who should i ask to read my college essay

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Writing your personal statement may seem daunting; after all, it’s the one piece that will form the core of your presentation of your character and ambitions to admissions officers. However, fear not! The good news is that you likely have many people in your life to whom you can turn for help. 

So whom should you approach for help with your essay? There is no set rule on who can or can’t provide advice and assistance—as long as you are the one doing the actual writing, of course. (It’s important to remember that if you don’t write your own essay, the consequences can be severe .) 

Read on for a list of the type of people who might be able to help out, as well as the pros and cons of each.

Your English Teachers

Your English teachers are default choices not only because they are experts on the fundamentals of writing and grammar, but also because they are familiar with your writing style and strengths. You can ask your English teachers to proofread your essay—catch grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, typos, and awkward phrasing—as well as offer suggestions on structure and content.

Keep in mind that many of your classmates may be asking your teachers for help, too, so don’t take it personally if the teacher you ask is unable to help you within the time frame you need. Thus, during peak college applications period, it is crucial to give your teachers at least 3 weeks’ time to read and offer suggestions. 

You can also consider asking someone who taught you English in an earlier grade, since they are probably getting fewer requests. Or, think about asking someone who taught you a different subject, such as social studies or history. Writing is a skill required in a myriad of subjects, so it is probable that there are other teachers who are familiar with your writing and are willing to provide feedback on your essay.

Keep in mind that although they are authorities on the subject of writing, you shouldn’t accept every suggestion blindly. 

Think twice about edits that render your college essay overly “academic” in tone.  Also remember that what your teachers are used to looking for in a stand-out essay is likely different from what admissions officers look for. With any content suggestions, always remember your overall message, and reflect on whether these changes would accentuate or detract from your application theme . 

Peers and Classmates

Another good option is your peers and classmates. For the personal statement in particular, they are probably more likely than teachers to gauge whether your essay is a good reflection of you and your voice. It is called the personal statement for a reason, and your essay should definitely do its best to convey who you are to a reader. 

However, they are also students who haven’t been through the admissions process before, so take this fact into consideration. Contextualize their advice, and always consider whether their suggestions would change the core theme or tone of your essay. 

Your School Counselor

A bit part of the school counselor’s job is to guide students through the college application process. Ideally, they should have the keenest eye on what works or doesn’t work for a college essay, and what colleges generally want to see in personal statements.  

You can go to your counselor for help with interpreting a prompt if you are struggling with ideas, or for review of an essay you’ve already written. For school-specific essays, your guidance counselor may be able to provide input as to what specific admissions committees like to see. Do remember that your counselor is not an admissions officer, so exercise your own judgement with regards to suggestions. 

Family Members

If you have older siblings or other family members who have been through the college applications process within the past few years, they might also be a good resource for questions and other support, particularly if they applied to the same or similar colleges to the ones on your list. Since they went through the process recently, they understand what you’re going through. As family members, there’s probably going to more transparency; they are probably going to more direct with suggestions, and you can voice your own concerns more clearly. 

Family members who attended or were accepted to your target schools recently are the best audience. They will be able to tell you what particular qualities the school values, and what they think gave them the edge in their application. (See following section).

If they didn’t apply to the schools on your list, it may be best to just treat them as another casual reader, and use this chance to catch small technical errors. If they applied more than a few years ago, also keep in mind that the process may have changed, so also take their advice with a grain of salt.

College X Alumni/Alumnae and Current Students

Graduates and current students of a particular college on your list could be one of your best resources, since they can provide the most specialized help for the school in question. These people know the culture of the college and have the best sense of what the admissions committee is looking for in a candidate. Current students may have even responded to the same prompt, and can provide advice unique to that specific essay.

If you know an alum of or current student at a college to which you are applying, it may be a good idea to reach out and ask if they can read your essay and offer any school-specific advice. If you don’t know anyone affiliated with the college, consider the various networks you have at your disposal. Perhaps an alum of your high school attended that college and could offer advice. Even if you don’t know these people personally, a shared connection might make them more willing to offer support. You could also check with school counselor to see if they might be able to connect you with alumni from a specific college.

Wrapping it Up

Feel free to ask multiple people to read your essay ­– it’s smart to get different perspectives on your work. Regardless of whom you ask, be sure to always reflect on whether their advice changes the tone or message of your essay. You want to be sure you’re preserving your unique voice and that your essays reflect who you are.

Last but not least, thank your readers! Reading your essay and giving comments takes time. A thank you note is always a nice touch as well.

How CollegeVine can help with your essays 

CollegeVine offers many resources for students at any stage of the college applications process. If you’re looking for tips on mastering the essays for the particular colleges to which you are applying, check out our school-by-school essay breakdowns .

