College Admissions Essay: What to NOT Write About
While itâs time to apply for college, most students struggle with writing a college essay. There is no doubt that college essays are quite challenging. Nevertheless, writing a college essay is one of the intimidating parts of the admission process.
Well, the main goal for students is to demonstrate their communication skills and show their insights. Therefore, choosing the right and unique topic for your essay is extremely crucial.
Often time, students pick the wrong topics for their essay. It can adversely affect your college application. Considering that, here are some topics you should avoid while writing an essay.
1.Cliche Sports Victory
Like many other students, you may also want to write your college essay on a recent sport event. However, itâs one of the most common topics students write on, and thus sports essays are often predictable.
Your admission officer has already heard enough about the agony of defeat or clichéd sports victory. If you still want to write about your sport experiences, make sure to do it with a fresh and unique perspective.
2.Writing about Politics or Religion
Politics and religion are some of the topics that you should avoid when writing your college essay. With such a topic, there is a risk that you will show a lack of self-awareness. In addition, admission officers donât prefer students who have polarizing views on politics or religion.
You never know where your admission officer stands on political or religious issues. If you write on these topics, you might end up offending the reader. Therefore, avoid writing on contentious topics, no matter how passionate youâre about them.
3.Illegal Activities
Do not write about drinking, arrests, or drug use. Talking about your past indiscretions in a college admission essay can present you in an unfavorable light. Even if you have already abandoned those illegal activities, writing an essay on these topics can raise red flags.
4.Whining About Misfortunes
You probably have faced various challenges in your life; however, admission officers are keen to know about your struggles and how you tackle difficult situations. Nevertheless, no college wants to read an essay in which you are constantly whining about your personal misfortunes. Note that, essays that seek sympathy or present you as a victim can backfire.
Always focus on the positive aspects and write about how you have learned to adapt to various challenging environments.
5.Volunteer Experiences and Trips
Most students find these topics to be the easiest for their college essay. However, these topics are also clichéd. Your admission officer would not like to read a summary of your trips or volunteer experiences. In case, you still want to talk about your experiences in your college essay, try to add something unexpected or interesting that happened during your trip. There is no doubt that specific happenings can contribute to a great essay.
The Bottom Line
While college essays give you a great opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills and unique talents, writing a terrible essay can lower your chance of getting into a good college. Not to mention, an applicantâs essay plays a crucial role in the admission decision. Therefore, you need to choose a unique topic to impress your reader.
