How To Ruin Your College Application Essay In Four Ways

You may have expectations about what college admissions officers want to glean from applicant essays. And you probably have people in your life giving you advice on how to write a compelling one. Hopefully, most of the advice is great, but some may be totally wrong and could even backfire. This post will cover four common myths people believe in but could ruin an essay.

• Myth 1: You need a killer accomplishment
• Myth 2: Talk about all the things
• Myth 3: Impress with big words
• Myth 4: You have to write exactly to the prompt

Myth 1: You need a killer accomplishment

You don't need to have cured cancer, delivered meals to thousands of starving children, or built your own solar-powered car. You don't need to have composed symphonies that were performed in national orchestras, competed in the Olympics, or discovered new galaxies in outer space. Of course, these are all killer accomplishments that could be great fodder for a dazzling story. But it wouldn't be a dazzling story for the reason you think.

If you're stressed because you are unsure whether you have something interesting to write about, reorient your mindset. The accomplishment doesn't need to be killer--your story needs to be killer. The stories that make for compelling college essays are those that convey your grit and fortitude, show challenges that you have overcome, show what makes you tick, reflect your forward-looking dreams. Consequently, you can demonstrate those things by showing them a slice of your life: where you have needed to show grit and fortitude, where you have had to overcome challenges, where you are motivated, where you can demonstrate that you care about doing more. Look at things in your life that you are proud of, and put your energy into developing your story into a compelling one.

Myth 2: Talk about all the things

A common mistake that people make is trying to cover too much ground in their essays, as if the more accomplishments they talk about, the more impressive it sounds. However, that is redundant because admissions officers already know about your amazing accomplishments from the dedicated section in the application where you list them. Additionally, a laundry list of achievements makes reading the essay boring to read.

Instead, pick one topic/incident/project/experience and go deep on it. Going deep allows you the space to describe your growth, showcase how you think, and really reflect who you are as a person. It's often by our mistakes and failures that we come to understand who we are, so embrace and explore the losses just as thoroughly as the wins. The college admissions officers really want to get to know you, and they aren't going to do that by reviewing a repeat of achievements. And you want them to see you as a real person because that makes it easier for them to envision you being a part of their diverse student body.

Myth 3: Impress with big words

There are some obvious tactical things that you want to get write in an essay: correct spelling, good grammar, sentence structure, etc. But don't be misled to believing that using big words is part of the winning formula. Obviously, showcase your natural language and use subject-appropriate vocabulary. But too many people go to a thesaurus to try to find a "better" sounding word, and it just comes across as fake or stilted. What you write about and how you tell your narrative is more important than big words.

As a test: read your essay aloud, and if it sounds weird saying any of the words aloud, consider whether it should really be in the essay.

Myth 4: You have to write exactly to the prompt

College App and specific universities often provide a selection of prompts that you can write to. They are all interesting questions, and some may be more or less relevant to the story that you want to tell. Once you decide on one, give yourself some leeway in how strictly you adhere to the prompt.

The reason is: the main purpose of the essay is to glean who you are, and you can convey that in so many ways. College admissions officers want to see your growth, how you think, understand who you are as a person--this is the heart of most prompts and they are enablers to get your juices flowing. So don't box yourself into a narrow interpretation of the prompt, and show them who you are!

Conclusion

College admissions officers want to understand how you've applied yourself in the past and envision what kind of student you would be as a member of their student body. Luckily, this is your story to tell, so come into essay writing with pride of what you've done and stay authentic to yourself, and you'll be able to convey a compelling narrative!