8 Questions Your College Essay Should Answer

Your college essay should reflect your opinions and experiences and display clear and critical thinking. It’s more than a list of facts or a highlight reel of successes; it helps college admissions officers understand your character. So show them who you are. Set yourself apart from other candidates by painting a vivid picture of yourself. Colleges may provide writing prompts or leave the topic up to you. Whether requirements are specific or vague, your college essay should answer important questions to grab the attention of each college admissions officer who reads it. It depends . If you have a high GPA, competitive test scores, and stand-out extracurricular activities, acceptance is less likely to hinge on your essay. If you’re on the borderline, an essay can’t make up for inadequate scores or stats, but a good essay might give you the edge over another student. Even at top schools, college essays can make a difference by allowing your personality, passions, and determination to show through. Schools like students with a track record of success. Your essay can show them where you shine and what benefits you’d bring to their community. According to the College Board, â€Å"a majority of colleges and universities believe the essay to be of considerable or moderate importance in determining which academically qualified students they would choose.† Since colleges take essays seriously, you should, too. Including all the facts, feelings, and impressions necessary to set you apart in 600 words is a tall order, but you can do it. Below are questions your college essay might address to get the right kind of attention. Consider these common prompts before you write. Then write to the supplied prompt or choose your own focus. First create an outline and estimate how long each section should be before you start writing. Some schools put no upper limit on size, but if you write more than 700 words, overworked admissions officers become frustrated. Aim for about 550 to 600 words. If you mention specific things about a college, get the facts straight. Mention courses, programs, or opportunities that show you’ve done research. Don’t feel you need to praise the school too much. This isn’t about buttering people up; it’s about showing how you’d fit into the college environment. Share something specific to emphasize what makes you a good fit. Describe how the school would benefit from your presence. Mention planned majors or extracurriculars that show how you’d take advantage of their resources. Demonstrate that you’re ready to be active in classes, leadership opportunities, or other activities. Show that you’re self-aware. Share your plans. Don’t know what you’ll major in? Focus on your most likely general field of study. Discuss what drew you to it and what you’ll do in future. How is the college the best place for you to meet those goals? Focus on one or two; don’t mention too many things without addressing any in depth. This question assesses planning abilities and awareness of strengths. If you see yourself going on to graduate school, describe what you’ll study. Express how you’ll use undergraduate time to prepare for that future. Describe resources that will help you achieve your goals. Show that you’re open to considering further study once you see how you develop during college. Even if you don’t intend to go to grad school, demonstrate that you’re a devoted student. Focus on how you’ll benefit from undergraduate work. Describe how much it matters to have a first-rate undergrad education. Estimating your chance of getting into a college is not easy in today’s competitive environment. Thankfully, with our state-of-the-art software and data, we can analyze your academic and extracurricular profile and estimate your chances. Our profile analysis tool can also help you identify the improvement you need to make to enter your dream school. A cardinal rule of good writing is: Show, don’t tell. Don’t tell colleges how important something is— show them what you’ve done. Describe times when you’ve taken action. Write about instances when discipline and persistence helped you. Show evidence of initiative and determination. Describe examples of self-starting behavior so readers imagine you in action. Extracurriculars show evidence of determination, creativity, teamwork, passion, or civic-mindedness. They clarify what you value, what motivates you, what sets you apart. Give examples of ways you’ve pushed yourself outside of school. Which challenges did you overcome? Focus on one or two and make an impression with personal details. Describing extracurriculars that show talents and interests is valuable. Consider also showing concern for others. Have you volunteered, tutored, been a counselor, helped parents with their business, or worked after school? How do you challenge yourself as part of a team? Help readers see how well you’d integrate into their community. Don’t talk about lofty principles; give examples of problems you’ve solved. Write about ways in which you’ve overcome obstacles. Willingness to get help is good—knowing limits is healthy. Being willing to get assistance and learn from others is impressive. If you show how you’ve improved after getting help, you show willingness to stick to difficult tasks. Don’t list characteristics; focus on behaviors. Enthusiasm, attitude, and drive are easier to see if you explain that you used them to start a club, work at a dog shelter, or build a boat. Let readers imagine you doing and succeeding. Share times you did something you’re proud of. Let that behavior illuminate who you are. Once you’ve written your college essay, set it aside, then   re-read it with fresh eyes. Get at least one person (a teacher or counselor is ideal) to proofread i it. Show what you care about and what makes you different. Then you’ll really shine! If you’re supplied with a writing prompt, read it carefully. Your essay shows how well you follow directions. Some schools don’t ask a question or suggest a topic; those that do want to see that you address it directly. Don’t let your essay feel generic or written to answer a different prompt. What’s the reason for the prompt? What does the college hope to learn? Sarah Myers McGinty , author of The College Application Essay , says essays often uncover how well a student might fit at the school, or show whether a student can do the work. She says colleges tend to ask three kinds of questions: Before writing to a prompt, take time to consider what kind of question it asks. What is the college really interested in learning about you? Write to address that interest. Make answers specific and personal. Don’t write too broadly. Don’t tell your life story or echo the rest of your application. Focus on one thing in detail. Make your story something readers won’t find elsewhere. It should be less about experiences than about how you respond to them. Differentiate yourself from others. Don’t just describe what happened—reflect on it. Just telling a story isn’t the point. Giving a glimpse into how you think is more important. Show what insights you’ve gained from experiences. Creative doesn’t mean unfocused. If a college essay prompt is meant to show creativity, you must still write a detailed, logical essay with a point. Avoid meandering or pretention. Even off-the-wall prompts require well-written responses. Don’t let parents or teachers influence your style so much that you sound like they do. Write in your own voice. Also, stick to the truth; don’t embellish your history. Be careful with humor. Writing vividly without trying to be funny usually works best. Show enthusiasm but avoid jokes or humor that might offend or confuse admissions officers or professors who read what you write. Don’t write a sob story. Students often write about unusual challenges. Stories about adversity have built-in drama and evoke sympathy. But sympathy alone won’t get you admitted. Don’t rely too heavily on emotions; include important facts. If you focus on challenges, describe how you overcame them. Because college essays can be so important, consider taking advantage of ’s Essay Editing Program . specialists review and provide professional insights and suggestions to help students see how to write stronger, more coherent and appealing essays. Work with an essay specialist by signing up for the full program to improve overall essay-writing skills, or have a single essay reviewed as needed—it’s your choice. We don’t write student essays, of course, but we’ll help you craft a high-quality personal essay that attracts positive attention and sets you apart. 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GAAP Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

