How to Avoid the "Typical" College Essay

<p>here are two suggestions that I have:</p>

<p>first, for the common app, consider comparing yourself to a character in a book. I chose a novel last summer that I read and loved. I thought about why I loved it, and then tried to use my answer to that question as the essay. what was my interest in the character saying about me, why did I think he was cool, and when I did think what he was doing was very NOT cool?</p>

<p>I would say that you should use a book that is not obscure, but not necessarily a best-seller. I used an old classic, but looking back, that might be a bit pretentious. either way I got into a school and felt good about my essay at the time.</p>

<p>on a rather different note: I have lately been reading a lot of David Sedaris, and now I wish I'd been exposed to him before I wrote college essays. I think the tone of his essays is very friendly, and it is humorous without completely smashing all semblance of sentimentality. sometimes he writes about illegal things, and I wouldn't recommend that, but often, his subject matter would be completely appropriate. if you've never done or witnessed something quirky in your life, you could try it.</p>

<p>I know a lot of people write about their experience travelling to Europe because they're the typical overprivledged white kid.</p>

<p>I was thinking about writing about my trip to China. It was definitely the most life changing experience I've had, and not in the "everyone is the same no matter where they live" way. If they go anywhere, most kids go to Europe, not China. Opinions?</p>

<p>It's not the topic, it's what you do with the topic.</p>

<p>Imo, write about whatever topic allows you to be the most personal, detailed, honest and revealing.</p>

<p>I've seen both successful and unsuccessful essays about China and about Europe.</p>

<p>It's not the topic, it's what you do with the topic.</p>

<p>Travel essays can work, but the most common mistake students make with them is writing mainly about what they saw and experienced DURING the trip, rather than showing how the trip affected them AFTER THEY CAME HOME. In what important ways is the trip still affecting you? How has it changed your perspective now that you're back home, influenced how you relate to people in your home community, set you on a different path?</p>

<p>Everyone feels and acts differently when they are traveling someplace new. What matters to an admissions committee is what you learned and put into action AFTER you came home. In other words, how it influenced who you are NOW, not who you were on the trip. That, after all, is the person an admissions committee is considering admitting.</p>

<p>For a trip essay to be successful, it should be more about who you became AFTER the trip, than what happened during the trip itself. Show the admissions committee how who you became AFTER you came home will add to their campus community in some way.</p>

<p>I was planning on writing an essay about the reason I started dieting and lost a bunch of weight in a month and my motivations and stuff behind it. And one about the most significant moment in my lfe</p>

<p>Please give me the link , that was pretty helpful stuff .</p>

<p>Here's my idea for an essay:
I want to start my essay with something like "My alarm beeps. My eyes open ... 4:37 A.M." (I know that's not very well written but I will make it flow ... )
and then go through my typical day (I swim in the morning, then lifeguard)
and this is where the "significant experience" comes into play. I rescued a handicapped man that didn't know how to swim (and sadly would have died without help, as he went into 16 foot water without knowing how to swim at all)
and then I would analyze how the experience changed me without being too cliche (a.k.a. "Experiences come when you least expect them or something like people assume lifeguarding is a blowoff job but it's been rewarding to me ... )
any thoughts/comments?</p>

<p>friedrice is absolutely right. Though there are certainly inappropriate topics (e.g.: illegal activities), I find it unbelievably juvenile to suggest that there are objectively good or bad (i.e. clich</p>

<p>rob22, i think your topic is a good one and no it is not cliche. The whole point is to make your personality come thru the essay so that they really see who you are, what makes you tick, what you are passionate about and what you take away from something. Good luck.</p>

<p>You should think hard about your essay topic. But don't try to squeeze the life out of a topic that is marginal to who you are for the sake of uniqueness. If you are passionate and inspired about a topic that other people consider cliche, don't be self-conscious of seeming contrived and just start writing in your own voice. It'll turn out fine. </p>

<p>As wayward_trojan so eloquently explained, the "mundane" activities often spawn the most fascinating essay topics. These essays can also be much more impressive than "look at me, I'm awesome!" essays as well. Showing your ability to seek and find a personal sense of profundity in the commonplace reflects well upon you. I'd imagine that the people who can appreciate beauty and worth in the little things are likely passionate, engaged learners and fulfilled individuals. . </p>

<p>When writing, choose the right words, show but don't tell, and emphasize the positive. Try to avoid tearing down ideas, objects, and other people in your essays.</p>

<p>i wrote a reflective piece of myself while i was at my favourite coffee shop. "my haven" as i called it.</p>

