Click above to watch a video about college essay topics to avoid.
As a final note, the list at the top is probably not comprehensive. I encourage you to look up videos/articles by people who review college essays for a living, either actual admissions counselors or people who offer college essay review services. They have seen WAY more essays than I have, and can tell you what people write about much better than I can. It's also just pretty fun to watch YouTube videos and count it as part of your college application process. Here are some links if you want to explore this more:
Religious students are often tempted to submit college essays focused around a mission trip they went ont. On paper, this seems like a good idea: it showcases leadership, community service, and the student’s general willingness to help other people. However, submitting the mission trip essay tends to be a bad idea for several different reasons. (The fact that it has a name, “The mission trip essay”, is a sign.) So, we made you a guide to the three most common essay clichés, explaining their greatest pitfalls and providing strategies for turning these overused topics into unique stories that will help you make a lasting impression on admissions officers and increasing your chances of landing in the acceptance pile. First, this is one of the most common college essay topics that admissions committees receive. Some committee members may be annoyed at seeing “yet another one” in their stack of essays. And even if the committee is fine with a mission trip essay, so many people write them that it’s going to be hard to not sound like hundreds of other applicants. A well-written college essay gives admissions officers an insight into who you are as a person and shows them how you could fit at their university. It's a reflective exercise that also shows self-awareness while demonstrating your writing skills. Avoid the topics mentioned in this blog and use the tips we've laid out in order to write about a great topic. If you need some support with writing your essay, you can check out to get tutoring and help with your college application essay! If you’re an athlete, writing a college essay about a sports challenge you faced may seem like a no-brainer. “Sports challenges” include essays about winning the big game, losing the big game, making (or not making) the team, and even getting a nasty sports injury. However interesting the sports challenge itself was, though, these typically make for bad college essays topics. (Again, meaning they’re tough to write well in ways that stand out.) Create a unique college essay with these 4 exercises. Don't miss out on crafting an impressive and memorable essay thatâs sure to stand out. Dive into the world of impactful college essay topics by reading this article.
Cliché college essays typically include topics such as:
And another big reason to avoid the sports challenge college essay is that you have to use so many words to explain the context of the big game, what the major plays were, the ultimate outcome, and so on. This doesn’t leave much room for or even stylistic writing, so you are left with an admission essay that mostly codes you as “generic athlete” in the eyes of the committee.
I always tell my students to avoid the following cliché essay topics:
As with sports challenge essays, these essays are very common, and tend to have very similar plot points, so it’s tough to make your own stand out. For example, the big performance always goes well or goes poorly. Performers almost always learn either the value of preparation or the inner strength to overcome a major disappointment. With these kinds of essays, you may be unable to do what you did with an actual big performance: stand out in a big way.
Here are the for the second of their college essay topics:
Create a unique college essay with these 4 exercises. Don't miss out on crafting an impressive and memorable essay thatâs sure to stand out. Dive into the world of impactful college essay topics by reading this article.
11 Cliché College Essay Topics + How to Fix Them | CollegeVine Blog
Advice, Morals, and Broad Conclusions Essays sometimes end with sweeping conclusions and life lessons derived from the experience about which the student has written, thus bringing any topic into cliche territory. These are lessons that most adult readers have learned (or at least heard) long ago.
What are the most clichéd college application essay topics? - Reddit
Thinking about writing one of your college essays set in the world of sports? Maybe you worked really hard to swim a best time in your most important event, the 100-yard breaststroke, and, while you never broke 1:01, you learned valuable life lessons along the way? Or maybe you got injured during a baseball game sliding into third base and you were out for most of the season, but you persevered to come back even stronger? Or maybe you came in last place in the mile, but realized running gives you joy even if you’re not particularly fast? If any of this sounds like something you intend to write about in any one of your college admissions essays, we do encourage you to .