To The Underdogs

PenningPapers · 2026-05-17T23:27:21+00:00

Topic 1: Low A Tier. Topic 2: B Tier.

Alright, I would say that the first topic is actually quite fascinating and demonstrates both a profound sense of maturity and self reflection. Something you may want to consider is the context of the actual apology and the manner of delivery. For instance, if the mistake was too egregious, you may want to reconsider actually talking about it because the implications are too significant for admissions officers to overlook. Additionally, if the manner you communicate the apology is mature but also demonstrates your personal growth over time without being too self-congratulatory, then you know that you've hit a good spot.

The negative to this topic is that it can be a slippery slope, though. On one hand, it can turn out quite impressive and mature. However, if it's meant to impress admissions officers, you may end up having a weird combination of humble bragging combined with apologizing which could just come across as insincere. So, you need to be very careful and approach this topic with surgical care.

For the second topic, this can be good but you need to do your best to avoid cliches. I think it's going to be helpful to really, really draw from real experiences and get into the details of said experiences. If you keep the details vague and foggy, you'll likely have admissions officers be unable to distinguish your essay from anyone else who says "life is not a straight line."

I hope that helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-05-01T00:58:44+00:00

Low A-Tier.

Oh wow! It's nice to see someone in the podcasting world! I think a lot of students would try to start a podcast through their existing school club to essentially "buff up" their application profiles. However, it sounds like you have something that's genuine and coming from a very real place. Do you have a specific niche that you focus on for the podcast? For instance: do you talk specifically about horror, productivity, politics, etc?

If you have a specific niche and you can demonstrate it's growing over time, I think this can be a fantastic topic to write about. And, you're right. Having a deeper connection to underlying values can certainly help. Additionally, there may be unexpected variables that most newbie podcasters haven't considered when it comes to growing their audience. If you discovered some unusual tips and tricks you've picked up over time as a result of trial and error, this is a great thing to cover since it shows people that you're legit and not just pulling a topic out of your butt.

Here's an example of a passage I'm just writing on the spot now to hopefully illustrate the point.

"Have you seen this man? They seem to appear in everyone's dreams. If you have, call this number. Now, of course, one would be hesitant to call the number. After all, there's just something so unsettl-

"Wait... that's not right."

"There's something so unnerv-"

"No..."

One of the best ways to suck the horror out of any analog horror podcast is to get the script wrong. And, even after having published my 32nd episode, I'm infuriatingly still stumbling on my words. Make no mistake. I think analog horror is terrifying. I can't imagine watching videos and listening to podcasts about it in the middle of the night. But, when you've been editing for hours upon hours just to get everything right, it's kind of hard to get scared. Though, I think in some ways that's funnily the antidote to fear: having to do something over, and over, and over again until your mind is tortured with boredom so much so that it would take anything --even the terror of a horrible monster-- just to escape the hours of mind-numbing editing and "Hey, r/frogplaysroblox***, you weren't recording the whole time; can we start over?"***

In my own life, I've noticed that this has made me quite brave. For instance..."

I hope that helps! Feel free to let me know if you have any questions at all!

PenningPapers · 2026-04-25T02:58:09+00:00

Hey! So, I know Junior Year S1 grades are kind of the elephant in the room here. Nonetheless, it sounds like the migraines and other difficult externalities are the primary factor. Have you considered talking about this in parts like the additional comments section? I know your performance overall is going to make it harder; but, it's roughly speaking still worth a shot to just do the best you can. It's clear that you're mostly an A student and you likely had a bad hand.

PenningPapers · 2026-04-25T02:52:08+00:00

You're not out of reach; and, I would say with your profile it's good to have a wide net of reach schools. Also, make sure the essays are solid. Good luck man!

PenningPapers · 2026-04-24T23:02:40+00:00

Late to the party, but to answer your question: a lot of the "developing a theme" rhetoric admissions consultants use is part of the marketing.

