She wrote her “Ivy League Essay” about Costco. And hot dogs.
Here are some additional prompts to help them zero in on their own “Costco.” (The Common App Essay prompts are broad enough that your child should be able to fit whatever they want to write about to one of them.)
In Stinson’s essay, the paragraph that mentions many of her other extracurricular interests explicitly links her experiences at Costco to the rest of her application. I've been encouraged time and time again to look at the iconic Costco essay for a shining example of what the common app essay/personal statement should look like. This essay has been hailed as the quintessential college essay and has gained a lot of notoriety for its supposedly unparalleled quality and uniqueness. Downvote this all you want. Don't get me wrong, I think it's definitely a GOOD essay, but does it deserve the hype? Probably not, imo. The topic itself is pretty unique (the exploration of Costco and how it relates to the author's own inquisitive nature) which is why I think it stands out--most essays are a variant on some cliche or trope--but the message it sends about Stinson is still somewhat trite and overdone (basically: I love learning and have been a curious person my entire life). Here's the issue I have with the Costco analogy though: it's unique, for sure, but the analogy doesn't quite work. It's a clumsy attempt to turn a childhood experience into a meaningful comparison. A childhood experience which--two years old? I'm not saying I don't believe her, and that a good deal of nonfiction and narrative writing is spent piecing together stuff you remember into an actually coherent experience, and yeah, she could have definitely just asked her mom, but trying to quantify the immense wonder you felt as a toddler and trying to turn those few moments into 3 paragraphs illustrating your lifelong hunger for knowledge and advanced philosophical musings? It's overblown. It doesn't work, and it wouldn't work if it wasn't concealed by (sometimes overly) artistic language, a good sprinkling of (sometimes forced) humor, and the obligatory food comparisons. I'm not saying that this essay is BAD. I'm saying it would be bad if Stinson was an even average writer (and I say average in terms of the average Ivy essay, so I mean above-average with regards to most seniors). It's not intrinsically good or creative. For the most part, it's a lot of almost-purple prose with very little stage direction. This may seem obvious, but your child shouldn’t replicate the Costco essay by, say, writing about Costco, or Kroger, or Stop and Shop, or Safeway. (This goes for ordering from Papa Johns or another pizza place, too.) Stinson’s choice in topic worked because it was something truly specific and meaningful to her. First thoughts: It’s aight. I see why she got in places. My biggest negative towards the whole thing was actually how calculated and polished the piece was. Yes, it’s a wacky Costco essay. But to a trained eye, it’s the work of a professional writer expertly crafting a work that will make a student come off well. One of the greatest magic tricks we as consultants play is making it seem like we were never there at all. The much rougher version of this type of essay is the essay I can tell a parent wrote. Those tend to be calculated as hell but never polished and usually really bad. This is a much higher level of touch-up.
You can read her Costco Essay here:
If your initial reaction to the Costco essay was one of uncertainty because you can never imagine your child writing an essay at all like it, don’t worry. We simply want to dispel the notion that your topic can only be a serious one.
The Costco Essay Deconstructed - Princeton College Consulting
If your child is more likely to reflect on nights spent researching in a lab than hours spent perusing the aisles of Costco, they can still apply the lessons from Stinson’s essay. Anchoring the personal statement in specific details (e.g., including an anecdote about knocking over a graduated cylinder) and striking a balanced tone is a good strategy regardless of the topic.
Ok Fine. Ill Write About the Awe-inspiring Costco Essay
The Costco essay serves as a reminder that your child’s college essay does not have to be a story about overcoming adversity or an in-depth account of your child’s path to an academic or extracurricular achievement. With careful execution, any topic can be used to help your child convince an admissions committee that they would be a great addition to the student body.
The Costco Essay: What Makes It So Good?
In this essay, Stinson seems like someone who might be likely to start long philosophical discussions in the residential hall or encourage her physics study group to take a fifteen-minute break for an impromptu dance party or, of course, corral her roommates for a weekend trip to Costco. In other words, her essay suggests that she will be a great addition to her college community.
Essay About Love for Costco Wins Student Admission to Five Ivies
Besides the predictable backlash from Internet trolls and haters, the assumption that this Costco essay earned Brittany all these stellar acceptances disturbed her the most.
Lessons from a Winning Ivy League Essay on Costco
Of course the Costco essay played a role in her admissions coup—though it’s impossible to know how much it counted. And Brittany says she put a lot of effort into and crafting a readable piece that revealed her personality and character.