common college essay topics to avoid

15 College Essay Topics To Avoid and Why | Tips & Examples

Reviewed by:

Former Admissions Committee Member, Columbia University

Reviewed: 4/26/24

Entrance essays are an integral part of your college application. Beyond your test scores, GPA, and other achievements, your essays are essentially the heart of your application. Essays help admissions committees get to know the person behind the stats. 

While your essays showcase your adept writing skills , they also uncover your personality, voice, background, experiences, and more. 

You can choose your essay topics when you apply through the Common Application, Coalition Application, or any other online application portal. However, there are some topics you should avoid, or at the very least, slightly steer your narrative in another direction. 

Below we’ll walk you through why it’s best to avoid some topics in your college entrance essays and a brief overview of some common topics to steer clear of or adjust the trajectory.

Why Should You Avoid Certain Topics for College Entrance Essays? 

Your college entrance essay is your chance to make a lasting impression on admissions officers. It's a way to reveal who you are as a person, separate from your grades and test scores. But some topics can backfire, hindering your application instead of highlighting your strengths. Starting an essay topic right can be your ticket into your desired school.

Adam Sapp , Assistant Vice President and Director of Admissions at Pomona College, said, “The essays are important in part because this is a student's chance to really speak directly to the admissions office.” 

What Do Colleges Look For in College Essays?

When it comes to college essays, colleges are on the hunt for a few key things. They want to get to know you beyond just your grades and test scores, so your essay is your chance to shine. Here's what they're generally looking for:

• Your Personality : Colleges want to see your personality come through in your essay. They want to know what makes you tick, what you're passionate about, and what kind of person you are. This is your chance to let your individuality shine.
• Writing Skills : Of course, colleges also want to see that you can write well. They'll be looking at your grammar, punctuation, and overall writing style. So, make sure your essay is well-structured and free of errors.
• Your Story : Everyone has a unique story to tell, and colleges are interested in yours. They want to know about your experiences, the challenges you've faced, and how you've grown as a result. Share something personal and meaningful.
• Why You're a Good Fit : Colleges also want to see that you've done your homework. They want to know why you're interested in their school specifically. What do you like about their programs, campus, or culture that makes you a good fit?
• Thoughtfulness : Your essay should show that you've put thought into your future and your academic goals. They want to see that you're serious about your education and have a clear sense of purpose.
• Creativity : While you want to be thoughtful and serious, don't be afraid to be creative and unique in your writing. A fresh perspective can make your essay stand out.
• Impact and Growth : Colleges love to see how you've made an impact in your community or how you've grown through your experiences. Share any leadership roles, volunteer work, or challenges you've overcome.
• Adherence to Guidelines : Finally, make sure your essay follows the specific guidelines provided by the college. Don't go over the word limit or ignore any prompts they've given.

Overall, colleges are looking for an authentic, well-written essay that gives them insight into who you are as a person, why you're interested in their school, and how you can contribute to their community. So, be yourself, put some thought into it, and don't forget to proofread! 

15 Topics to Avoid in Your College Essays 

The perfect college essay demonstrates your growth, character, and fit with the school. To drive the point home, choose an essay topic that has proven results . Before you start brainstorming, know there are many college essay topics to avoid altogether. 

Some college essay topics are cliche, and some are risky, uncreative, or just downright inappropriate. We’ll talk you through all the topics to avoid in college essays. 

1. Inappropriate Topics

Some people think rolling with an inappropriate topic and shocking the admissions committee is a great idea, but it’s not. Stay far, far away from anything to do with illegal activity, alcohol, substance use, and anything else following these themes. 

You don’t set yourself up for success using topics like these. The admissions committee could cast judgment, and you’re certainly not putting your best foot forward. 

The only time something like this may be appropriate is if you volunteered at a needle exchange or harm reduction facility. Even then, you’d want to delve into the topic with tact and grace or consider choosing another topic altogether. 

Why Is This A Bad Topic For a College Essay?

Inappropriate topics like these are ill-advised because they can portray the applicant in an extremely negative light to admissions officers. Writing about illegal activities or substance abuse raises major red flags about the applicant's judgment and ability to make good choices. The admissions committee will likely view such topics as a lack of maturity and responsibility - qualities that are essential for college students.

2. A Rehash of Your Activities List and Transcripts 

Essentially summarizing your achievements won’t make for a compelling narrative. The admissions committee already has access to your activities list and transcripts, so there’s no need to reiterate all of the items you wrote down. 

Summarizing these documents is a mistake because it won’t add anything else to your application. Remember, you want to tell the admissions committee something they don’t already know. 

If you want to write about a specific extracurricular, get close and personal with just one. Select the most meaningful activity or the one you were most passionate about and delve beyond the surface. Focusing on one activity can make for a successful essay if it shows your growth, positive character traits, or personality. 

Rehashing information from other parts of the application is a wasted opportunity for the personal essay. The essay is meant to provide new insights into the applicant's personality, values, and experiences that transcripts and lists cannot convey. Simply recapping accomplishments fails to reveal anything meaningful about the applicant as an individual.

3. Relationships, Romance, and Breakups 

As much as you may be head over heels for your partner, or scraping the bottom of ice cream tubs after a breakup, don’t turn these experiences into essay topics. It sounds a little harsh, but your love life doesn’t matter to the admissions committee. Besides that, love is a gigantic and complex topic not well-suited to a college application essay. 

The other problem with this topic is it takes the focus off of yourself and onto another person. You want to ensure your essay is all about you . That's the person most important to the admissions committee, so put yourself first. 

Romance and relationship drama makes for poor college essay topics because they are too personal and not relevant to the applicant's qualifications for admission. Admissions officers are focused on evaluating the applicant's academic potential, not their romantic endeavors. Essays on this topic come across as immature and could raise doubts about the applicant's ability to prioritize their studies over their love life.

4. Writing About Your Hero

Writing a story about your hero sounds nice in theory. However, it’s a cliche college essay topic to avoid. Like writing about your sweetheart (or ex-sweetheart), writing about your hero takes the spotlight away from you and directs it to someone who isn’t applying to college. 

If you wanted to write about your hero in the first place, why? What did they inspire in you, or what experiences did you go through together? How did those experiences or “a-ha” moments make you a better person or a better candidate? Cut through the fluff and focus the lens back on yourself. 

The problem with writing about a hero is that the essay becomes more about glorifying someone else rather than providing insights into the applicant's own life experiences, growth, and motivations. Admissions committees want to learn about the applicants themselves, not read an ode to someone else's accomplishments. The personal statement should maintain a strong focus on the applicant as an individual.

5. The Sports Story

Ah yes, the classic sports story. These essays typically follow different plots. Maybe you scored a point in the last moment, or your team won a championship game against all odds, or you wanted to showcase your training regimen. 

Most people will tell you to stay away from sports topics altogether. If you are dead-set on writing about your sports experiences, don’t let your essay fall into cliche and predictable patterns. 

Approach your sports story from a creative and new angle. Ask yourself the following questions: 

• How did the skills you learned from sports impact another experience? 
• Did being team captain give you the leadership skills you needed to succeed in leading an unrelated project? 

Think critically about your experiences, and you could have a stellar essay topic on your hands to start writing . 

Laura Stratton , Director of Admission at Scripps College in California, recounts an exceptionally well-written sports essay about a student benched in a final game. 

“The self-awareness the student showed of being a good team member and showing up for her teammates, and continuing to be positive even though it wasn't the personal experience that she wanted to have, said a lot about her character and about the type of roommate she would be or classmate she would be.” 

Always look for a fresh angle in your sports story if it’s the one you want to tell. 

Sports stories are often cautioned against because they tend to be cliché and unoriginal. There are only so many ways to rehash the "big game" narrative before it becomes stale and uncompelling. Unless the applicant has a truly unique angle, a sports essay runs the risk of blending in with other applications and failing to make a memorable impression on admissions officers.

6. Tragedies

While tragedies you’ve faced can be formative experiences, this may be a college application essay topic to avoid. Some people aren’t comfortable sharing the intimate details of a tragedy they’ve faced, and that’s okay. Similarly, some people aren’t comfortable reading about the personal details of someone else’s tragedy. 

However, if a tragic event such as the death of a loved one is imperative to your narrative, you can carefully craft a story including it. How was the tragedy an index event that impacted your thoughts or actions?

Tragic events require an extremely delicate approach in college essays. There is the risk of either oversharing disturbing details that make readers uncomfortable, or glossing over the tragedy too briefly to give it proper context. 

Admissions officers may also worry that an applicant who has experienced major trauma is not in a good mindset for the rigors of college life. Overall, tragedies are very personal topics better avoided unless absolutely essential to the narrative.

7. Highly Personal Topics

Like tragic events, highly personal topics don’t always make the best essays . Examples of highly personal topics include past trauma, severe illnesses, and injuries. To fully explore the details of their stories, writers may get too graphic or go into way too much detail about these situations. 

If a highly personal topic is central to the story you want to tell, ensure you handle your narrative delicately. It’s okay to briefly share these anecdotes as long as you don’t go into way too much personal detail. 

Similar to tragic events, highly personal topics involving trauma, health issues, or other very private matters should be avoided unless directly relevant to the main narrative. Oversharing disturbing or graphic personal details can make readers uncomfortable and detract from the overall essay.

8. Controversial Topics: Politics, Religion, and More 

Controversial topics are typically college essay topics to avoid. The problem with these is that not everyone will share the same views, and you may open yourself up to judgment from the admissions committee members who don’t. 

Of course, admissions committees don’t make decisions based on criteria such as what political party you voted for or whether or not you attend a place of worship consistently. These topics work against you. Instead of showing why you’re the right candidate, writing about politics and religion can feel like you’re trying to convince the committee your views are correct. 

The only time you may want to write about a polarizing topic like religion is if you plan to attend a school where religion is a part of its heritage, founding, and teaching, such as Notre Dame University. 

Touching on controversial topics like politics or religion is inadvisable because it injects personal opinions and beliefs that may not align with the admissions officer reading the essay. This creates the potential for bias and judgment based on the applicant's stance on the issue. 

The personal statement should aim to unite readers around the applicant's strengths, not divide them over polarizing debates.

9. The Confessional 

If you want to craft a narrative about an obstacle you’ve faced or to share your growth throughout your high school years, avoid “the confessional.” 

You may feel guilty about something you’ve done that no one else knows about: it’s probably best not to share these confessions with the admissions committee. Your confessional probably won’t paint you in the light you were hoping for. 

