When you are writing your college essays, you will employ a number of terms and usages that don’t appear commonly in other types of writing. These are all questions we have encountered in college essays. Now a usage error will not earn you a rejection, obviously, but it never hurts to be familiar with the correct way to refer to these terms. It shows attention to detail, and that is one of the things schools are looking for in their candidates.
There is more than one way to write many of the terms listed here, so in certain cases there is no absolute answer, and, in fact, some of these usages are in flux. If you are referring to a specific school, you should check the school website to see what the school prefers (e.g., first reference—University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, second reference—Michigan Ross).
Here is a general guide that you can refer to. It generally adheres to The Associated Press Stylebook 2020–2022 and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th Edition. This list is obviously not all-inclusive and if you have any questions, as always, when in doubt look it up.
Academic Degrees: Capitalize a degree that is part of a title but do not use periods: BS, MD, JD, PhD. Some style guides suggest using a period; make sure either way you are consistent. When referring to a degree in general terms use lowercase and the possessive apostrophe (it is not master or masters). I want to obtain a master’s degree. I am currently working on my bachelor’s degree. If you are referring to a specific degree, capitalize and do not use an apostrophe: John Smith, Master of Fine Arts. Patricia Jones, Bachelor of Sciences.
Academic Year: The first time you use the academic year, use lower-case for the season and the full year, no comma: fall term 2021. After that, you can abbreviate the year with a backward apostrophe (on a Mac: Option + Shift +]; in Word: Ctrl + Q, Quote, Quote): fall term ’21.
Adviser vs. Advisor: Adviser has always been the preferred traditional usage, but advisor has gained in popularity.
Alumnus: A man who has attended a school is an alumnus. A woman who has attended a school is an alumna. More than one man or a group of men and women are alumni. A group consisting exclusively of women are alumnae.
Capitalize: The following should all be capitalized: names of apps (e.g., YouTube, Zoom), blogs, books, comic strips or cartoons, films, journals, magazines, newspapers, operas, paintings, plays, poems, radio and television programs, record albums, songs, video games, websites.
Class Year: Capitalize the word Class when referring to a specific graduation class. My mother was part of the Class of 1989. If you want to refer to a class and abbreviate to two digits, use a backward apostrophe: Patricia Jones ’89. Freshman, sophomore, junior, and senior are not capitalized when referring to class year designations.
Colors: Although colors are not capitalized in general usage, capitalize when you are referring to the colors of a specific school. The LSU Purple and Gold. The University of North Carolina colors are Carolina Blue and White.
Days/Dates: Days should always be capitalized (and written out completely in all but informal communication). Friday is my favorite day of the week. Months should always be capitalized but can be abbreviated when referring to a specific date—remember to use a period at the end of the month abbreviation (Nov. 22, 1963).
Dogs: Some students write essays about their pets. Rules vary; some guides advise capitalizing the breed. Most rules suggest the only words that should be capitalized are words that come from proper nouns: Yorkshire terrier, basset hound, poodle.
Earth: Earth is a common topic in college essays. Capitalize Earth when referring to it as a planet or in terms of astronomy. The Earth is larger than Mars. Do not capitalize earth if you are referring to the soil or in a general sense. I want to study earth sciences. The same rule applies to the sun and the moon. The Earth is smaller than the Sun but larger than the Moon. Saturn has many moons.
Email/E-mail: Email was once the traditional spelling but e-mail is the preferred usage today. Either usage is correct, but again consistency is the most important thing.
Ethnicity: The current rule for African American, Asian American, Native American is that no hyphen is necessary. Black and white are acceptable as adjectives. Black teachers, white students. Current usage is that Black is always capitalized, but white is not. The terms Blacks and whites are generally not used by themselves as plurals to describe populations or groups of people anymore. There is no clear consensus on Hispanic/Latino/Latina/LatinX. If a school you are applying to has a guide that mentions which term it prefers, use that one. If not, use the term you are comfortable with and be consistent.
Facebook: Social media companies like Facebook and Instagram are capitalized.
Google: Current style is to capitalize Google, when it is used as a noun. It is also becoming common to capitalize when it is used as a verb. I Googled the information for my paper. However several guides still suggest using lowercase if using as a verb, in the manner of Xerox, which is generally lowercase as a verb. I xeroxed several copies of my paper.
GPA: If you are referring to your GPA, it should be capitalized (My GPA is 3.95).
Grades: Grades are capitalized. I received an A last semester. When discussing plural grades do not use apostrophes. I have two As and four Bs on my transcript.
Health Care: If you are referring to the delivery of health services, that is, health care as a noun, split the words. Health care is becoming more expensive every year. If you are using the term as an adjective, make it one word: healthcare costs, healthcare personnel.
High School: It’s high school, two words. Never highschool. This is among the most common errors in college essays. Two words.
Internet: In Great Britain, internet is usually lowercase. In the United States, most style guides have switched to this style; do not capitalize internet.
