by May Plaige

Created on: February 01, 2009

One thing that is important to remember when applying for college is that standing out from the crowd does not always guarantee a win. If your grades are below average and you can't write an essay, no amount of originality is going to earn you admission. Many college and scholarship applicants have tried sending gifts, pulling publicity stunts, and sending their application in an alternative but original format (video essay, anyone?) to only be turned away because the application parameters themselves just weren't met well enough by the applicant. When it comes down to it, most admissions committees first and foremost look at the applicant's ability to follow directions and meet the criteria of the application, and to meet those criteria well. That being said, there are original and creative ways to meet criteria and still stand out, and these are the kinds of things which may not only catch the committee's attention, but also impress them, which is what you should be aiming for.

The best, most effective, and possibly easiest way to stand out from the crowd in an essay-based college application is, well, in the essay. Putting a creative twist on the prompt or question which is posed to you for the essay topic, or using the essay to display your most distinguishing aspects can create an impression on the application reviewers that can be hard to shake, if you do it right. It may take some writing talent and quite a bit of creative juices, but using the essay to advertise yourself as a mature and experienced individual, or someone able to think outside the box, can have quite an impression on the essay readers. For example, the Rotary Club has a "4-way Test," comprised of four questions one asks him/herself before performing an action. One year, for their scholarship application, the Rotary Club required applicants to write an essay explaining how they would use the 4-way Test in their lives. One applicant wrote about how, unknowingly, she had already used the 4-way Test in her life, and had been using it for much of her teen years. The creative twist and bold statement stood out from the other essays, and because it was well-written and still answered the question, she won the scholarship.

If your writing skills aren't that great and you're not feeling that creative, though, working towards an original essay may seem daunting. This isn't necessarily true, and you don't want to skimp on essay originality because doing so will greatly lessen your chances of being

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