Instead, focus on an experience where something or someone changed your perspective or how you navigated a challenging situation in the best way you could. These anecdotes show growth, adaptability, and the willingness to change your perspective when offered new information. 

Confessional-style essays delving into past mistakes, guilt, or skeletons in the closet are cautioned against because they can very easily misfire. What the applicant intends as a narrative of growth may come across as a laundry list of poor choices and immaturity. Admissions officers want to see the present, best version of the applicant, not dwell on their past missteps.

10. Throwing the Box Away 

It’s one thing to think outside the box, it’s another to throw the box out entirely and send it downriver. Sometimes students think an ultra-creative essay means going for an entirely new format, like writing a song or poem. While it might be more fun, it could put you at a disadvantage. 

Being creative doesn't mean you have to reinvent the wheel with your essay. It means you can describe an anecdote or situation using detailed description and vibrant imagery. Pour your creativity into your word choice and how you set up a scene, and it’s sure to strike a much better chord with the admissions committee than a poem or song would (pun intended).

While creative writing is encouraged, completely disregarding traditional essay formatting and structure can be a gamble. Admissions officers have to read thousands of personal statements, so presenting the information in an unconventional way like a poem or song may just come across as gimmicky. It's better to channel creativity into excellent writing within the bounds of a standard essay format.

11. The Service/Mission/Class Trip 

One of the problems with these essay topics is that everyone who has had the opportunity to participate in one of these trips wants to write about them. The second problem is that these narratives tend to follow similar themes and that students tend to write about the trip as a whole. 

If your heart is set on sharing an experience from a trip, pick one meaningful moment to focus on. Did you meet someone on your trip that impacted your character or beliefs? Did you face an unexpected challenge that made you need to rise to the occasion? 

Whitney Soule , Senior Vice President and Dean of Admissions and Student Aid at Bowdoin College, said, “Overuse of a topic doesn’t make it a bad topic.” Remember, honing in on one element of your trip can help differentiate your essay and show more depth than just glazing over your excursion.

Service trips, mission trips, or class trips are very common sources for college essays, which makes standing out difficult. Simply recounting the trip itself in a play-by-play fashion is unoriginal and doesn't reveal much about the applicant's unique perspective or growth. To make this topic work, the applicant needs to go beyond just describing the trip and pinpoint specific moments or interactions that were transformative.

12. Something That Happened Way Before High School 

Many of our most formative experiences can happen long before reaching high school. While these moments are important to you, writing about something that happened to you way before high school may not make the best admissions essay. Your experiences before high school don’t show the admissions committee who you are right now; they show who you were before. 

If you want to pick out a story about your childhood, ensure you relate it to high school or current events. This way, you get to tell that story, but you make it relevant to the person you are today. 

For example, if both your parents are scientists and you used to put on their lab coats at five years old, relate it to how your love of science grew over time to lead you to your school choices now. Don’t just stick to the first part of the story. 

While childhood experiences shape who we become, dwelling too much on events from the distant past can make the essay feel irrelevant to the present-day applicant. Admissions officers want to get a sense of the applicant's current identity, maturity, and mindset - not the person they were as a young child.

13. Your Privilege or Luck

If you’ve lived a privileged life or you’ve had stroke after stroke of good luck, focusing only on these elements isn’t in your best interest. It can come across like you haven't experienced any challenges or have a skewed vision of how the world works. 

It’s fortunate if you’ve lived a reasonably trouble-free life thus far. However, dig deep and look for something beyond the surface of sunshine and rainbows—admissions committees like some vulnerability and honesty. 

Essays that are overtly privileged or present a life of constant good fortune can come across as out-of-touch or lacking perspective. Admissions officers want to see that applicants have dealt with obstacles, learned from setbacks, and developed resilience. 

An essay that reads as completely devoid of any challenges or hardships may raise questions about the applicant's ability to cope with future difficulties in college.

14. Anything That Involves Lying

You would think this one is obvious, but many people feel like their stories just aren’t good enough to tell, so they fabricate elements. The bottom line is you should never lie about anything in your college admissions essays . Admissions committees can smell insincerity. That’s not a personal quality you want to communicate to them. 

Rest assured that you don’t need to have written a dramatic story filled with twists and turns. Excellent college essays can revolve around mundane topics. Write your truth, and don’t fudge any of the details. 

Lying or embellishing details in a college essay is a surefire way to undermine the entire application. If caught, it demonstrates a serious lack of integrity that will disqualify the applicant. 

Even if the lie slips through, the essay will likely come across as inauthentic. Admissions officers can usually spot when an applicant is exaggerating or fabricating stories. Honesty is always the best policy for personal statements.

15. Risky Topics Like Pointing Out a School’s Shortcomings 

This type of writing is uncommon for a reason: it won’t work. Some students may think pointing out a school’s shortcomings and how their attendance may help bridge them will give their essay the shock factor they need to stand out. 

Unfortunately, you’ll stand out in the wrong way. As a general rule, you probably shouldn’t rip apart the school you want to attend. 

A better option is to describe how your acceptance will add to the school and campus culture. A response like this may be better suited to a “Why this school?” supplementary essay, but schools want to admit students who contribute to its culture and add a unique perspective to classrooms.

Criticizing or calling out perceived flaws in the school is an extremely risky move that is very unlikely to pay off. It comes across as arrogant and presumptuous for an applicant to claim they can single-handedly fix an institution's issues before even being admitted. 

This tactic shows a lack of respect for the school and its existing community. Applicants are much better off highlighting their strengths as an additive force.

How To Write a Cliche College Essay That Works? (If You Really Want To)

While certain topics like inappropriate content, rehashing accomplishments, sports stories, and personal topics are generally cautioned against for college essays, there are ways to approach them thoughtfully if you insist on using them.

The key is to find a unique angle that shows personal growth, adaptability, vulnerability, or how the experience shaped you as an individual. 

Rather than just recounting events, analyze how a relationship taught you empathy, how a tragedy changed your perspective, or how being a team captain demonstrated leadership. 

Handle sensitive topics delicately without oversharing graphic details. Above all, ensure your narrative maintains an inward focus on your own insights, strengths, and fit for the university rather than distracting from your candidacy. 

With creativity and self-awareness, even cliched topics can make compelling essays that showcase who you are.

Check out our College Essay Examples Database for a detailed look at successful essays.

Do you still have questions about college application essays? We've got answers! Check out this FAQ section to find the information you need to ace your application.

1. Are There Any Sensitive Personal Experiences I Should Avoid Discussing in My Essay?

Avoid overly sensitive topics that might be uncomfortable for admissions officers. Instead, choose experiences that demonstrate personal growth and resilience.

2. Are There Any Topics That Might Come Across as Boastful or Arrogant in a College Essay?

Avoid bragging about achievements or sounding self-important. Focus on how experiences shaped your character and values.

3. How Can I Identify Potentially Overdone or Unoriginal Essay Topics?

Think about common themes like sports victories or mission trips. To stand out, find a unique angle or a more personal way to approach these topics. 

4. What Are Considered Cliché Topics in College Application Essays?

Cliché topics include sports victories ("the big game"), mission/volunteer trips, and overcoming a generic obstacle. Seek a fresh perspective to make these experiences more impactful.

5. Should I Avoid Discussing Controversial Political or Religious Beliefs in My College Essay?

Yes. It's generally best to avoid divisive topics. Focus on sharing experiences that highlight your values, problem-solving skills, and open-mindedness.

Final Thoughts 

There are many cliche essay topics to avoid and some inappropriate to share with admissions committees. Your college admissions essays should always carry a professional yet conversational tone, and you shouldn’t write about anything that would be detrimental to your application. 

Even though the above list is filled with topics to avoid in college essays, it doesn’t mean you can’t tweak them to make them more appropriate and a better story to tell. Your writing should authentically show your voice and character. Put your best foot (and best writing) forward, and you’re sure to produce stellar pieces of writing! 

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What Not to Write About in a College Essay

Once you get into college, essay writing becomes a way of life. It’s only fitting, then, that getting into your dream college often involves writing one or more college essays as part of your application process. However, many students struggle with one big question: “what should I write my college essay about?”

To maximize your chances of getting accepted, you need to know how to write college essay topics that stand out. And, just as importantly, you need to understand things to avoid in college essays!

If you’re worried about questions like “how should I write my college essay,” don’t worry: we’ve got you covered. Keep reading to discover the best college essay ideas as well as a definitive roundup of things to be wary of.

What do colleges look for in essays?

Overall, colleges are generally trying to get a sense of who you are through your college essays in your perspective, values, and voice. But here’s the paradox of the college essay: the prompts are often intentionally generic. For example, a prompt might ask you to describe a time you overcame a challenge. This makes most students think the admissions committee is interested in the challenge itself. However, what the committee really cares about is who you are, and the prompts are designed to let them know more about you in a dynamic way.

So there are plenty of ways you could answer the prompt , but you need to make sure your responses help to illustrate some of the positive traits a committee might be looking for. For example, an in-depth explanation of a time you solved a complex dilemma can showcase your potential as a scholar and researcher. And an essay about you volunteering in your community shows the admissions committee that you are a leader who is focused on making the world a better place.

Beyond making yourself look good, the primary goal of any college essay is to help you stand out from other applicants. This gives you a chance to really lean into a certain writing style (for example, it’s okay to use a humorous writing voice) that makes your essay more memorable. In fact, it actually helps to humanize you, meaning the admissions committee will see yours as more than just another application in the stack.

And because your goal is to stand out and show who you are, some topics are better than others when it comes to writing a great essay. So let’s take a closer look at some of the common college essay topics you should probably avoid.

Cliche College Essay Topics to Avoid

Below, we’ll break down some of the most cliche essay topics. For each one, we’ll get more into how and why it’s a bad topic (by “bad” we mean it’s really hard to write it well). And if you’re absolutely determined to go with one of these college essay topics to avoid, we’ve got info near the end on how you can make the essay as strong as possible.

Resume/academic achievements

What’s the biggest mistake you can make when writing a college essay? Simple: accidentally thinking that you’re applying for a job instead!

Many students asking “what do colleges look for in essays” decide that the best approach is to list out different kinds of achievements. These may be academic achievements or achievements related to various extracurricular activities (such as sports trophies).

