This essay could work for prompts 1 and 7 for the Common App.
We love her as an example of a great essay because she pushed herself to be vulnerable and to be imperfect. She also did an amazing job of following our guidelines for writing an interesting, funny, and unique college essay, which automatically makes her one of our favorites.
Penn didn’t love the essay because doing the dishes is inherently interesting or triggering a renovation is an exemplary illustration of collegiate brilliance. Quite the opposite. They loved the essay because the experience of doing the dishes is nearly universal and her mistake was honest and human, so the moment when she puts dish soap where the detergent is supposed to go is easy to visualize and guaranteed to make you cringe. The student was able to take something mundane and normal, and use it as a tool of humanizing herself, giving the admissions officers an opportunity to see behind the stellar grades and scores to the earnest, people pleasing, do-anything-for-family young woman underneath.
The challenge was to show something about her through her essay that gave colleges a peek into what makes her unique – her character, her sense of humor, and her willingness to be the punchline if it’s a good enough joke.
This essay could work for prompts 1, 2 and 7 for the Common App.
As I write my college essays, I am tempted to bring up items in my life that would certainly come across as funny or quirky in my essays, but I’m concerned about the admissions officers not knowing what I bring up.
The two most effective ways to begin your essay that we recommend in are the "in media res" opening and the "specific generalization" opening. An "in media res" opening is a line that launches the reader right into the middle of your story, so it grabs their attention right away. If you're interested in the medical field, you might choose to write about an EMT program that you did in high school (not saying you have to have done this, just an example). Imagining this scenario, your "in media res" intro might be something like:
I am on Oxford Academy’s Speech and Debate Team, in both the Parliamentary Debate division and the Lincoln-Douglass debate division. I write screenplays, short stories, and opinionated blogs and am a regular contributor to my school literary magazine, The Gluestick. I have accumulated over 300 community service hours that includes work at homeless shelters, libraries, and special education youth camps. I have been evaluated by the College Board and have placed within the top percentile.
For example, would it be appropriate to briefly bring up the game “Fortnite” in my essay or would it detract from my essay leading to the AOs not understanding the reference?
Craziest/Funniest/Best college essay topic? : r/ApplyingToCollege
The best way to open a college essay depends on what you're writing about, but using humor is totally acceptable as long as it's thematically consistent. As you said, the point of the essay is to showcase your personality and what makes you special. If you feel that your sense of humor is a big part of who you are, and you can relate it to the main focus of your essay, a funny line can be a great hook.
Whats the most memorable college essay topic youve seen or read
I’m experiencing bad writer’s block, and can’t find a way to open my college essay! This is really stressful because I’m hoping to get into a prestigious biomedical program, and I don’t how to make myself immediately stand out.
Should You Be Funny In Your College Essay + Examples
As we wind down and get closer to decision day, I had a question for the sub: what's the most memorable college essay topic you've seen or read? This can be something your friend wrote, something you saw online, etc. It could be a funny topic or just a really well-written piece. Don't mention the Harvard letter S girl though lol.
Funny College Application Essay – @jonnyandy on Tumblr
Some colleges like Pomona and Brown seem to really pull for quirk. Having gone through the college admissions process twice with my two students in recent years, it seems the biggest challenge IS to separate yourself from the pack and stand out. Quirkiness definitely does that, so the trick becomes demonstrating quirkiness in a good way, not odd or strange way, like you have unique strengths, interests, talents, contributions to make to a community of scholars.
SS > jokes > Hugh Gallaghers College Essay
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Ever read funny college essays that worked
Make (Montage) structure work for you. This essay uses what we call Montage Structure, which uses a “thematic thread” (in this case, laptop stickers) to connect different, perhaps otherwise seemingly disconnected sides of who a student is. One strength (among many) of this structural approach is that it can allow a student to demonstrate a broad range of values and experiences that have shaped them, which in turn helps a college understand who you are through the values, interests, insights, skills, and qualities you bring to their campus and community. For a more complete to shape your personal statement, check out that link.