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

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Do’s and Don’ts for College Essays

By Matt Musico*

Writing your college essay can be a huge hurdle to jump over in completing your college applications. It can also create a ton of stress because you want to put your best foot forward to the admissions officers who will read it. Before you sit down to start writing, keep the following tips in mind.

Do: Be Honest

Don’t: try to impress.

Every single year, multiple students ask me what kind of topic would impress a college admissions office. And, every single year, my answer is the same: what will impress them is whatever story you’re most excited to tell.

Entering the college essay-writing process by choosing a topic you think will look impressive is not necessarily going to make it stand out in a pile of applications while they’re getting evaluated. What college admissions offices truly want to see is a slice of your personality. It’s one of the very few places in an application where you get to show who you are and what experiences have shaped your current mindset/trajectory in life.

It may be easier for students to share honest stories about themselves when they learn how admissions officers use a college essay during the evaluation process. The essay is an opportunity for admission officers to get a sense of how your personality would fit socially on their specific campus. Knowing what they do about the institution they work for; they use essays to gauge how well you’d assimilate and contribute to student life.

The easiest way for admissions officers to get an accurate picture of you is to show your true self – not what you think they want to read about.

Do: Own Your Story

Don’t: speak in clichés.

You may have heard about common college essay clichés. Whether it’s how sports taught you about the importance of teamwork or how traveling to another country broadened your horizons, admissions counselors have seen them all, multiple times over.

During peak application season, application readers can view as many as 50 applications per day. If you want to ensure that your essay falls into the large pile of essay topics they’ve seen before, include a cliché or two while you’re trying too hard to impress.

The best way to make an essay unique is to tell your story in a way nobody else can. You can do this by including thoughtful details and personal insights, which include your own thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the specific examples you plan on writing about. This way, it’d be difficult for anyone else to tell the story the way you just did – even if they experienced the same exact thing.

A great way to find out whether you have enough detail in a story or not is to read it over and be honest. There’s nothing wrong with saying for example, that being an athlete taught you about the value of teamwork. But anybody can say such a thing. Add why and how you realized this to make your essay more personal. If you ask yourself, “Can anyone else tell this story the way I just told it?” and the answer is yes, then you need more detail.

If you’re unable to do that, you may have to find a different story to tell.

Do: Share New Information

Don’t: turn it into a cover letter.

As I said before, there aren’t many places in a college application to showcase your personality. Outside of the essay, the only other opportunities are the descriptions of your extracurricular activities, and if a school asks for it, additional essay questions or writing supplements. With so few places to show off who you are, it’s important to take advantage by sharing new information with each chance you get.

This is not to say you shouldn’t write about activities you’ve mentioned elsewhere in your application. If being a baseball player or being in the theater club is truly important to you, it’s okay to write about those experiences in your essay. But remember that you’ve already mentioned it elsewhere in your application, so discussing it again means you’ll need to dig into new details about your experiences to show a reader why they’re so special to you (this is where owning your story comes in handy).

Keeping that in mind, your essay isn’t the place to list and discuss all your greatest accomplishments during the last three-plus years of high school. Other parts of your application should highlight the great things about you and what you can bring to a college campus. Your essay shouldn’t sound like a cover letter, trying to convince admissions officers why they should accept you.

There are three pillars of fit that admission counselors are mindful of when evaluating applications: academic, extracurricular, and social. By the time they get to your essay, they have a sense of the first two, but not the last one.

Do: Sound Like Yourself

Don’t: use a thesaurus to sound like someone else.

A lot of the stress behind college essays for my students comes from the fact that it’s an unfamiliar assignment. Over the years, they’ve been told that their English papers need to have one introduction paragraph and one conclusion paragraph, to write formally (which can include avoiding contractions), and to stay away from using first-person language. None of that is required for a college admission essay. Instead, admissions officers encourage students to be themselves and use a conversational tone. What does that mean, though?

Your essay shouldn’t look like a text message conversation you’re having with a group of friends. To nail down this “conversational tone,” think of a high school teacher you like and respect. How would you speak to them? Use that tone in your essay (which typically ends up being friendly, yet respectful). You’re not trying to get a good grade on this essay. It’s supposed to be about you, which will help admissions officers get a sense of who you are. The only way for this to happen is to simply be you, and if your essay sounds like it was written by a teenager about to head off to college, that’s perfect because that’s exactly where you are in life right now. Don’t use a thesaurus to inject a bunch of fancy words because it will come off as unnatural if you typically don’t use them.