What’s the problem with focusing on your accomplishments like this? The biggest is that it misses the point of the essay—we don’t really get a sense of who you are through these things. Since you have so few words to work with, a long list of accomplishments is going to feel cramped. Plus, there won’t be much room to contextualize the achievements or to humanize yourself. And you have other space for these kinds of things—use the Activities List and Additional Info sections. At the end of the day, you are far better off crafting your essay around a single awesome experience than you are turning the entire essay into a resume .

The mission trip essay

Religious students are often tempted to submit college essays focused around a mission trip they went ont. On paper, this seems like a good idea: it showcases leadership, community service, and the student’s general willingness to help other people. However, submitting the mission trip essay tends to be a bad idea for several different reasons. (The fact that it has a name, “The mission trip essay”, is a sign.)

First, this is one of the most common college essay topics that admissions committees receive. Some committee members may be annoyed at seeing “yet another one” in their stack of essays. And even if the committee is fine with a mission trip essay, so many people write them that it’s going to be hard to not sound like hundreds of other applicants.

Second, there is a real danger in how you describe the communities that you helped. If you’re not careful, you may use the language of exclusion or xenophobia. Instead of making yourself look good, this could make you look judgmental or even bigoted.

Third, and finally, mission trips are all about helping other people (Which is great! Definitely help other people!). But when you write an essay trying to make yourself look good for helping people, you may end up seeming overly self-congratulatory, which defeats the purpose of writing the essay in the first place.

Sports challenge essays

If you’re an athlete, writing a college essay about a sports challenge you faced may seem like a no-brainer. “Sports challenges” include essays about winning the big game, losing the big game, making (or not making) the team, and even getting a nasty sports injury. However interesting the sports challenge itself was, though, these typically make for bad college essays topics. (Again, meaning they’re tough to write well in ways that stand out.)

Why is that? Like the mission trip essay, a sports challenge college essay is very common. Since one of the main goals of the essay is to help you stand out, it doesn’t really help to do the same thing that countless other people are doing. For example, almost everyone writing about losing the big game ends up writing the same “lessons learned” about humility, teamwork, overcoming disappointment, etc.

And another big reason to avoid the sports challenge college essay is that you have to use so many words to explain the context of the big game, what the major plays were, the ultimate outcome, and so on. This doesn’t leave much room for personal reflection or even stylistic writing, so you are left with an admission essay that mostly codes you as “generic athlete” in the eyes of the committee.

The Big Performance

A close cousin to “the big game” style of college essay is “the big performance.” These are essays that focus on someone getting ready to take center stage in a play, perform a captivating musical solo, give a major speech, and so on.

As with sports challenge essays, these essays are very common, and tend to have very similar plot points, so it’s tough to make your own stand out. For example, the big performance always goes well or goes poorly. Performers almost always learn either the value of preparation or the inner strength to overcome a major disappointment. With these kinds of essays, you may be unable to do what you did with an actual big performance: stand out in a big way.

Another thing these essays have in common with sports essays is that you will inevitably spend much of your essay word count describing what the performance is, how you actually performed, what made the performance great (or not so great), and so on. This gives you less room to humanize yourself and emphasize how and why the skills you used to face this challenge make you an ideal college student.

Cliche immigration story

Sometimes, what makes a topic a bad college essay is that it doesn’t really do anything new. And that’s the case when it comes to the cliche immigration essay.

We say “cliche” because the vast majority of college essays focusing on immigration emphasize the same things: moving to a new home, feeling out of place, and eventually learning to accept both one’s cultural heritage and one’s new surroundings. There are more of these college essays than there are Lifetime movies about falling in love with a handsome stranger.

Does this mean there’s no way to write a good immigration-focused college essay? Of course not! But try to pick a more unique story related to your immigration experience. Not only will this help your application stand out, but a more unique topic can also help to humanize you as you describe the unexpected situations that you had to ultimately overcome.

Why X person is your hero  

Sometimes, it’s tempting to write about someone who is your personal hero. After all, these are the kinds of people who have influenced the trajectory of your life in a major way, and it’s easier to write passionately about the people who have inspired your own passions. 

However, there is one chief reason you should be wary of writing about your personal heroes: if you’re not careful, the essay ends up being more about the other person than yourself, which can lead to a reader feeling like “Your grandma sounds awesome. Too bad she’s not applying to college.”!

The tough grade you got

Many college essay prompts ask you to write about a time that you overcame a major challenge. There are many challenges students could potentially write about, and many choose to write about what they did after they received a bad grade.

It’s generally never a good idea to use this as an essay topic, though. 

First, other students will write about some serious challenges, even things like escaping war . Framing getting a bad grade as a serious challenge next to something like that … may not go so well.

And while everyone has gotten a bad grade from time to time, you don’t want to make poor academic performance the first thing an admissions committee hears about you.

Try to focus on a topic that emphasizes your strengths more than your weaknesses.

And if you feel like you don’t have many challenges to write about, check out this guide on how to write well about a challenge that wasn’t really a big deal .

Your first heartbreak

There is nothing quite like the rush of young love … and nothing quite as painful as a young breakup. And due to the raw intensity of the emotions involved, many would-be college students focus on their first heartbreak as their college essay topic.

But this is generally a bad idea for several reasons. First, to be blunt, epic teen romance is usually far less important to those outside the relationship. It’s a bit of an uphill climb to even get the admissions committee to see this as an important topic.

Second, as with writing about your heroes, writing about a heartbreak means you’ll spend plenty of time writing about the other person. And the more you talk about your ex, the less room you have to talk about yourself.

Third, many people have multiple relationships over the course of their college education. If you spend hundreds of words talking about how much a single breakup nearly disrupted your life, it may make the committee worry about how easily you could get distracted by romance and start losing focus on your actual studies. 

Illegal/unethical activities

In a perfect world, this would go without saying, but here goes: whatever you do, make sure your college essay doesn’t talk about you participating in illegal or unethical activities. For example, if you casually mention illegal drug use in your essay, it will make the college worry about you partaking in illegal drugs while at the college. They may even worry about you getting others (such as frat brothers or sorority sisters) using illegal drugs as well. Not a great look.

And even when it’s not an outright crime, you should refrain from writing about unethical activities that make you look bad. For example, some students have actually written college essays about how they were caught cheating on a test and ultimately learned from the experience. Learning from mistakes is fine and all, but the only outcome of such an essay is making the admissions committee question how long it will take you to start cheating on various college tests and essays.

The ideal essay topic is one that makes the committee trust you and believe that you’ll add value to the college. That’s going to be tough to do when you write about illegal or unethical activities.

If you really, really want to try to make a cliche topic work

So far, we have focused on very specific essay topics you should steer clear of. However, there are many students who gain admission to their dream colleges every year by using these topics. What’s their secret? Simply put, they have found a way to make cliche topics feel a bit less cliche.

For example, if you decide to do a “resume” style essay, don’t try to dazzle them with all of your different accomplishments. Instead, zero in on one very specific accomplishment, and dive into layers of reflection and meaning. This gives you much more room to detail how the experience shaped you into the kind of person who will add real value to the college. The same wisdom holds true for writing about your mission trip: if you must write about it, try to focus on values that we’re not expecting. Like, did it teach you about healthy boundaries and autonomy and balance, instead of the cliche version. .

Same thing applies if you must write about overcoming a sports challenge: try to avoid common topics such as, grit, resilience, determination (which are basically all the same thing), learning to trust teammates, how you were thrilled at winning the big game, or how heartbroken you were to lose. Instead, try more unconventional topics like how a sports injury forced you to learn new skills or how it helped you discover a new passion. One of the best we’ve seen was how playing cornerback helped a student read Dostoevsky better. In addition to being more unique, such a topic shows you are adaptable.

If you decide to write about a big performance, it helps if the performance itself is unusual. No matter the performance, though, try not to spend too much time describing that performance. Instead, you should use the outcome of the performance as a springboard to discuss the new skills and life lessons you have learned. Ultimately, it will be what you know now that gets you into the college of your choice rather than how you performed then .

As we detailed before, an issue with most immigration college essays is that they focus on worn topics such as adjusting to a new place, learning new languages and cultures, and so on. If you’re going to write this essay, you’ll be better off focusing on something like a single specific moment (like what you did the first time you encountered racism or xenophobia) or a much less conventional challenge you faced (for example, asking someone out on a date when you are still struggling with a new language).

When writing college essays about your personal hero, be sure to actually focus more on yourself than on them. Help us see what you learned from them, how you’ve applied those lessons, and how they’ve shaped you into the thinker and scholar you are today.

Finally, we generally recommend against trying any variation of the “bad grade” essay—it’s crazy hard to make work. You should similarly avoid writing about your first heartbreak because it is nearly impossible to write a brief essay about young love gone wrong the committee hasn’t seen a thousand times before. 

And at all costs, avoid writing about illegal or unethical activities unless you want your application sent to the “circular file” (the nearest trashcan).

Start writing your college essay today

Now you know what to do when it comes to college essays. And, perhaps more importantly, you know what not to do. Now comes the hard part, though: sitting down and doing it!

Fortunately, this is not a challenge you have to tackle on your own. We offer a full set of resources to help you craft a great essay and get help with other college admission questions . We’re here to help you do one very important thing: to turn the college of your dreams into reality for the next school year.

Special thanks to Chris Snellgrove for writing this blog post.

Chris Snellgrove is an English Professor at Northwest Florida State College who specializes in literature, rhetoric, and business writing. As a freelance writer, Chris specializes in sales, marketing, pop culture, and video games. He has a B.A. in English from Troy University and both an M.A. and Ph.D. in English from Auburn University. When he’s not writing or talking to others about writing, Chris loves reading books, playing video games, watching horror movies, and disappearing into a comic book. He currently lives in Northwest Florida and would probably rather be at the beach right now.

Top values: Diversity / Equality / Social Justice

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College Application Essay Topics to Avoid – 2024-25 Edition

July 10, 2024

We would never unequivocally tell an applicant that any proposed college essay topic is off-limits. Great writers can take the most mundane, banal, and generic topic and transform it into a captivating composition. However, in our experience reading thousands of college essays, we are able to say with confidence that students are wise to steer clear of the following topics. Ahead is our 2024-25 edition of College Application Essay Topics to Avoid, but first…

Why should I avoid these college essay topics?

To avoid falling victim to two all-too-common pitfalls: undersharing and oversharing.

