7 Do’s and 7 Don’ts When Crafting Your Essay (Includes examples!)

October 03, 2013

Since Lydia shared with the Twittersphere the 7 worst types of college admission essays, here’s a great article that helps you figure out what to do RIGHT.

In case you’re too lazy to click through, I’ve provided Kathleen Kingsbury’s 7 main suggestions, but check out the article because she explains her points AND provides sample essays that illustrate each point!

  • Rule #1: When Tackling a Global Issue, Make it Personal
  • Rule #2: Show That You Have Some Perspective
  • Rule #3: Essays Succeed or Fail in the Details
  • Rule #4: Make Sure You’re the Hero of the Story
  • Rule #5: Make Your Intellectual Curiosity Clear
  • Rule #6: Know Your Audience
  • Rule #7: Don’t Be Afraid to Show You’re Not Perfect

For 12 additional essays that worked, check out this compilation.

Want more sample essays and drafting advice? Don’t worry, we’re bringing that and more to an AdmitSee profile near you!!



Browse Successful Application Files

MichaelR
Columbia


Accepted to Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, UC Berkeley, JHU, Vanderbilt, Rice, UMich, UCLA, UNC, UT Austin, Washington, Ohio State, UCSD

Midwestern kid who loves molecular biology and electronic dance music. Let me help you edit your essays!
michellezhang
Northwestern


Accepted to Northwestern, Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, UChicago, Rice, UMich, USC

Aspiring entrepreneur interested in computer science, health, and sustainability; applied to college as an econ/environmental science major.
b_rod
Harvard


Accepted to Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, UVA

Lover of physics, math, and chess. Football player and bass player. California born and raised.
niathuravil
Rutgers


Accepted to Rutgers, NYU, Fordham, UMass, Colorado, MSU, Illinois, Arizona, Washington

Your local dancing astronaut with a passion for the political things in life.

New Posts

Winners of the AdmitSee 2020 College Scholarship
Winners of the AdmitSee 2020 College Scholarship
September 30, 2020

We are so excited to announce that for this year’s scholarship, we selected five scholarship winners to maximize the impact of our $5,000 college scholarship prize money....

Load More Posts