GAAP - Term Paper Example These rules are widely accepted and used as a popular accounting method. â€Å"GAAP is established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board†. (InvestorWords2011) The GAAP first became a popular accounting method in the 1930’s and has been a popular method ever since. GAAP works in many different ways. The GAAP is not a required way of accounting but is preferred by many. GAAP is a way for companies to have their finances written out. The GAAP method is important and helps to insure accuracy and honesty. When businesses use the same accounting method it makes it easy to record and access materials. Statements prepared within this method are prepared with strict standards. Following standards for the GAAP method make it harder for accountants to have a chance for embezzlement or fraud. Accountants using the GAAP as a way to produce statements have very little room for error. When accountants do not use this method is when one should worry about the accuracy of the documents. It is important to remember that GAAP is a set of standards that must be followed. (Investopedia2011) Standards and rules for the GAAP are very important for creating financial documents. Financial documents prepared according to this method show accountants a specific way to prepare the documents. The rules show how to show an income, loss and many other accounting statements. There are over 100 rules that show different methods of reporting transactions. These methods are evaluated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. This board regulates and exams the rules set out by the GAAP. There are many pros and cons to using the GAAP method. The method offers many positive things to the world of accounting. Before the GAAP there was never really a set method to creating financial documents. The GAAP rules and standards allow those preparing financial documents to prepare documents in the same manner. Preparing documents in the same manner can allow other

Management Planning Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Management Planning Paper - Essay Example The human resource function‘s main purpose would be to analyze the interviewing, recruitment and appraisal of staff within the company. Southwest’s human resource policy (prior to the acquisition of AirTran) showed that the company hired a low number of staff within its organization; this number was such that Southwest operated with an average of 62 employees per plane as compared to Delta’s 114 employees per plane. On acquiring AirTran, this number gradually increased the number of employees because of the fact that Gary Kelly (CEO of Southwest Airline) did not want to lay off any of the staff of AirTran and make them redundant. The Human resource function would need to get active in this case so as to combine different cultures of the organization concerned. Financial management within Southwest airline would require proper analysis of the financial functions within the organization such as preparing the financial statements, keeping up with the budgets, etc. St rategic management would require proper strategies to be build so as to keep the company growing in the long-run, an example of strategic management within Southwest airline is the decision made by its CEO of acquiring AirTran, Scientific management would involve aspects reading improvement of labor and economic efficiency. It can be identified as the policy of not offering expensive snacks during flights, nil baggage costs, etc (Whelan, 2011). These four departments would need to be linked effectively in order to make any strategy successful. The basic idea would be that the Strategic management department (at the top of the hierarchy of an organization) would make up strategies and communicate them to other departments down the line. Later, these departments would be highly involved in properly understanding and implementing the strategies in such as way that organization’s growth would become the motto of each and every personnel within the organization. Communication with in the department would be made in such a way that knowledge sharing would be appreciated. The Human Resource department would only hire employees based upon the vacant job description i.e. efficient recruitment. The Finance department would be involved in preparing proper budgets and other financial statements for the organization. The strategic management division (which would involve top level employees e.g. CEO, Directors, etc) would be involved in formulating, evaluating and monitoring the policies and procedures within the organization. The four main areas of growth and change for each of the departments mentioned above would be: Human Resource department: i) Proper induction of employees, ii) Proper training for new and former employees, iii) Effective and efficient measure being put up for employee appraisal; iv) Dealing with redundancy issues Strategic Management Division : i) Strategies made should be have long term effect, ii) Company’s objective should be properly considered while such strategies are made, iii) Growth of the division would be possible when experienced directors/senior manager would be hired e.g. experienced non-executive directors, iv) Proper competitor analysis as a basis of not committing error being committed by them Scientific management: i) Proper training, ii) elimination of wastages, iii) learning through