Help with common application essay?

College Essays
1

<p>ok so the common app essay is comprise of several prompts that are needed to complete my application to Stanford and to Columbia. These are my options:</p>

<p>Candidates choose one topic and respond. (500 words maximum.)</p>

<pre><code>Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.
A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
Topic of your choice.
</code></pre>

<p>My topic of choice is literature and the impact of cliche's on readers (Youth in particular).
I was thinking of touching on topics that are now cliche in literature such as: The mean-spirited cheerleader (and her gang) as the story’s antagonist, The Chosen One, Villains are maniacal, insane, and power hungry. They're the "just plain evil" to the hero's "just plain good.", Twilight (nuff said). </p>

<p>I figured i could cliches of society are "crapifying" the brains of children.I thought I'd get a good number of points for originality.</p>

<p>Any Comments on this or advice?</p>

2

<p>I don’t get it really. </p>

<p>If you don’t take the essay seriously, colleges will not appreciate it. This does not mean that you need to have a serious essay, far from it, but rather that you invested the time and energy into producing a good product.</p>

3

<p>It doesn’t tell the college anything new about you, which is what they’re looking for.</p>

4

<p>So what could i do as another option? Describe a character in fiction? Would a book character i felt a specific bond with work? Such as Harry Potter, Bobby Pendragon, Alex Rider?</p>

5

<p>I agree that that topic tells the reader nothing about you. The essay is supposed to tell the college something about you that is not on the application - not just portray your writing abilities.
You could write about a bond with a character but be careful about using something quite common, like Harry Potter. I have also heard that Fahrenheit 451 and 1984 are overused.</p>