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Turning Your Admission Essay from Tired to Fresh
As an editor, one of my least favorite essays to read is the cliche essay. It's also one of my least favorites to critique. Correcting grammar? That's the kind of thing that doesn't hurt feelings. Telling a student their camp counseling story just isn't interesting? That's a little more tenuous.
Remember though, that college admissions isn't about feelings. The person reading your essay will likely never meet you face to face. They will never have to even give you feedback. This gives them the privilege of disliking your essay in private, without heed for your ego.
In theory, you, the high school essay composer, should use this as an opportunity. Let's say you pick an experience topic that we will call, erm, familiar. Camp counseling. Sporting triumph. Church volunteer trip. Habitat for Humanity. I'm not suggesting that these life events aren't milestones. They may be cause for epiphanies. But a lot of the time, they are just things-kids-do-to-beef-up-a-college-resume, and your university can see that.
So find your story. Don't just write about how summer camp taught you independence and responsibility. Tell us about the time the power went out and you had to grill food on the campfire. Don't just write about your water polo championship, write about the time your mom's car ran out of gas on the way to the Finals.
Don't make things up. But think of what story you'd tell at a dinner party. The story you'd tell if you wanted to make someone laugh. The story you'd tell if you wanted to commiserate. The story you'd tell if you wanted to help someone through a hard time. These are the good stories.
These stories are fresh, not tired. These are the ones that you would want to read.
Labels: Turning Your Admission Essay from Tired to Fresh
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