Is College Essay Mandatory: Universities It’s not an Option

Usually, students write an essay when they are applying for admission to a college, graduate school, or university. University applications are not the same. The topics are different and other colleges make the writing optional or just an extra requirement.

Through essays, a college or university will be able to profile you as a person. This means they can know you beyond your academic records or test scores. As a student, you have the chance to articulate academic goals. In addition to this, a school will know your writing capabilities by reading your essay.

Essays written for admission are sometimes called personal statements or admission essays. This is different from how you write other essays while in school.

The essays require student to state what they hope or plan to achieve at the end of their stay in the institution.

Also, the reason for wishing to join the specific university and what you expect to achieve at the end of the course should be included in the essay. In many ways, it presents you with a chance to give an exclusive and interesting description of yourself.

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Is College Essay Mandatory?                      

While most colleges require an essay during admission, few don’t. If you are one of those students who are terrified by the thought of writing admission essays, there are a few options you have to evade your fears.

Reasons Some Colleges Do Not Need Essays:

1. Unavailability of Resources    

The process of assessing each student’s essay needs manpower, energy, and time. If a school has fewer resources, it will be costly to evaluate each essay.

The overall cost of administering these essays overshadows the sole reason for trying to extract more information from students. As such, some colleges only give essays to students taking competitive programs such as nursing and engineering. They can also insist on essays if students are joining on scholarships.

2. Easy Process of Admission

There are colleges and universities that exempt essay writing to attract more applicants. Excluding a mandatory requirement for essays makes the process of admission easy.

In this case, only basic demographic details, previous academic records, and test scores are needed. Therefore, a school will be able to avoid the intensive essay process thereby attracting more applicants.

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Why Do Universities Ask For College Essays?

University admission officers use college essays to know you better beyond what you have stated in your academic achievements. When applying for admission to a university, your test scores and extracurricular qualifications are not enough to evaluate your suitability to join the institution.

This is the reason why you are required to write an essay that will be used by your university to gauge a different perspective of you.

If you narrate a good essay with creative stories and put a personal touch, you stand a chance to get priority in admission.

It is a good chance to outshine other applicants who have similar academic profiles.

Admission officers want to know more about the student they are admitting. For this reason, some universities will insist on a diversity essay. This is an essay that is written with a focus on beliefs, and a wide variety of perspectives and backgrounds.

The essay unveils a student’s true identity and home background making it easy for the university to know a student better.  The different cultures and characteristics discussed in these essays have a positive impact on the campus community.

Ideally, an essay carries a quarter of the weight of your application. Even though academic qualifications are pivotal, you will stand out among others if you write a good essay.

To please your admission officers, come up with a standout essay. It should have a personally significant title that is unique. To capture your reader’s attention, create an introduction with a fascinating hook.

Choose specific stories that are authentic and will aim at getting the reader’s attention. The writing style and tone should be clear. With all this in place, a creative ending will polish the essay to pave the way for your impending admission to your new institution.

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Universities That Do Not Ask For College Essays and the Alternative

Some universities will not need essay writing as part of the admission requirements.

Instead, students can submit their academic transcripts, GPA, and test scores to get admission. Below are some of these universities:

• University of Alaska
• Alabama state university
• University of South Florida
• California state university
• University of Alabama
• Drew university
• Connecticut college
• Kenyon college
• New Jersey institute of technology
• Furman university
• Grinnell college
• Colby college
• Drexel university
• Case Western Reserve University
• Siena college
• Northeastern university
• University of Iowa
• University of New Hampshire
• Farleigh Dickinson university
• University of Pittsburgh
• Northern Arizona university
• University of Idaho
• Mississippi state university
• University of New Mexico
• University of Alaska Anchorage

The above list is not exhaustive as other hundreds of universities can admit you without an essay. In addition, most of the local community colleges do not need essays for initial enrolment. Also, private liberal arts colleges do not need essays for admission.