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Read on to find out what makes an essay bad and to learn which college essay topics to avoid. I'll also explain how to recognize bad college essays—and what to do to if you end up creating one by accident.
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It's the week or the day before your big ACT test date, and...
- College Essays
The personal statement might just be the hardest part of...
- How to Write Perfect ApplyTexas Essays
The essays required as part of each admissions application...
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Here comes the lesson for all you out there, were my essays that bad? No. Were my essays well written? Depends on who you ask. You can’t write this perfect essay you may think exists that: perfectly sums up your personality, isn’t a cliché, is funny, and is serious all in under 650 words.
Long story short, my undergraduate students are terrible at writing essays. So bad, that I can't understand a single idea being communicated by many of them. I know that I most likely wrote like this in undergrad, but I'm having a hard time grading their papers consistently.
- "The worst CV I ever saw as part of an application for a graduate program was a barely intelligible, unformatted mess that included bits of information such as how she likes to spend her free time reading and her favorite book is 'Fifty Shade Gray.'"
- "I used to intern at the admissions office at my university and got to read a couple of essays from time to time. While it's not exactly the worst, the most cringeworthy essay I read was by a guy who talked about how he was more mature than anyone his age, how he never talked to anyone in school because they were too dumb for him, and how he spends his free time having conversations with scientists on the internet.
- "A couple of years ago, a girl sent in an application in larger-than-normal packaging. Someone in the admissions office decided it was suspicious-looking and might be a bomb.
- "I did data entry for the admissions office of the university I attended as an undergrad. It wasn't my job to read the applications, but since the job was tedious as hell, I often did, and I've seen some exceptional shit.
- Good College Essay Examples
- “Bad” College Essay Examples
- Supplemental Essay Examples
- College Essay Example Takeaways
Not every student can write an exceptional college essay. And that’s okay. Sometimes it’s not one of your priorities or in your particular skill set. Thankfully, college essays don’t have to be exceptional to earn admission. They can simply be good. You can still write a solid college essay that does everything you need it to do. So what’s the diff...
“Bad” is in quotation marks here because writing is always relative. In the case of these examples, we have categorized them as “bad” because they don’t adequately meet the expectations of a college essay. That doesn’t mean that they’re objectively bad or that their writers are bad writers. It means that the essays need some more attention. “Bad” e...
In addition to your personal statement, many colleges will also have you write what are called “supplemental essays.” These essays do exactly as the name implies: they supplementyour personal statement. They’re the perfect opportunity for you to tell admissions officers even more about yourself beyond the information you put in your personal statem...
Whether you’re writing a personal statement or supplemental essay, reading and analyzing college essay examples is an important tool. Good examples can give you insight into the proper form and structure to use. And bad examples can be just as helpful by showing you what notto do. All admissions officers will approach your college essays from diffe...
God, I just turned in the worst essay I've ever written to my favorite professor and I feel like a sack of garbage. It looks like I didn't even try. Most of it's okay, but my introduction is awful. I'm pretty sure I read two sentences that were literally unfinished.
People also ask
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Jul 30, 2023 · Common College Essay Mistakes To Avoid. Below is a list and analysis of the types of mistakes to avoid on your college personal statement and avoid writing a bad college essay that will likely NOT get you into your program of choice. Avoid fatal mistakes in your college application essay.
