<p>What topcis do you think students use most on admission essays? (aka: what should be avoided)</p>
<p>my guidance counselor said to avoid: the camp counselor experience, the travel, the i love america after seeing (insert country), mission trips, what i did last summer</p>
<p>emory's admissions director told me to avoid topics that are recently overdone like katrina or september 11th (especially if you live nowhere near NYC)</p>
<p>of course all of these can be done, but i would avoid them unless they were a REALLY special experience</p>
<p>your experience with Planned Parenthood</p>
<p>My guidance counselor told me to avoid discussing
1. Boyfriend/girlfriend
2. Travel
3. Death in the family
4. How a book affected you (especially if the book is really common for hs like The Great Gatsby or the Grapes of Wrath)</p>
<p>Why is travel so Taboo? A great experience can easily come from travling either in the US or abroad.</p>
<p>Overall, it's more of how you present yourself than the subject you chose to talk about, but I also heard not to write about family members, pets, or recent events/ controversial issues.</p>
<p>Don't write about the college admissions process.</p>
<p>Read "On Writing the College Admissions Essay" by Henry Bauld. It starts with a list of cliches to avoid, with examples. It then admittedly contradicts this with the advice "there are no bad essay topics, just bad essays". I highly recommend this book.</p>
<p>I think the reason they tell you to avoid travel is because practically everyone writes about it. After reading the 1,000th essay on how going to Europe has changed you as a person the admissions officers are probably getting a little tired of the topic. If you have the capability to write a truly fantastic essay you should feel free to go for any topic that you want.</p>
<p>Yeah but how many people have spent a summer in Israel and slept and ate dinner in a bedouin tent?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Yeah but how many people have spent a summer in Israel and slept and ate dinner in a bedouin tent?
[/quote]
That would be different.</p>
<p>Talking about your summer trip to Europe would not be.</p>
<p>Write whatever you feel most passionate about. If it is a "cliche" topic, it's fine as long as you feel passionate about it, since it won't come across as cliche. Essays only become cliche when you sit around thinking what will make the admissions officers like you the most instead of just trying to portray yourself.</p>
<p>I find sports essays tend to be very generic. A colleague of mine wrote a good article about admission essays and used the term "McEssays" to describe many of them. Check it out here: <a href="http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html</a></p>
<p>If it has depth and your writing shows the true you, the topic can be anything (really).</p>
<p>do people ever/often write about academics in college essays, or is it always ECs?</p>
<p>I find sports essays tend to be very generic. A colleague of mine wrote a good article about admission essays and used the term "McEssays" to describe many of them. Check it out here: <a href="http://www.virginia.edu/undergradad...ngtheessay.html%5B/url%5D">http://www.virginia.edu/undergradad...ngtheessay.html</a></p>
<p>Great read. Thanks. I could only dream of going to your amazing school :(</p>
<p>Yes it was a great read. Seriously i have nothing to write about =p</p>
<p>Don't write a biography of your life</p>
<p>My accepted essays were ALL about academics, because it's really what I'm most passionate about. Moral of the story: it's the "you" behind the story that counts, not the substance the essay is made of.</p>
<p>can anyone post some essays with which they have been really successful? Or otherwise topics and notes on their writing style. We now know what not to do, but not what we should do....
thanks everyone, by the way...</p>
<p>Although they get many of these topics, I think they're fine if you can pull it off. Just write from the heart. I know a girl who wrote about a trip to Italy (not competition winner, olympic athlete, etc) who got a likely from Cornell and got into Brown and Penn. Just write about something that means a lot to you, and make sure your personality comes through in your essay.</p>
<p>This may sound cliche, but it's really not what you say, but how you say it.</p>
<p>So, what you really should be asking is what ways of writing are cliche. Many people who write cliche tends to write about the death in the family, sports injury, etc. But it's how they write that makes it cliche. For example:</p>
<p>"I was one of the best runners in the country. One day I sprained my ankle. I felt bad. I couldn't run anymore. But then I worked hard and I was able to heal and win at finals. I learned that determination is important."</p>
<p>"My grandmother died last year. I had never seen someone die before. I realized that life is short. I should probably take advantage of life more."</p>
<p>You know, write about something that really tells about you, that makes you stand out more. The successful essays are those which, after reading, people generally tend to say: "wow, I felt like I really got a good picture of who this person is" or "I would really like to meet this person now."</p>
<p>The only thing I would really avoid is sexuality. That and profanity tends to be a turn-off.</p>