What's the most helpful advice you've ever had on writing a college admissions essay?

Keep the essay as specific and concrete as possible. Write about an experience that is uniquely yours and says something about who you are or why you became that way. College admissions officers probably don’t want to be lectured to in generalities about life by an 18 years old; they are interested in a compelling personal narrative, freshly told. If you can, try to grab their attention with a snappy opening; make them intrigued enough to want to read the rest; they are wading through hundreds of essays, you need to make yours stand out. Include some dialogue if it’s appropriate. The subject doesn’t have to be grandiose; my son wrote about not how he decided he didn’t want to be a smart kid anymore in 9th grade and got into 7 great schools. It’s easier said than done, but when you get it right, it can really boost your app. Good luck!

Be unique and memorable, but not gimmicky. Try to find something that rings true about yourself to write about that’s different than what you think the typical other person is writing about (btw, volunteering is not something different as many claim to do so whether or not they have) but that doesn’t seem like an infomercial hawking yourself like Oxiclean. :)

Your essay may well be read by admissions officers at 3 AM., if you are applying to competitive colleges with a low yield. You have to be truthful and clear and interesting, patently able to handle the work load and yet able to contribute something unique and fresh to the campus life and student body.

Harvard Admissions figures 2007–2008

Applied:22,868
Accepted:2,022 (8.8%) (yield)
Rejected:20,846

When my son was admitted to U. PA, he wrote an essay in which he criticized some of the essay topics that Penn had suggested. He was funny and original. Penn. called me and read me the essay over the phone. (I was in the business, but never told my son. He chose another small college.)

Don’t get overly in love with your essay. Everyone who applies to competitive colleges thinks their essay is unique, and special. It’s really easy to get a big head about these things. So take a step back, read it critically, and have people who don’t think you are the smartest, most nice, most perfect person for competitive college whatever read it.

The best advice I’ve received is WRITE THE BEST PAPER. There are two sides to a story and you should write the one that you can prove more which is not always the one you agree with. Last year (my second at the University of Florida) I had to write a paper on French Design vs. Italian Design. I much prefer French Design, but Italian Design has a more concrete structure that has been around for centuries so I wrote about Italian.