<p>I am writing my first draft for my common app (ED applicant and everything) and my final piece is full of humor; Not the slapstick type but sarcastic/bantering type....</p>
<p>IS THIS A STRICT NO-NO????</p>
<p>My common app essay was riddled with original jokes. The only places I didn’t get in were MIT, Harvard, and Caltech. Humor works… if you are funny.</p>
<p>if you worry whether or not a college you are applying to will appreciate your humour, it bears consideration whether it is actually worth applying to it.</p>
<p>jokes are of course acceptable. keep it non-offensive and, of course, funny.</p>
<p>I used humor in my major essays and it worked out. I wouldn’t worry if it’s actually funny.</p>
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<p>Instead of coming out as funny, you will come out as bitter when using sarcasm excessively.</p>
<p>Ya I had the same concerns!! So I notched down the sarcastic humor a lot!</p>
<p>Now it is more like a smile inducing essay!! Or if the adcom is a chick then an ‘awwwh’ inducing essay! :p</p>
<p>I’d strongly advise you against referring to women as “chicks” in your essay, or in your head for that matter, and for stereotyping them in the way that you have. Otherwise, I don’t see you having much success with female adcoms, or males actually.</p>
<p>Lol! Sorry no offense meant at all!!</p>
<p>And that is some strong opinions! And I am not stereotyping them, I am just guessing their reaction! And the source of the ‘stereotyping’ was that my best friend (who is a girl!) had the same reaction! </p>
<p>And quilll…the last sentence in your reply can be taken as stereotyping of guys who call girls ‘chicks’! So I hope you look over your hypocrisy, admit that stereotyping is inevitable in some cases and learn to take things a little lightly!!!</p>
<p>In college, you’ll find a lot of guys saying chicks!! I hope youu don’t jump to conclusions then! :|</p>
<p>Here’s the thing about humor: who, exactly, thinks your essay is funny? You? Your friends? Your family? I think that a humorous essay needs to be shown to some adults who are not members of your family to see if they also think it is funny.</p>
<p>Yes I totally agree with you Hunt!</p>
<p>When I tweek my essay to a better position I plan to circulate it to a few CC friends! If they find it funny…Yay for me! If not I’ll use some other essay…nothing sucks more than a not-funny ‘humorous’ essay!</p>
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Very good point.<br>
If the adcom “reader” who reads your essay gets turned off by your humor, or if your humor prevents the “reader” from getting to understand who you are, then you risk having your application getting filed in the round file.</p>
<p>Make sure it’s not offensive in any way to any person who could possibly be reading it. Also be sure to check and see if it makes you sound immature or ignorant. These would be the "no-no"s. Humor should add personality, as long as you have the kind of personality that the school is going to like.</p>
<p>I made no assumption about your gender. Plenty of females refer to women as chicks. I am merely suggesting that the adult professional women reading your essay may take issue with being so characterized. In fact, I think virtually anyone reading a piece of formal writing would find such a reference unacceptable, unless it referred to actual fluffy baby chicks, and then you might indeed have an ‘awwww’ essay on your hands.<br>
It’s tweak, not tweek.
Just sayin’</p>
<p>Wow, quilll, it’s not like he referred to women as chicks in his essay. And you were not “merely suggesting that the adult professional women reading your essay may take issue with being so characterized,” you suggested he shouldn’t even think of girls as chicks in his head. It’s just common vernacular! In all honesty, girls in a boy’s head can be “characterized” much worse than chicks.</p>
<p>As I see it, the essays are meant to tell the colleges about YOU; if you use humor generally, then let them know you’re a funny person (I would have said “guy”, but I don’t want to unleash the stereotype bomb that went on earlier…). If a typically jocular person tries to button-up too much on their essays, it’ll be even worse. </p>
<p>oh, and, flight23? your comment cracked me up.</p>
<p>quill don’t take offense but both of the above poster made me grin!</p>
<p>There was a part on the essay that could be misconstrued as offensive to adcoms so I snipped that part out!</p>
<p>Just another question, I know that common app essay has no word limit but how long is too long?? My essay is touching 750 words!! Should I condense it?</p>
<p>oh, I hope someone answers that, because I am on the same boat.</p>
<p>MajorQuest - that is a tad long, could I take a look at the essay? I might be able to suggest which parts aren’t necessary. I believe the rule of thumb for most college essays is 500 words.</p>
<p>Don’t use lots of sarcasm - you come off as being bitter, as it has already been said previously. My supplemental essays were somewhat humorous, but I prefer witticisms to sarcasm.</p>
<p>My essay was 323 words long. I’m not sure what “too long” is, but my rule while writing my essays (my first draft was >800 words long) was to condense what I needed to say into its simplest form possible - distill the truth out of your verbiage.</p>
<p>Use “your mom” jokes generously.</p>