Let’s start with undersharing. Certain college essay topics inspire clichés. We can’t tell you why, exactly, but they just do. There are ways around those clichés, of course (outlined below) but in our experience, they are difficult to avoid. Since clichéd takeaways will prevent you from crafting the most thoughtful possible reflection—and thus prevent readers from connecting with you as an applicant—we would suggest avoiding them at all costs.

On the flip side of clichéd, impersonal essay topics are topics that are way TMI, either emotionally or in regard to their subject matter. These topics can paint you in an unflattering light or simply be very distracting. As a result, they’ll ultimately shed precious little insight into what type of classroom and community member you would be. Remember, your main objective is to convince readers that you are ready and prepared to join a college community, both academically and socially.

Without further ado…

College Application Essay Topics to Avoid

1. drugs, sex, and, well, just those two….

While you’re not auditioning to become an altar boy/girl, there are certain risqué topics that are unlikely to be viewed in a positive light by an admissions committee. On occasion, we’ve seen students aim for shock value by incorporating stories of sexual encounters or drug use into their essays—99% of the time this is an awful idea.

There are of course tactful ways to address these subjects if they are central to revealing who you are. One could easily talk about their sexual identity without writing an abridged version of Fifty Shades of Grey . Likewise, if a story of addiction and recovery is an essential part of your past, it may be a worthy topic. However, students should never mention the casual use of drugs or alcohol. The same goes for any illegal acts. It sounds obvious enough, but you’d be surprised!

2. Travel Experiences

This is a common go-to topic for many students. If done well, recounting a trip to a foreign country will reveal something deeply personal and meaningful about you. Unfortunately, the travel essay is rarely executed well.

Too often, students, even fantastic young writers, waste precious application real estate on fanciful descriptions of Peruvian landscapes or generic observations about impoverished denizens of a Central American village. If you write about a trip to Haiti and chronicle the culture of the Haitian people, then the essay is not really about you – it might as well be a homework assignment for a World Cultures elective.

An admissions officer is not going to emerge from reading an essay like this thinking, “What a worldly chap!” In reality, they are likely to feel like they just read a page from J. Peterman’s catalog of Seinfeld fame.

Remember to talk about something that happened to you, where you are at the heart of the action. Colleges want to know who you are and how you view the world – the essay may be your only chance to provide them with this type of insight and the travelogue is rarely an effective vehicle.

3. Anything Too Grandiose

Many applicants are naturally inclined toward over-dramatization, hyperbole, and enhanced self-importance in their essays. This is natural for two reasons: 1) even students with perfect SATs still have a teenage brain. And 2) they wrongfully assume that this is required to impress admissions officers.

Writing an essay that is compelling doesn’t mean that you need to have wrestled a puma, grown up in a cult, or discovered a new galaxy at age seven. A great college essay can take place on a grand stage but it can just as effectively take place in everyday life. There is a ready supply of dramatic tension and conflict in the course of a typical day.

Parents can help their children in the brainstorming and editing stages by providing them with an adult sensibility and mature, grounded perspective. Many over-involved parents believe that they are helping their child’s essay by rewriting it in the style and tone of the New York Times . This is a mistake. Admissions officers do not want to read Nicholas Kristof’s version of your high school experience; they want it in your real teenage voice. Yet, parents can be of great assistance by reminding their child to tone down their all-too-eager-to-impress natures. For example, a change in school lunch menu policy instituted by a student council president should not be compared to The New Deal. A photographic expose in the school newspaper highlighting the poor condition of the football team’s locker rooms should not lead to comparisons of Jacob Riis. A discovery in robotics club should not…well, you get the idea.

4. Sports Glory

(In a John Facenda voice)…”On a crisp and dreary autumn day, a JV football field was the setting of a clash of titans, middleweight monsters of the gridiron. And there I stood, ready to perform the most challenging of the athletic arts, that fickle mistress known as…punting.”

Ask any admissions officer how many compelling sports-themed essays they’ve read in their entire careers. The answer will likely be somewhere between zero and one. Not even the spawn of Grantland Rice him/herself could breathe life into this black hole of a topic.

The caveat here is that an essay can, of course, involve athletics. However, sports should serve as the backdrop to something more deep and personal. Competition and training undoubtedly provide ample opportunity to show more about your character, ability, sportsmanship, reaction to adversity, and ability to contribute to a larger cause. Just make sure something more revealing is being communicated than the fact that you once netted a hat trick against a rival or drained a last-second, fadeaway three-pointer. If you’re that great at a given sport, chances are a coach has already recruited you.

5. The Stream of Consciousness Essay

Okay, so this isn’t exactly a topic, per se, but more of an ill-fated genre that we’ve seen attempted before. Applicants will throw formality to the wind and spew out a string of stream-of-consciousness thoughts. If it worked for James Joyce, why not me? Unfortunately, such works typically read like a crazy e-mail written by a jilted lover at 3:00 am rather than A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man .

Writing in an authentic voice does not mean scribbling down some stream-of-consciousness thoughts 24 hours before the application deadline. There is a popular myth that Abraham Lincoln penned the Gettysburg Address on a napkin en route to the battlefield. In truth, he spent over two weeks crafting the speech and went through five full drafts. All of that labor for a 272-word document about half the length of a college essay! To sum up: The more time that you dedicate to your essay, the better the product will be.

Final Thoughts — College Essay Topics to Avoid

Now that you know what topics to avoid, your next question is likely this one: What should I write about?! Check out the following blogs for inspiration:

• Common App Essay Prompts
• How to Brainstorm a College Essay
• 10 Instructive Common App Essay Examples
• How to Start a College Essay
• How to End a College Essay
• Best College Essay Help
• College Essay

Andrew Belasco

A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

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College essay don’ts: 37 Things to Avoid In a college essay

Knowing what not to write about in a college essay is just as important as knowing what to write about!

This post is all about college essay don’ts , including college essay topics to avoid and how not to write your college application essays. 

It’s so important to know what NOT to write about in your college application essay. Whether you’re crafting your essay for the Common App or writing shorter college-specific essays, you need to know how not to write a college essay. 

Choosing the wrong topic for your college application essays could mean that you don’t get admitted to your dream school or you miss out on scholarship money. 

Since you really only have one chance to get it right, you need to know what topics to avoid in your college admissions essays, general college essay don’ts, and what other pitfalls to avoid when writing your college essays.

Essay writing may feel overwhelming and stressful, but knowing what not to do will help you write a great college essay!

What not to write in your college application essay

So you know exactly what not do in college admissions essays, here are 37 college essay tips about college essay don’ts. Follow this advice to know what not to write about in your college essay!

1. Don’t restate the Essay prompt

Start your essay with a hook. Start with dialogue. Start by setting the scene.

Don’t start by restating the essay topic! The reader knows the essay prompts, so just start telling your story. 

A great story will immediately grab the attention of the admission officers and make them want to keep reading!

2. Don’t try to be funny in your college admissions essay

There’s a good chance that what you think is funny may not be funny to the admissions officer. And even if your admissions officer thinks it’s funny, the dean of admissions may not agree.

Clever writing that naturally tells a funny story will get you further than trying too hard to make everyone laugh. 

3. Don’t swear

You might not mind vulgar language, but many people do. It will come off as tasteless and crass. Simply put, curse words should not be part of your college admissions essay. 

4. Don’t just tell the reader what you think

Tell the reader what you did, how you felt, how you changed—not just what you think. Admissions officers don’t want to read about what you think in the abstract.

They want to know what has happened to you in life, how that’s affected you, and what you did as a result. 

Write an engaging, interesting story that shows the reader how you’ve grown and what you’ve learned.

5. Don’t try to Appear perfect

It’s okay that your life is messy and you don’t have it all together. It’s okay that you’re not super organized and you don’t know what you want to be when you grow up.

Your college essay doesn’t need to be about how awesome you are (really, it shouldn’t be!). It just needs to be about the real you. Remember, your personal essay for college should be just that—personal! 

6. Don’t brag

Your achievements are all listed on your resume.

Writing about how great you are, how you saved the day, or how you’re a hero to others is not going to make a positive impression on the reader.

Leave the bragging to the people who wrote your letters of reference. 

7. Don’t emphasize status

Avoid topics that emphasize your financial privilege. Voluntourism trips to aid people living in poverty in far-flung areas of the world is a key example of this.

Don’t write about going on a mission trip to a third world country to volunteer to help the less fortunate and how you learned how privileged you are. Just don’t. 

8. Don’t lie

Don’t inflate your accomplishments. Don’t pretend to be someone you’re not.

If you write something dishonest in your essay, it won’t match the other parts of your application. If you were found to have been dishonest when writing your essay, you will not be offered admission at that college. 

9. Don’t reveal too much

If you have faced personal challenges, like addiction, mental health struggles, or learning disabilities, those struggles are part of you. You should feel proud of overcoming them.

But your college admissions essay is not the place to share your most deeply personal experiences. 

Some college admissions officers may read about your challenges and want to welcome someone with your tenacity and spirit to their campus.

Unfortunately, most admissions officers will read about your challenges and worry that you will face similar issues at their university. 

Many colleges choose not accept applicants who have demonstrated past mental health issues. This might not seem fair, but it is reality. Don’t hide your true self or be dishonest, but carefully consider how much you want to reveal in your admissions essay about your private struggles. 

10. Don’t write about illegal activities

It’s a safe bet that most colleges do not want to admit students who have a history of participating in illegal activities.

Even if you plan to talk about drug use, alcohol use, jail time, or committing crimes as a way to show growth and discuss lessons learned, illegal activities show a lack of maturity and questionable judgement.

Writing about criminal behavior will not reflect well on you as a candidate for admission. Illegal activities make bad topics for college essays.

11. Don’t summarize your resume

This is one of the biggest college essay don’ts! Your college essay is your opportunity to tell the college admissions office who you really are and what really matters to you.

Your resume already lists your activities, and your transcript details your grades. Your college essay isn’t the place to review these facts; it’s your chance to stand out by telling your story. 

12. Don’t tell a general story

Be specific. In fact, be very specific. Focusing on the details of your story will help make your college essay unique so that it stands out.

A good college essay will tell a story that could only have been written by you—no one else. 

Instead of telling a biopic story of your life, focus on one aspect of your life—your beliefs, a meaningful experience, a key event—that explains who you are and what matters to you. 

13. Don’t write about cliché topics

Avoid writing about the sports victories and defeats. Winning a big game or losing a championship game might mean a lot to you, but sports are common topic and best avoided.

Don’t write about overcoming an academic setback or a romantic breakup.  

