<p>Because everyone has different topics, how do readers determine which ones "stand out?" Is it necessary to point out adversity or to highlight the potential "diversity" you will bring to the campus in order to get yourself placed into the accept pile?</p>
<p>They want to see if what makes you tick. Not everyone has “adversity” but each person is unique. </p>
<p>My essay topics were about a band festival (rather boring) and about how I broke my best friend’s trust and my actions to repair the friendship (very profound). Got me into all schools applied. Had nothing to do with my potential major (Chem) or any “passion” I had. But they revealed something about me – that as a 17 yr old, I was self reflective and could think about who I was.</p>
<p>But for fun, google " college essay topics to avoid"</p>
<p>^ That actually resonates deeply with me, the one with the friend. I’ve been thinking a lot about writing mine about how I basically ended my closest friend’s basketball career…do you think that has a real potential to be profound and “stand out”?</p>
<h2>Three of my favorite admissions quotes pertain to essays: </h2>
<p>From “What You Don’t Know Can Keep You Out Of College” by Don Dunbar</p>
<h2>“If the admissions office door has four locks on it, the first two keys are test scores and school record, and the third is special talent or some other accomplishment or quality. What is the fourth key? It’s “character.” An old fashioned word, it means the way you develop your inner qualities: intellectual passion, maturity, social conscience, concern for community, tolerance, and inclusiveness.”</h2>
<p>From “Acing The College Application” by Michele A. Hernandez</p>
<h2>“Colleges look for students who show initiative and passion. Those are the two mantras you should repeat to yourself over and over as you fill out your application. Think passion and intellectual depth. If there is one single area that admissions officers are looking for above all others, it is intellectual firepower. Though there are many valedictorians, there are few who show a deep and sincere love of learning. Those are the ones who are accepted most often into the most selective colleges.”</h2>
<p>From “On Writing The College Application Essay” by Harry Bauld</p>
<p>"Some of the most common snooze potions whipped up by seniors. Steer clear of these topics.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Trip. This is one about the visit to Europe, Israel, Kansas, or other exotic land or wilderness trips such as Outward Bound.</p></li>
<li><p>My Favorite Things. This list essay is the unmistakable sign of what is called, in admissions lingo, a Fluffball.</p></li>
<li><p>Miss America. The Big Issue questions like “I think World Peace is the most important issue facing us today…”</p></li>
<li><p>Jock. This is not a topic, as a whole way of thinking. Through________ (football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, acting, yearbook editor, club officers, piano playing, spider collecting), I have learned Noble Value A, High Platitude B, and Great Lesson C.</p></li>
<li><p>My Room. A common variation on number two. “I don’t know what to tell you about myself, so I guess I’ll describe my room.”</p></li>
<li><p>Three D’s. “I honestly believe that I have the Discipline and Determination and Diversity of interests to succeed at whatever I do.”</p></li>
<li><p>Tales of My Success (or, The Time I Won My Town The Race). “But finally, when I crossed the finish line first and received the congratulations of my teammates, I realized all the hard work had been worth it."</p></li>
<li><p>Pet Death. Maudlin descriptions of animal demise, always written by the Fluffball. “As I watched Button’s life ebb away, I came to value the important things in this world.”</p></li>
<li><p>Selling and Telling Autobiography. “Hello, my name is ______. I am a very unique person with many interests and abilities and goals.”</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Bump. 10char</p>
<p>[Part</a> 1: Answers From Princeton’s Dean of Admission - NYTimes.com](<a href=“http://thechoice.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/24/guidance-office-princeton-answers-1/]Part”>Part 1: Answers From Princeton's Dean of Admission - The New York Times)</p>
<p>QUESTION: “What exactly does an admission officer think as he goes about an applicant’s essay? What does he look for? What works in the applicant’s favor?”</p>
<p>ANSWER: "Your ability to write well is critical to our decision because your writing reflects your thinking. No matter what question is asked on a college application, admission officers are looking to see how well you convey your ideas and express yourself in writing. It is our window to your world.</p>
<p>Your command of the English language, whether or not you are a native speaker, is important because you will be asked to write extensively when you get to our campuses.</p>
<p>The best applications come from students who have spent time writing their essays, editing their work, and refining their message.</p>
<p>It is important to answer the question that is asked by a specific school, and not just to “recycle” one essay. This is not the time to take an academic paper you have written for a high school course and edit it for the application essay. This is your moment to be authentic.</p>
