Essay Tip - What to Do If You Procrastinated
It was after midnight last night, and I was editing a statement of purpose. I
don t like to work after midnight, however,this particular client has
connections: She is my daughter. Yes folks, my daughter, who has heard me
complain for years about applicants who wait until the last minute to write
their statements of purpose, personal statements, and application essays, has
waited until the eleventh hour to finally sit down and do what she should have
done weeks ago. Not the way to write a statement of purpose.
If the power of procrastination, events beyond your control, those within your
control, or all the above have conspired to put you in her situation, you are in
good, albeit very tired, company.
What should you do now?
First of all, procrastinate no more! Sit down and write the thing. Lock
yourself up. Remove distractions. Hopefully you have at least been thinking
about your essays and know the direction you want to go.
Jot down an outline to serve as a guideline and filter.
Write the essays without stopping to edit.
After you write an entire draft, edit.
Go to sleep or go do something else.
Edit the essay again by printing it out and reading it out loud.
If you have time, show your statement of purpose to someone else — preferably
at a more reasonable hour than my child did. If you don t know someone who is
familiar with admission and who knows how to edit, consider
Accepted.com s
editing services.
Finally, allow time for the delivery service to do its work . If you are
applying online, be aware that servers can be very slow in the last hour or two
before a deadline. Again, allow time.
If you have procrastinated so long that the essay just isn t good, consider
applying for a later round if you have that option or even next year.
Linda Abraham, Accepted.com s founder and president, has helped thousands of applicants develop successful admissions strategies and craft distinctive essays. In addition to advising clients and managing http://www.Accepted.com, she has written and lectured extensively on admissions. The Wall St. Journal, The New York Times, and BusinessWeek are among the publications that have sought Linda s expertise.
Related post
Your College Admissions Essay - 10 Tips to Improve It
Your College Admissions Essay - 10 Tips to Improve ItBy Kristie Lorette
Your college admissions essay can t be great. It has to be unbelievable...
How To Write An Effective Scholarship Essay
How To Write An Effective Scholarship EssayBy Andre Alonzo
Because the majority of scholarships require applicants to write at least one essay,...
MBA Applications and Your Application Essay
MBA Applications and Your Application EssayBy Thomas Suh
Ivy League admission officials revealed that the best chance of a candidate to get acc...
Admissions Writing - Answer the Question
Admissions Writing - Answer the QuestionBy Linda Abraham
Recently my twenty-year-old son applied to a certain summer program and
needed to res...
A Superb Essay in Just One Week
A Superb Essay in Just One WeekBy Amber C. Smith
Okay, you really shouldn t be putting off your essay until the week before its due when you re...