Hello!
I was wondering if a personal essay on Harry Potter would be too cliche–should I scrap that essay and focus on something else? If already have a first draft, so if you would like to read it and judge it then, please PM me! But still, the question stands–would it be safer for me to steer clear of the franchise?
Well, let’s ask another question. Have there been a million essays written about Harry Potter? Yes.
Without knowing the prompt, though, it’s hard to make a blanket statement if you should avoid it.
@skieurope True!
I was using Harry Potter to relate my experience of being Asian-American in Midwest suburbia to his experience of being a wizard–part of an unknown community and not knowing how to fit into this new world that he was supposedly a part of–and how I encountered it at just the right time (early teens) for the story to make an impact. I didn’t know that it was a common topic until someone read my essay and said so, but it’s early so I can still scrap it and think of something new!
It’s fine to drop one reference to HP. But for the colleges you mentioned on another thread, not the best choice to center an essay on him… You’d be using an example from pop culture that many kids read in lower school. Sorry, I know he’s beloved. The adjustment might make a good topic, though. Just remember they want to see your strengths, how you made the best of things and even some good. And, “Show, not just tell.”
I"m going to be honest, even though adults read and love Harry Potter, I think it is a kind of immature topic. Which in itself might not be the worst thing, but it is also has reach kind of a cultural saturation point.
HP sounds totally fine. Common app receives millions of essays each year and you couldn’t say if any topic is not a cliche for them. And your topic is actually interesting - that is more important than to be unique. Make sure you have a good balance between your experience and personal reflection and you will be very safe 
Thank you so much for your input. everyone!
Here are a few outstanding essays that helped their writers get into elite schools. Note their depth originality and humor and how they truly present their authors as unique individuals. This is what you should be aiming for in a college essay.
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/11/your-money/college-essay-topic-money-social-class.html
Edit post. Again, they are samples from kids who got in, not necessarily the right or only tone to take.
Obviously, in all the examples here, kids were admitted. But this sort of more formalized style isn’t mandatory, not always right for all. Since the NYT put together a panel that chose these five, maybe the style influenced that.
Wow. I think it is tragic that these are considered compelling essays. I view them as well written. almost too well written with the main underlying theme of victimhood: the authors setting themselves up as martyrs: how they have suffered ergo they deserve more. Depressing and completely inauthentic.
Thanks for the link!
I tend to not read through “essays that worked” because I always come away from them thinking that my voice is too young and I’ll never get in anywhere, blah blah blah, but that’s probably hindering me now. ^^ Also, I completely agree that it’s best to stick to your own style!
Yeah, those “essays that work” dealios stress out my D19 too. I’d say that if you can refer to Harry Potter, but not talk in depth about it (like, don’t say, “and then in Prisoner of Azkaban, we learn…”) that it could be a great essay. Most AOs are young too, from what I’ve seen, and we’ve reached the point in time wherein people in their 20s literally grew up on the Harry Potter books. It will be a familiar cultural marker.