Use a $5 word in your essay.

Have you ever heard the saying "Don't use a $5 word when a 50¢ word will do?" This does not apply to your entrance exam essay. One of the things the scorers look for is your use of vocabulary. This is not to say that every word needs to be the most sophisticated word you can find. You don't want your essay to sound like you wrote it with a thesaurus in your lap.  Besides, 40 or 50 minutes isn't enough time to write an essay in which each word is the best possible word for that space.  However, during the last minute or so when you have - hopefully - finished writing, read over your essay. If you haven't used any college-level words, then pick one word and replace it with a better one. Let the scorers know that you are comfortable with college-level vocabulary.