I’ve always viewed college applications in two different parts: the paper side and the human side. The paper side is where students should aim to look “impressive” since this includes your transcript, test scores (if submitted), and extracurricular activities. The human side is everything else, which includes letters of recommendation and your essay.

Admissions officers get a sense of your qualifications by looking at the paper side of your application. They get a sense of the person behind those qualifications by looking at the human side of your application. Use the essay to your advantage to show colleges the type of person they’d be getting on campus if they accept you.

*Matt Musico is a freelance writer for CollegeData. He has worked in higher education for the better part of a decade. Half of that time was spent working in an undergraduate admissions office, while the other half involved working with high school families as a private college counselor.

The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article belong solely to the author, and not necessarily to CollegeData, 1st Financial Bank USA or any other person or entity. All liability with respect to actions taken or not taken based on the contents of this article are hereby expressly disclaimed. 

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Who should I ask to review my college essay?

Turn to your school counselor for review. They understand what college admissions panels are looking for, and they can provide valuable insight into your piece's quality. You can also reach out to English teachers and other educators for proofreading.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, can i have someone review my college essay.

Hey guys! I just finished writing my college essay and I could really use some feedback from people who have gone through the process before. Are there any seniors or college students in this sub who might be down to look over it and give me some constructive criticism? Please let me know! Thank you so much in advance!

Of course! Many people are willing to help review college essays and provide valuable feedback. You might want to ask your friends, teachers, or family members to review your essay. However, keep in mind that teachers and school counselors also have a lot of experience with this process, so I encourage you to reach out to them too.

If you're looking for more specific advice from current college students or those who have recently gone through the admissions process, you can try reaching out to people via online forums or social media groups. CollegeVine is a great resource where you can seek feedback on your essays: https://www.collegevine.com/essays/review

When asking for feedback, it's important to be open to criticism and be ready to revise your essay accordingly. Don't be disheartened by the feedback, though, it's all part of the process!

Remember to stay safe when sharing your personal information online. You might want to consider anonymizing any sensitive or private information in your essay before sharing it with others for feedback.

Best of luck with your essay revisions! And remember, proofread several times to make sure everything is polished in the final version.

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Who else can I ask to read my essay?

I have a really important essay and I don’t know who I should ask to read it. I have only had three different english teachers throughout high school: one isn’t there anymore, one already read another one of my college essays, and for the third, I don’t trust him to read (not that he is bad or anything but as far as essays go, I dont think he will help much). For other essays, I asked my two aunts to read them as they are both teachers. At this point, I am not sure who i should ask to read this last one, aside from maybe my mom. Who did you ask to read your essays?

Bump… I’m only trying to figure out who I should ask to read my essay.

Guidance counselor? History teacher? Research mentor? Older sibling?

sibling? close friend? someone on here? I did all those, and it was helpful.

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12 Strategies to Writing the Perfect College Essay

College admission committees sift through thousands of college essays each year. Here’s how to make yours stand out.

Pamela Reynolds

When it comes to deciding who they will admit into their programs, colleges consider many criteria, including high school grades, extracurricular activities, and ACT and SAT scores. But in recent years, more colleges are no longer considering test scores.

Instead, many (including Harvard through 2026) are opting for “test-blind” admission policies that give more weight to other elements in a college application. This policy change is seen as fairer to students who don’t have the means or access to testing, or who suffer from test anxiety.

So, what does this mean for you?

Simply that your college essay, traditionally a requirement of any college application, is more important than ever.

A college essay is your unique opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions committees who must comb through thousands of applications each year. It is your chance to stand out as someone worthy of a seat in that classroom.

A well-written and thoughtful essay—reflecting who you are and what you believe—can go a long way to separating your application from the slew of forgettable ones that admissions officers read. Indeed, officers may rely on them even more now that many colleges are not considering test scores.

Below we’ll discuss a few strategies you can use to help your essay stand out from the pack. We’ll touch on how to start your essay, what you should write for your college essay, and elements that make for a great college essay.

Be Authentic

More than any other consideration, you should choose a topic or point of view that is consistent with who you truly are.

Readers can sense when writers are inauthentic.

Inauthenticity could mean the use of overly flowery language that no one would ever use in conversation, or it could mean choosing an inconsequential topic that reveals very little about who you are.

Use your own voice, sense of humor, and a natural way of speaking.

Whatever subject you choose, make sure it’s something that’s genuinely important to you and not a subject you’ve chosen just to impress. You can write about a specific experience, hobby, or personality quirk that illustrates your strengths, but also feel free to write about your weaknesses.

Honesty about traits, situations, or a childhood background that you are working to improve may resonate with the reader more strongly than a glib victory speech.

