<p>I'm not the kind of kid who writes his essay with thesaurus.com opened up. It just doesn't feel natural.</p>
<p>I don't feel the need to replace every "many" with a "copious" or every "basic" with a "rudimentary" to impress an adcom and try to sound intellectual.</p>
<p>If my vocabulary is weak but my essay sounds natural, is it okay?</p>
<p>Or is it important to use "big words" when you write an essay?</p>
<p>Using “big words” inappropriately (as many people obsessing over a thesaurus tend to do) harms your style and will harm the quality of your writing.</p>
<p>If it sounds unnatural, stuck-up, or otherwise unappealing, it’ll hurt you. You should use a sophisticated, yet natural vocabulary.</p>
<p>Excessive use of copious and rudimentary will hurt you. Further, use of sophisticated vocabulary incorrectly will be a major problem, yet many students fall into the trap of misusing words they don’t know but looked up in a thesaurus.</p>
<p>Anyone who tries to sound smart by using “big words” without understanding their exact meaning and appropriate usage will come across as a fool.</p>
<p>College essays are supposed to be sort of simplistic, “in your voice.” Not exactly informal, but going thesaurus-style will make you come across as artificial. Your vocabulary, or writing style, even, is not what colleges are looking for in essays. The latter only matters to the extent that you effectively get across what you’re trying to convey. The essays are just used to distinguish you from the other people whose transcripts look exactly the same.</p>
<p>Occasionally using a more sophisticated word precisely and correctly can help. Using one wrong will hurt your application, however, and if you use too many fancy words, adcoms may even suspect that you had professional help in writing your essay.</p>
<p>Unless you’ve got a 4.0 GPA and/or some major writing awards, I’d err on the side of caution and only use words you wouldn’t hesitate to use in your class assignments.</p>