<p>I was a volunteer magazine editor for a non-profit company for three years, so I chose that as my subject. In the introductory paragraph I wrote about what I did as editor and how I got involved, but in the bulk of the essay I detailed exactly why I feel volunteering is important, why I chose that organisation (rather than any of the million others I could have committed my time to), and also what I got out of it myself. I uncovered the roots of my emotions and views about volunteering and articulated my thought processes and decisions as precisely as possible.</p>

<p>Like others have said, it's not the topic, it's how you handle it. I think it's important to deconstruct the subject and show an in-depth and mature thought process behind your writing.</p>

<p>Hope that helps.</p>

<p>-Claire</p>

<p>faustarp: ...have you read Naked? Because the most memorable essays in that one seem like they'd be entirely inappropriate. But I love David Sedaris... definitely going to re-read him for inspiration now. (Non-sequitur, but I also love your username. :] )</p>

<p>i
love
david
****ing
sedaris
but yea i totes agree ^^</p>

<p>Anything that has to do with pregnancy. Ever.</p>

<p>I almost lost my life to an antibiotic resistant pneumonia when I was 14. Would it be a turn-off to the admissions office if I wrote about that experience? I'm just referring to the topic, since if I write about it, I plan to talk about how I pushed myself to live through it.</p>

<p>I'd be interested in knowing how the experience changed you and/or how it affects you now. The actual incident at age 14, by itself, might not be sufficiently revealing of what you are now.</p>

<p>I see, thanks ADad.</p>

<p>I had a lot of problems coming up with ideas for the college app essays. I was told that the trick was to talk about something most people would think was impossible and then make it work.</p>

<p>I'd say to try to think about anything that you think is important about your life, or something that changed it, etc. (if something is popping up right now, there's a good chance that will work) and try to work with that.</p>

<p>For me, I found something that actually did both (but I had to think about it in the perspective of the second): I wrote about cutting my hair. As weird as it sounds, it worked, because I not only talked about physically cutting it, but my reasons for doing so, which were a little out of the ordinary. And that actually got me into my top-choice school. </p>

<p>So really, you just need to be a bit introspective about your experiences, and, as many people have said before, it's not about what you write, it's how, and the view you take on the topic.</p>

<p>meh i wrote an essay about my grandfather and how he has changed me. just wrote it.</p>

<p>My grandpa
Two more hours. Just two more hours, the doctors stated. </p>

<p>I jumped out of my seat. The palm of my hands began to moisten with sweat. My brother halted his laughter. I could see the expression on his face completely morph into a sudden state of gloominess. I could also sense the once positive aura of the room quickly dissipate through the cracks of the door. </p>

<p>I was in a complete shock, but there it was. Reality had finally kicked in. My grandpa had two hours to live, and I had to make the best of it. My grandpa was the head of our whole family and everybody looked up to him. He was everything you looked for in a leader. He was intelligent, friendly, trustworthy, and, most importantly, caring. However, this was all going to go away in a few hours. Knowing full well this was going to be the last time ever talking to him, I needed to speak everything I could on my mind. </p>

<p>I reached for his hand. As I proceeded to sit down next to the hospital bed, a whiff of strong odor, presumably from the hygiene of his body, made my nose twitch a little bit. I knew my grandpa could not talk, so I had to start the conversation. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. The sudden flush of emotions and memories blockaded my stream of thought. I was stuck, trapped, and left speechless. </p>

<p>However during the moments of silence, there was one thing that really connected us, and that was our hands. I could feel the bond between both of our hands getting stronger and stronger. It was like we were sending electrical nerve impulses through the tips of our fingers, signaling and communicating with our own minds. I closed my eyes. Suddenly, I saw myself sitting on a healthy old figure with a beaming smile across his face. He looked happier than ever. “Remember Patrick, chose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Do well in school and everything will fall in place”. I opened my eyes. I remembered the multiple Confucius-esque messages he gave me that I barely paid attention to. But now, standing right next to him, I finally took it to heart. I finally listened and I finally knew what he was talking about. </p>

<p>“I’m going to do it for you papa. No more slacking off in school. No more causing trouble in my family”. I didn’t say it aloud. The rest of the room didn’t need to hear this. No one else mattered at that moment. I knew this was solely for just me and grandpa. “You have changed me and I’m going to make you proud when you are up in the sky”. </p>

<p>I could hear the electrocardiogram’s beep becoming slower and slower. Surprisingly, I could not feel any tears strolling down my face. I let go of my grandpa’s hands. I said everything I needed to say. As I sat back down in the waiting room, there was just something different I sensed about myself. I felt like another man. I became more mature, responsible, and considerate. But most importantly, I finally became what my grandpa wanted me to be.</p>