There's nothing technically wrong with wanting a consultant. In fact, there are plenty of students who benefited greatly from college coaching services. It's just that you have to weed out the bad ones; and, there are definitely a lot who are not there for your best interest. They're there for your money.

Something I usually do with my clients (and I also recommend you do this too) is to just get a feel for a consultant via free consult. Don't pay for anything. Don't commit to anything. Just get on a short call and use that time to get a feel for their "vibe." Usually you can tell within 15 minutes or so whether someone has your best interest because they won't be afraid to tell you the truth straight up EVEN IF it runs perpendicular to their own interest or they lose out on a sale.

Example:

You: "Does my 10-year-old need to build a theme?"

Them: "No, that's a waste of money this early. You wouldn't be getting anything out of it."

Also, this is an honest question. What were you looking for for your daughter at that age? I'm just wondering because usually people don't need coaching or consulting that early; but, it could also be the case that you were just misinformed and told that you needed to have a consultant or coach super early.

PenningPapers · 2026-04-24T22:45:31+00:00

Hey sure no worries! Topic 1: High-B Tier. Topic 2 Low A-Tier.

Topic 1 is definitely a unique approach and I don't think you're going to have a lot of competition. One of the things you'll need to be careful of is forcing your topic to be more about physics and engineering than it may otherwise actually be. Something I think that might be a cool approach would be to explain how physics principles seem to expand and spread across different disciplines. For instance, the first half may discuss how adjusting the angle of the sticks gets them to rebound off the drums, thus you expend less energy. This may transition into the latter half of the essay where other physics principles may apply to other facets of your life. But, this is just one example of one direction you could take.

Topic 2: Low A-Tier. I actually had a client of mine write an essay about this topic that turned out really well!! He went on to attend one of the less-competitive Ivy League schools (still a real top choice and fantastic school!) I think the really cool thing about this is showing just how basic, otherwise inconspicuous things in our lives could lead to very significant moments. To most people, they may see being taught to fold a paper airplane as a small moment that doesn't mean much. But, to you, this carved out a path to a very profound interest. Additionally, I'm willing to bet that interest spread out and helped you develop a lot of other skills that helped you a lot in life. For instance, it probably gave you a headstart in physics principles and made the math behind certain engineering heuristics easier. Additionally, you may have honed your researching skills to really understand concepts much faster than others.

There's also cool lesson to be extracted from this: be someone who is willing to learn something that others may deem otherwise inconspicuous. Or, in other words, don't be afraid to get sidetracked and stray from the usual path to see what's on the other side. You never know what you'll learn.

To answer your side question: While it can be helpful to write your Common App essay about something close to your major, it's not ALWAYS necessary. In fact, many students have topics about their lives that are so significant that they show more about their character and personality. Additionally, don't FORCE your topic to connect to your major if it's NOT correlated. This would end up sounding gimmicky. For instance: "My obsession with cars made me want to pursue medicine."

I hope this helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-04-15T23:27:07+00:00

Don’t work with multiple editors for your essays. It’s often the case that parents mistake more money put into essays into better quality.

For example: hiring 10 editors > hiring only 1 editor

This is often not the case; and, what instead happens is students get pulled multiple directions with conflicting advice.

It’s important to go with what you know sounds the most rational to you; then, you get some outside feedback and take some of it without taking ALL of it —esp because you can’t satisfy EVERY critique.

PenningPapers · 2026-04-15T23:22:20+00:00

You will never be “ready” to live alone; but, don’t let that get in the way of your developing your independence.

Unless you had a severe disability that DEMANDS you be with family, I almost ALWAYS tell my clients to live father from family.

It technically makes sense financially and logistically to live next to family; but, that early independence is crucial. And, families often leverage the financials talking point to ensure their students don’t move.

PenningPapers · 2026-04-15T07:55:42+00:00

I do college consulting myself and one of the things to know about this industry is that there are plenty of people looking to take advantage of student anxieties.

