How to Write a College Essay That Won't Put Anyone to Sleep

Rebecca Beard
Jul 1
4 min read

A super simple guide to not being boring

Let's be real. College essays are scary. You're trying to fit your whole life into 500 words and somehow convince strangers that you're awesome. No pressure, right?

But here's the thing: the people reading your essay are REALLY tired of reading the same boring stuff over and over.

What College People Actually Want

You know what college admissions people DON'T want to read about for the 847th time this year?

How you "learned teamwork" from playing soccer
Your mission trip to help poor people
Why you want to "help people" (everyone says this)
How losing the big game taught you about life

Here's what they DO want: To meet YOU. The real you. Not the you that you think sounds impressive.

The Magic Secret (It's Not Really Magic)

The best essays follow this super simple plan:

Something happened (could be big, could be tiny)
You did something about it
You learned something cool

That's it. That's the whole thing.

Stop Trying to Sound Smart

Write like you're telling your favorite teacher about something that actually matters to you. Use normal words. Be yourself.

Bad example: "I endeavored to ameliorate the situation through collaborative efforts."

Good example: "I decided to fix the problem by getting everyone to work together."

The second one doesn't make you sound dumb. It makes you sound like a real person.

Show, Don't Tell (But Make It Fun)

Instead of saying "I'm really into music," try something like this:

"I spent three hours trying to teach my little brother how to play 'Hot Cross Buns' on the recorder. By hour two, our dog was hiding under the couch. By hour three, I realized I might be more patient than I thought."

Now we can actually picture what happened. Plus, it's funny. And it tells us you don't give up easily.

Your Boring Life Is Actually Interesting

Think your life is too normal for a good essay? Wrong! Some of the best essays are about super ordinary stuff.

Like:

The time you got lost in Target and had a deep thought
How babysitting your cousin taught you something important
The day you realized your mom was pretty cool

The trick is finding the one thing that matters to you. Even if it seems silly.

Things That Make Readers Want to Take a Nap

Sports essays: "I was losing the game, but then I tried harder and we won, and I learned to never give up."

Mission trip essays: "I went to help poor people and realized how lucky I am."

Look, these things might be true and important to you. But unless something REALLY interesting happened, pick something else to write about.

Make Them Want to Meet You

Your essay should make the reader think: "This person seems cool. I want to have them in my classes."

Not: "This person has good grades and does volunteer work." (They already know that from the rest of your application.)

How to Not Sound Like Everyone Else

Everyone says: "This experience taught me the value of hard work."

You could say: "Turns out, organizing 50 middle schoolers for a talent show is harder than herding cats. Cats would probably complain less."

Everyone says: "I learned to appreciate different cultures."

You could say: "Mrs. Chen next door taught me to make dumplings. I was terrible at it. But she kept inviting me over anyway, and somewhere between my 47th lopsided dumpling and her stories about growing up in Taiwan, I realized that being bad at something doesn't mean you should stop trying."

The Most Important Thing

Your essay should sound like YOU wrote it. Not your mom. Not your English teacher. Not some essay you found online.

If your best friend reads your essay without seeing your name on it, they should think, "Oh yeah, this is totally something [your name] would write."

The Real Truth

College people read hundreds of essays. Most of them are pretty much the same. They're looking for the ones that make them smile, or think, or go "huh, I never thought of it that way."

Your job is to show them the real you. Not the you that you think they want.

One Last Thing

Stop trying to be perfect. Perfect is boring. Be yourself instead. Even if "yourself" includes that time you cried watching a commercial about dogs, or how you talk to your plants.

Those weird little things about you? Those are what make you interesting.

And interesting is way better than perfect.

Now go write something that doesn't put people to sleep. You've got this.