<p>Let me suggest that you take this opportunity to sit down and write about a topic you care about and know well. If you are stuck, you might begin with this question from the Common Application: “Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.”</p>
<p>Each of you has someone in your life who has played a role in your development, someone to whom you are grateful, and someone you could describe well. That person may be an adult, a child or a peer. Write a draft that you can put aside for a few days or weeks and edit later. Even if this is not the final essay you send to a college, it will get you started, and working from a draft is much easier than staring at a blank page with a blinking cursor.</p>
<p>Please resist the Web sites that give you access to college essays. This needs to be your own work. Your integrity in this process is paramount."</p>
<p>Gibby, why should #6 three Ds be avoided? Thank you</p>
<p>I was quoting from the book. I can’t remember exactly why Harry Bauld, who was an admissions director at Brown, said it should be avoided. I’m assuming it’s because the topic is overdone and egocentric.</p>
<p>Colleges want student’s essays to be authentic and real, not filled with bravado. You need to reveal a tiny bit of your soul in the essay – something that defines who you are as a person.</p>
<p>After my daughter was accepted to Harvard, she attended a reception at the Harvard Club in New York City for all accepted students in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. At the door, each student was given a name tag with their name and their high school. In attendance was Harvard’s regional admissions director. As the Admissions Director went around the room and introduced herself, she looked at each student’s name tag and then recounted a piece of their essay. She did this for my daughter and for EVERY student at the reception. It was the way the admissions director remembered each accepted student. It is the way they will remember you!</p>
<p>^ That’s insane! The more I learn about college admissions, the less I think it’s all a “lottery” and “random,” and the more I’m convinced that the people who truly deserve to be at these schools more often than not are.</p>
<p>All of the above comments are completely accurate. The only thing I would add is that the essay should fit in with the rest of your application. By “fit in,” I don’t mean that your necessarily have to write about one of your activities, talk about your passions, etc., etc. Instead, it should be the glue that binds the rest of your application together, that lifts you from a list of scores, grades, and extracurricular activities into a real person. In my opinion, the best applications are one where all of the parts seem to fit together nicely – and the essay is paramount in making sure that happens.</p>
<p>I’d also advise you check the Harvard website to see what they have to see about the essay; it helped me immensely!</p>
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<p>I had a similarly introspective and self-critical essay, and accordingly I reject the common claim that essays are a chance to brag and show off your talents.</p>
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<p>Maybe I’m being impertinent by challenging Harry Bauld, but I think it’s fairer to say that some topics are harder to write well than others, rather than saying some topics are inherently bad. I would be very surprised if no students get accepted to Harvard with a “The Trip” narrative or some sort of success story. But it takes an exceptionally strong writer to write a non-cliche essay with a cliche topic, so perhaps it’s better for most people to avoid them.</p>
<p>Then again, one of my Princeton essays was a “The Trip” essay and I was waitlisted…</p>
<p>Yale has some good advice on their website about essays: [Advice</a> on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Admissions](<a href=“Advice on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions”>Advice on Putting Together Your Application | Yale College Undergraduate Admissions)</p>
<p>"When you write your essays . . .write about something that matters to you. Use your own voice. Do not worry about making a special effort to include impressive vocabulary words or overly complex sentences. If you sound like yourself and discuss something you care about, your essay will be more effective.</p>
<p>We know that no one can fit an entire life story into two 500 word essays, and we don’t expect you to try. Pick two topics that will give us an idea of who you are. It doesn’t matter which topics you choose, as long as they are meaningful to you. We have read wonderful essays on common topics and weak essays on highly unusual ones. Your perspective – the lens through which you view your topic – is far more important than the specific topic itself. In the past, students have written about family situations, ethnicity or culture, school or community events to which they have had strong reactions, people who have influenced them, significant experiences, intellectual interests, personal aspirations, or – more generally – topics that spring from the life of the imagination."</p>