A few days ago
dancer478

College Essay Help, Please?

I’m a high school senior who is starting to write her Common Application essay. I chose the ‘topic of your choice’ option because I felt it gave me the most freedom. I’m thinking about titling my essay “What I Do Not Know” and writing about how I don’t know how to be a typical teenager. Is it too cliche to write about ‘what I don’t know’? Does is make me seem like I am in fact a typical teenager by saying that I’m not? The topic really is genuine to me but I want to make sure that it comes across as genuine… Honest input is greatly appreciated!!

Top 7 Answers
A few days ago
Ryan C

Favorite Answer

College essays are meant to judge two things… obviously the first is that you have a good ability to express your thoughts through writing. Secondly, they try to assess your personality to see if you would fit into the college lifestyle and be able to handle the responsibilities… Obviously, writing about whatever is most genuine to you would be the best bet, regardless of topic… (Also, I think it’s a cool topic)
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A few days ago
Anonymous
Just be honest with yourself and those around you. Nobody will judge you as a person, but rather the work you put in or how good the essay is. I believe few, if any, people would even write that topic. I mean, it would a great topic since probably nobody has written something like it before. When in doubt, tell the truth.

You can start off by asking these questions:

“If the truth doesn’t save us, what does that say about us?”

“Where is there dignity unless there is honesty?”

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A few days ago
Wise Old man
If I were an admissions director, I probably would not read the essay, or would with a great deal of skepticism. It makes you sound very self centered or very focused on being a “typical teenager” — whatever that is.

College admissions people are looking for unique students who are going to bring something of value to the college or university setting…not “typical teenagers.”

Since you are obviously not a “typical teenager” write about something that makes you different…but not about yourself. Don’t write “I am … I do … I like” but rather pick a topic you are passionate about that and write about that.

Show your intelligence, creativity and uniqueness…stay away from “typical” anything.

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A few days ago
Will B
Great title, bad topic. What you think of as a typical teenager probably reflects where you live and your social class and your ethnicity and . . . , so have a care in what you mean by ‘typical’. Informed ignorance – knowing what you don’t know – is a great thing. You cannot add tea to a cup that is already full – if you think you know something then your cup is full already.

I like your topic and approach though – you don’t know what it is like to be this fantasy typical teen (fer sure, lets go to the mall) any more than you know what it is like to be . . . . . .. .

College is in the ignorance curing business (stupid goes clear to the bone and there is no cure for willful ignorance, which we call bigotry) so go with it, but make sure to own your perspective on ‘typical’.

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A few days ago
tony
You can write about how you don’t understand how some teenagers act like how drugs and violence is a problem many minors are associated with. And you can talk about the ways you dealt with it. And talk about why you don’t get what teens are doing that is illegal and how the typical teenager is different these days…..something like that but I wouldn’t make that my head title you might be able to make it as one of your subtitles.
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A few days ago
Tammerz
If you are sincere in your writing, there’s no reason that you shouldn’t come off as genuine. If it bothers you that much, cover your butt and address it in the essay. Personally, I would like to read an essay like that, because I could relate to it, because I’m a teenager. Think about your target audience.
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A few days ago
Abbie
I wrote something similar and I got accepted to every college I applied to. (I wrote about living overseas almost all my life, not knowing how to be a typical american teenager). The topic doesn’t matter nearly as much as how you represent it.
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