<p>How important is it to be original?... I wrote an essay about mentoring (the activity that means the most to me) that both I and my English teacher liked, but I told my mom's friend who is a college counselor about it (I only told him the subject) and he gave me a rather mean look and was like "Why would you write about THAT? It's not unique at all! Don't send that one, no matter how well-written it is." However, this is the same guy who told me to apply everywhere as a classics major because that would definitely get me in, so I don't know how much to value his words. What do you think?</p>
<p>If it is a good essay and about you not just ‘Oh my god I learned so much about giving back through activity XYZ’ then it is probably ok.</p>
<p>Odds are you could write a better essay about something else, but it is not the worst topic out there.</p>
<p>I’d basically ignore anything else the classics major guy says to you.</p>
<p>It would be hard to find a topic that’s truly original. What makes some essays fresher than others is how you write about the topic. If you use vivid, specific language and stay away from cliches and vague abstractions, your essay will probably be enjoyable to read and represent you well.</p>
<p>It does indeed matter if it’s well-written–the quality of one’s writing and one’s thinking are closely related. If you’re able to make the subject interesting, you’ve likely uncovered some new insight, and thus revealed the uniqueness of your perspective.</p>
<p>it’s not about the topic so much as HOW you write the topic.
if you have your own personal style than that in itself makes it unique.
trite is your enemy in this game.</p>
<p>It is not the topic, it is what you do with the topic.</p>
<p>I don’t agree about the classics major idea either. Unless you are genuinely interested in classics, and there is something in your application/background to substantiate that interest, colleges will realize that you are being less than candid.</p>