<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I read on another thread that some people use the same supplemental essays when applying to different colleges, so long as the prompts are similiar:</p>
<p>Is this allowed (if the prompts and required essay lengths are the same), and is it something colleges look down on? Would one be better off writing individual essays to match the college one's applying to?</p>
<p>Thanks ^^. -confused-</p>
<p>If one essay fits several topics, why not? Colleges are not neurotic, jealous psychos who demand you write a special essay just for them. They want to see your writing skills and something special in an essay, why does it matter if another college saw the same thing?</p>
<p>It’s not only allowed, it’s pretty standard practice. Unless you are applying to only two or three schools, life is too short to write entirely unique essays for every new essay request. Refashioning and recycling your previous material is fine. Just make sure you are recycling only your OWN essays and not somone else’s.</p>
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<p>So you can’t, or shouldn’t, send exactly the same essays to each college? (assuming that it’s not a “Why College X” essay or an essay that mentions the college name anywhere)</p>
<p>If the prompts are the same, there’s no reason to change the essay.</p>
<p>the “why college x” essay should be pretty standard unless you’re applying to only 3 schools that are extremely different so the essay couldn’t possibly be a good match for all 3. No matter what, you should mention the name of the college in the essay to make it more personal, but please don’t forget to change the name of the university after you c/p a “why” essay.</p>
<p>Other than that I know people who applied to 20 top universities with only 4-5 essays and got into more than half.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>The more customized the essay is the better. One of the top private counselors tells her clients not to send applications electronically but to customize each and send by snail mail.</p>
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[QUOTE=andreeab]
the “why college x” essay should be pretty standard unless you’re applying to only 3 schools that are extremely different so the essay couldn’t possibly be a good match for all 3. No matter what, you should mention the name of the college in the essay to make it more personal, but please don’t forget to change the name of the university after you c/p a “why” essay.
[/quote]
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<p>Disagree! The most effective “Why?” essays are ones that could NOT be copied and pasted with simply a name change. Reference specifics that are absolutely not available elsewhere.</p>
<p>if she does make sure she checks them very closely to see that she has changed all the relevant college info - not just school name but any mention of location etc. I can’t tell you home many admissions people mentioned the classic I can’t wait to go to X college located in scenic Y town which was the town of a different school. Also be careful about paper vs online - a lot of schools really don’t want the bulk of paper apps - many waive the app fee if you use the online form to encourage you to do so.</p>
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<p>This is a myth, not at all what competitive colleges are reading for. Now if you write poorly that’s another matter, but they want substance over style. The best essays I’ve read were not the best written in many cases.</p>
<p>I would think that the most competitive colleges are looking for substance and style.</p>