COMMENTS

  1. 11 Cliché College Essay Topics + How to Fix Them

    9. Your religious institution or faith. Religion is generally a very tricky topic, and it's difficult to cover it in an original way in your essay. Writing about your faith and reflecting on it critically can work, but basic religious essays about why your faith is important to you are a little more cliché.

  2. 15 College Essay Topics To Avoid and Why

    Unless the applicant has a truly unique angle, a sports essay runs the risk of blending in with other applications and failing to make a memorable impression on admissions officers. 6. Tragedies. While tragedies you've faced can be formative experiences, this may be a college application essay topic to avoid.

  3. 9 College Essay Topics to Avoid at ALL COSTS

    In general, you want to avoid something college admissions officers have already read hundreds of times before, including topics related to: Adapting to a new culture. Developing new and foreign habits. Acquiring a second language. Finding it difficult to fit in.

  4. What Not to Write About in a College Essay

    Cliche College Essay Topics to Avoid. Below, we'll break down some of the most cliche essay topics. For each one, we'll get more into how and why it's a bad topic (by "bad" we mean it's really hard to write it well). And if you're absolutely determined to go with one of these college essay topics to avoid, we've got info near ...

  5. 17 Common College Essay Cliches To Avoid at All Costs

    Here are 17 common college essay cliches to avoid at all costs: Writing an essay about the lessons you've learned in sports. Summarizing your accomplishments. Focusing on volunteer experiences and/or mission trips. Raving about your personal hero. Writing the "death that changed me" essay. Telling the admissions team about your epiphany.

  6. 3 Common College Essay Topic Clichés & How to Fix Them

    The average admissions officer reviews over 1,000 applications per admissions cycle, enduring a host of hackneyed college essay topics and combatting the urge to groan at the cliched treatment of usual-suspect topics that reveal little to no information about the student at hand.Applicants often choose to write about these subjects because they THINK the resulting essays present the kinds ...

  7. Choosing Your College Essay Topic

    Choosing Your College Essay Topic | Ideas & Examples. Published on October 25, 2021 by Kirsten Courault. Revised on July 3, 2023. A strong essay topic sets you up to write a unique, memorable college application essay. Your topic should be personal, original, and specific. Take time to brainstorm the right topic for you.

  8. 65 Clichés to Avoid Using in Your Common App Essay

    However, when it comes to the content of the essay itself, many students will see their original and creative essays lost in an amalgamation of cliched phrases. In the following list, partially drawn from Be a Better Writer's " 681 Cliches to Avoid in Your Creative Writing ," I will address some top college essay-specific clichés that ...

  9. What are cliché college essay topics?

    Here's a brief list of college essay topics that may be considered cliché: Extracurriculars, especially sports. Role models. Dealing with a personal tragedy or death in the family. Struggling with new life situations (immigrant stories, moving homes, parents' divorce) Becoming a better person after community service, traveling, or summer camp.

  10. How to Avoid Cliché Topics in College Essays (and What To Do Instead

    7 Cliché College Essay Topics to Avoid. College writing is one of the most challenging subjects. You'll be tested on it just like any other subject, with no room for mercy. Unfortunately, some students still come up with overused college essay topics or ideas that are cliché and boring.

  11. Cliché College Essay Topics

    Or in the swimming pool. Or on the gridiron. Hopefully you get the idea. And, while you're at it, avoid writing about music, community service, grandparents, travel, and illnesses. All essays executed on such topics will undoubtedly fall into the category of utter cliche drivel.

  12. College Admissions Essay Topics to Avoid

    October 03, 2023. The last thing you want your college essay to be is a cliché, so avoid the following. A pplying to college is a multi-pronged process that culminates with a component that high school seniors tend to both dread and procrastinate. Hint: it's the college admissions essay. It's true, you can save yourself some time and ...

  13. What Not to Write About in a College Essay

    Why Should You Avoid Certain Topics for College Entrance Essays? Generally, you want to avoid essay topics that could give admissions readers the wrong impression of who you are. It's also wise to steer clear of essay topics that are cliches. A cliche is an idea (or phrase) that is overused and, as a result, has lost its meaning and potency.

  14. How to Write a Non-Cliche College Essay About Sports + Examples

    2. Use sports to point out broader themes in your life. The main risk when writing about sports is neglecting to write about yourself. Before you get started, think about the main values that you want to express in your sports essay. Sports are simply your avenue for telling the reader what makes you unique.

  15. Clichés

    The Writing Center Campus Box #5135 0127 SASB North 450 Ridge Road Chapel Hill, NC 27599 (919) 962-7710 [email protected]

  16. 4 Clichéd College Essay Topics To Avoid

    College admissions counselors read so many essays that it's crucial you pick a topic to make yours stand out, so avoid these cliché ideas! 1. Controversial Opinion Pieces. In college, you'll have plenty of opportunities to express your political and religious opinions. While it's great to be informed, your college application essay is ...

  17. 227 Amazing College Persuasive Essay Topics [Free Ideas]

    College Persuasive Essay Topics: Medicine. Strong pain killers should be sold by prescription only. Drug prices should be set ethically. Herbal medications are the safest. Self-medication is extremely dangerous, even in the case of a simple cold or an allergy. Differentiating various forms of medicines is essential.

  18. What are the most cliche essay topics to write about?

    Yes, there are some topics that are harder to do well, but when it comes down to it, I feel like you can take a "cliche" subject and write/frame it in a way that won't feel cliche. SheldonRego. •. Immigrant story. galactooc. •. look at williamthereader's post on essays. senoritaharvard.

  19. The Campus-Left Occupation That Broke Higher Education

    Perhaps the biggest difference between 1968 and 2024 is that the ideas of a radical vanguard are now the instincts of entire universities—administrators, faculty, students.

  20. Those Who Preach Free Speech Need to Practice It

    Updated at 9:35 a.m. ET on April 30, 2024. Say you're a college senior, just a few weeks from graduation. For as long as you can remember—even back in high school, before you set foot on ...

  21. Colleges Love Protests—When They're in the Past

    Attracted by both Cornell's labor-relations school and the university's history of campus radicalism, he wrote his application essay about his involvement with a Democratic Socialists of ...

  22. Opinion

    Either way, a college education should enable you to discover capabilities you didn't even know you had while deepening those that provide you with meaning and direction. To discover these ...