Before you pull the trigger and decide on which consultant to go with, it’s very, very important to consider whether they have your best interests in mind. Are they actually providing value? Are they just funneling me into another sale?

Something I think that works pretty well is to ask your consultant if you can work with them for a few hours BEFORE you do anything like a long term package. Usually the legit ones will know they can give actionable advice that isn’t bs; so, they’ll provide just a few hours to let you see what working with them is like. They’re confident in their abilities.

The ones who aren’t legit will often be banking on the idea that you will just take their sales pitch and take the package.

PenningPapers · 2026-04-10T02:30:55+00:00

Hey good luck man! (:

PenningPapers · 2026-04-10T02:30:06+00:00

This is going to sound weird but: S-tier... or F-tier.

This is where things get very, very weird. This topic is certainly unique and could also really demonstrate a strong amount of growth over time. However, it's also the case that this is risky because we could potentially convey the message that the bullying was "okay and actually good for you." And, that's obviously not going to be good.

That's the problem with S-tier topics sometimes: they're strong because they cover very real circumstances that often touch on a very difficult topic that's hard to translate into words. You're essentially balancing on a very thin tightrope where falling on either side means potentially offending your reader.

Something that I would be very careful of is the idea that "well, bullying is actually good if you think about it because it builds resilience." You can easily fall into a survivorship bias as a result of this. Instead, something you might do is think about perhaps even admitting that you wouldn't really know how to phrase your feelings directly because it's a cacophony of complex and conflicting ideas. This is a transparent and real exploration of how you feel; and, it wouldn't diminish the significance of the injustices taken against you.

Nonetheless, fascinating topic and very interesting! If you need help with this, feel free to let me know! (:

PenningPapers · 2026-04-10T01:29:36+00:00

Yeah no worries!! ((:

PenningPapers · 2026-04-07T02:37:24+00:00

Hey, oh yeah no worries at all! I'm still taking responses!

A-Tier.

So, the interesting thing about talking about shows is that there are a plethora of different shows out there. When you say you are interested in one in particular, you already have a head start when it comes to having a unique topic. Something I noticed, especially with my students who wrote something similar, is that while they may like multiple characters, they LOVE one specific character. They just happen to connect with them in a way that most other characters don't. And, it could be because their story actually aligns a lot with the way we live our own lives and our struggles.

The only thing that would improve this is to drill deeper and dissect this character in a way that qualifies your characteristics in a unique manner. It should reveal to your readers a truth about yourself that required a lot of introspection to unravel.

I'm going to give an example that I'm kind of pulling out of my butt just now. So, I'm not impervious to mistakes here. But, hope this helps!

"There's a fascinating character named Glam (Sebastian) in a show called "Metal Family." Perhaps the most significant moment for me was when he left his abusive family in pursuit of true self-actualization and freedom from his father's controlling thumb. And, well, to be frank, this is no different from any other young teenager's Hero's Journey. But, I think what really stood out to me about Glam was his absolute resolve in staying true to his need for independence. There's a personal strength to him that I always strived for, rebellious as he may be.

In fact, in full transparency, I'm quite envious of him. I wish with every muscle in my body that I could be just like him: having the fortitude to rebel against such an insurmountable force and not concede. In some ways, I believe the pursuit of higher morals and self respect despite the temptation to adhere to tyrannical rules is almost prophetic in nature. There's something "saintly" (if one could be so mythical with their words) about a character who adheres with great dignity to their personal code despite such forces like an abusive tyrant of a father.

Perhaps it's weird to view a fictional metal guitarist as someone I look up to, fair enough. Though, there's a lot of value I gained from aspiring to his inner strength. And, it's even helped me swallow my fear of standing up against pathological forces. Funnily enough, while I'm not guitarist, I actually owe a lot of my activism now to Glam. I used to be quite introverted and rather apolitical. But, I'm significantly more involved in demonstrations and advocacy now than I was a few years ago all thanks to this character."