14. Don’t write about something controversial

You don’t know who will be reading your college admissions essay, and they might not agree with your views on controversial topics.

Moreover, your reader might not appreciate how you approach a sensitive topic. You might appear close-minded and unempathetic. 

The last thing you want to do is make the admissions officers reading your essay think you would bring discord to the campus community.

15. Don’t undervalue the small stuff

Great essays can be crafted from the small, personal details of daily life.

Don’t underestimate what interesting essays can be written about your morning routine, your favorite family recipe, your relationship with your sibling, or what you do on a snow day. 

In fact, some of the most memorable, best essays have been about a random item, food, or daily routine.

16. Don’t go negative

Criticizing other people, your current school, or anything else will probably just make a bad impression on your readers.

Don’t whine about your life. Negativity says more about you and how you perceive the world around you than it does about anything else. Certainly don’t criticize the college you’re applying to!

If you do want to write about negative experiences you’ve had, quickly move on to discussing what you’ve learned or how you’ve grown as a result of those experiences.

17. Don’t be pompous

Never assume that you know better than your readers or that your approach is the only way.

Don’t tell your reader what they should think. Avoid making generalized value judgements. 

18. Don’t go completely off topic

Don’t try to stand out by submitting a poem or creative writing sample.

Write a thoughtful, well-crafted essay about yourself, just like they asked for.

Show that you respect the school admissions committee’s request and can follow directions. 

19. Don’t ignore the prompt

College admission essay topics are designed to allow you a lot of freedom in how you answer. Craft a story that tells something about you, within the framework of the prompt. 

Just double check that your essay answers the prompt, to make sure you didn’t veer off topic as you wrote and edited the essay. 

Also know that you can write about whatever you’d like to . In your essay writing process, if you find that the first prompt you chose isn’t working out, choose a different one and start again.

20. Don’t get the tone wrong

Your college admissions essay is not an expository essay, formulaic and devoid of warmth. Nor is it the right time for you to use all the fancy words you’ve been studying for the SAT.  

Your college admissions essay should be engaging, show your personality, and sound like you—a teenager reflecting on your life thus far. 

21. Don’t write a trite conclusion

If your essay has done its job, you shouldn’t need to sum it all up for the reader in a neat little final sentence.  

If you have shown your reader what you’ve learned, how you’ve grown, or who you are, you don’t need to say it explicitly at the end of your essay. 

The conclusion is often the hardest part of the essay to get just right, so don’t worry if it’s hard to find the perfect words. Take a break from writing it and come back in a few days to get a fresh perspective on what you’re trying to say.

22. Don’t wait until the last minute to Write

Start writing your college admissions essay weeks, if not months, before its due. Senior year is an incredibly busy time, so it’s a great idea to get started on your college admission essays as early as possible.

Leave plenty of time to think about what you want to say, revise and edit, and finalize the essay. You’ll be amazed at how your essay can improve if you allow ample time to work on it.

If you’re going to apply early decision or early action, consider starting to work on your main essay the summer after junior year, before your senior year even starts, or early in the fall of senior year.

23. Don’t ignore the word count

You don’t want to write too much or too little. Aim to be within a few words of the word limit. Express yourself clearly and concisely.

24. Don’t repeat your resume

When you’re writing your personal statement essay, don’t just repeat your high school resume.

Your personal essay is your chance to talk about an aspect of your personality or life experiences that can’t be found anywhere else in your college application. 

The list of courses you’ve taken (and your grades) tell about your academic interests. So there’s no need to turn your essay into a list of your academic achievements!

Your extracurricular activities show what you’re interested in and how you use your time. If you want to discuss how your extracurricular activities have been formative experiences for you, focus on one particular example. Don’t re-list all your volunteer experiences!

Your personal statement essay should reveal something about you that doesn’t show up in the rest of your application. 

25. Don’t write about an “example” topic

If you have read some amazing examples of college essays, and you’re thinking that you could write on that same topic, don’t.

Chances are, if your English teacher pointed out those examples, or you found them via a Google search, every other high school senior (and every school admission officer) has seen those essays too! 

Instead, dig deep and write your own amazing personal statement !

26. Don’t copy and paste

It’s completely fine to use the Common App to submit your personal essay to every school on your list (as long as they accept the Common App, of course). 

But for each college’s specific essays, tailor your essay to each school. Include specific details about each college that make you want to go there. And make sure your responses are appropriate to the culture of each college. 

If you do copy and paste your essays, be sure the essay doesn’t refer to the wrong school!

27. Don’t overuse the thesaurus

Everyone gets stuck using the same words over and over again, and it’s fine to check a thesaurus when you’re writing. 

But don’t use big words just in an attempt to impress the college admissions officers. Don’t use words you don’t really understand to try to sound smart.

For a great college application essay, write naturally in your own voice and let your true personality show. 

28. Don’t plagiarize

If you’re submitting someone else’s college essay as your own, you’re giving up the chance to share your unique story with the admissions office.

You’re also risking an automatic rejection if you’re caught!

29. Don’t be fake

Use your essay to tell the admissions officers what you want them to know about you.

Don’t try to guess what the admissions officers would like for you to say or try to be someone you’re not. 

Don’t invent a tragic event in your past, claim to have done hours and hours of community service you haven’t done, or exaggerate any aspect of your life.

Be authentic, write with your own voice, and craft an essay that stands out from the other applicants.

Simply take your time to craft a thoughtful essay that tells your personal story. Talk about your unique perspective on one specific experience in your life, using your authentic voice.

30. Don’t write a school essay

Your college admissions essay is not a five-paragraph expository essay that you would write for English class.

A winning college essay should have a beginning and an end, but the part in the middle should tell a good story, not make an argument in three points. 

The expository essay style of writing might be what your English teacher wants, but it makes for bad college essays.

For a college application, a well-written essay will examine your personal growth, your unique experience in life, and the different perspectives through which you see the world. And you should do this by crafting an intriguing story about a specific moment or experience that was significant to you.

31. Don’t Avoid feedback 

If you’re feeling stuck, feel free to ask someone else—a teacher, parent, family member, or friend—to read your essay. Getting feedback on your entire essay is the best way to get a sense of how admissions officers will respond to reading it.

Feedback does not mean that they tell you what to write or how to write it.

Feedback should mean getting input from someone else can help you learn where your essay veers off point or where you need to dig deeper to tell a better story. 

32. Don’t skip editing

Please allow enough time to write AND edit your essay. Ideally, you will write a first draft of your essay, then edit it, then get feedback, then edit it again, then write a final draft (then proofread it—see below). 

Expect to write at least three or four, and maybe many more, drafts of your college application essay. Your essay will improve with each round of editing.

The essay writing process can be time consuming, but in the end you’ll have a strong essay to share with college admissions offices, so it will be worth it!

33. Don’t overedit

What? Didn’t I just tell you to edit?

Yes, absolutely. Just be sure that after you’ve shown your essay to trusted readers and you’ve made your edits, your story still remains.

The essay should still have your voice and should tell the story you want to tell. 

34. Don’t skip proofreading

After you make your edits and write a “final draft,” you might want to click send and submit your essay. But not so fast! 

Take time to do a final proofread of your essay.

Better yet, ask a teacher, college counselor, or someone with excellent grammar and spelling skills to proofread your essay. Having a fresh set of eyes on your essay will help ensure it is error-free. 

35. Don’t just rely on Spellcheck

It’s really important to have an actual person proofread your essay.

Spellcheck and other editing software won’t necessarily catch grammar errors, typos, or poorly structured arguments.

It’s always a good idea to trust the final proofread of your essay to a person, rather than technology. 

36. Don’t submit your essay at the last minute

You never know when a website will get glitchy!

Don’t take a chance that the Common Application or an individual university’s website won’t act up at a crucial moment. Do your best to upload your college essay at least a day before it’s due!

The admissions process is stressful enough without adding in technical errors. Don’t risk missing the deadline by procrastinating!

37. Don’t submit an incomplete essay

When you’re in the Common App website or a specific college’s application portal, and you attach your admission essay, scan it quickly before hitting the submit button.

Be sure you attached the correct file or that the complete essay transferred when you copied and pasted it into the online form.  

It won’t matter if you write a great essay if you don’t submit it correctly!

Final thoughts on college essay don’ts and what not to write in your college essay

Personal essays are a key part of the college application process. College admissions counselors, especially at smaller colleges, use college essays to learn more about the applicants applying for admission at their school. 

An amazing college essay might not make up for bad grades or a lack of extracurriculars, but a poorly written essay may push your application into the reject pile. This is especially true now that test scores are usually optional.

Successful essays allow admissions officers to learn about your personal qualities, your take on global issues, and how you might contribute to campus life.

Writing a great college admission essay is the most important thing you can do to make a great impression on the admissions team.

After looking at so many college applicants, test scores, GPAs, and awards all blend together. It’s the personal essays that stand out when admission counselors are deciding which high school seniors will be accepted.

So, it’s worth taking your time to write the best college admissions essays you can.

By avoiding all these college essay don’ts, you’ll know what not to write in your college essay. 

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Graduate of Brown University, higher ed professional, and mom of three. Sharing everything I’ve learned about college with you.

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College Admissions Essay Topics to Avoid

Make your admissions essay stand out by avoiding these topics that are overused on college applications., kathryn knight randolph.

October 22, 2024

Why You Should Avoid These College Essay Topics

College admissions essay topics to avoid:, a summary of your accomplishments, highly controversial topics, essays about sports triumphs and defeats, being lucky or blessed, stories about volunteering or trips, self-expression, illegal or illicit behavior, the most important [person, place, thing] in my life, personal trauma or tragedies, how to choose a unique college essay topic, you might also like.

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Kathryn Knight Randolph is the Associate Content Editor at Fastweb. She has 17 years of higher education experience, working first as an Admissions Officer at DePauw University before joining Fastweb. In b...

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College essays are really about sharing a glimpse of your personality, perspective, and insights, so it’s possible to write amazing essays on nearly any topic.

Nevertheless, there are a handful of topics that are so over-used and cliche that they’re guaranteed to make the admissions officers groan.

There are also a few topics that are so risky that I always advise students to choose a different essay subject.

Read on to learn the 19 college essay topics that students should avoid so as to not damage their admissions chances.

19 College Essay Topics to Avoid

Applying to college? You’ve got a lot on your plate. Grab this free pdf with a detailed college admissions checklist listing every step from freshman year to senior spring — and make sure you’re not forgetting a crucial step of the road to college!

