<p>If you're thinking about being funny in your college essay, don't because the humor of the essay will be lost on the admissions officer and they'll think you're a pompous jerk and reject you for it. I'm saying this because I got rejected from Tufts because the admissions officer thought I was exactly that because I tried to be funny in my essay. If you do try to be funny, make sure you have an interview so they have someone stating that you're not an idiot.</p>
<p>it depends. If the entire essay is humorous then that is very risky, same goes with sarcasm and satire. However, having a line or a snippit of humor/satire/sarcasm is totally acceptable.</p>
<p>Admission officers on this board have repeatedly said that they LOVE funny essays. However, they are also quick to point out that while many students are obviously trying to be funny, only few succeed.</p>
<p>Maybe you thought you were funny but actually weren't? </p>
<p>How do you know what the adcom said about the essay? For all we know, he could've been "man what a great funny essay, too bad his Ec's/grades/ethnicity suck"</p>
<p>I agree with Barium. the rule of writing is you can break any rule you want as long as you are a damn good writer.</p>
<p>actually humor worked for me. it helped me get myself across better, and that was the important part. when im not funny i dont sound earnest, and i sound cliched. BAD. not gonna win an admissions officer over. after all, the point of the essay and the application is to get across to the admissions officers who you are, what you are like, and what you will add to the community. if you fail to communicate that, either through bad humor or a lack of humor, then you won't get in.</p>
<p>I'm sorry you feel your essay caused you to be rejected from a school you wanted to attend. However, I agree with previous posters that one should not ban anything from an essay in such broad terms, and that an essay that incorporates humor can be successful if done well.</p>
<p>my essay was about a person i admire who happens to be hilarious. so i included snippets of our conversation which were funny and worked well. </p>
<p>so i think it depends on the context of the essay and the essay prompt. i think serious essays with subtle humor in generall work better than an entirely satirical, humorous essay.</p>
<p>I'd avoid humor, because humor is tricky and if you have a 40 year old reading an essay by an 18 year old, I guarentee that more often than not what that 18 year old thinks is funny won't be funny to the 40 year old. Instead of coming across as clever, the writer risks being viewed as (as the father on That 70's Show says) a dumbass.</p>
<p>Both flong and Pearl make excellent points and each is correct, though appearing mutually exclusive at face value.</p>
<p>Unless you are a "damned good writer" and have experience in writing in a humorous vein (across a broad range of age groups) it wouldn't recommend it.</p>
<p>A well executed humorous essay can work wonders in almost any situation, but you must know your intended audience. Forbidden topics include region humor, anything ethnic, religious, political or sexual. </p>
<p>As with any essay, you must address the topic if presented.</p>