Okay, so I'm a senior in high school and I'm working on my common application essay- you're allowed a variety of topics to choose from and they're all very VERY general.

My question is: do colleges care if your essay is about something very common? For example, I want to write about when I came to America from China, and how I adjusted to the US... you know, all that stuff. I want to write about this because it's something I feel strongly about- it really tells my personality and who I am, and the kind of person I am.

However, I went to my guidance counseler a few weeks ago and she said that a topic like that is too common. I didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing- I mean, if a college gets an essay about something like that, and it's a really well written essay too, would they go "Oh... it's a good essay and all... but these kinds are a dime a dozen"

I mean... I personally don't think it would be better if I wrote about something that WASN'T common and is done really badly. What do you guys think?

If you're going to go with that route, I would suggest that you use specific examples and how your experience may have been unique compared to other people who have gone through the same situation.

When I was writing my essay, everyone (teachers and such) told me to write something interesting, and attention-catching. One of my friends wrote about food, and how much he loves to eat. And I once read an essay about shoes.

If it were my choice, I wouldn't write about anything that's common. I'm sure if you can write a good essay on a common topic, you can write a good one with a more interesting topic too.

But if you really want to write about that specific topic, try to include something special in it and make it yours, make it interesting.

You mainly want the admissions officers to want to continue reading and be interested.


Hope that helps!

That topic does sound to common, if its to common or does not capture their attention in the first paragraph they don't bother reading on.

You should feel free to write about anything you have passion for, or know a lot about and is able to keep adding more and more to the story--though you you keep it to a minimum.

Though its common, if you have a strong mind for it, I think you should write it. Your essay isn't all they use to determine your entry. Just make sure it's appealing and yours. If you've struggled, make sure to not write a sob story. They want to know about what you've learned from the experience..(my teachers have lectured a lot on personal essays do' and dont's. =)

Good luck! I just finished mine also.

I guess you just have to expand more on details and examples on your topic?
My cousin did his college essay on how World of Warcraft was compared to his life o___o;;
It sounds weird, but when I read it, it had explained in detail the examples he put in.
So he pretty much expanded in his essay.
At least he made it in ^^

I'm going to agree with your counselor on this one. Of course a well-written essay about anything will be better than a badly written one on an unusual topic, but remember that the admissions officers will be reading TONS of essays when they make their decisions. You want yours to be one that they'll actually remember without having to read over again or confusing it with other applicants' essays. If yours is the twentieth essay about the immigrant experience and adjusting to life in America, then it won't stand out as much or be as easy to remember as different from others, no matter how well it was written. At least some of the others in this year's crop and previous years will be very well-written, too, so you've got your work cut out for you trying this route. You'll have to really find an attention grabber for the beginning and interesting stories throughout to keep them from groaning "Oh god, not another 'My Life As an Immigrant' essay!" Even worse for you, I bet they read a lot of specifically Chinese immigrant experience essays and many other former Asian immigrants' essays, because so many applicants to competitive schools are now ethnic Asians. You really don't want them to feel like they already know the script before they've actually seen the play!

If you still choose to write about this, you'll really have to work hard to make it stand out by putting more unusual anecdotes and experiences in it that you don't think are similar to what every other Chinese immigrant would put in an essay on this topic. Maybe try looking at the topic from an unusual perspective instead of the most common, straightforward one. Make it very specific to you. Maybe compare with other Chinese immigrant friends to see if there's a way that your experience was significantly unique from all of theirs. If you can find something that's not a very common experience, your chances of writing a memorable essay will improve, so don't concentrate on anything that almost any Chinese immigrant could tell about. In other words, if you mention something that happened to you, and all your friends who immigrated to the US before say "Oh my god, something like that happened to me, too!" then don't bother basing your essay largely on that experience.

Otherwise, I would advise you to think of another topic that means enough to you to write about well. There must be something else you could write about that will stand out more and make the admissions officers remember you better as an individual applicant. What else has shaped you as a person, or what about you is quirky and something that people who know you well can identify you by? This is your common application essay, so I'm assuming it will be going to at least a couple of schools. You really want it to be an asset to your application, not just be a decent essay that at least doesn't hurt you.