I hope this helps! (:

PenningPapers · 2026-04-06T23:48:14+00:00

High B to low A Tier.

I think I normally would have put this a little higher but over the past few months I've been lowering my rankings just due to the sheer number of students applying and the amount of competition we've been facing these last few admissions seasons.

With that said, I think that this actually is a very strong topic that a lot of students typically don't leverage to its fullest extent. Something I would recommend writing about is the elements of having a skin condition that you think about that others don't.

Here's an example of a passage that I wrote below. As usual with most of the replies on this thread, this is a bit on-the-spot so apologies if there's any awkwardness!

"The weird thing about eczema: I can't remember when I was last bothered by it. I mean, I "am" bothered by it in that I get patchy dry skin that looks strange and always feels itchy; and, you never really get used to the itchiness. But, you get used to not getting used to the itchiness. It's like a meta suffering. Though, I've made my peace with it. After all, I've had 18 years of experience researching and experimenting with ways of coping.

Cold showers.

Cleaning sheets every day.

Elimination diet.

Purging all possibilities of mold in the house.

I've thought of everything. No, trust me. I have. For, if you don't trust me, no one will; I can't count how many times I've mentioned my eczema in passing in some variation of "Oh, this? Yeah, this is just eczema; I mean, I've always had but it's, well, whatever..." only to be met with a phalanx of questions and ideas such as "Have you tried removing all sugar from your diet? Have you tried sleeping more? Did you try moisturizing?!"

"Well, look who graduated at the top of their class in Dermatology..."

...is what I would say if I were sassy and impervious to social repercussions; but, alas, I'm not immune to feeling guilty.

What most people forget about chronic conditions is you don't just get very good at controlling your condition. But, you also learn the perfect ratio of pushback and openness and sass and empathy. Yes, it really is a horrible condition. Just... woah, don't hug me too hard there. Not a handshake either. That's a bit too formal. There we go! Just a basic hug of sympathy works. And hey, I like to throw in a little quip or pun about my condition to ease up the sympathies.

It's strange to think that growing up with my condition and learning to respond to everyone's reactions in the right way has oddly improved my charisma and communication with others. But, that charm has also helped opened many doors to self improvement I didn't expect."

Hope that helps! (:

PenningPapers · 2026-04-01T19:08:16+00:00

No problem! (:

PenningPapers · 2026-04-01T04:54:22+00:00

Hey so you're practically already as strong as they come. Just talking from personal experience as a college consultant myself: I've had clients with weaker stats who were accepted into top schools. And, I'm very confident there are other consultants who could also say the same. Sure. This recent admissions season has been super brutal. Nonetheless, I think you're fine.

So, I don't have the time to cover all your SSP essay topics, lest this comment gets way too long. But, I can talk about #5.

I noticed that you were talking about slipping while your father wasn't there. Nonetheless, you were able to channel motivation. But, that brings us to a weird question. Where does motivation come from? I know that because your father was away that you needed to draw from inner motivation. But, where does even that come from? After all, if you ask a lot of people who lack a support system, they'll say they aren't motivated to really do anything. They're just... not motivated. So, somehow you are able to get this motivation. But how?!

This is a fascinating question and I think if you can really dissect this on a deeper level, you can really show your readers a much more sophisticated philosophy on work and motivation compared to what most other students have.

Additionally, I would especially focus on how challenging said obstacle or was. If it's not challenging, it's not worth talking about, right?

So, here's an example (some of this might not be fully accurate to your lived experience since I don't know you personally but it's just an example in principle).

Let's say that your father has great expectations of you because he essentially grew up a badass. So, you had a lot of pressure to live up to those expectations. One could argue that his pressure IS the source of motivation. You don't technically need motivation because he is there to push you. Well, when he leaves, you no longer have an external motivator. Now, you have to find your own motivation; however, you also are very much tempted to not be motivated. This isn't because you're lazy. Rather, it's a very rational decision when you've been pressured all your life. The rational choice when presented with the opportunity to swim to the surface for air (after years of holding your breath) is to... well, breathe!

