The college admission essay is your chance to show off your personality, share your experiences and tell your story. Most 4-year universities require at least one essay and focus on how you overcame a challenge.
So how can you stand out in a sea of fellow applicants?
First things first, here is what you shouldn’t do:
This is your chance to stand out and convince your dream school why you’re a good fit. Use a strong opening sentence and paragraph to grab the reader’s attention. Remember, the person reading is your essay is likely evaluating hundreds of essays. Avoid just restating your resume or talking about a common life experience.
Traumatic and graphic experiences happen in life. If you’re going to use these in your essay, don’t focus on the negative. Instead of talking about the trauma, highlight your response and personal growth from it. Did you overcome a difficult challenge? How do you grow from the experience? Don’t go into graphic detail about sex, violence, body horror or illegal activites.
Graphic things happen, but avoid telling them in great detail. This includes sex, violence, body horror or illegal activities. If something traumatic happened to you, focus on your response to it and how it affected your growth as a person.
It goes without saying that lying on your college application is the quickest way to get denied. Exaggerating for dramatic effect is also frowned upon.
Application essays have a broad topic for a reason, but make sure you stay on-topic throughout your essay. The essay should be about you, and therefore you should be an active character throughout it. Don’t tell a story about what someone else did or get caught up in details that don’t help the reader understand the story.
Make sure your essay is grammatically correct and free from any spelling errors. Have a trusted adult — parents, guardians, teachers, extracurricular leaders, college advisors, etc. — review your essay for content and copy edits.
Pay attention to the deadlines for each college you’re applying to. Some colleges close their application as early as November, but will accept additional documents like an essay until later.
For example, Texas A&M University’s application closes December 1, but the Office of Admission accepts additional documents up until December 15.
Now that you’ve read what you shouldn’t do, let’s take a look at our top tips for your college admissions essays.
First and foremost, address what the essay tells you to. Staying on-topic and following instructions are ways your essay will be scored. Your essay shouldn’t be a complete autobiography. Instead, it should use a specific instance to answer the question and reveal more about your unique personality. Be sure your essay doesn’t repeat things listed elsewhere on the application. Do more than recount the experience, explain how it changed or impacted you.
We mentioned earlier that you shouldn’t lie or exaggerate, but authenticity goes beyond just telling the truth. Your writing style should match your personality. If you’re an outgoing, spunky person, your essay shouldn’t be stiff and super formal. Keep your audience in mind, though. This is a college application essay, not a text message to your friends. Make sure your writing is natural — no thesaurus necessary.
Essay topics are generally broad, but your response should be specific. Texas A&M’s essay prompt is:
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
For example, COVID-19 is a challenge that has affected everyone in a different way. By focusing on details, you set yourself apart. Everyone is living through the pandemic, but your experience is unique to you. Your essay should highlight that uniqueness and how you’ll be an asset to the university.
Again, your essay is an opportunity to provide more information. Don’t feel uneasy about marketing yourself — brag!
Once you’re done with your first draft, reread the essay and look for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Read the essay aloud so you can notice if sentences are clunky or run on. Make sure that you’ve adequately answered the question, without providing too much or too little information. Have a trusted adult provide feedback as well.
When a university reviews your application, they’re not just seeing if you’re a good student who tests well. They want to see if you’re a good fit for the campus culture. Do your values align with the university? If so, express that in your essay. Make sure not to create dramatic leaps to make the connections, but write about how you’ve growned to appreciate these values.
Now that you know what to and what not to do on your admissions essay, go out there and rock your college application! Looking for college application tips beyond the essay portion? Find those here.
Interested in applying to Texas A&M? Our application is open August 1 – December 1 and can be found here. We look forward to reviewing your application!
Texas A&M University provides a home to students from all backgrounds. With 1,100+ student organizations and more than 140 undergraduate programs to choose from, the Aggie family extends to people with different interests, passions and hobbies.
Students excel where they feel more comfortable. At Texas A&M, you’ll find a second home and family with students that share your personal and career interests while getting a world-class education. You’ll get access to top-of-the-line resources, undergraduate research opportunities and excellent professors.
Texas A&M helps send well-rounded individuals into the world. You’ll learn the skills necessary for your degree and grow in leadership, communication and teamwork. Students from across the world call Aggieland their home — if you want to not only change the world, but improve it, Texas A&M is Where You Belong.
So how can you stand out in a sea of fellow applicants?
