<p>Well, today I've given my application essay to my councilor to have a look.
He read it infront of me and told me that it was great! ... but.. failed in terms of university application essay.</p>
<p>I asked him what the problem was and he said it was too "creative" and does not directly answer the topic sentence. AND He told me to rewrite a much more "formal" type of personal essay because that is what universities look for (to check my essay writing skills, etc. etc. etc.).</p>
<p>Now, I did get feedbacks from several of my english teachers that it does lack some focus on "me" than the situations I describe, but they never said "it does not fit the topic".</p>
<p>Who should I listen to?
Is it better to revise the creative essay or to write a new formal personal statement essay?</p>
<p>Any opinions?</p>
<p>BTW the topic was: Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. - Common App ^^</p>
<p>There's no formula for a successful college entrance essay. I wrote my essay spontaneously over the summer and it turned out to be one of the best essays I have ever written. The thing is, it's also one of the least formal essays I've ever written. I showed it to two of my English teachers, and they both said that it was excellent. </p>
<p>My point is that if you're proud of it, and feel that it does a good job representing you, then submit it.</p>
<p>Creative in what ways? Writing style and structure? That you can edit a bit, with word choice. Structure can be reworked too; if your essay is a creative piece on its own, rework the introduction and conclusion.</p>
<p>I only say this based on my experience; I had a heck of a time revising my essay. If you're a creative person and can pull it off, do it; but approach it almost as a devil's advocate, seeing what could be misunderstood/misinterpreted by the applicant reader, and edit that. It doesn't have to be formal, it's supposed to be you!</p>