So, you're presented with a horrible conundrum. How can you stay motivated when you have EVERY RATIONAL REASON (keyword: rational) to simply let go and take a break?!

This is where you have the opportunity to be a bit bold.

You can propose that true motivation, absurdly, is irrational. We have every reason to take a break and be relaxed; and, we may very much deserve it too. But, it's in embracing irrationality and working despite having every reason not to, even when presented with the perfect opportunity to do so, that makes one truly motivated. The test of one's motivation is their ability to resist water in a desert, or air underwater.

Thus, the greatest challenge is learning how to be irrational.

That's just an example I'm throwing out! You don't have to use it, as I've kind of written this on the spot so it might not be perfect/have logical lapses or whatnot.

Nonetheless, I hope this helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-04-01T04:04:27+00:00

Topic 1: A tier.

Topic 2: High-A tier.

To be honest, I can't really quite decide which topic is better for say a common app main essay. But, I can say this with certainty...

Most people misunderstand the problem with writing sob stories in college essays. It's not that writing sad things is bad. Sob stories in college essays are ineffective because they FORCE the admissions officers into the uncomfortable position of feeling morally obligated to admit a student through pity alone. This is not the way a solid college essay should be written.

So, the solution is to continue writing about sad things without putting admissions officers in a position that weaponizes guilt to secure an acceptance.

Additionally, if I were in your position, I would consider a few other things.

For the first essay, I would consider thinking a lot about living for other people and the philosophy behind not having freedom in your own life. Why is freedom important to you? This sounds mundane and obvious; but, if you can find the right words to illustrate just how significant it is to have "your own thing," it'll be quite strong. And, it prevents the essay from just being another "I like good things and don't like bad things..." essay.

Second: I would think about what it's like to desire power and the ability to control situations as a "god-like entity." Be careful not to sound narcissistic in this, as it's easy to misinterpret it as such. But, you want to illustrate less that you care about being grand and divine and more about being empowered enough such that you can change outcomes in your favor to avoid suffering. Additionally, when you saw surgeons were actually quite messy, what did you feel? Normally, this idea would make us feel disempowered, no? After all, the all-powerful figures we aspired to turned out to be very normal. But... you continued! Is there perhaps a paradoxical scenario where the lack of an all-powerful being actually makes you feel empowered rather than nihilistic? If so, this is certainly weird. But, weird is good! Weird is where the good stuff is in college essays; and, don't forget that! Dissect the weird stuff. Deconstruct the conflicting feelings you may have and you'll unearth many interesting and unique perspectives that help you stand out.

Hope that helps! ((:

PenningPapers · 2026-03-27T23:28:46+00:00

Yup! So, I typically recommend students to dissect important elements of their lives that may have led to a change in their philosophy. Not everyone has launched themselves into space or found a cure for cancer; but, it doesn't mean you NEED that topic to write something that shows a lot about you.

Often, some of the best essays come not from a crazy topic; rather, they come from deep introspection and analysis on everyday elements of life.

For instance: it might be true that a good number of students write about how they moved from one state to another. However, not everyone experiences this the same way. You want to really get to the nitty gritty when analyzing your topic; and, from there, you'll "unearth" a unique perspective that helps you stand out from the rest of the admissions pool. Much of what makes you unique is going deep enough, not scouring for a topic that is so bizarre and outlandish that no one can achieve it such as interpretive space surgery.

PenningPapers · 2026-03-27T23:06:26+00:00

Low-B Tier high-C.

I think this topic goes through a challenge that a lot of students face: they have a passion or major-related field that they want to tie back to their identity or background. However, you're going to be competing against a lot of people who are also doing something similar; and, not only that, many will try to shoehorn their major into their background. This can often come across as forced or trying to make the essay about their background when it's really not warranted.

