Got rejected? College essay examples that didn't work (and what did)

[molecularninja]

sharing my painful college essay examples journey... rejected from 5 dream schools before figuring it out. anyone want to see what NOT to do in college essays?

 

[rushhour]

your failed essays could help others! here's what worked - switched from generic "sports taught me leadership" to specific story about teaching coding to senior citizens. got into 3 top schools with that college essay

 

[SableCat]

reading thousands of essays as admission consultant. biggest mistakes in college essay examples:

• covid impact stories (too common)
• childhood dreams of medicine
• winning the big game
• volunteer trip epiphanies

 

[molecularninja]

@rushhour yours sounds amazing! mine was about founding a club... so original right?

 

[Outfielder]

reviewing college essay examples daily. successful ones share authentic voice, specific moments, unexpected topics. one kid wrote about collecting rubber bands - got into Stanford

 

[datadragon]

could i share my draft? trying to avoid typical college essay traps

 

[Outfielder]

@datadragon dm me, happy to review! just helped another student revise their essay from generic volunteering story to family recipe blog journey

 

[paperpanic]

these real college essay examples are eye-opening... deleting my "sports championship" draft right now

 

[SableCat]

best college essays show, not tell. instead of listing leadership roles, write about teaching your grandma to use zoom during lockdown