Every student who is applying to college knows how important a college essay is, if they don't, they certainly should! College essays are part of the admittance process at every higher educational institution across the globe. They are requested as a means to provide the admissions office of the college you are applying to a better understanding of who the student is, their goals and aspirations, -essentially, what makes 'them tick'-yet, more importantly, why you would be a great candidate for joining their program. So it stands to reason that any student who is writing a college essay would need to carefully consider the topic they will be writing about.
Although many colleges and universities will sometimes provide a potential student with a 'prompt' for their college essay, others will leave it up to the student. Naturally, you will want to pick a topic that defines who you are, as well as one that will set you apart from the rest of the candidates applying and will improve your chances of being accepted- because after all, that is the ultimate goal. There are, however, some topics that could prevent a student from even being considered, so it would serve a student well to stay clear of writing on these topics.
Some of the topics students should never write about are:
- Your accomplishments- Most college applications provide a section for listing your accomplishments so don't use your essay for repeating this information-redundancy will not impress the admissions committee.
- Excuses- Don't attempt to justify your bad grades the past two years in high school-even if you have had a difficult time personally- a college essay isn't the place to explain it.
- Being a comic- although having a good sense of humor can be an asset, jokes and humor should never be the point of an essay paper.
- Your drug use- even if you have overcome your drug problems of the past and are proud of conquering your problems, a college essay is not the proper format to discuss your substance abuse.
- Your sex life- this should be self explanatory- no one wants to hear about your sex life good or bad in your college essay. Steer away from subjects like sex that could make your reader uncomfortable or feel embarrassed.
- Social, political or religious topics- while these subjects can be an insight as to the person you are, often when students write about these topics they write from a one-sided perspective- being stubborn and closed- minded in your opinions is not going to gain you any points with the person reading your college essay.
Even though most of these topics are considered 'bad topics' to write your college essay on, a student who is a master at writing would certainly be able to turn one of the above topics into a brilliant college essay. Yet, if you are not confident in your writing skills to accomplish this task, you will probably want to stick with an interesting topic (and there are many) you feel will give the school you are applying to the best impression of who you really are and why you are the best candidate for their program.
