is not my first language so any tips and strategy could be useful.
 
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Im going to assume that you are applying to an undergraduate university in the United States.

One big thing that they want to hear is your voice. They want to get a sense of who you really are. Dont just rattle off your gpa and extracirriculars, they already know this stuff from your application. Try to get in something that makes you feel real rather just some name on a paper. One big thing that I was always taught was this "show vs tell" mentality. You do not simply want to your essay to tell them what your life is like, you want to show them. For instance, as opposed to "I have always been interested in outerspace. Because of this, I like to look at the stars at night" you want something like "As I laid on my lawn, looking into the endless abyss that is outerspace I could not help but wonder..."
 
DR13 said:
They want to get a sense of who you really are
They also tend to want to see growth and struggle and all that shiny stuff, 'cause they want some indications that you don't break when things get hard. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar also count, so get your essays proofread.
 
thank you, i will consider those points when i write!
 
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