<p>I was curious if anyone knew how colleges feel about "funny" essays. Obviously, I don't mean anything over-the-top where it's obvious the person is TRYING to be funny. Do they like the essays with a little bit of humor and wit in them?</p>
<p>Are you funny? Levity and intelligent wit can certainly be effective when used naturally.</p>
<p>Just run your essay by a couple of adults who don’t think you are the most wonderful child to ever walk the earth (read: not your parents or other relatives). They can give you an idea of whether it works.</p>
<p>I’ve noticed one thing about ‘funny’ college essays: in most cases people try too hard to establish a witty tone. If you’re going for humour, don’t use the thesaurus; try to stay as close to your natural voice as possible. In fact, this goes for any essay. Don’t say ‘deficient in size’ when ‘small’ is perfectly acceptable, or ‘improvident’ instead of ‘shortsighted’. Et cetera. It will only detract from the quality of your writing.</p>