5 Mistakes Students Make When Writing the Common App Essay

  1. Trying to fit their whole life story into a 650-word essay. Narrow your focus! An essay that spans over a long portion of time will be less effective than a story that has meaning and connects to a larger theme about who you are. What is it you want the college admissions board to know about you? Pick one story to tell and then connect it to the theme of what it is you want them to know about yourself.

  2. Thinking they have nothing worthy of writing about. This is something I’ve heard over and over again in my years as a college planning advisor. It is something that time and time again I have helped my students move beyond. You do not need a big, crazy story to tell. This essay is about telling a story that extends itself to a larger theme of yourself. Maybe you have a weekly game night with your family and it has taught you a larger life lesson that extends beyond the game night. Everyone has stories to tell.

  3. Using cliches (please avoid this!). This is something that makes a lot of admissions counselors want to pull their hair out. Keep your language fresh! This is not something you need to worry about in your first draft, but when you are revising keep an eye out for these cliches that have snuck into your writing. For example, “I lost track of time” could be “we sat there as the clock hands moved quickly without us noticing.” Be creative!

  4. Keeping the essay to themselves. Do not keep your essay to yourself. You need to share it and get feedback from as many people as possible. There are so many things we miss when we are writing about our own lives/experiences that we sometimes expect others to just know. You also don’t want to submit an essay with a bunch of grammatical errors. Ask a parent, a friend, a teacher, or ANYBODY you can think of to read and give you feedback. Doing this multiple times, with multiple drafts, will leave you with the best possible essay for submission.

  5. Not being authentic. This is SO important. Don’t just say what you think the college admissions officer wants to hear. You are a unique individual with unique experiences and outlooks on the world. I promise you that the college admissions officer will recognize if you are just feeding them what you think they want to hear. This is your one opportunity on your application to show them who you truly are in your own words. Please don’t waste it by being insincere.

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Hannah Devecht