Crafting Compelling College Essays: Why Familiar Stories Work

What if I told you there’s a new romantic comedy where two people meet in a funny way, initially can’t stand each other, then slowly fall in love and end up together? Or that there’s a new action movie where a villain steals a device that could destroy the world and the hero has to stop him, almost fails, but ultimately beats him in a fight and saves the day? If you’re a fan of romantic comedies or action films, you’d probably say that those sound like what you’d expect from those genres. But you wouldn’t be able to say whether you’d enjoy the movies. Why? Because those descriptions only cover the familiar story beats you’ve seen before. Sure, you could have a romantic comedy where the couple doesn’t end up together (“My Best Friend’s Wedding”) or an action film where the villain wins (“Avengers: Infinity War"). But those are the exceptions. (And if I spoiled those for you… one is 27 years old, and the other I’m not sure how you haven’t heard about by now.) So, why am I talking about movies in a blog post about college essays? Because the Common Application essay is its own kind of genre. Yes, there are different prompts to choose from, but all of them guide students to share meaningful experiences that showcase their values, growth, and personality. That’s by design, which is why you don’t need to worry if the basic description of your essay sounds similar to others. I’ve worked with many students who ask, “But doesn’t everybody write about overcoming an obstacle?” Or, “It’s about a way I changed and aren’t other people doing that too?” The answer is: yes, absolutely. But that’s not a way to decide whether or not your story is worth telling. Dismissing your idea because it covers familiar territory is like refusing to watch a new romantic comedy because it has a meet-cute and a happy ending. It’s not the overall structure of the story that makes an essay work. So, what does make it work? The same thing that makes one rom-com or action movie or film from any other genre stand out above the rest: the details, and more importantly, the characters. When we watch a romantic comedy, we want to connect with the characters. We want to enjoy how they interact and how they argue. And we want to believe it when they finally fall for each other. In an action film, the chases and explosions only matter if we’re invested in the hero and their mission. The same is true for your college essay. Admissions officers read thousands of stories about challenges, growth, and change. What makes yours memorable isn’t that it tells a story that’s never been told before. The way to write an essay that helps you in the admission process is to make it authentically you so that the reader connects with you as they learn about your story. Just like any good movie, your essay succeeds when it makes the audience care about a character. And, in this case, the character is you. So, don’t be worried if the story you want to tell follows a similar pattern to others. Focus on making the reader feel something. Be honest, specific, and reflective. That’s what will make the admissions officer care about your journey… and maybe even give it a standing ovation.