Hello, I’m doing my application for USMMA and this is the school I want to go to more than anything. I am good on everything but this biographical essay and my math act. I know why I want to go. 1 small academy 2 can go into any branch after graduation 3 study abroad while in school 4 want to go to sailing school 5 interested in maritime engineering. But I don’t want this essay to sound like everyone else’s. What can I do, and does anyone have act advice. Thank you
Essay
- Thread starter why not?
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Why did you even start looking at MMA. What are the why's behind the why's listed above. Why might yo want to continue in the Merchant Marine. What advantages do you see for yourself and how can th Merchant Marine benefit from having you in it? In my mind it's those things that make it personal, provided you pour yourself into explaining them. Just one man's two cents.
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1. Be genuine.
2. Proper grammar and punctuation.
2. Proper grammar and punctuation.
KP2020Dad
DS - USMMA '20
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- Mar 2, 2015
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Here's the advice I gave my son when he was in your position...1) Like KPEngineer said, be genuine. Don't write what you think people want to hear. That never works. 2) Everyone knows what KP or any other service academy can do for them, write what you can offer to the academy, what sets you apart. If you are sincere, it will not sound like everyone else. 3) Mention what the academy can do for you...and then tell how that will benefit your community and country. This is one of five federal service academies...you are not going there to earn a great degree for free, how will this experience help you serve? Finally, one more lesson from KPEngineer (because everyone applying is smart), use proper grammar and punctuation. Have others read it...spell check won't put a red line under "form" when you meant "from"...and you will read what you meant to say, not what you wrote. Good luck.
be authentic. tell them why KP is your dream?
Google "Hacking the College Essay 2017" and read it.
Write the Essay No One Else Could Write
"It boils down to this: the essay that gets you in is the essay that no other applicant could write.
Is this a trick? The rest of this guide gives you the best strategies to accomplish this single
most important thing: write the essay no one else could write.
If someone reading your essay gets the feeling some other applicant could have written it,
then you’re in trouble.
Why is this so important? Because most essays sound like they could have been written by
anyone. Remember that most essays fail to do what they should: replace numbers (SAT/GPA) with the real you.
Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer. She’s got limited time and a stack of
applications. Each application is mostly numbers and other stuff that looks the same. Then she picks
up your essay. Sixty seconds later, what is her impression of you? Will she know something specifically
about you? Or will you still be indistinguishable from the hundreds of other applicants she has been
reading about?"
Write the Essay No One Else Could Write
"It boils down to this: the essay that gets you in is the essay that no other applicant could write.
Is this a trick? The rest of this guide gives you the best strategies to accomplish this single
most important thing: write the essay no one else could write.
If someone reading your essay gets the feeling some other applicant could have written it,
then you’re in trouble.
Why is this so important? Because most essays sound like they could have been written by
anyone. Remember that most essays fail to do what they should: replace numbers (SAT/GPA) with the real you.
Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer. She’s got limited time and a stack of
applications. Each application is mostly numbers and other stuff that looks the same. Then she picks
up your essay. Sixty seconds later, what is her impression of you? Will she know something specifically
about you? Or will you still be indistinguishable from the hundreds of other applicants she has been
reading about?"
joriebelle
Member
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2017
- Messages
- 292
I will add something here though; when my son visited the Academy, he went to a presentation and the Admissions person told them that whatever they wrote, he would read. He said it did NOT have to be brief; he wanted to get to know the person. I thought that was interesting.