<p>I don’t think you should use it. It’s lazy, and that’s not the side of you that you want to show colleges. Yes, essay readers may be familiar with it. But you wouldn’t use “u” instead of “you” in an essay. #YOLO (with or without the hashtag) is the same thing</p>
<p>Your essay isn’t supposed to show the reader that you’re 18 or so; the reader knows that. Your essay is supposed to show the reader that you are mature and intelligent. Figure out how to write like an adult, while still keeping your own voice, and you will go much futher.</p>