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The audience for the college essay is a bored college admissions officer who just wants to get to know you. Imagine a friendly college tour guide who just graduated and got a job in the admissions office. That’s how a lot of admissions officers get their start.

Imagine you’re a tired admission officer. Do you think you’ve read this story a hundred times already?

Swipe to see common patterns of stories

An effective college essay is an engaging, authentic short story that shows who the student is.

Did the essay catch your attention and keep it to the end? Was it authentic? Was it a story (in the broadest sense of the word, as opposed to a school paper, news article, etc.)? Did you get a sense of who the student is?

The best college essays are written like a teenager telling their story around the campfire to friends. An academic or sales perspective won’t lead to the kind of essays admissions officers want to read.

What perspective did the writer take? A teen around the campfire, or something else?