Italics: Italicize book titles, newspapers (but not the word the—The New York Times), journals, magazines, plays, long poems (long enough to appear in a book by themselves), films, radio and television programs, artworks, names of ships and aircraft (Apollo 11). Italicize short phrases you really want to emphasize. Italicize unfamiliar foreign words the first time you use them. There is no general rule for certain terms (E. coli) and in those cases, consistency rules the day.
Judaism, Islam, Christianity: All religions should be capitalized. God should be capitalized when referring to the Supreme Being worshipped by the major religions. It should not be capitalized when it is used in another sense—Elvis was a rock-and-roll god. Capitalize but do not use italics or quotation marks for the Bible and the Qur’an. Do not use italics or quotation marks when you are mentioning individual books and suras (when named and not numbered): John 3:16 is a well-known passage of the Bible. Specific editions of the Bible are italicized: New International Version, King James Bible. The chief religious figure of a synagogue is a rabbi. As a general term, it is not capitalized—I spoke with the rabbi. As a title followed by an identified person, it is capitalized—I spoke with Rabbi Cohen.
Majors: If you are referring to your major, it should not be capitalized (I want to major in chemistry). The exception to the rule on majors is languages (I want to major in French). Likewise, do not capitalize the names of classes you took in grade school or high school, unless it was a language (I took math, science, social studies, and English). Capitalize (and use quotations for) the name of a specific class (I took “Poetry in the Middle Ages”). Capitalize AP (advanced placement) and IB (International Baccalaureate) when referring to these specialized classes.
Military: Capitalize the branches of the US military—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. Other countries military branches are usually not capitalized—Russian army, Japanese navy.
Nonprofit: Nonprofit is a noun and it is not hyphenated. Non-profit is incorrect. Not-for-profit is a similar term that can be a noun or an adjective. I intend to work for a not-for-profit organization this summer. Not-for-profit is hyphenated.
Numbers: Numbers less than 10 should be spelled out. Numbers greater than 10 can either be spelled out or written as numerals. The only exception is a sentence that uses both a number less than 10 and a number greater than 10 in a comparison. The halfback gained 5 yards in the first quarter and 77 in the second quarter. Any number that begins a sentence should be spelled out.
Percent: The AP style guide recently revised how to write percent, which is a common term for students applying to college. Use the % sign when paired with a numeral, with no space—I am in the top 5% of my class. For amounts less than 1%, precede the decimal with a zero—Inflation rose last month by 0.5%. If you are using the term casually, write out percent as one word—I don’t know what percent of my paycheck to deposit in the bank.
Qur’an: Can be written as the Koran or Quran. Use Muslim, rather than Moslem. The preferred spelling for the Prophet is Mohammed. Capitalize Prophet when it stands alone when referring to Mohammed. The leader of a prayer in a Muslim mosque is an imam. Imam is lowercase unless it is used as a title before a person’s name.
Religious Catholic school terms: There are a number of Catholic colleges whose founding orders have their own style guides for religious terms, including the largest, the Jesuits. If you are writing essays to apply to a specific Catholic school, you should refer to its style guide. Among the most comprehensive style guides are those issued by Marquette University and Santa Clara University. Some general rules: Catholic is capitalized when it is anything religious—I go to Catholic school.; it is not capitalized when it means broad-minded or all-embracing—I have catholic tastes in music. I like all different styles. Church is not capitalized unless you are referring to a specific church—I go to church every Sunday. I go to St. Gregory Church every Sunday. Mass, referring to the eucharistic liturgy of the Catholic church, is always capitalized. I go to Mass every Sunday. (The priest says or celebrates Mass; he does not read, perform, recite, or conduct it.) Christ is always capitalized, as is Jesuit, Dominican, or Franciscan. Cross is never capitalized, unless it refers to the specific Cross Jesus was crucified on (and a cross is a crucifix only if it displays Jesus on it). Titles like bishop, archbishop, cardinal, father, sister, and pope are all lowercase, unless they are followed by a specific person’s name; then, they are always capitalized. A new pope was named last year. Yesterday, Pope John XXIII spoke in the Vatican.
Times: Although most students don’t think about it, writing times is one of the most common usages in their essays and in the emails they write to the schools they apply to. The most accepted way of writing “a.m.” and “p.m.” is with lowercase letters with periods after them. (Some guides suggest small caps with no periods, but those are less widely accepted.) There should always be a space between the time and the “a.m.” or “p.m.” that follows. So the correct way to write it is 3:00 p.m., not 3:00pm or 3:00p.m. 3 p.m. is acceptable, but 3:00 p.m. is more formal. Noon and midnight (neither of which should be capitalized) are neither a.m. or p.m. Do not refer to 12:00 a.m. as midnight or 12:00 p.m. as noon. Just use midnight and noon. Do not use the redundancy 9:00 a.m. in the morning or 3:00 p.m. in the afternoon. If you are referring to a two-hour period of time, for example, 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., use from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. instead of from 11:00 a.m.–1:00 p.m. “From” requires “to.”
United States/US: Spell out United States when it is used as a noun. My parents came to the United States when I was three. US can be used as an adjective. I would like to join the US Air Force.