Grab the Reader From the Start

You’ll be competing with so many other applicants for an admission officer’s attention.

Therefore, start your essay with an opening sentence or paragraph that immediately seizes the imagination. This might be a bold statement, a thoughtful quote, a question you pose, or a descriptive scene.

Starting your essay in a powerful way with a clear thesis statement can often help you along in the writing process. If your task is to tell a good story, a bold beginning can be a natural prelude to getting there, serving as a roadmap, engaging the reader from the start, and presenting the purpose of your writing.

Focus on Deeper Themes

Some essay writers think they will impress committees by loading an essay with facts, figures, and descriptions of activities, like wins in sports or descriptions of volunteer work. But that’s not the point.

College admissions officers are interested in learning more about who you are as a person and what makes you tick.

They want to know what has brought you to this stage in life. They want to read about realizations you may have come to through adversity as well as your successes, not just about how many games you won while on the soccer team or how many people you served at a soup kitchen.

Let the reader know how winning the soccer game helped you develop as a person, friend, family member, or leader. Make a connection with your soup kitchen volunteerism and how it may have inspired your educational journey and future aspirations. What did you discover about yourself?

Show Don’t Tell

As you expand on whatever theme you’ve decided to explore in your essay, remember to show, don’t tell.

The most engaging writing “shows” by setting scenes and providing anecdotes, rather than just providing a list of accomplishments and activities.

Reciting a list of activities is also boring. An admissions officer will want to know about the arc of your emotional journey too.

Try Doing Something Different

If you want your essay to stand out, think about approaching your subject from an entirely new perspective. While many students might choose to write about their wins, for instance, what if you wrote an essay about what you learned from all your losses?

If you are an especially talented writer, you might play with the element of surprise by crafting an essay that leaves the response to a question to the very last sentence.

You may want to stay away from well-worn themes entirely, like a sports-related obstacle or success, volunteer stories, immigration stories, moving, a summary of personal achievements or overcoming obstacles.

However, such themes are popular for a reason. They represent the totality of most people’s lives coming out of high school. Therefore, it may be less important to stay away from these topics than to take a fresh approach.

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Write With the Reader in Mind

Writing for the reader means building a clear and logical argument in which one thought flows naturally from another.

Use transitions between paragraphs.

Think about any information you may have left out that the reader may need to know. Are there ideas you have included that do not help illustrate your theme?

Be sure you can answer questions such as: Does what you have written make sense? Is the essay organized? Does the opening grab the reader? Is there a strong ending? Have you given enough background information? Is it wordy?

Write Several Drafts

Set your essay aside for a few days and come back to it after you’ve had some time to forget what you’ve written. Often, you’ll discover you have a whole new perspective that enhances your ability to make revisions.

Start writing months before your essay is due to give yourself enough time to write multiple drafts. A good time to start could be as early as the summer before your senior year when homework and extracurricular activities take up less time.

Read It Aloud

Writer’s tip : Reading your essay aloud can instantly uncover passages that sound clumsy, long-winded, or false.

Don’t Repeat

If you’ve mentioned an activity, story, or anecdote in some other part of your application, don’t repeat it again in your essay.

Your essay should tell college admissions officers something new. Whatever you write in your essay should be in philosophical alignment with the rest of your application.

Also, be sure you’ve answered whatever question or prompt may have been posed to you at the outset.

Ask Others to Read Your Essay

Be sure the people you ask to read your essay represent different demographic groups—a teacher, a parent, even a younger sister or brother.

Ask each reader what they took from the essay and listen closely to what they have to say. If anyone expresses confusion, revise until the confusion is cleared up.

Pay Attention to Form

Although there are often no strict word limits for college essays, most essays are shorter rather than longer. Common App, which students can use to submit to multiple colleges, suggests that essays stay at about 650 words.

“While we won’t as a rule stop reading after 650 words, we cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention for as long as you’d hoped it would,” the Common App website states.

In reviewing other technical aspects of your essay, be sure that the font is readable, that the margins are properly spaced, that any dialogue is set off properly, and that there is enough spacing at the top. Your essay should look clean and inviting to readers.

End Your Essay With a “Kicker”

In journalism, a kicker is the last punchy line, paragraph, or section that brings everything together.

It provides a lasting impression that leaves the reader satisfied and impressed by the points you have artfully woven throughout your piece.

So, here’s our kicker: Be concise and coherent, engage in honest self-reflection, and include vivid details and anecdotes that deftly illustrate your point.

While writing a fantastic essay may not guarantee you get selected, it can tip the balance in your favor if admissions officers are considering a candidate with a similar GPA and background.

Write, revise, revise again, and good luck!

