How to Avoid Writing a Bad Common App Essay: Tips & Mistakes

In this blog, we will delve into the common pitfalls students encounter when crafting their Common App essays. We encourage you to read until the end to arm yourself with insights on how to write a standout essay by steering clear of these mistakes. 

We understand that grades, marks, and experience play a crucial role in your application, but they represent just a fraction of your journey. The essence lies while you pen down an essay about your personal story, you as a narrator of your story. This is your chance to shine, to engage authentically, and to create an essay that will elevate your application and help you secure a place on the merit list. 

The life of a student can be a whirlwind of studying for exams, meeting deadlines, and preparing applications for universities or schools overseas. This cycle can feel relentless, especially as you tackle the many procedures and requirements to gain acceptance into top colleges. So, here we are today to help you out with one particular problem of how to avoid writing a bad common app essay; we at Rostrum provide you with student-friendly counselling and standardised reviews for your essays and be a support system as you hit the road to joining your dream university.

Essays are a medium of communication between you and the admission committee; the essay you write represents who you are. What is your thought process, and what is your perspective on the committee? Essays are structured forms of writing on the prompt that the university provided or something about you, your interests, hobbies, community, identity, and more. The purpose of the essay is to communicate your ideas, arguments, or reflections. 

However, not all essays that you get online or you somehow make it up using AI, may not always end up in the good books of the admission committee, because there needs to be a fine balance between your experiences and what the prompt is about. This is why it’s helpful to have someone review your work, such as our team at Rostrum. 

You should be mindful of avoiding bad common app essays, which often lack planning, clarity, and coherence. Understanding the characteristics of a poorly written essay can help guide you in crafting an effective one. In this blog, we will explore the characteristics of a bad essay and the consequences of failing to adhere to basic writing principles.

According to Independent Educational Consultant Randi Heathman, weak essays often get overlooked or skimmed. An essay fails to get the attention of the admission committee, which is either mediocre or subpar. The committee members tend to just skim it. And move on to your grades, transcripts, and other applications. You need to make the officer curious about you. The more time they spend on your essay, the more likely chances that you will be on the merit list. However, if you write a poorly crafted essay, it goes unread, the committee is not interested in you, they will not spend their time on your essay and move to another applicant. A weak essay leads admissions officers to draw one of two undesirable conclusions: either you don’t care enough about your future at their institution to invest the effort into a strong essay, or you may not possess the academic skills needed to thrive there. Neither of these assumptions will benefit your chances for admission. Putting in the work to create an impressive essay is crucial for showcasing your commitment and potential.

Common Mistakes to Avoid for Bad Essay

To ensure your Common App essay stands out, it’s crucial to stop falling prey to the common pitfalls. By detouring these mistakes, you can construct a more compelling and effective portrayal that reverberates with admission committees. Here is a list of mistakes that you need to avoid:

1. Picking the wrong topic

You will be given prompts by the university in some cases or some universities will keep it open-ended and ask you to write on a topic that interests you. Here comes the challenge: when you don’t know how to narrow down to a topic that makes you curious, start writing an essay on something very general about travel, sports, nature, and climate change. Yes, these topics are worth exploring and writing about. However, you should never go for them as many have already written about them. Choose something that you like and is worth exploring, like connecting with some other interests like Nature and Artificial Intelligence if you are into the science stream or Sports with Politics. You are free to take the above topics, but that requires more effort to write a piece, and also, you need to make sure it is different from millions of pieces online on sports or nature. Hence, only when you are sure you can write a compelling essay on those, then go for them or else explore which is closer to you and pen it down. 

2. Throbbing cliches 

The vital mistake that you need to bypass while writing a college admission essay is to stop using cliches that don’t add any value to your essay. Do not attempt to create an impression of being an intellect or a perfectionist; these traits should naturally reflect in your writing if they are truly part of who you are. For example- “Throughout my life, I have learned many lessons, but perhaps the most significant one is that everything happens for a reason. Every hardship and success in life has a way of teaching us what we need to know, even when we don’t understand it at the time.” Avoid dumping your Instagram feed into your essay. 

3. Microscopic details of your life or personal information

The essay that the university requests primarily focuses on your personality and serves as a personal statement. Yes, it is a personal story, but it should not end up detailing things that the university is not looking for like your sexual preferences or your conviction about religion or other communities. You need to differentiate between the personnel that the university is seeking and what you are giving out. 

The college essay is your platform to depict who you are, not to recount every event chronologically. Instead, hone in on a single experience or anecdote that you wish to explore in depth or weave different events and draw something meaningful out of it. This can be something as seemingly simple as watching a beautiful sunrise with your mom, sharing a meaningful conversation with a friend at a bus stop, or reminiscing about a camping trip. Use these accounts as a constructive medium to sketch your story, revealing insights about yourself and your journey. 

4. Showcasing negative emotional events and seeking sympathy

The sympathy essays don’t fare well in the academic sphere. These might be important to you, like having abusive parents, not having friends and everybody undermining your ability, or mental health issues. These are the personal life events that you need to face. The university is not looking to heal those wounds. They are certainly looking for applicants who can bring something to the table and make their campus more vibrant. You can mention some traumatic events, but don’t make your essay filled with pain because it will not take you anywhere. 

If you want to include those, then you need to write a lesson from those, but a reminder doesn’t make them sound cliche, like those traumatic events made you strong; this is a very general statement. Mention specifically how you have grown out of that situation and what were your admirable coping mechanisms and show them how it has developed your character. 

