How To Write The Poly EAE Application Writeup

How To Write The Poly EAE Application Writeup

One of the biggest challenges secondary school students face when applying for the Early Admissions Exercise (EAE) is the application write-up.

I always tell my students that they have to submit a good write-up. After all, polytechnics receive thousands of EAE applications a year. If your write-up is shoddy or unimpressive, then chances are you are not going to make it to the interviews. What’s more, they are going to base their selection solely on your application (after all, they don’t even know you in person so you can’t really blame them). This is sad but true.

Welcome to harsh reality.

In this second-parter to the EAE (click here for the first-parter), I’m going to discuss how you can perfect the EAE application write-up and secure your place at the interview.

#Tip 1: Share Your Passion

Almost everyone will claim they are interested in the course. Therefore, be a maverick and write something different. This is a powerful strategy that I find lacking in most of the EAE application write-ups I have seen.

Share how you discovered your passion for that particular field or industry. For example, if you are going to apply for the Diploma in Hospitality and Tourism Management, then you could share how you were impressed by the warmth and service extended to you during your oversea hotel stays on family vacations…letting you have a feeling of a home away from home. And in turn, you want to be able to do this similarly for others to brighten their days.

If you are applying for the Diploma in Early Childhood Education, then share how you helped to babysit young pre-schoolers or toddlers (they could be your own little brother/sister or your neighbour’s kid)…and by doing so, how you learnt about the different behaviours that children exhibit and the basic skills needed to handle them competently.

If you applying for the Diploma in Aviation Management, then write something along the lines of how passionate you are about flying an aeroplane as you always marvel at the fact that aeroplanes take off and land smoothly. Perhaps also include the fact that you play the flight and air traffic control simulator as your hobby and see yourself as a future pilot sending passengers safely to and from the arms of their loved ones.

Vis-a-vis my three samples on how passion guided my choice of polytechnic course, I hope you are able to see how crucial it is to include this in the EAE application write-up.

The bottom line is to choose only courses that you are truly passionate and not because you have to fill up the three options. It is perfectly fine to list only one course if that’s what you really like.

eae-application-writeup

#Tip 2: List Your Accomplishments That Are Relevant

Besides sharing your passion, you should also list your accomplishment(s) that are relevant to the course so to demonstrate your enthusiasm and interest.

For example, if you are applying for the Diploma in Information Technology, show how you dabble with codes, the number of downloads you have on GitHub, the actual websites that you’ve built.

If you are applying for the Diploma in Media and Communication, then you should showcase your Youtube video productions, the number of followers you have on social media platforms such as your blog, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter etc.

Remember, the accomplishment(s) has to be relevant to the course.

#Tip 3: Show Your Aptitude For Applied Learning

The focus in polytechnic is all about applied learning. Have you attended any activities or courses that show your aptitude for this?

For example, if you have attended Advanced Elective Modules (AEM) or entered competitions, it would be great to list them to demonstrate your flair.

#Tip 4: Include CCAs That Are Relevant

Co-curricular activities (CCAs) are there for a reason. The worst scenario is to join a CCA just to collect CCA points. If you belong to this category, then I really don’t know what to say.

Students join CCAs because they are interested in a sport, club or uniformed group. Make full use of your participation in your CCA to show relevance and connection to the course you are interested in.

For example, if you are applying for the Diploma in Mass Communications, then you should mention you were the school’s newsletter club editor and your actual contributions.

It is better to join one CCA and run for a leadership position (e.g. president, treasurer, secretary etc) instead of joining a bunch of CCAs and become a sleeping member.

#Tip 5: Keep To The Character Count

As painful as it is, you have to keep to the 600 character count. This means that every alphabet, punctuation and spacing is just as important.

With a limited number of characters, don’t waste them. Therefore don’t include generic stuff like “I love this course very much” or “please accept me”.

It is best to start drafting your write-up on Microsoft Word and then do a character count before copying and pasting it into the online EAE application form.

With a 600 character limit, it is good to go way past the 500 character limit. This will be a safe range. Consider elaborating if you fall short of the character count. If you have exceeded, then you have to be more terse in your language.

The EAE application write-up is a good gauge of one’s maturity in summing up the last sixteen years of your life. Therefore you have to be succinct yet impressive. If you start thinking, researching and preparing early, I believe you will be successful in your EAE application write-up. All the best!