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About the Author

Pamela Reynolds is a Boston-area feature writer and editor whose work appears in numerous publications. She is the author of “Revamp: A Memoir of Travel and Obsessive Renovation.”

How Involved Should Parents and Guardians Be in High School Student College Applications and Admissions?

There are several ways parents can lend support to their children during the college application process. Here's how to get the ball rolling.

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Writing College Essays: Detailed FAQs

Explore QuestBridge's answer to frequently asked questions about college essay mechanics, structure, and content.

View answers to your questions about the following college essay components below:

What are best proofreading practices?

There are three essential elements to proofreading your college essay:

Revise, revise, revise. You should plan on going through many drafts. You shouldn't be afraid to completely start from scratch or change the primary point of your essay. Avoid refusing to change your primary content/topic as you edit; you might find later on that you have a more compelling story to tell than what you began with.

Read your essay out loud. Slowly, backward, sentence by sentence, in as many ways as possible. This will help you catch errors that your eyes gloss over when reading. 

Ask as many people for help as you can. Remember to ask them in person if they are able to help you before sending your essay along, and give them several weeks to review your college essay. The more tips you can get, the better. You don't have to take all the advice they give you — go with what you think will be most helpful. 

For more proofreading advice, we suggest the  Proofreading guide and the  Editing Checklist of twelve common errors from the Writing Center at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.

What grammar essentials should I keep in mind?

Correct grammar and writing mechanics, including spelling, punctuation, and sentence structure, allow readers to easily navigate your college essay and clearly understand the message that you want to convey. An essay with major errors or even consistent minor mistakes will make it difficult for readers to focus on the story you are trying to tell them about yourself. Instead, they may become distracted by these mistakes and struggle to process the meaning of individual sentences.

Consider the difference correct grammar can make between these two sentences.

Incorrect grammar: This is the first time, I had ben told I was special; I wasnt about to let this opportunity slip away as i watched.

Correct grammar:  This was the first time I had been told I was special, and I wasn’t about to let this opportunity slip away as I watched.

Carefully proofreading your essay for errors is a critical step in polishing your essay. 

Below are three areas students consistently struggle with:

Spelling: The spell check feature in your word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word) is your first defense. Keep in mind that a misspelled word may itself be the correct spelling of a completely different word — your spell check may not catch these types of errors. A good resource is the  Merriam-Webster Dictionary . Than/then, we're/were, there/their, and effect/affect are all examples of common misspellings. 

Punctuation: The  Grammarly Handbook includes separate tutorials on individual punctuation marks. Be particularly mindful of how you use commas, semicolons, and dashes, and be careful not to overuse the latter two.

Verb tenses: Verb tenses provide information to the reader about what point in time an action takes place. There are six basic tenses in the English language, three simple (past, present, and future) and three perfect (past perfect, present perfect, and future perfect). You might use only one tense in your essay, but it’s more likely that you will need to use different tenses in different sections of your essay or even within the same sentence (e.g., "In elementary school, I hoped to be an astronaut when I grew up, but now I plan to become a medical researcher").

For example, perhaps you use past tense when relating a specific experience, and then shift back to present tense later in the college application essay when describing who you are now. Be careful to be  consistent with your tenses , especially when making lots of revisions (don’t switch back and forth between present and past in the same story). It can be easy to accidentally shift tenses when making lots of edits, so proofread carefully. Here's an example of what a sentence with improper tense use can look like and how to solve it.

Improper mixed tenses: My heart was racing as my dad was opening the door, knowing the impact the next few minutes will have on me.

Resolved (past tense): My heart was racing as my dad opened the door, knowing the impact the next few minutes would have on me.

Resolved (present tense):  My heart is racing as my dad opens the door, knowing the impact the next few minutes will have on me.

For more grammar help, two good resources are the  Grammarly Handbook and the Grammar, Punctuation, and Style section in Haverford College’s  Resources for Writers . 

What are run-on sentences, and how can I avoid them?

Run-on sentences are two or more sentences joined incorrectly or even just unwisely. Complex sentences, when used carefully, make your writing more sophisticated. However, these sentences must still be grammatically correct and should not be so long that they make it difficult for the reader to follow your thoughts. There are a few different mistakes to avoid:

Fused sentences: A fused sentence is two separate independent clauses (complete sentences on their own) joined without punctuation or conjunctions (and, but, or, however, therefore, etc.).

Example: At home my brothers were loud enough for all of us I preferred the quiet escape of books and music.

How it can be improved: At home my brothers were loud enough for all of us, and I preferred the quiet escape of books and music.

How it can be improved: At home my brothers were loud enough for all of us. I preferred the quiet escape of books and music.

