So, I’ve been hearing from everyone that you should strive to not to be overly formal/not sound like a complete try hard in your essays, which makes sense-- my bigger question is what the lower limit is on how colloquial your tone of voice can be. For instance, I’m thinking of self-deprecating a little bit and talking about how my friends call me a huge nerd (this is an essay about intellectual curiosity, lol)-- is it ok for me to say a “word” like “nerdiness” to convey my point? Also, just in general, how casual should you be in your essays?
You want to sound “genuine” and have your own voice come through. Words like nerd or nerdiness are fine – as long as the subtext is not “look at me - what a superior intellect I have – everyone makes fun of me!” Just be yourself and you’ll be fine!
Yes, I think that would be fine. Colleges want to hear about who you are as a person. I definitely think that it’s acceptable to be casual, but you don’t want to be too casual. You don’t want to be too casual to the point where admissions officers question if they should accept you (if that makes sense). I would use the word “nerdiness” in your essay; this is acceptable if it shows who you are as a person. I would try to avoid making your essay come off a certain way- as if you’re intelligence makes you better than others- but I think using this word is fine. As long as you’re being yourself, then there’s nothing to worry about!