<p>Can I use an essay that I've written for school that has gotten a great grade, for colleges? Or is a better idea to write a fresh, new essay, and why? By the way, I'm a high school senior. </p>
<p>Asking because for English class, I was asked to write an essay on LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, questioning) rights that I thought was really good. I even had four of my peers read it for me; they liked it too. It should get a pretty good grade from my teacher.</p>
<p>If it does get a good grade, can I submit this essay to colleges? Wouldn't just submitting this essay save me time in energy?</p>
<p>The admissions essay is supposed to be a <em>personal</em> essay; about you, convincing the admissions committee that you sound like a cool person. Even if LGBT rights are an important topic to you, an essay about them is almost certainly not going to be very personal.</p>
<p>I guess it wouldn’t hurt unless you have put the essay in to turnitin.com, then it wouldn’t work out very well. haha but id advise to write your own personal essay that adresses one of the questions.</p>
<p>xxeliza321xx, a college essay should not even really be thought of as an “essay,” in the sense of the essays you have been writing for school. What you need to write is more like a creative, but true, story. The story can be just a slice of your life - a day, or even an hour - but reading it should help us to know something about you as a person.</p>
<p>One of my students wrote about the first time he ever attended a wake and saw a dead body.</p>
<p>One of my students wrote about her love of Sherlock Holmes stories as a kid.</p>
<p>One of my students wrote about a failed attempt at a science competition.</p>
<p>One of my students wrote about the year he had to sit on the bench on his hockey team.</p>
<p>One of my students wrote about the first time she ever swung on a trapeze.</p>
<p>One of my students described the objects on her desk.</p>
<p>One of my students wrote about the blend of families at her Thanksgiving table.</p>
<p>Whatever you choose to write about, keep these thoughts in mind:
-Show, don’t tell. Describe what happened, but keep analysis to a minimum. Let us figure it out from “sharing” the experience with you as you tell it.
-Be willing to show yourself as someone who has made mistakes, has room to grow, and is not yet “a complete person.”
-Have a sense of humor (especially about yourself). That will show how likable you are!</p>