College admission essays are supposed to be submitted

The Importance of College Admission Essays in the Life of a Student

Our education system evaluates students on grammatical skills and use of language. College admission essays also help an institute in evaluating how cohesive a student is in enumerating his ideas, ascertaining what the student intends to gain by taking admission to a particular course of study and whether he is fit for the program or not. With this view in mind, educational institutes often ask students to write essays on a myriad of subjects and the most esoteric and obscure of topics. A student is expected to put pen to paper (or fingers to the keyboard) and rustle up an assorted conglomeration of facts or a palatable and well thought out concoction of idea-fact-imagination-points of view, as per requirement. College admission essay is an excellent tool to not only evaluate how good a person is with the language but also to understand how well informed and logical he is in his approach. It also allows the educational institutes to understand how capable a student is in expressing his views on a topical subject. The most common college admission essay is the “Statement of Purpose”, where a student is expected to explain clearly why he is interested in pursuing a certain course. A college admission essay can also be argumentative, descriptive, definitive, critical, narrative, informative, analytical or technical in nature.
Essay writing develops sensibilities, hones creativity, encourages lateral thinking, promotes freedom of expression and helps inculcate interests in areas that are not directly linked to one’s academics. Students also learn how to write concise and to-the-point essays to suit specific requirements-- such as summary writing. The process of essay writing makes a student aware of the importance of: correct usage of grammar, readability of the essay, accuracy of facts and proper presentation of ideas in addition to developing editing skills. A college admission essay is often a reflection of the writer’s personality and the way he interprets the world. When a student is writing a descriptive essay or a narrative essay-all his language skills and creativity are put to use, whereas when a student is writing a technical essay or an analysis essay all his analytical, quantitative and data interpretation skills are put to use. While writing a critical essay, a student is expected to develop enough expertise on a subject to be able to present a well thought out critique. An argumentative essay helps a student develop ideas to substantiate his thoughts and allows him to take a stand on a particular subject. Therefore it is apt to say that essay writing in general and writing college admission essays in particular helps students in more ways than one; and at the same time helps an institution to gauge an applicant’s capabilities. The ability to write well is often required in a person’s life--be it a sales report or a thesis; and a college admission essay ensures that a student understands the importance of writing skills very early in life. A college admission essay submitted by an applicant should never be judged in isolation-rather it should be judged in conjunction with the times that we live in and the socio-economic-political condition of the country at that point in time.