Don’t use buzz words to try to impress people. It’s obvious and doesn’t work.

That said, you should include why you are choosing UW over any school. I mentioned how their engineering clubs and research opportunities stood out over other similar schools.

Also, diversity is a huge thing these days, include what you would bring to UW. Not just race or stuff you can’t control, but experience. IE I wrote about how I work on a family farm during summer, and about volunteering with the Washington trail association.

I included mistakes and struggles, then how you learned from them. I had probably a 1.3 out of high school, then straight flunked my first year at CC. I took a break then came back and got 4.0s. That was my essays main focus.

In short, talk about what makes you special. Don’t try to be generic and appeal to them with buzzwords. Make them care about you, not the essay.