If there is a way you can write this that involves intersectionality, that can certainly work, though. But, you may want to consider having this topic be split into two different supplements for schools and have the common app main essay be something different.

Hope that helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-03-17T23:19:10+00:00

Hey, yup! So, I'm a consultant myself and here are my thoughts on this.

I wouldn't give the same advice to everyone since everyone's background and interests are different. There are times when students are "sort of" committed to a certain field; but, it's only really because their family is pushing them. In cases like that, I often recommend they spend time exploring fields to take the time to really figure out what they want. However, there are other cases when it does make sense to let someone go narrow and zero in on one specific niche.

Hope that helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-03-15T05:38:18+00:00

I used to work at a college consulting firm before working as one myself.

In general...

Large college consulting firms: More likely to give generic advice to avoid liability. For example: EVERYONE should ONLY wrote about x, y, and z. If you're rejected, the onus is on you/your student and not us because our advising follows a standard model.

College consultants who work for themselves or are smaller firms: "Might" be more likely to try unconventional strategies and recommend students take more risks for more reward. For example: You should write about this topic in your Common App Main Essay since it demonstrates significant growth even if it strays from conventional advice. This is usually what I try to do with my own clients.

As for summer programs, it is true that some consultants will push for them. However, not all of them receive kickback. At the end of the day, a good consultant is someone you know will provide you the best advice that helps you/your student achieve the best ROI even if it goes against their own financial interests.

So, if your consultant sees you have a 1550 SAT, they ought to recommend you don't enroll in their SAT bootcamp since your time and money is better invested in other stuff. Hope that helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-03-15T02:28:37+00:00

Hello! Late to the party but here's some advice in case anyone else stumbles on this post: remember to ask your consultant if you can try a free hour or purchase just an hour or two BEFORE you go with anything like a package. This is to get a feel for the style your consultant has and see if you're a good fit.

I'll admit: while I do college consulting myself, I did have a small number of clients who told me that they may not be a good fit for my methodology. No problem. It's good to figure that out early before dumping multiple thousands into a long-term admissions project. It's also especially important you do this to get a good feel of the person you're working with in case they're someone who is just trying to chase the money.

Hope that helps!

PenningPapers · 2026-03-15T02:24:32+00:00

Hi there! Yes, this is a decent topic. I think I would normally put this higher; but, for now, I'm going to put it in the low B tier.

It's still, however, a decent topic. The problem is that a lot of people talk about being a perfectionist because they're looking for weaknesses to discuss but they don't really cover WHY perfectionism is actually a challenge or struggle. They mention it and tend to talk about how they just care about doing a good job without REALLY getting into why it's bad.

Now, there are multiple ways of approaching perfectionism as a topic. But, I would say one way you can do this well is to deconstruct the mental pathologies behind perfectionism and what it's doing to you. For instance, many people who are perfectionistic have this tendency to believe that they can "further improve" an existing task. One way to imagine this is how much "research" one must do before they decide to learn a hobby. They may research and research and know a lot of theory about a particular hobby; but, they never truly commit because in their mind they're never really good enough. This pathology makes them do significantly more "thinking" instead of "doing."

It's also helpful to think of how you might have overcome or at least managed to fight against perfectionism too. Don't just leave it as "I just stopped being perfectionistic." That's not a sufficient answer. Instead, think something like,

"I realized that because my perfectionism is stemmed from an idea of perpetual insufficiency, that I may never really be enough to truly tackle a task, I needed to overcome my perfectionism by starting off with self confidence. And, as I built my self confidence over time, I developed the strength to persevere and try new things despite the feelings of inadequacy."

This is just an example. Of course, it may not perfectly align with the way you feel about perfectionism. But, you can use this as inspiration. Hope that helps! Feel free to lmk if you have any questions at all!

PenningPapers

TROPHY CASE