There’s a pretty well-known book called “50 Successful Harvard Application Essays” that’s made the rounds over the years. Given the title, I can only assume that sales are doing just fine. I’ve always had mixed feelings about the book. On the one hand, I actually had a student featured in the third edition (and for the record, I take no credit for his inclusion in the book or his admission/matriculation to Harvard). But on the other hand, the idea of sample essays has never sat well with me, even with a wide variety of examples. To the credit of the arrangers, they also explained why each essay was compelling in its own way. In all my years of college admissions and college counseling, there are only a handful of essays that I still remember to this day. And in the spirit of essay writing season, I’d like to share my impressions of one essay from a former student and why it worked so well. 

Synopsis (at least what I can remember)

To protect anonymity, I am going to refer to my former student as CC and I am not going to include any excerpts. I want to avoid presenting yet another sample essay and I want to focus more on the story than the writing style anyway.

CC began her essay with a description of her neighborhood. She shared some insight about her status as an only-child who was somewhat isolated with the exception of one friend the next street over, but even then, she spent most of her time alone. The community that she was eventually able to find was not within or even outside of her neighborhood. It was in her own house…through the books she read. She introduced this world of stories that enabled her to occupy a space between her real world and her dream world. She talked about the things she had already done, the things she only dreamed of doing, and this third world of stories that alternated between and even connected the previous two. In a particularly memorable section describing her three worlds, she completely nerded out, proving that you can live a full life in different spaces. I don’t remember many details, except that she had seen Muse three times live. CC concluded with an acknowledgement that she would never be able to do it all, which is not always so easy for a young person to recognize, but stories gave her peace and always allowed her to go wherever she needed to go. 

Why it worked

• It was authentically her - CC was and probably still is an über nerd. It showed in her involvement, her choice of courses, and in her *cough* counselor letter of recommendation. There was no doubt that this essay was her, and for colleges that highly valued intellectual vitality, she demonstrated her fit for those environments even if that wasn’t her intention.

• It presented new insight - This essay also had nothing to do with anything else on her application. She didn’t try to remind the reader of her accomplishments or pander to the reader in any other way. If hypothetically, you won some obscure contest, that will be in your activity summary. Great, no need to mention it again unless you really feel that is a part of your very identity. If you were to write an essay about this contest with only more detail about what you did, and if the reader doesn’t learn anything new about you, you’ve really wasted an opportunity. CC’s story stood on its own.

• The storytelling was strong - The opening description of her neighborhood and personal circumstances read like the opening scene of a movie. And the details in her various worlds gave the reader a clear sense of her life experiences. It helps that CC is a strong writer, but it is more important to tell a clear story, which anyone can do with careful consideration and rounds of rewrites. This was not a last minute effort.

Wait, so her essay was about...reading?

Stories, more specifically since she did mention other mediums of interest. My point is that you can turn what may sound mundane on the surface into a compelling essay if you consider it your deepest story. And CC’s deepest story happened to be about...stories. I actually think that essays that turn ordinary-sounding topics compelling are the most memorable. I remember another student who wrote about how she had to drive her little brother to school when she finally got her driver’s license, but that unexpectedly ended up deepening their relationship. Look, you don’t have to write about what sounds impressive. What does the reader really need to learn about you? More important than the story itself is the reason why you have chosen to tell it.

Final thoughts

I read most of the essays from the third edition of “50 Successful Harvard Application Essays” a long time ago and to be bluntly honest, I don’t remember any of them (aside from my own student’s essay). It’s not a criticism of those essays or even the book. It’s just the reality that admission counselors read so many essays every year. Don’t worry about writing the perfect essay that is going to make a lifelong impression. And if you are not applying to college yet, start collecting your own stories like a scrapbook of memories and hopefully that will take you wherever you need to go.

CC, if you somehow see this, thank you for being memorable and for being yourself. 

If you have questions or ideas for future blog posts, contact me at blah@pilgrimcollegeguidance.com.