Jump to essay topic:

The sports injury

The person who inspires you

The big performance

The big game and the power of teamwork

Your passion for a common academic major (sorry, pre-med students)

Immigrating to a new country

Moving to a new town or new school

The mission trip or community project

Life-changing travel experiences

Overcoming the setback of a bad grade

Controversial politics (read the room)

Personal tragedy

First heartbreak and personal romantic life

The resume rehash

The obvious brag

The vocabulary exercise

Sexist or racist opinions

Drugs, cheating, and other illegal or unethical activities

Anxiety, depression, and self-harm

Bonus: how to write a great college essay and boost your admissions chances

1. The sports injury

Tom Campbell, Admissions Officer at Pomona College (the most selective liberal arts college in the US), referred to this one as “the ACL tear heard around the world.”

An injury that keeps you from playing your sport during high school is absolutely a big setback that can have a significant impact on your high school athletic career and overall experience. This is not to diminish the effects of an ACL tear or another injury that can sideline a student.

However, this particular topic is unfortunately so common that Campbell describes the reaction of the admissions officer as “oh no, do I really have to read this? again?” (to paraphrase).

It’s just far too common to be interesting or memorable to admissions officers , who are ultimately the ones reading and evaluating your essays.

Whatever insights you learned or character you built from going through your sports injury, it’s all been said before.

My advice? Any essay about a sports injury will have to work extra hard to be original and memorable. Don’t make your life harder and just find a new topic!

2. The person who inspires you

Hopefully we all have people in our lives — whether a family member, a mentor, a celebrity, or a historical figure — who inspire us and help to illuminate possible futures.

However, there are two big problems with writing about an inspirational person for your college essays.

The first is that these essays inevitably end up being about that other person, not about you .

The admissions officers want to know about you , not about your grandfather or Marie Curie.

If you do try and write an essay on this topic, make sure that your essay is about your story, not about someone else. This is not the place for a book report or a family history!

However, even if you manage to keep your essay focused on your own experience and insights, I’d still recommend choosing a different topic.

That’s because the second problem with this topic is that it’s incredibly cliche.

Admissions officers have read thousands (not hyperbole) of essays about amazing grandparents and other inspirational people.

With this topic, it will be nearly impossible to be original and memorable — so try and pick something else!

3. The big performance

Many students, especially those applying to selective colleges, have pursued extracurriculars in the performing arts. Whether your passion is music, theater, dance, comedy, or slam poetry, there’s usually some kind of important performance or high-pressure event that you have to get through.

It’s natural to think of writing about these big moments. Unfortunately, though, this is another incredibly worn-out essay story .

The glare of the stage lights, the tremor in your fingers, the weight of expectations… admissions officers have read it all before.

What’s more, these narrative essays often tend to be more about the performance itself than about your core values and personality .

That’s not to say that you can’t write an essay related to an extracurricular pursuit that you’re passionate about. You just need to be more creative!

The trick is to think of hyper-specific anecdotes that reveal something about your character and your insights about yourself and your place in the world. If you want to work one-on-one with me to think of a way to write your story in a more exciting way, we can find some options.

Remember that your extracurricular accomplishments will already be clear to colleges via your college list. It’s okay to write more about them, but you can also use the space of your essays to tell a new story that you haven’t already covered elsewhere in your application.

4. The big game and the power of teamwork

Forty-five seconds left in the game. All eyes on you. You shoot… and you score! All your hard work has finally paid off, and you’ve learned the importance of grit and determination. You feel the glow of accomplishment and know that it’s all been worth it.

You shoot… but your shot goes wide! The referee blows the whistle and the game is over. Your team loses the game — but you realize that it doesn’t matter, because when it comes to teamwork, you feel like you’ve really won. You and your teammates have learned to support each other, and through teamwork you’ve accomplished much more than you could have done on your own.

Sound familiar?

On the surface, writing about your experience as an athlete, especially about the power of teamwork, seems like a great idea. You can show that you’re a team player and involved in your community, and there’s a built-in drama to the narrative.

After all, there’s a reason why we have so many heartwarming movies about sports teams, from The Mighty Ducks to Remember the Titans to Cool Runnings . They’re great stories!

Unfortunately for students, these stories are also incredibly over-used .

Regardless of how pivotal your big athletic moment was for you and your teammates, it’s unlikely that it will be interesting or memorable for the admissions officers reading your essay.

As the Associate Dean for Admissions at the prestigious University of Virginia has explained: “ We read a lot of essays about sports and that sort of thing. And I would say most of them are solid, and they’re grammatically correct, and there are no typos, and they’re well-organized, and they tell me something about a student. It’s going to be confirming that you can write an essay.

“But this is a process where you want to stand out . And so it’s a process of not just writing a confirming essay but writing an elevating essay. Don’t tell me everything that soccer has taught you. Tell me the one thing that’s been truly transformative. Tell it to me as a story. Be descriptive. Be reflective.”

These essays also tend to focus more on the narrative about the game, and less on you and your values .

If you feel like your athletic achievements are impressive and you want to highlight them, don’t worry too much — these accomplishments should be clear on your activities list. If you’re such an impressive athlete that you’re being recruited by that college, then that information will already be clear in your applicant file.

Instead, take advantage of the personal essay to show another side of your personality.

Or, if you absolutely feel that you need to write about your experience as an athlete, try to find a story that isn’t about an injury, a big game, or your appreciation for the power of teamwork. If you can focus on an aspect of sports that would surprise most people, you have the best chance of making your essay memorable.

5. Your passion for a common academic major (like pre-med or CS)

This is where a little admissions strategy comes in.

At some colleges and universities, it might be harder to get in if you indicate that you want to pursue one of the most common academic majors , like computer science, pre-med, business, or psychology.

Some larger universities have separate schools or programs with different admissions criteria outright. Examples include Wharton at Penn, the School of Human Ecology at Cornell, or the School of Engineering at the University of Illinois (ranked #11 nationally, above many Ivies).

But even if a college doesn’t have separate admissions for specific programs, the admissions officers may engage in a process called “shaping the class.”

American colleges want to have a balanced set of students who are interested in a wide variety of subjects and pursue a variety of majors.

This allows them to fill out more niche majors and provide broader course offerings, which benefits everyone on campus and fulfils part of the college’s academic mission. Everyone on campus benefits from increased diversity of academic interests. It would be pretty boring to attend a college filled only with psychology majors!

This means that after the top students are selected and marked as potential admits, the admissions officers may then make the final cut based in part on making a balance between humanities and STEM students, common majors and more niche programs of study.

Students who indicate that they intend to pursue one of the most popular and over-subscribed majors, like computer science or psychology, may find that they’re at a disadvantage in this process.

And even if the colleges where you’re applying don’t use this “shaping” process, essays about these popular interests are less likely to be memorable .

Admissions officers have read thousands of essays about students who “feel called to a career in medicine because they want to help other people.”

That’s why I only advise students to write about these topics if they genuinely have a unique angle or insight to bring to their essay (which is rare), and if they have truly impressive accomplishments in that area already .

If you’re applying to a highly selective college and you’re indicating an intention to be pre-med in your application, hopefully you’ve already had some lab research experience, done some medical internships, performed mock surgeries, worked as an EMT, or published a medical paper.

If you can’t list any of these accomplishments, don’t worry — but it might be more strategic for you to focus on some aspect of yourself that’s more unusual or memorable, not on your passion for that popular major .

Also, don’t worry if you don’t have a plan for your college major yet! Admissions officers know that between 30 and 75 percent of students change their major. At most colleges, it doesn’t look bad if you don’t know your intended major yet, as long as you seem intellectually curious and excited to explore.

6. Immigrating to a new country

If you’ve immigrated to a new country at some point in your life already, then you know it can be a very formative experience. I’ve lived and worked in four different countries myself, so I can understand some of this firsthand. New languages, new cultures, new foods, new communities, new expectations — there’s a lot of material there!

Unfortunately, though, this particular story is a very common one for college essays. Every year admissions officers get hundreds or even thousands of essays describing how the student moved to a new country and had to adjust before ultimately learning some lessons about both their country of origin and their new home.

That means that it’s very hard to stand out with a typical narrative about immigrating to a new country .

If you really want to write about some aspect of your experience as an immigrant, try and think of particularly unique experiences that you personally may have had as an immigrant. One piece of advice is to focus on hyper-specific details and tiny anecdotes for your story — these are much less likely to be familiar and cliche for the readers in the admissions office.

Every year I work with students from all over the world to help them apply to colleges and universities in the US, regardless of their current location and timezone. If you want to work one-on-one with me to find the best way to tell your stories, feel free to reach out at [email protected].

7. Moving to a new town or new school

Just like the essay about the culture shock of moving to a new country, the narrative about moving to a new town or a new school is unfortunately quite common .

Was this potentially a pivotal moment in your life? For sure.

But does that mean you should write about it in your college applications? Not unless you want to make it extra-difficult to stand out.

If you do want to write about your experience of starting over in a new town or at a new school, stay away from generalizations — try to highlight smaller stories that could only have happened to you, not thousands of other students.

8. The mission trip or service project

This essay is one of the most famous cliches for college essays.

In this narrative, the young teen (often affluent, often white) spends a few weeks the summer before their senior year on a service trip. The service project is ideally somewhere international, someplace where the student can play the “white savior,” but it could also take place closer to home.

The typical narrative goes something like this:

“I’m a good person who cares about others, so I wanted to use my talents to give back by going on this service project trip to Africa/the inner city/El Salvador with my school/church/expensive voluntourism program.

When I arrived, I was shocked by the conditions these people live with everyday. It made me appreciate all of the comforts that I have at home!

However, despite the poverty/disease/lack of access to resources, these people didn’t seem unhappy. In fact, they seemed happier/more connected to nature/more generous/more focused on community than my own people back home! In the end, I learned so much from them. I thought I was going there to help them, but really, they helped me!”

There are several problems with this essay.

The first is that it’s very common , and by now a well-known cliche. If you attempt to write an essay on this topic, you’ll have a harder time standing out.

Secondly, colleges know that students do this kind of flashy service project deliberately to provide material for college applications . Giving back to your community is great, but if your service project doesn’t connect to any previous activities you’ve been involved in, this will be quite transparent to admissions readers. Believe it or not, but admissions officers are not impressed by affluent students essentially purchasing a good college essay subject.

