I’m going through the essay writing process right now. I realize that it’s very easy as an applicant to try to be “perfect,” whatever you think a college perceives that as being, in your essays in order to get an edge. My advice? Don’t do that! The point of this is to find your home, and if they can’t accept you for who you are then that college is definitely not a place you want to go. So, as cliche as it is, always be true to yourself in your essays. Let them reflect you. Because getting into Bard or Northwestern or Caltech is definitely not worth lying about yourself or molding yourself into something different than who you are or want to be. I’m sure the parents of this forum will agree with me on this, even if their kids don’t.
That’s my two cents folks!