<p>Does anyone know how admissions officers view poems? I am writing both my common app essay and additional essay in standard form; however, I wanted to write my activities essay as a poem. Does it help to distinguish the applicant or does it hurt the applicant?</p>
<p>I don’t think it is a good idea. I saw a warning specifically against this on one college website. To me, it makes the reader strain to get to information.</p>
<p>It honestly depends on your writing abilities and creativity. For most students, it wouldn’t be recommended to stray too far from the norm, but that’s only because most students wouldn’t be able to pull it off successfully. However, if you truly think you can, write the poem and show your friends/family/teachers/etc. to get feedback. Who knows, it might be brilliant :D</p>
<p>(P.S. If you’d like an objective set of eyes, feel free to PM me your poem; I’ve had extensive experience editing essays both at my school’s writing center and on CC.com, and I’d love to help you in any way I can! :p)</p>
<p>This is actually strongly discouraged, as it’s seen as really gimmicky. I wouldn’t do this, but since it’s not one of your main essays, if you really want to you definitely can try.</p>