THE ABSOLUTE DON’TS OF COLLEGE ESSAY TOPICS

While the personal statement is an invitation to share more about yourself, there are definitely topics that you should avoid. In an effort to save you some time from laboring over a draft only to realize the entire premise of the story is flawed, we’re going to spell out which topics you should avoid, from the “You can do better” category to the “Don’t touch this with a ten-foot pole” topics. 

The Autobiography – “I was born in Ohio to Ron and Hermione Granger. Then I moved to…”

The major issue with this type of essay is that this type of birds-eye view of your life is likely to cause the eyes of your admissions reader to glaze over. You should not try to tell your entire life story in 650 words. Instead, try focusing on one moment or series of moments that have had a profound impact on your life. 

However, this topic falls into the category of “You can do better” because there are ways to fix an essay that looks like an autobiography. For example, it is perfectly valid to talk about a couple events in your life that have defined you or shaped how you see the world today. But the idea is to zoom in on a few moments rather than stay at the 20,000 feet level. 

The Love Story – “I found the one!”

Don’t touch this with a ten-foot pole. 

A Stanford admissions officer once told the story of a top applicant from an exclusive East Coast boarding school who not only had all the academic credentials but was also her senior class president and had won all sorts of accolades and awards. Then he got to her essay....about her breakup. Sadly, she wasted the opportunity to help the reader see a fuller picture of who she was, and she was rejected from Stanford.

There are no ways to make an admissions reader interested in a topic like this. What does this type of essay say about you if the one time you had a chance to impress an admissions officer you wrote about your love life instead of literally anything else? People have gotten into schools writing about fly fishing and origami, so pick anything else!

The Trip – “My visit to Chile gave me a new perspective!” 

Again, this essay topic is flawed. First, if your trip was a vacation, don’t talk about it. It will only highlight your privilege. But even if it was a service trip, the main point of the essay should not be the trip, and the lesson learned should not be as generic as gaining “a new perspective.” You can do better.

Please be aware that this is one of the most common topics that students write about in their applications. But if you still want to center your essay on your service trip experience, here are a few tips. First, get more specific about what you learned. It should be a specific, tangible lesson that has impacted you beyond your trip. There should be tangible changes between the version of you before and after the trip; if that is not the case, pick another essay topic. If you can speak about these changes, be sure to add context in your essay, highlight specific moments or interactions, and build into the realization. 

The Cliché Triumph – “When I crossed the finish line, I knew the hard work paid off.”

You can do so much better. This prompt is similar to “the trip” because not only is it a popular topic choice among applicants, it also lends itself to very common takeaways. The lesson learned should not be that hard work pays off, or you get out how much you put in, or that you realized the importance of teamwork. If you must write about any type of competition, be it sports or academic-related, try to draw out some other sort of self-realization that helps the reader understand who you are and what makes you tick. 

The 3 D’s: Death, Depression or Divorce – “When my uncle died, I came to value life.”

The mistake that many students make when writing about these experiences is that the focus tends to be on the “dramatic event” verses on how the student grew and changed from the challenge. So we will often read sad and moving tributes to a beloved grandparent or a parent who passed away too young, but that type of writing tells us very little about the student himself or herself. Alternately, a student will dwell on their traumatic experiences with divorce (statistically, around 50% of American students have had this experience) or on a bout of depression (again, very common) without realizing that many others have unfortunately had the same struggles. You can do better! If you must write about one of The Three D’s, make sure that your essay is focused on your own growth through the challenge. 

We hope this article helped you to think through which application essay topics to avoid, but what about what topics to consider? Feel free to request a free consultation with us for some pointers about your essays!