Comma splices : A comma splice is when two independent clauses are joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet) or with a word that is not one of these conjunctions.

Example: I escaped the tension at home by driving to the beach, even then my mind couldn't stay still.

How it can be improved: I escaped the tension at home by driving to the beach, but even then, my mind couldn't stay still.

Example: I always thought I would attend my local community college, however, my plans took an unexpected turn when I heard about QuestBridge during my sophomore year of high school.

How it can be improved: I always thought I would attend my local community college. However, my plans took an unexpected turn when I heard about QuestBridge during my sophomore year of high school.

Sentences that are too long : A complex sentence that is grammatically correct can still, if not constructed carefully and thoughtfully, be unnecessary and hard for readers to understand. Try reading your essay out loud to find any run-on sentences in this category, and then break them into smaller sentences.

Example: As we pulled up the driveway, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, I reached over and grabbed my mom's hand, because I knew we could only get through this together.

How it can be improved: As we pulled up the driveway, I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I reached over and grabbed my mom's hand. I knew we could only get through this together.

Please keep in mind that there is always more than one way to correct run-on sentences; the above examples do not represent all possibilities.

When is it appropriate to use sentence fragments?

A sentence fragment is a group of words that cannot grammatically stand alone as a sentence — it is missing a subject and/or a verb or is a dependent clause. For a good explanation of sentence fragments and how to correct them, please see  Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab .

While most sentence fragments should be corrected, thoughtfully and creatively using them for special purposes can strengthen your essay. Specific instances where it's okay to use a sentence fragment include when it:

Is used for emphasis

Answers a question

Functions as a transition

Is an exclamation

Is it okay to use a thesaurus as I write a college essay?

A well-written essay will use varied vocabulary that is not overly simplistic, and making good use of a thesaurus can strengthen your essay. However, in an effort to sound more sophisticated, be careful not to rely so much on a thesaurus that your language sounds unnatural and perhaps includes words that even the reader doesn't understand. Your essay should still be in your voice and should not simply include the biggest words you can find. When the reader can tell that a thesaurus was overused, it may become difficult to focus on your message instead of simply the big words that you use. Consider the difference between the following two sentences:

Unnatural : I invariably find myself ambushed beneath copious volumes of course-work, laboring to inhale air.

Natural : I always seem to be trapped under copious amounts of homework, struggling to grab a breath of air.

You'll notice that the second sentence still contains the word "copious," which is generally not used in everyday conversation. It works well in this case because the sentence is not full of words that appear to be pulled from a thesaurus. Furthermore, the word itself enhances the image the author is trying to convey without being so obscure that the reader has to look up the definition.

Which cliches should I avoid in my college essay?

Certain common phrases become cliche when they are overused and portray a lack of original thought. College admissions officers read dozens, often hundreds, of essays — you want your essay to stand out, not blend in with the crowd. One way to do that is to avoid these types of phrases and instead find a way to creatively convey your thoughts in your own original words. Below are some examples of these types of phrases:

In today’s society…

At the end of the day…

Live life to the fullest…

All walks of life…

Survival of the fittest…

For more on cliches, including additional examples and strategies to avoid them, see the  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Writing Center .

What is the concept of "flow," and why is it so important?

"Flow" is often used to describe the way that the essay moves from point to point. It can refer to each paragraph or how the paragraphs are connected to one another. An essay that flows well does not include choppy sentences, illogical structure, or paragraphs that are out of sequence. An essay that flows well includes transitions and transitional devices. 

Your essay should also have a common thread that connects each paragraph logically. 

How long should my college essay be?

Determining the appropriate length for your admission essay is an important consideration while applying to colleges. While there is no strict rule regarding the ideal length, it is generally recommended to adhere to the guidelines provided by the institution or application platform. Typically, admission essays range from 250 to 650 words, with some institutions specifying a maximum length of 500 words. It is essential to carefully review the instructions and follow them accordingly to ensure that your essay meets the expectations of the admissions committee.

Essays of this length generally work best with more than one paragraph. These paragraphs can simply follow a typical essay layout: introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

In the introduction, grab the reader’s attention and clearly explain the subject of the essay. Avoid repeating the essay prompt so your introduction stands out. Make sure your body paragraphs are in logical order and develop your primary point(s). There is no set number of body paragraphs for an essay and a good paragraph has one central point. In the conclusion, you can summarize your main points and leave your readers with an impactful final sentence.

Remember, you should feel free to use paragraphs in whichever way fits your essay. It's perfectly fine to leave a quote or short phrase as a separate paragraph, just be sure to have someone else review your essay to ensure it reads easily.

College Essay Writing Tip: it's easiest to read essays with a line break between each paragraph!