First things first, here is what you shouldn’t do:
- Be generic or tell a boring story
This is your chance to stand out and convince your dream school why you’re a good fit. Use a strong opening sentence and paragraph to grab the reader’s attention. Remember, the person reading is your essay is likely evaluating hundreds of essays. Avoid just restating your resume or talking about a common life experience.
- Be too graphic
Traumatic and graphic experiences happen in life. If you’re going to use these in your essay, don’t focus on the negative. Instead of talking about the trauma, highlight your response and personal growth from it. Did you overcome a difficult challenge? How do you grow from the experience? Don’t go into graphic detail about sex, violence, body horror or illegal activites.
Graphic things happen, but avoid telling them in great detail. This includes sex, violence, body horror or illegal activities. If something traumatic happened to you, focus on your response to it and how it affected your growth as a person.
- Lie or exaggerate
It goes without saying that lying on your college application is the quickest way to get denied. Exaggerating for dramatic effect is also frowned upon.
- Stray off-topic or ramble
Application essays have a broad topic for a reason, but make sure you stay on-topic throughout your essay. The essay should be about you, and therefore you should be an active character throughout it. Don’t tell a story about what someone else did or get caught up in details that don’t help the reader understand the story.
- Make spelling, grammar or punctuation errors
Make sure your essay is grammatically correct and free from any spelling errors. Have a trusted adult — parents, guardians, teachers, extracurricular leaders, college advisors, etc. — review your essay for content and copy edits.
- Turn your essay in late
Pay attention to the deadlines for each college you’re applying to. Some colleges close their application as early as November, but will accept additional documents like an essay until later.
For example, Texas A&M University’s application closes December 1, but the Office of Admission accepts additional documents up until December 15.
Now that you’ve read what you shouldn’t do, let’s take a look at our top tips for your college admissions essays.
- Answer the question
First and foremost, address what the essay tells you to. Staying on-topic and following instructions are ways your essay will be scored. Your essay shouldn’t be a complete autobiography. Instead, it should use a specific instance to answer the question and reveal more about your unique personality. Be sure your essay doesn’t repeat things listed elsewhere on the application. Do more than recount the experience, explain how it changed or impacted you.
- Be authentic
We mentioned earlier that you shouldn’t lie or exaggerate, but authenticity goes beyond just telling the truth. Your writing style should match your personality. If you’re an outgoing, spunky person, your essay shouldn’t be stiff and super formal. Keep your audience in mind, though. This is a college application essay, not a text message to your friends. Make sure your writing is natural — no thesaurus necessary.
- Provide only useful information
Essay topics are generally broad, but your response should be specific. Texas A&M’s essay prompt is:
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
For example, COVID-19 is a challenge that has affected everyone in a different way. By focusing on details, you set yourself apart. Everyone is living through the pandemic, but your experience is unique to you. Your essay should highlight that uniqueness and how you’ll be an asset to the university.
Again, your essay is an opportunity to provide more information. Don’t feel uneasy about marketing yourself — brag!
- Proofread your essay
Once you’re done with your first draft, reread the essay and look for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. Read the essay aloud so you can notice if sentences are clunky or run on. Make sure that you’ve adequately answered the question, without providing too much or too little information. Have a trusted adult provide feedback as well.
- Emphasize how your story highlights the university’s values
When a university reviews your application, they’re not just seeing if you’re a good student who tests well. They want to see if you’re a good fit for the campus culture. Do your values align with the university? If so, express that in your essay. Make sure not to create dramatic leaps to make the connections, but write about how you’ve growned to appreciate these values.
Now that you know what to and what not to do on your admissions essay, go out there and rock your college application! Looking for college application tips beyond the essay portion? Find those here.
Interested in applying to Texas A&M? Our application is open August 1 – December 1 and can be found here. We look forward to reviewing your application!
Texas A&M University provides a home to students from all backgrounds. With 1,100+ student organizations and more than 140 undergraduate programs to choose from, the Aggie family extends to people with different interests, passions and hobbies.
Students excel where they feel more comfortable. At Texas A&M, you’ll find a second home and family with students that share your personal and career interests while getting a world-class education. You’ll get access to top-of-the-line resources, undergraduate research opportunities and excellent professors.
Texas A&M helps send well-rounded individuals into the world. You’ll learn the skills necessary for your degree and grow in leadership, communication and teamwork. Students from across the world call Aggieland their home — if you want to not only change the world, but improve it, Texas A&M is Where You Belong.