The Myth of the Perfect Essay.
How can I make it stronger?
Should I include this other activity?
But does the essay show that I’m a leader?
These are among the many questions we field as students near the end of the Common Application essay (aka “personal statement”) drafting process. And we always approach answering them like you might an anxious dog: Don’t scare off the nervous senior by saying the wrong thing. Because they might decide to rewrite the essay entirely! And, usually, the essay is great, and a re-write is the last thing they need to do. They’ve just been tricked into believing in a unicorn: the perfect essay.
Some students easily and quickly land on a concept for their personal statement, draw up an outline, write a draft, revise a handful of times (okay, realistically, usually 10–20 times), and call it done.
Then there are those who write draft after draft or edit into perpetuity, all in the quest to write that elusive “perfect essay.”
Years ago, we indulged a student who wanted to write an essay about how she is the orange Skittle. Spoiler: It didn’t work. Collectively, we have probably spent hours discussing the Costco essay that went viral a few years back. We have one essay in our samples folder that centers around a board game and is written with an unusual structure. We have probably spent days discussing that one. Every year, our team contemplates removing it from the folder because it is one of those great essays that usually makes students more terrified than inspired.
But here’s the thing: there is no perfect essay. There is only the essay that is perfect for you.
So, if you are struggling to get to the finish line, give up the expectation that your essay will have some unnamed magical qualities. Instead, think logically about whether your essay fulfills its intended role. Specifically, your essay should:
Function in the context of your complete application. It should be complementary to, not redundant with, your transcript, school profile, recommendations, activities list, and supplements.
Give insight that your other materials cannot provide, ideally offering context for the choices you have made or shedding light on an experience that shaped your values or changed your perspective.
Demonstrate some of the personal qualities that admissions officers are seeking: initiative, ability to collaborate, critical thinking skills, leadership qualities, intellectual curiosity, self-awareness, and just plain old likability. Remember that it does not have to show all these qualities.
If you feel pretty confident that you have hit your marks in terms of your essay’s function and are ready to finalize, ask yourself these questions:
Is your essay “fast to read and slow to unpack?” In other words, does it tell the reader a good story, keep them engaged, and move quickly? Does it also have layers that demonstrate some complexity of thought? In an ideal world, the essay speaks to who you are and how you think about or function in the world more broadly.
Does it have a point? If I ask you what your essay is about, you should be able to tell me with reasonable concision.
Does it have a hook and a takeaway? Your essay might start with a story about how you dropped the wedding cake you made for your aunt, but that’s not the point of it. The point is probably something about how you recover from setbacks or embrace vulnerability. Hint: The Costco essay isn’t really about Costco. In short, your essay should have a tight beginning and a broader conclusion.
Did you avoid oversharing, focusing too much on childhood, and listing your accomplishments? Your admissions reader is not your journal, wants to understand who you are now and what you will bring to a college community, and is perfectly capable of reading the activities list you are also providing.
Does it make your reader work too hard? They don’t have a lot of time, so use transitions and provide context. They shouldn’t have to (and probably won’t) read it twice to understand it.
Did you preserve your language and your voice? Essays that are clearly written or heavily edited by a parent, AI, or advisor do more harm than good. Not only are you depriving yourself of an opportunity to showcase the distinct person you are, but you are also signaling a lack of authenticity in your application more broadly.
Still struggling to call it finished?
That’s okay. At the end of the day, we have seen students who get in with average essays and those who don’t get in despite an amazing one. It is simply one piece of the puzzle. Our advice: do your best and don’t overthink it.
