Ask a counselor

Q: I heard once that a student sent cookies with his essay to butter up the admissions people. Should I do something cute like that? What would really impress the admissions staff?

A: Trust me. Impress college admissions professionals with a well-thought-out essay, one that is free of grammatical mistakes, answers the question that is posed and allows the reader to get to know a little more about who the writer is.
Cookies, while they may taste good, cannot possibly express about you what we need to know in order to make an informed decision about your future educational plans. The college selection process is all about making the right fit for you and the college or university.
The best way to ensure that fit is to visit the school and get to know the students, faculty and admissions professionals to see if you want to spend the next four years there. Asking questions every step of the way shows your interest in the school and is impressive to the admissions staff. The school needs to assess where you are academically, and look at what you can bring to their institution in areas such as community service, leadership, a special talent and/or other extracurricular activities that you have been involved in. Essays, letters of recommendation, transcripts, interviews, visits to campus and having contacts at the college all play a role in the process. You should pride yourself on knowing all you can about the school you are looking at. That is impressive as well. Nothing cute is necessary to get into a college or university.
Be yourself. If we see the real you and accept you to our school, chances are we have made the right fit. And that is what this process is all about.

Thomas Nesbitt is director of admissions at the State University of New York at Potsdam.

Article provided by