<p>The title, in general. I volunteered at a home for mentally/physically handicapped children while on a family vacation in India. My parents and I both thought that this would serve as good material for an application essay, but now I'm reading that "service trips abroad" is a horribly cliche topic. What are the others? I know about last-minute wins, death of a family member, etc, but what are the others?</p>
<p>There are no cliche topics.</p>
<p>There are only cliche treatments of topics.</p>
<hr>
<p>It’s not the topic; it’s what you do with the topic.</p>
<hr>
<p>It is interesting that you mentioned “service trip” and “death of family member”. One of the maybe 10 or 15 best college essays that I’ve read, out of hundreds, actually combined those two supposedly cliche topics. The writer is at an Ivy now.</p>
<hr>
<p>For good advice about college essays, see [Essays</a>, Admission Information, Undergraduate Admission, U.Va.](<a href=“http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html]Essays”>http://www.virginia.edu/undergradadmission/writingtheessay.html). In fact, that site has an example of a “good” essay and an example of a “bad” essay on the subject of death–which, again, goes to show that it is not the topic, it’s what you do with the topic.</p>
<p>That’s excellent advice, however my problem is exactly what you describe. </p>
<p>My experience, the people I met, helped, even just came in contact with did affect me in the way I want to spin my essay (I was deciding between medicine/health related majors and journalism and the kids made up my mind for me, so I want to write about gaining the ability to heal), and it sounds like exactly the same spin as thousands of other applicants.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>True, and excellent advice, but for those who aren’t superb writers, it may be difficult to give often-done topics a new, personal spin. It’s very easy to fall into some idea of what/how you think you’re supposed to write when dealing with common topics, and it may be easier to eschew that mentality just by avoiding such topics entirely.</p>
<p>Aim for personal, detailed and revealing. An essay that is so you that only you could write it.</p>
<p>If your essay is personal, detailed, and revealing, then you won’t have to worry:* it will be original, it won’t be cliche.*</p>
<hr>
<p>
</p>
<p>Don’t try to “spin” your essay.</p>
<p>Spinning is telling, and the rule is Show, don’t Tell.</p>
<p>Look at this link:</p>
<p>[Show</a>, don’t tell](<a href=“http://users.wirefire.com/tritt/tip1.html]Show”>http://users.wirefire.com/tritt/tip1.html)</p>
<hr>
<p>Your essay about service in India should not even say “…and this is why I want to be a doctor”. That is a telling. Telling is not persuasive because * anyone can say anything.*</p>
<p>The details of your experience:–personal details, that make your experience different from anyone else’s–are what make an essay persuasive. After you have spent 500 words showing what you did…it should be obvious that you have a love of healing. </p>
<p>Spinning it, telling that you want to be a doctor, that you want to heal should be unnecessary and redundant after you’ve written about your experiences, revealed your love of healing, what makes it meaningful for you.</p>
<p>If your essay doesn’t show a love for healing, then your “spin” at the end isn’t going to persuade anyone. It will look like exactly what it is: spin.</p>
<hr>
<p>“Cliche” means: something that pretty much everyone knows or could easily conclude. It means something that might be true but won’t set you apart from other applicants.</p>
<p>Is it your plan to say “I learned that it is important to help people and I want to do that.”? That would be cliche.</p>
<p>Is it your plan to show your compassion by revealing personal details of what you did, what you observed, and who you helped? That could be much more meaningful and persuasive imo. </p>
<hr>
<p>Think about this example: the parable of the Good Samaritan.</p>
<p>Which is more persuasive: </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Will it add anything at the end of the second one to conclude by saying</p>
<p>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Look carefully at those two essay excerpts about death. A person who emulates the second one will have an excellent essay, even though its topic is the so-called cliche topic of death.</p>
<hr>
<p>If you have an meaningful, revealing, personal experience in India that people who know you agree would make for a good, detailed essay that would allow your readers to get to know you personally, then don’t be dissuaded by people who wrongly say that a college essay, to be good, must be about something that no one has ever heard of or thought of. That is untrue. I’ve read excellent essays on every so-called cliche topic that you can imagine, and the writers of those essays have been admitted to excellent schools. It’s not the topic; it’s what you do with the topic.</p>
<hr>
<p>Cross posted with glassesarechic:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>If one’s best, most personal essay topic is about a service project, or a sport, or a death, then imo it would be a mistake to jettison that topic out of fear. It would far better to make the essay personal, detailed and revealing–an essay that only that person could write–because it is intimately based on their own experiences and reflections. </p>
<p>Have the courage to write what you truly want to write, what truly can reveal you!</p>
<p>Okay, it may be true that there are no cliche topics, but there are certain topics that are ridiculously easy to treat as cliche. If you can put an original spin on it, great. But many can’t.</p>
<p>I guess the common “cliche” topics, in that sense, are (many of which you seem to be aware of):</p>
<ol>
<li>Death of a family member (grandmother, dog…)</li>
<li>Trips abroad where you realize how fortunate you are, adapt to new cultures, find out that people aren’t so different, etc.</li>
<li>Success stories more about the results than the journey, usually involving sports</li>
<li>Gimmick essays that try to be overly cute</li>
</ol>
<p>Of course, it’s not to say doing one of these topics means an automatic out. You’re just less likely to stand out.</p>
<p>Wow, thanks guys!</p>
<p>How much showing does the 150 word short answer have to do? Because it’s a bit short. It seems more like it’s describing…so showing may be a bit hard in a short space.</p>
<p>not really a reply to your question, but are you volunteering with mother teresa’s missionaries of charity? because i’m in calcutta right and i am. i’m also volunteering at a home for abandoned mentally/physically handicapped children called daya dan</p>
<p>Yep! It’s an amazing place, isn’t it?</p>