How can I use transitions to improve the flow of my essay?

Transitions can be a few words or even a few sentences. They connect your ideas and views throughout the essay. A list of transitional devices can be found  here .

When writing your college admissions essay, it can be easy to jump from one idea to another, as you might want to talk about many different things. First and foremost, we suggest narrowing your focus to a few key ideas or topics. Then, make sure that every sentence and paragraph leads to each other. You don't want to leave the reader behind as you quickly move from one idea to the next.

Here is an example of how a transition can improve the flow within a paragraph ( source ):

Before transition:  Amy Tan became a famous author after her novel, The Joy Luck Club, skyrocketed up the bestseller list. There are other things to note about Tan as well. Amy Tan also participates in the satirical garage band the Rock Bottom Remainders with Stephen King and Dave Barry.

With transition:  Amy Tan became a famous author after her novel, The Joy Luck Club, skyrocketed up the bestseller list. Though her fiction is well known, her work with the satirical garage band the Rock Bottom Remainders receives far less publicity.

Similarly, you should make sure that the reader can understand why one paragraph follows the other. You want your ideas to build off of each other throughout the essay instead of being fragmented. Use transitions to achieve that goal.

What does "full circle" mean and how can I incorporate it into my college essay?

An effective essay is one that successfully concludes all the ideas it has carried throughout. This is done most effectively when there is a common thread that is concluded at the end of your college admission essay. 

For example, a student might write about three different ideas in their college essay:

How their family has taught them to be grateful.

How they have grown into a leader during high school.

Their desire to give back to their community after college.

To come "full circle" they will need to touch on each of these points near the end of their essay. Doing so will tie the ideas together more cohesively in the reader's mind and help them follow the structure of the essay. Similarly, a student might write about just one primary point (for example, how they have grown into a leader during high school). They should still include a summative statement and/or a paragraph near the end that wraps up their thoughts on this matter. Bringing your essay full circle will allow you to emphasize your primary point(s) and leave a lasting impression.

It can also be effective to refer back to your introduction in your final sentences. In this  sample college essay , you can see how the author mirrored the same sentence type at the end (with the student calling and speaking to someone on the phone). In doing so, the difference between those two phone calls, and thus the personal growth of the author, is emphasized. This neatly brings the essay and the points therein full circle. 

How can I identify and avoid tangents while writing a college essay?

When you are writing about something that is personal to you or that you are passionate about, you can easily go off on a tangent. When this happens, you lose sight of the point you are trying to make and lead the reader to a completely different topic. The best way to avoid tangents when writing a college essay is to ask someone to proofread your essay for you. Sometimes you may not know that you have strayed off topic.

If you are not comfortable with asking someone to read your essay, read your essay carefully multiple times. If each paragraph and sentence supports the main point of your essay, you have successfully avoided unnecessary tangents.

How can I make a good first impression in my college admission essay?

The reader's first impression of your essay isn’t limited to what you write in your first sentence — the entire first paragraph is filled with opportunities to leave a good first impression. The beginning of your essay is also a space for you to introduce the themes you will use throughout your essay. Remember, you don’t have to start with a conversation, event, or other creative piece of writing, although that is one strategy. One of the most important things is recognizing you can be creative when considering how to start a college essay.

Admissions officers read hundreds of college applications and essays. It takes effort to stand out from the crowd and make them want to thoughtfully read your essay, instead of just skim it. A great first impression will make your essay (and thus, your entire application) stand out.

Sometimes it’s easiest to write your introduction after you’ve written the rest of your essay. You might find that there’s a quote, some symbolism, or other detail you want to start with at the beginning and carry throughout the rest of your essay. If you find yourself spending too much time on the introduction, write other parts of the essay and come back to it later!

What are cliche college essay introductions that I should avoid?

There are many ways to begin an essay, and some are more common than others. Contrary to what you might have been taught in school, you should avoid repeating the essay prompt to make your introduction stand out.

For example, the QuestBridge National College Match biographical essay topic has historically asked students to: “ describe the factors and challenges that have most shaped your personal life and aspirations. "

Accordingly, many essays begin with some variation of the following: “ There have been many factors and challenges that have shaped my life and aspirations. ”

Avoid falling into the “cliche introduction” trap by never repeating the prompt verbatim. Using a few words from the prompt is acceptable, but often there are more interesting and captivating ways to begin your essay.

What is a "common thread," and why is it important?

