Does a college essay have to be a narrative?

College Essays
1

Specifically for the first Common App prompt: “Some students have a background, identity, etc…” I’d like to write an essay about my experiences with immigration and my cultural identity (I know this sounds cliché, but it’s a topic meaningful to me and I think my experiences are fairly unique). The way I’ve framed it is not really as a narrative - of course, there’s some storytelling involved, but a large chunk of it is personal reflections on how my experience has shaped who I am. Doesn’t really include any dialogue or real action.

Do adcoms prefer essays that are written as a story, or a single, coherent retelling of one particular moment? Would it be a detriment that my essay isn’t like that?

2

The common attitude is that narrative essays are more engaging and therefore more effective. If you need more specific advice, you can PM me and I can let you know what I think in the context of your essay. Good luck

3

An essay like this would be amazing, even if it is mostly introspection: https://apply.jhu.edu/apply/essays-that-worked/2019/#essay7

4

Commonly you are looking to “show”, not “tell”. That tends to be easier with a narrative. Remember that your goal is to make them want to add you to their campus pool of students. And also that they read TONS of essays. A lively narrative is going to catch their attention.