5. Writing too formally

Write the way you speak to yourself without any grammatical and spelling mistakes. Mostly, avoid using academic language, as this essay is not testing your academic intellect. You need to express yourself in your natural voice; it needs to be natural so that the academic committee can engage with it, see its uniqueness, and get a glimpse of your personality. Additionally, do not use an active voice; use a passive voice. Make it simple; it doesn’t necessarily give you more weight when you use sophisticated vocabulary. Hence, it doesn’t go much formal, making it a normal conversation. 

6. Lack of coherence and Structure

Firstly, jot down what you want to include in your essay, events, and the values or personality traits that you want to connect with. Then, arrange them in proper sentences and make sure there are no abrupt breaks in between sentences. For example, you start writing about how you were on cloud nine when you won a swimming medal and then start again with the next event. Try to avoid, when you are mentioning an event, substantiating it with what it made you into or what you have learnt out of it, and that too in a coherent and structurally sound manner. 

7. Parroting the prompts much in the essay

To make a lasting image in your admissions essay, dodge repeating the essay prompt. College admissions officers have seen it all, and this approach will likely lead them to dismiss your submission as unoriginal. Instead, grab the opportunity to demonstrate your originality, aspirations, and how fit you are for that particular university. The best essays have compelling stories to tell, and you must desire to echo that same profundity in your essay to get a seat. 

8. Do not give it for proofreading or editing.

Submitting a college essay punctured with grammatical and spelling mistakes is an easy way to discard your application. You must be more careful about these essential details in this competitive procedure. Hence, invest your time meticulously in editing and proofreading your essay after writing your first draft; read it aloud or ask a friend to help you with the proofreading part. 

We are here to help! At Rostrum, we deliver professional editing and proofreading services to improve your essay and increase your probability of securing a bench at your aspiring school. Schedule an appointment with us now. Our experienced mentors are ready to aid you on your journey to success.

Also Read: Common App Essay Prompts for 2024-2025 Admission Cycle

How do you strengthen your bad college essay?

1. By choosing the right topic for you

Choosing a good topic is essential for crafting a strong college essay. Your chosen topic should align with the prompt and depict who you are as a person. It is not about listing down your best qualities. Instead, think about a particular experience that gives you space to explore it in depth and that can be a connector to your personality, identity, and values. 

2. Breakdown the prompt, if given 

At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being good friends. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighbourhood, etc. (200-250 words). 

Here, you need to first focus on the importance of community and how it gives you a sense of belonging and a medium for shared experiences. Then, go on to your individual experiences of how you have contributed to your community. It may be a small gesture, starting from having book reading sessions in the community or having a food festival that replicates the idea of growth in togetherness. Finally, you should focus on how MIT has helped in improving communities. 

3. Use personal experiences, anecdotes, and examples.

The essay should be able to catch the attention of the reader at first glance and that generally comes when you beautifully solace your life example or an anecdote and include the self-reflection part in that event. They should consist of personal questions like Who Am I? Why Am I Here? What Matters to Me? These questions may not be explicit; however, they should be woven with your values and experiences. 

4. Show that you are a great fit.

Surf through the college website, review by students, or connect with current students and talk to them to get to know about the university and the definite reasons why you want to attend their university. Research academic programs and professors that interest you. Additionally, take the time to discuss the school’s culture and its distinctive history. And add these to your essay. 

5. Storytelling 

It’s crucial to portray your writing skills in an essay, along with keeping the reader immersed. It is your personal story and it gives you wide scope to include dialogue, action, sensory details, and a compelling hook. Think about your favoured authors and try to depict the character’s thoughts or feelings through sensory descriptions and exciting actions. By doing this, you, the admission officer, will feel more connected to your story and application.

Also Read: COMMON APP VS. COALITION APP: PROS & CONS

Bad College Essay Examples and How they could be improved?

Let’s see an example of how a poor essay can be written on the topic of nature and technology. 

Nature and technology are antithetical and in the captivity of technology, we forgot about our mother earth. People today spend more time on screens than outside in nature. This makes us forget how beautiful and important the Earth is. If we use technology wisely, it can help protect the environment, with solar energy or electric cars. 

Point 1- Never take two topics that you will pose as a complete contrast. Draw a middle ground and argue on well-sounded facts. “Nature and technology are very different, yet also connected.”

Point 2- Improvise it by talking about the increasing obese population and what you have done in your community to make people come out more instead of sticking to their screens, including your personal anecdotes. 

Point 3- If you are a person seeking a seat in developmental studies or even science, mention the things that make you curious, like artificial rains or sponge cities and why you want to explore them. 

Point 4- Avoid grammatical errors, phrase the sentences with creativity and maintain a flow in your writing for better understanding. 

FAQs on Bad Common App Essay Examples

1. Can you curse in your Common App essay?

No, you are not supposed to do that. Cursing denotes a negative emotion. Hence, it is better to avoid cursing and blaming others or yourself and instead focus on your positive traits. 

2. Is a short Common App essay bad?

Short is a relative term. It would be better if you could stick to the word limit that the university prescribes and articulate effectively. A difference of 10-15 words above or below the word limit is permissible but not beyond that. 

3. How do you not write a cliche college essay?

Choose a topic on which you have personal experience, viewpoints, and good arguments to defend your point, and that include original ideas and arguments. You need to demonstrate your self-awareness, priorities, goals, and confidence in a structured and effective way.  

4. What happens if you plagiarise a Common App essay?

The admission committee will pass it through a plagiarism checker, and then your application will not be on the qualifying list, and you will not be able to get into your dream school. Hence, refrain from plagiarising the essay.