The term "common thread" refers to an idea, topic, or theme that is carried throughout your essay. It doesn’t have to be explicit — you don’t have to explain how every paragraph relates to the common thread. However, it should be prevalent enough to ensure your essay is united. It can be particularly difficult to use common threads in biographical essays, but that is where they are most important. Unfortunately, there will never be enough space to tell your complete story. Instead, you should use a common thread to convey the primary point you want admissions officers to understand about yourself. When they finish your essay, what is the one thing you want them to remember about you?

In this sample college essay , the student’s common thread is the process of growing from a follower into a leader. This character growth and maturity are the one thing the student wants to stand out above all else. You can see how this thread is weaved subtly into the essay — it’s present, but not overwhelming.

How am I supposed to make a unique point in my college admission essay?

With thousands of students writing essays in response to the same prompts, certain topics quickly become overused. To avoid these, take time to think about what makes you unique. Here are a few ways you can get started in this brainstorming process:

List adjectives that describe you.

Make a timeline of your life.

Reflect on a memorable event.

There are several cliche college essay topics that you should be aware of: 

The Big Issue: I believe that world peace is the most important…

Tales of My Successes: I’m student body president and…

The Sports Essay: Football taught me the importance of teamwork…

The Autobiography: I was born on February 22, 1996…

The Significant Relationship: My mom/dad/boyfriend changed my life…

Moving: I attended three different middle schools…

The Trip: I had to adjust to a different culture in my trip to…

The Academic Risk: I took all APs and risked not getting a 4.0…

(Adapted from Harry Bauld’s On Writing the College Application Essay)

While you are welcome to write about any of these topics, please know that many students do write about them. You should be convinced that you have a unique spin on that particular topic that will really make your essay memorable. Also, remember that a college essay topic does not have to be particularly thrilling to be unique. It’s possible to write a compelling essay about something as mundane as working at a fastfood restaurant! What really matters is the time and effort you put into writing your essay.

Why is it so important to focus the essay on myself?

The college admissions essay isn’t just a place to demonstrate your writing skills; it’s also the place where the reader should learn more about you. Many college essays are well written but miss the target because they focus on someone or something besides the student. A perfect example of this is an essay that primarily tells the story of a student’s mother. While it’s entirely possible that the student’s mother is an inspiring person, the college is deciding whether or not to admit the student, not the mother. An essay that doesn’t give the admissions officers more insight into yourself doesn’t pull its weight in your application.

At the same time, you shouldn’t be afraid to talk about people in your life who are important to your development and story. Just be sure to do so in a way that emphasizes the person’s impact on your life and your own personal development. In this college essay example , some details about the student’s parents are included, but the primary focus is on the student.

How and where can I add more detail to my essay?

Your college essay is a perfect place to add in the interesting, descriptive details you might leave out of academic papers. By "details," we mean a few different things:

Adjectives and adverbs — use these to help your story come to life for your reader. In the following examples, the writer is saying essentially the same thing, but by using more descriptive writing, the second example is far more engaging and interesting to read.

Little detail: I walked into my first high school class, feeling nervous.

More detail: On September 2nd, at 7:58 a.m., I walked into the first class of my high school career. My stomach churned as my nerves overwhelmed my emotions.

Describe a setting, situation, or event with concrete examples to back up your description. In the following example, the writer talks about his/her hometown in two very different ways.

Little detail: My hometown is a small town in a very rural area. It is very isolated from the more urban areas of New York.

More detail:  My hometown, located along the rural stretches of the Columbia River, has a population of 523. 

Speak of broad topics, such as a personal character quality, while offering evidence in support of it. In the following examples, the writer claims to have a strong work ethic, but only in the second example does the writer illustrate this.

Little detail: Throughout my life, I have developed a strong work ethic. There have been many things that have taught me the value of hard work. My parents, in particular, made sure I developed a strong work ethic as I grew up. Although I used to have little self-discipline, I am now driven by my strong work ethic.

More detail:  Beginning in middle school, I was expected to work at my parent’s store during the summer. I stocked shelves, assisted customers, and swept the floor as a full-time employee. Those long summer days allowed me to recognize the value of hard work and gain respect for my parents’ self-discipline. My strong work ethic can be directly credited to those working summers.

How do I strike a balance between writing about challenges and successes?

Students from low-income backgrounds may have encountered many challenges in life. While those challenges and obstacles are worthy of mention, it's important to focus on how they were overcome. The ability to reach high achievement levels in the face of these obstacles is noteworthy, and admissions officers want to hear more about that. They don't, however, want to read an entire essay that is excessively negative — where it seems the writer hasn't learned anything from the challenges they have faced.

Avoid only listing the challenges you have faced when writing a college essay. Instead, mention them but then shift to explaining what you learned as a result, how you were inspired, etc. In doing so, you will show great character development and a maturity that admissions officers are looking for.

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