<p>What are some the most overused college admission essays?</p>
<ol>
<li>we are a diverse institution, what will you bring into our community?</li>
<li>describe your professional goals</li>
</ol>
<p>Holden Caulfield</p>
<p>oh, you mean topic-wise chosen by the student...
My ethnicity is [enter here]; therefore feel pity and accept me</p>
<p>"marvelous me" moral/conclusion</p>
<p>My passion is _____. I am going to continue that passion and apply it towards my schoolwork to help make [Insert College name here] college even better than it was before.</p>
<p>sorry for the confusion.. I mean as in the topic the student chooses. (such as the "big game" )</p>
<p>I went to x third world country and saw how horrible it is.</p>
<p>Hi, I have a question. I actually did go to a third world country this summer, and i thought it would be something i could write about for an admissions essay. However, everyone is telling me colleges dont want to hear about it. I wasn't planning on being quite so obvious and just talking about how horrible it was, but it was something that really impacted me and something i have become very connected to. Does anyone have any ideas on how i can use my experience but maybe put an interesting twist on it so it's not so cliched? i would really appreciate some ideas. thanks so much!</p>
<p>From this summer experience, I learned the value of diversity, friendship, and mutual respect. (basically another way of saying: Look! I'm SO smart!):)</p>
<p>i would say big game and grandparent/parent essays are used a lot. </p>
<p>for english class we had to read college essays and rank them from best to worse (the joys of honors english). the essay that stood out to me the most was when the applicant talked about playing scrabble with his mom and how his mom has been owning him for 10+ years. he highlighted his highs, lows, passions, and more. i liked it a lot more than the essays about being a camp counselor, how grandpa influenced me, and essays of that sort. annother essay i liked, but wasnt written as well, was when a girl wrote about how she blew off a test to write a poem instead. IMO it's these small every day occurences that make the best essays and the most unique ones. not essays about your trip to country x. </p>
<p>lucie55, if your trip to the third world country can make you write about who you are as a person, and not that the conditions made you sad and rethink life, it may work. </p>
<p>essays really dont make or break your app unless you are applying to places in the top 20 on USNWR list for universities. it may make more of a difference at LACs, but wont help you make up for horrible grades or horrible SATs. CCers puts too much importance on essays (but then again they focus on the top colleges).</p>
<p>One essay topic i came up with is from my own trip to country x. i am from there but born here in the US. on my trip i felt like a stranger in a strange land, not at home. can this make an essay?</p>
<p>I wrote an essay, probably won't use it on an application, but it was about how I went to India and met with family everyday until the visits became boring, I then went to an orphanage, saw how the kids there had it, and learned not to take family for granted. I thought I wrote it pretty well, but I'm afraid to use it for fear of being cliche. </p>
<p>pm me if you want to read it, I need opinions.</p>
<p>I want to be a doctor because my grandfather died from ______ (insert disease here)</p>
<p>ugh i hate the diversity question...im an individual with my own thoughts, ideas, and opinions...thats how i will add to your institution...ugh!</p>
<p>any time you talk about a grandparent/family death...</p>
<p>how this famous person has changed your life...</p>
<p>I'm actually planning to write about family deaths... Is that a bad topic then?</p>
<p>My pet died</p>
<p>(Uchicago only) Steven Levit changed my life</p>
<p>so you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT talk about a grandparent?</p>
<p>There are no hard and fast rules for essay topics. It depends on your context, how you write it, what the essay is about (what about your grandparents?)...</p>
<p>i'm going the tired but reliable way and going with a grandparent essay.</p>
<p>i'll make it work. :)</p>