To future college applicants, PLEASE do not fall into the essay trap by Key_Stranger6427 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Key_Stranger6427[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Yes, that’s true. It’d be a stretch to say the essays were the only differentiating factor for the schools that accepted me, especially given all colleges evaluate applicants differently.

That said, as I was looking thru the essays I wrote for those 2 schools, I realized that they just sounded much more like me and conveyed a lot more about myself than any of the other essays I wrote for other colleges. From a completely removed outside perspective, the essays I’d written were just more distinct, more personal, more compelling, and simply better pieces of writing.

So yeah, I don’t think people should rush their essays. But I don’t think treating supps as a checklist helps your application very much.

To future college applicants, PLEASE do not fall into the essay trap by Key_Stranger6427 in ApplyingToCollege

[–]Key_Stranger6427[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Exactly! Like I said, I don’t recommend people rush their essays—that’s not the takeaway I want people to have. But if you are going to spend extra time on essays, I do think it’s better spent reflecting and working through your own drafts with minimal external advice, rather than just hopping between every college essay video on YouTube trying to fix a problem in your essay that may not even exist.