What are cliché college essay topics? - Scribbr
So far, we have focused on very specific essay topics you should steer clear of. However, there are many students who gain admission to their dream colleges every year by using these topics. What’s their secret? Simply put, they have found a way to make cliche topics feel a bit less cliche.
The ideal essay topic is one that makes the committee trust you and believe that you’ll add value to the college. That’s going to be tough to do when you write about illegal or unethical activities.
For example, if you decide to do a “resume” style essay, don’t try to dazzle them with all of your different accomplishments. Instead, zero in on one very specific accomplishment, and dive into layers of reflection and meaning. This gives you much more room to detail how the experience shaped you into the kind of person who will to the college. The same wisdom holds true for writing about your mission trip: if you must write about it, try to focus on that we’re not expecting. Like, did it teach you about healthy boundaries and autonomy and balance, instead of the cliche version. .
What are some examples of cliche college application essays?
And even when it’s not an outright crime, you should refrain from writing about unethical activities that make you look bad. For example, some students have actually written college essays about how they were caught cheating on a test and ultimately learned from the experience. Learning from mistakes is fine and all, but the only outcome of such an essay is making the admissions committee question how long it will take you to start cheating on various college tests and essays.
Students believe talking about adversity and how they overcame it is a good topic while writing college essays. Writing about a tragedy in your life and how you overcame it seems like a good option. It can be if done well, but at the same time is an overused topic that many, many students use. You'll have to write it in a unique way. Even then, it is still overused.
Students believe talking about adversity and how they overcame it is a good topic while writing college essays. Writing about a tragedy in your life and how you overcame it seems like a good option. It can be if done well, but at the same time is an overused topic that many, many students use. You'll have to write it in a unique way. Even then, it is still overused.
As we detailed before, an issue with most immigration college essays is that they focus on worn topics such as adjusting to a new place, learning new languages and cultures, and so on. If you’re going to write this essay, you’ll be better off focusing on something like a single specific moment (like what you did the first time you encountered racism or xenophobia) or a much less conventional challenge you faced (for example, asking someone out on a date when you are still struggling with a new language).
15 College Essay Topics To Avoid and Why | Tips & Examples
This is an overused topic for the college admissions essay, where students write about injuries, obstacles, and success stories. It is quite common and will not help you stand out. The problem with such a college essay topic is it becomes predictable. Maybe your injury sparked a passion for medicine and has led you to want to pursue a career as a doctor! Then you can explore that route as it is more unique. Do you see where we're going with these examples
However, its a cliche college essay topic to avoid
When writing college essays about your personal hero, be sure to actually focus more on yourself than on them. Help us see what you learned from them, how you’ve applied those lessons, and how they’ve shaped you into the thinker and scholar you are today.
What are college essay topics that are over used/not original?
5) Anything that you have nothing good to say about. It's absolutely valid to have parts of your life that are difficult to talk about, but don't talk about something you aren't ready to. Whatever your essay ends up being about, it should leave a positive impression on the admissions counselors. This is really hard to do if you're writing about a topic you feel overall negatively about. Side note: if you have something on your chest that you want to write about just to get it down on paper, I encourage you to do so! The personal essay process can be really good for reflection, I'd just suggest you do it for you and not for an essay you submit. However, during this process you may discover a part of your life that was related tangentially that you do feel positively about, in which case you might want to consider whether to write about that for a college essay!
6 Insanely Cliché Common App Essay Topics to Avoid! - YouTube
As a final note, the list at the top is probably not comprehensive. I encourage you to look up videos/articles by people who review college essays for a living, either actual admissions counselors or people who offer college essay review services. They have seen WAY more essays than I have, and can tell you what people write about much better than I can. It's also just pretty fun to watch YouTube videos and count it as part of your college application process. Here are some links if you want to explore this more:
10 Overused College Essay Topics to Avoid - Lessonpal
In a perfect world, this would go without saying, but here goes: whatever you do, make sure your college essay doesn’t talk about you participating in illegal or unethical activities. For example, if you casually mention illegal drug use in your essay, it will make the college worry about you partaking in illegal drugs while at the college. They may even worry about you getting others (such as frat brothers or sorority sisters) using illegal drugs as well. Not a great look.