What are college admissions officers looking for when they read your essay?

Admissions officers look for students whose essays reveal their character and perspective through their real experiences, not contrived situations. Admissions officers say most essays they read are safe, generic and do nothing to make them remember or want to advocate for the students who wrote them.

How bored do admissions officers get when they read college essays?

The admissions counselor reading your essay is not bored, they are tired and looking for something original.

How do I choose a topic for my college application essay?

5 Tricks for Choosing Your College Essay Topic

1. Focus on a moment. One of the easiest ways to think of a college essay topic is to focus on a specific instance that changed you or that represents something about your character.
2. Try to stand out.
3. When disaster strikes…
4. Be genuine.
5. Write about your childhood.

What are good topics for college essays?

Tackling the Common App Essay Prompts

• Prompt #1: Share your story.
• Prompt #2: Learning from obstacles.
• Prompt #3: Challenging a belief.
• Prompt #4: Solving a problem.
• Prompt #5: Personal growth.
• Prompt #6: What captivates you?
• Prompt #7: Topic of your choice.
• Describe a person you admire.

How do college admissions officers decide?

Standards are usually based on test scores, GPA, enrollment quotas, and other predetermined criteria. Student applications that move forward then go to committee, where college admissions counselors read applications and determine who gets accepted or rejected.

What do admissions officers look for in an essay?

Admissions officers look at much more than the topic students select when assessing college essays. (Getty Images) Grades and test scores may measure a student’s academic potential, but those factors fail to capture his or her personality. That’s where the college essay comes in.

What topics should I avoid in my college essay?

What topics should you avoid? Politics and religion. Everyone comes to the table with bias, and even though admissions officers are discouraged from making admissions decisions on this, it happens. Especially if your college essay is polarizing.

Does a college essay topic have to be unique?

A college essay topic doesn’t have to be unique to be a good choice for applicants, experts say. Admissions officers look at much more than the topic students select when assessing college essays.

Should high school students write about common subjects in college essays?

High school students may worry about not having an original topic for their college essay – that anything they write about will be something admissions officers have read countless times before. But admissions deans and directors from several colleges told U.S. News that it’s OK if applicants write about a common subject.