Why Are “Good” College-Application Essays So Awful to Read?
For many, our education in first-person writing begins with the college application essay, which rewards uplifting narratives with neat-bow conclusions. This is a bad thing.
I started thinking about the Common App essay when I was in my sophomore year of high school. I can’t remember who—my parents, my English teacher, a copywriter of fear-mongering college emails—but someone had told me it was never too early to begin brainstorming, and so I set out to choose a topic.
wrong
School of Rock the Musical
giant
School of Rock
School of Rock
If I take a bad experience and fashion it into something valuable, then it will all have been worth it.School of Rock
Jared Klegar is a writer from New York City. He currently attends Stanford University. You can find him on Twitter @jaredklegar.
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