Thirdly, the phenomenon itself of “ voluntourism ” is widely acknowledged as problematic :

In the words of a New York Times article, voluntourists assume that “simply by being privileged enough to travel the world” they “are somehow qualified to help ease the world’s ills.”

…voluntourists’ actions are often fruitless due to the volunteers’ limited involvement and expertise. Put bluntly, many of these trips serve no purpose other than to pad resumes and fuel social media posts.

Voluntourism implicitly teaches students to develop a “white savior” complex toward the regions they visit. More insidiously, residents of host communities can become dependent on foreign influence — financial influence, that is, because none of the voluntourists’ other impacts typically last longer than their trip. As Pippa Biddle illustrates in the book “Ours To Explore,” once one group “[finishes] building bathrooms at a local school and [leaves] for home, the structures [will be] demolished to make way for a new project, built by a fresh set of volunteers.” She even documented how children in Uganda learned to “rub dirt on themselves before running toward arriving volunteers.

(from “ High on Helping: The Dangers of Voluntourism ,” an essay by student Ketong Li, age 17, published in The New York Times )

It’s very challenging to write an essay about this topic without accidentally sounding racist or xenophobic . Any essay following this “service project” narrative inherently sets up an “us” versus “them” that’s inescapably othering . At best, this makes students sound naive . At worst, it will be very off-putting to readers in the admissions office.

It’s possible to write a good essay that’s related to this topic, but it’s very challenging. A good essay about a mission trip or service project would have to be surprising and depart from the typical narrative. It would have to be a story that no other student could have written, and it can’t sound too self-serving.

Because of those challenges, I usually advise students to choose a different topic, especially if they’re aiming at a highly competitive university where their essays will be under intense scrutiny.

If you want help thinking of the best essay topics for you and your life, sign up to work one-on-one with me on your college essays.

9. Life-changing travel experiences

This essay topic is a close relation to the “ mission trip ” essay described above.

Traveling can be a wonderful way to learn more about the world!

However, essays about this topic tend to make the same mistakes.

It’s very challenging to write about your experiences encountering a new culture, environment, language, foods, and so on without accidentally sounding naive, racist, or xenophobic. Describing your reaction to the differences you discover while traveling is very challenging to do well. Don’t attempt this essay topic unless you are well aware of these dangers!

When I’ve read good college essays about traveling, they always focus on very specific details about the travel experience, and they’re very careful to avoid an “us vs. them” construct.

I’ve also encountered plenty of good college essays that mentioned travel in passing as part of a larger story, but didn’t make the travel itself the focus on the narrative.

After all, often the ability to travel is just a marker of a student’s privilege and affluence, and it doesn’t say something particularly interesting about the student. Writing about your family’s spring break trip to Mexico? Thousands of other students could likely have written the same story.

However, your anecdote about the way that something you saw in a museum in Mexico City led you to pursue an independent study project on Mayan archaeology the following year and sparked an interest in learning more about comparative linguistics and the Mesoamerican language area — that’s interesting, and definitely tells the reader something about what excites you!

As always, the trick to writing great college essays is to make sure that the essay is ultimately about you and your values, not about other people, and to make it unique and engaging by including lots of specific details that could only describe you and your life, not the experience of anyone else.

10. Overcoming the setback of a bad grade

This essay topic is just a bad one, and there’s really no way to do it well .

It’s true that often students want to respond to an essay prompt about a particular challenge that they’ve faced and overcome in their life. And it’s entirely possible that struggling in a class at school has been a challenge for you, whether the class was freshman English or multi-variable calculus.

However, your college essays are your chance to introduce yourself to the admissions officers .

Given that you only have a few minutes to make your first impression, why would you want this impression to highlight your academic weaknesses?

Even if your story ultimately ends in success through your grit and hard work, it still associates you with academic struggles. There’s no reason to do this!

Sometimes students want to write their essay on this topic to explain a bad grade on their transcript, or give context to lower grades for an entire year or two.

However, there are several ways that this can backfire.

If your grades are overall strong, and there’s just a small blip (e.g. you’re normally a straight-A student but you got a B+ in physics one semester), focusing on this makes you sound like a perfectionist , and not in a good way. Rest assured that if there’s truly just a small blip like this, but the rest of your application profile is strong, it won’t really affect your admissions chances.

Another challenge is that writing about bad grades can sound like making excuses . If there’s a specific reason why your grades were lower, and if you can confidently and clearly describe how you fixed the underlying problem and raised your grades, this is better — but thinking strategically, it’s still better not to highlight it in your main college essays! This kind of explanation might be a better fit for the “Additional Information” section on the Common App (other applications should have a similar section).

Remember, if you have experienced external circumstances that have affected your high school career (serious illness or accident, family tragedy, war, natural disaster), you don’t need to write about this for your main personal essay. You can provide this context for admissions officers through the “Additional Information” section, a letter from your school college counselor, the letters of recommendation from your teachers, and often via shorter supplemental essays. Read more about how to give context for bad grades here [link].

In the end, while there are some essay topics in this list that can be okay, if written exceptionally well… this one is simply a bad idea . Pick a new topic!

Back to top

11. Controversial politics (read the room)

This essay topic is playing with fire .

Remember, the admissions officers reading and judging your application are human.

Some people will tell you to avoid faith and religion entirely, but I don’t think that necessarily has to be the case. I’ve read great college essays about involvement in a faith community, a crisis of faith, or reflecting on a relationship to a particular religious practice.

Similarly, it’s possible to write an amazing essay about your political engagement or activist work. In fact, some colleges are explicitly looking for students who are engaged in politics and activism! For example, at Pomona (the most selective liberal arts college in the US), the admissions officers are looking for evidence of (1) intellectual curiosity, (2) investment in community, and (3) commitment to and mindfulness of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Working to fight injustice in the student’s community may well demonstrate two of their three pillars very effectively!

However, you do have to be aware of the overall culture at the specific college you’re applying to . How is that college likely to react to your political position or religious practice?

You can often get a sense of what is valued at that specific college by following official social media accounts from the college . When the university admissions office or marketing team highlights current students on campus, what kinds of projects are those students pursuing?

Another fantastic way to gauge a college’s priorities is by looking for their mission statement , which can usually be found easily online.

For example, Princeton’s mission statement is:

Princeton University advances learning through scholarship, research, and teaching of unsurpassed quality, with an emphasis on undergraduate and doctoral education that is distinctive among the world’s great universities, and with a pervasive commitment to serve the nation and the world. ( Meet Princeton )

Meanwhile, the mission statement for Oberlin, another top liberal arts college, states:

Oberlin educates students for lives of intellectual, musical, and artistic rigor and breadth; sustained inquiry, creativity and innovation; and leadership. Oberlin aims to prepare graduates with the knowledge, skills, and perspectives essential to confront complex issues and to create change and value in the world.

Oberlin is committed to educational access and opportunity. It seeks to offer a diverse and inclusive residential learning environment encouraging a free and respectful exchange of ideas and shares an enduring commitment to a sustainable and just society. ( About Oberlin )

You might notice some subtle differences between the two — Oberlin’s mission statement highlights creativity and artistic pursuits, and is more openly committed to diversity, sustainability, and justice. While Princeton’s mission statement describes more neutral “service to the nation and the world,” Oberlin’s statement is a little more specific, preparing students to “create change.”

In this case, I think these differences are not coincidence. While both schools are fantastic, the political environment on each campus is a little different — Princeton may produce many amazing graduates, but their campus is more balanced between conservatives and liberals, whereas Oberlin has a long tradition of social justice and progressive political activism.

For even more information about politics on campus, prospective students can reach out to current students they may already know, or contact student organizations active on campus , like faith organizations, political or social justice organizations, or queer student organizations.

To gauge the climate on campus for LGBTQ students specifically, you can also use the Campus Pride Index .

Make sure that if you do write about your engagement with politics or religion, you’re still writing about yourself as an independent individual. If you follow a certain religion, make sure that it’s clear in your essay that you engage with your religious practices thoughtfully, not without reflection.

In the end, it’s up to you to decide if writing about politics and religion is a risk that you want to take. Depending on the college, writing about your political activism or your engagement with your faith community may be a great topic that signals how you’d be an excellent fit for the campus . Personally, I also think that if your religion, political activism, or identity wouldn’t be supported on campus, you might want to rethink whether that college is a good fit for you to begin with .

Just remember that these topics can easily backfire, so be careful!

If you want to discuss your risky essay topic with me one-on-one , we’ll work together to make sure that your story is a good fit for each college on your list — and if the risk seems unwise, we’ll find other great topics for your college essays.

12. Personal tragedy

Many students feel that if they’re experienced a terrible tragedy, then this needs to become the focus of their college essays.

Can you write an amazing essay about overcoming a significant challenge, even a personal tragedy? Yes, this could be a powerful story if done well.

However, it’s also possible to write a fantastic, memorable essay about much more mundane things — a childhood toy, your favorite hairstyle, a specific color, an old pair of shoes.

Remember, you are not required to re-live your personal traumas through your college essays . If you want to write about something tragic that you experienced, that is absolutely your choice.

If you have experienced a personal tragedy, and if you choose to write about this for your college essays, know that there are some specific challenges inherent in this essay topic .

Too often, these essays end up focusing on the tragedy itself, not on you as an individual . Remember, the focus of your personal essays should be on you — more specifically, your core values and the things that spark your curiosity and passion the most strongly.

If you do write about a tragedy, make sure that this is only a small part of your essay . The “challenge” or “low point” of your essay should actually occur fairly close to the beginning. The rest of your essay should tell how you overcame that challenge and the insights you gained from the process.

I’m a fan of the advice of the College Essay Guy, who recommends dividing your “challenges” essay roughly into thirds. The first third introduces the challenges and the effects on your life. The second third of the essay describes the actions that you took in response, and the final third of the essay explores what you learned from dealing with this challenge.

If you’re not a skilled writer, then it might be smart to avoid writing about a personal tragedy, because done poorly it can backfire.

Alternatively, if you’d like to work one-on-one with me on your essay, we can make sure that your essay is memorable without being melodramatic , and that focuses effectively on you without dwelling to much on the tragedies you’ve overcome.

13. First heartbreak and personal romantic life

First heartbreak is the story of many novels, movies, song, and television shows. It’s a near-universal experience, and as a teenager, you’ve probably been grappling with some big emotions about love and relationships.

These stories are an important part of the human experience. If you have a story that’s especially poignant, you might someday turn it into great art.

