Admission Essay Writing: Be Honest

Do you have to write an admissions essay to include with your application to a college, university, or other higher education institution? Are you stumped with what you should write about? While there are going to be tons of ideas floating around in your head, there is one element to an admissions essay that you absolutely cannot overlook. You must be completely honest in your admissions essay. This is not to say that you cannot embellish a little for dramatic effect; however, you have to still be truthful. There is a huge difference between embellishing and telling a blatant lie. Most institutions hold “veritas” or the truth very high in their standards and policies.

When you lie in writing it is obvious to the readers. The admissions essay will read like a narrative about characters instead as a written essay about real events or opinions. Furthermore, it will be hard for you to remember all of the lies that you told in an admissions essay and the essay is typically referenced in the interview. If you lie in the essay and then cannot back up the information in the interview, then you are certainly not going to be accepted. While you may not have crazy stories to talk about, there are plenty of normal and plain instances that you can reference that are just as compelling. You can talk about:

  • Leadership- You can write about any time that you have taken on the role of a leader in order to make a positive impact.
  • Honesty- You can tell a story about a time that you were honest in a challenging situation.
  • Loyalty- There can be a story about a time when you were loyal even when you did not really want to be just because it was the right thing to do.
  • Struggle- Have you ever had a personal struggle that you overcame? Panels love to read about triumph in the face of adversity.
  • Competition- If you have competed panels want to hear about it. Whether you won or lost it does not matter.
  • Success- Winning in the face of challenges or struggles is always a great story.
  • Consistency- Talk about your ability to be consistent and unwavering.
  • Humor- You can talk about a time that your humor made a positive impact.

All of these elements of life are just as interesting as a wild story that another student might tell. Furthermore, the panel will appreciate your honesty and candidness with writing the truth, instead of a lie.