<p>So I've written three so far and realized that none are in the typical essay format. Does this matter? I use contractions, first person, and the likes. However, everything is grammatically correct.</p>
<p>So do essays need to be in the formal format? Does it depend on the school?</p>
<p>Schools I'm looking at right now, in case it makes a difference-
JHU
UChicago
Rice
WashU
Duke
Columbia
Emory
Brown?</p>
<p>I would think if I was an adcom I wouldn't want to sit and read 20,000 formal essays. I think there is no problem in being casual. I think these essays should be informal because they are trying to get to know you. In informal writing, you can pretty much go by what ever rules you set for yourself. Use spell check, and for you, just don't write at the top of your duke essay why you love Brown, :)</p>
<p>No college admissions essays are not intended to be formal English paper essays. They come from your own voice which invariably uses contractions and "I".</p>
<p>I bet if you made your whole essay onimatpea, that would really be informal!</p>
<p>How'd your JHU "Plan a trip" essay go? That's the only one I've done so far- but I'm really really happy with it. It took me like 3 days to come up with a successful idea... Anyway send me a PM if you want a proofreader.</p>
<p>Check out this page (<a href="http://www.the-writing-center.com/sampleedits.htm%5B/url%5D">http://www.the-writing-center.com/sampleedits.htm</a>) for some good sample essays. My own original essay (which got me in to Harvard) is at the bottom of the page, and it's about my experience bartending in Spain when I was 16. Pretty informal.</p>
<p>Wow thanks for the help, guys. I'm glad I don't have to write like 5 formal essays. -_-;</p>
<p>As for the plan a trip essay, I'm not writing an essay. I'm gonna try to paint/draw something in mixed media. And since I'm cheap, I'm waiting until school starts to do it in one of my art classes. -_-; I really have no idea what I'm gonna do though.</p>
<p>ahhh good luck. if only i, too, was artistically inclined... :D</p>
<p>My essays are so casual that it almost became a chatting-like tone.</p>
<p>i don't think it matters whether it's informal or formal, it matters if it is good. that means you can show a command of language with whatever format you use. i used informal. i used many references (like to charlie brown) and metaphors or what not...but that's because it's my style. </p>
<p>so don't worry about your format but your content. that means when you show it to 20 people and they all say it's "pretty good"...you're getting somewhere.</p>