However, your personal romantic life is not an appropriate subject for your college applications . This may seem obvious, but you’d be surprised how many students want to write about their love lives!

It’s challenging to write about heartbreak without focusing on the other person — never the goal of your college essays.

Writing about romance also makes it hard for the college admissions officers to take you seriously . Yes, teen romance shouldn’t be dismissed because of your younger age — but to older adults, it may make you sound naive or immature. Focusing on romance may portray you as less focused on your studies or your other pursuits, and colleges ultimately want students who are going to be engaged members of their campus, not devoting their attentions to a romantic partner.

Ultimately, you want your college essays to show your intellectual curiosity, your engagement with your communities, your passions, and your core values. If you count love and connection among your most important values, try and find other ways to demonstrate these values.

14. The resume rehash

Many students feel like they need to cram all of their accomplishments into their essay.

The impulse to do this is understandable! After all, you’ve worked hard for years to get this far.

However, these essays can end up sounding like nothing more than an obvious rehash of your resume or activities list.

Don’t worry! Admissions officers will already have this information from the other parts of your application. They’ll see the tough classes you taken, the grades you’ve earned, the sports or other interests you’ve pursued for years, and the awards and other achievements you’ve won.

This information is already covered!

(And if there’s important information that isn’t clear in the rest of your application, like the details of a published research paper you worked on, or a college class that you took that doesn’t appear on your transcript, then that information can be communicated clearly in the “Additional Information” section of your application.)

Why devote the precious space of your personal essays to repeat information that the admissions officers already have?

Even worse, these essays often sound like bragging , and they suggest that you don’t know how to write well or build a coherent narrative .

Of course, it’s fine for your personal essays to mention some of your achievements in passing, or build an interesting narrative from one part of your activities list.

However, don’t worry about cramming all of your accomplishments and activities into your college essays. It’s not only unnecessary, it will make for a poor essay.

Not sure how to write about your achievements effectively? Each year I work with a limited number of students one-on-one on their college essays. Reach out at [email protected] for more information or sign up directly here .

15. The obvious brag

Remember, your college essays are your chance to introduce yourself to the admissions officers, who are real people.

Imagine that you’re at a party and you meet someone new. The other guy launches into this speech, “Hi, I’m Todd. I’m the fastest freestyle swimmer in my state and I got a 1600 on the SAT!”

You’d probably stand there wondering what’s with this guy, and why he needed to regurgitate those facts as if he’s a used car salesman. Unfortunately, I’m pretty sure I’ve met this guy before, but I didn’t want to talk to him any longer than I had to.

It’s the same for your college essays.

Of course you want for your college applications to ultimately show you in a good light. That’s why even though you can be “vulnerable” and “honest” about some personal flaws or challenges, you ultimately want to show how you’ve overcome challenges in your life, and you don’t want to admit that you’ve struggled academically, committed crimes, or faced challenges with your mental health.

However, there’s a fine line between highlighting some positive qualities and bragging .

Without a clear narrative, writing about your achievements in your essay is more likely to sound full of yourself.

It’s fine to include references to some of your achievements — but these should feel like a natural part of your story, and not the point of the story itself.

Remember, the point of your story is to reveal your core values and the way that you see your place in the world, not to list your achievements — that’s already covered elsewhere in your college applications.

You want to sound confident, not pompous . This can be a fine line, but an outside reader can help to spot where you’ve crossed over the line. You can get my expert opinions on your essay here , or you can ask a trusted friend, parent, or teacher for their input.

16. The vocabulary exercise

This isn’t a college essay topic, per se, but it’s such a common pitfall that I had to include it here.

Some students think that they need to prove how smart they are by using tons of impressive vocabulary words in their college essays.

Unfortunately, the result tends to sound like you’re vomiting up a thesaurus .

What’s more, it also raises suspicion for admissions officers that you may not have written your essays yourself — especially if you don’t have super-high grades and test scores for English.

(When I coach students one-on-one with their college essays, I help guide them through every step of the process but never write a word myself. That’s essential for maintaining integrity on college applications. Asking someone else to write your application for you or using and AI like ChatGPT is unethical and illegal, and it’s likely to backfire.)

Above all, your college essays should reveal your personality and give admissions officers a glimpse of your core values.

Using too many big words, especially if they’re words you wouldn’t normally use, is a bad idea.

Instead, try to write your essay in the same kind of voice you’d use if you’re talking to a smart friend or relative you admir e.

Do you want to be articulate and precise? Absolutely. And sometimes there may be a “fancier” vocabulary word that perfectly encapsulates what you want to say.

But use these more unusual words sparingly .

When you’re working on style and wording in the final stage of your essay edits , ask a friend or family member to read your essays and see if they sound like your unique voice. If they can’t recognize you, rethink some of your vocabulary choices!

17. Sexist or racist opinions

Back when I was on an admissions committee for a graduate program at a top-20 university, there was a student who was about to receive an admissions offer — but then he revealed himself to be incredibly, inexcusably misogynist.

His sexism cost him this life-changing opportunity.

I’ve heard similar stories from admissions officers, including at some of the best colleges and universities in the country.

Plenty of students have removed themselves from the admit pile at highly-selective schools by revealing themselves to be clearly sexist and racist in their college essays.

Colleges want to find the most brilliant, accomplished students to admit to their incoming class — but they’re also shaping the next community of students on their campus, and they don’t want to poison this with positions that are inexcusable in 2023. Diversity of opinions is great, and there are some political views that will vary by campus, but I think by now there are some basic standards we can all agree on .

Not sure if your college essays contain statements that would trash your application? Try asking a friend to read them, or get a professional opinion from an essay coach. If you want to work one-on-one with me , I’ve helped many students avoid common college essay mistakes.

18. Drugs, cheating, and other illegal or unethical activities

This essay topic is another hard no for me.

A surprising number of students want to write the college essays about illegal or unethical things they’ve done.

Some students might write about having a wake-up call after an incident with drug use.

Other students might write about what they learned after they were caught cheating on a test, and how they’re learned the importance of academic integrity.

You may have a brilliant and moving story about dealing with addiction or realizing the fragility of life after a scary car ride with a drunk friend.

This is not a judgment call on my part — everyone makes mistakes, and what matters is the person you become, not the judgement errors you’ve made in your past.

However, there is no way that any of these topics is a good idea to share with the admissions officers .

Even if your story describes how you’ve learned and changed since then, it still establishes you as a potential risk to have on campus .

College essays create powerful first impressions, and there’s no reason to associate yourself with academic dishonesty or illegal activity at this crucial moment.

Save those stories for your friends, a magazine essay, your future memoir… just not your college essays.

19. Anxiety, depression, and self-harm

Mental health is incredibly important for everyone, and it’s great that our society is finally becoming more aware of this and reducing some of the stigma that keeps people from talking about it.

By the time you’re applying to college, struggles with anxiety or depression may have played a significant role in your life.

I want to stress that there’s nothing wrong with this ! It’s a sign of strength to have the self-awareness to evaluate your mental health, and it’s great that Gen Z is more willing than past generations to seek out support.

Mental health struggles are also incredibly common. In the US, 42% of Gen Z has been diagnosed with a mental health condition, and 37% have received professional treatment or therapy.

I’ve worked with many students who want to write about overcoming a rough patch with depression or anxiety, or getting a wake-up call from a self-harm incident.

While these can be very powerful subjects, they’re topics that I strongly advise against for college applications.

Colleges are very worried about the mental health of their students. Some of this probably comes from genuine concern for their students, and some is more self-serving — it’s terrible publicity for a school when a student commits suicide.

In fact, there are unfortunately many stories of students who were pressured to take a leave of absence or withdraw from their course altogether because colleges didn’t want to take the risk of an incident on their campus.

Colleges want to admit students who will be happy and engaged on campus, and then graduate in four years. There are enough highly-qualified students that they don’t need accept a student who would be a known risk in their eyes.

Is this entirely fair? Of course not. But students need to be realistic about this.

If there’s a less serious aspect of your mental health and you feel you really must write about it, then make sure to focus on how you’ve grown since then. You’d want to present the challenge as something in your past that you overcame, not an ongoing concern.

But my strong advice would be to just avoid this topic altogether — there’s no need to take on such a risky topic for your college essays.

Write a great college essay and boost your admissions chances

If you’re not sure what to write your college admissions essays about, don’t worry — as long as you stay away from the cliche or risky topics in this list, there’s a nearly infinite number of great topics for your essays.

Just remember that in the end, the true subject of your essays is you . Your deepest values, your interests, your relationships to your communities and the world around you.

The college admissions officers want to get to know you — what fascinates you, what excites you, what makes you tick. The rest of your application material is mere statistics — your GPA, your class rank, your test scores, your academic rigor. The list of your activities and your letters of recommendation from teachers or other mentors can help to add more dimension, but really it’s your essays that bring you to life .

Any other material for your essay is just a vehicle to convey this essential information about you!

Want some help crafting great essays that accomplish this effectively? Each year I work one-on-one with a limited number of students to write great college essays. All of the words are the students’ own, but we work together through every step of the writing process .

As a professional editor, I used to help senior professors at Harvard, Princeton, and Yale edit their books and articles for publication. Now I’ve helped hundreds of students to discover the best stories within themselves to polish into great college admissions essays. I have to say, working with teenagers is so much more fun!

My students say my coaching makes writing their college essays much less stressful , and they’re able to complete their essays with confidence well before the submission deadlines .

Thank you so much for your counseling! You're the best and I have no words to explain my gratitude. I was accepted to USC, UCLA, UCBerkeley, UCI, and UCSD (all the UC's I applied to). I got waitlisted at Williams College, Bowdoin College, Barnard College, and Emory University. I just wanted to thank you for your guidance and appreciate the time and effort you dedicated to helping me. You were a major help with all my college applications!

Jacolyn, SAT prep and college essay coaching

Emily has provided great instruction and incredible feedback following the sessions. She is so thorough and insightful! Thank you!!!

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As a parent, we want to know how well our kids are doing during their tutoring session. I appreciate Emily's thorough synopses of her sessions with my son. She is very attentive, patient, and meets students where they are. She identifies strengths and areas for growths. Thank you so much and I look forward to continuing to work with Emily!

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Emily helps me understand difficult subjects by thoroughly explaining how to solve or figure a question out. She is also a very kind and patient tutor.

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Emily is very helpful and guides you on ways to solve problems on your own. She is very helpful and guides you on ways to solve problems on your own. All the feedback is really helpful.

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