would anyone be willing to review my personal statement whenever they have a moment? i think it's pretty much done and i'm looking to submit it in like two days but would love it if i could get some input ^.^

hi, my essay currently is about my love of neuro and what inspired it to put it concisely (talked about a particular tv show and how i'm a combination of these psych doctors in my approaches, connected that to neuro...) (answering Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more? prompt)

as i'm writing supplementals, i'm scared that it'll be too similar for "why major" prompts. my other idea for my common app was about my many pets and connecting each of them to me and how they influence me + how they've made me a better person but i was afraid the essay would then be more about my pets than myself or be too obvious about what i learned from them. another idea i had was my strained relationship with my mom and how i've grown and changed ever since shes shown signs of dementia but i thought that was kind of generic as well...

would love to hear any advice!

edit: also had another idea about cultural identity, refused to learn Mandarin and felt disconnected from my culture as I watched people communicate since I could understand but not communicate well, felt like I was missing something as I responded in English when someone talked to me in Mandarin… decided to try to learn a few words every day to improve

1. "The pill is small, but what I failed to see in it was immense."

2. "I had known exactly what the pill was, but I did not know why."

3. "I had ingested hundreds of pills and would not be able to tell you what a single pill does."

4. "What do you do with something you fully trust yet do not fully understand?"

5. "I could read each and every label, but none explained why."

Hey guys!

I apologize in advance because this might be the dumbest question I've ever posted on Reddit (which is saying a lot).

EA deadlines are coming up, and I have five solid drafts of my Common App essay that I'm trying to choose between. I've gotten caught in a cycle of revising, rereading, and over-editing my essays to the point where I'm starting to panic.

I reached out to my school counselor for advice, and she called me into her office today. She picked out an essay that I personally love and absolutely loved it herself. She told me to stop editing it and submit it as is.

Here's where I'm struggling.

For context, my school counselor has reviewed hundreds of essays, works as an admissions counselor outside of our school district, and previously served on Case Western's admissions committee. My former English teacher, who taught for 32 years and has had hundreds of students write college essays over the course of her career, also loved the essay. She even pulled me aside specifically to tell me how much she liked it.

Despite that, I'm still hesitant to submit it.

To be completely honest, before meeting with my counselor, I was relying pretty heavily on AI essay-review websites, including LumiSource, along with advice from websites and TikTok. I also came across college essay rubrics posted by various admissions organizations and ended up going down a rabbit hole of analyzing everything that might be wrong with my essay.

My essay is somewhat of a sob story. I discuss why I want to become a doctor and how a personal experience inspired me to look out for others going through something similar. I consider myself a strong writer, and the essay uses a lot of imagery and a recurring motif that I think works really well.

My biggest concern is that the overall structure feels predictable. I'm worried that it follows a familiar college essay formula and might come across as cliché. I actually asked my counselor about this directly, and she reread the essay and explained why she didn't think that was the case.

I know that AI essay reviewers aren't necessarily reliable judges of what makes a good personal statement, and I realize that I probably wouldn't have spiraled this much if I hadn't spent so much time reading online advice. At the same time, I'm having a hard time letting go of the feeling that I'm missing something.

I guess my question is: At what point do you stop revising and trust feedback from people who have actually read your essay and know what they're doing? Is it reasonable to trust my counselor's judgment here, especially when another experienced English teacher has independently responded positively to the same essay?

If anyone has experience with college essays or is willing to read my draft and give me an honest opinion, I'd really appreciate it. I'm not looking for someone to tell me it's amazing just to make me feel better. I genuinely want to know if I'm overthinking this or if there's a legitimate reason to reconsider it.

Thanks!

hi all, i would like to write my essay about being from an immigrant family but i have a specific way i am writing it. if anyone, specifically from the balkans, would like to read my essay to see if it makes sense and if i am accurately portraying the experience, although it is specific to me. im open to reading anyone elses as well regardless of what its about

I just finished my first draft, but my essay is 700 words long and I don't love it.

These Stanford prompts are killing me. I genuinely do not know how to answer them. Someone, give me advice. I have looked at various examples, articles, and videos I don't get it.

I've written 20 drafts by now (3 actual ones) for my personal statement and none of them stand out

I've had some friends read it too and I keep getting the same feedback of how it's not unique enough and i'm writing about a theme thats common and everyone does or it doesn't say enough about me

my stats are subpar too so i'm trying to write essays that'll help me (?) but clearly i suck at it🫩

my latest essay (and my fav one) is about me working at my moms restaurant and how i've learned to become independent instead of relying on my mom and contribute to her and the restaurant in my own way through not just being there but also making my own art to help out too (but i guess even that idea is overused.. or maybe the way i'm telling it isn't right?)

if anyone can confirm that my idea isn't good or wants to read my essay and give me feedback that'd be helpful

Hi, im a senior applying to nyuad and I am by no means not a writer. Ive been working on my essay for over 3 months and the page is still blank dont get me wrong ive written some ideas but all of them turn either cliché or just not college essay style and I only have 1 MONTH left 😣.

I would appreciate ANY help I can get.

Also does nyu look for a narrative? And what makes a college essay a college essay?

İ will apply ED and Ea. İene dto fix these things in a few days. What can İ genuinely do? İ don't want them to think İ wrote it by ai and reject me.

"In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not predict or anticipate. It is important to us, therefore, to understand an applicant’s ability to navigate through adversity. Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have faced and discuss the personal qualities, skills or insights you have developed as a result."

I'm currently working on the supplemental above and I don't feel like I've had a life-altering challenge that's impacted me.

So, I decided to write about my experience as a soccer coach, specifically my difficulty coaching this one kid, ultimately connecting the challenge to how I changed my understanding of what effective leadership looks like.

My main concern is that the topic itself and my learnings from it are too generic/cliche. Could someone give me some feedback?

hi can someone read my common app essay? I'm not an amazing writer (like I'm good but I'm scared) and i haven't written in 2 years because i graduated in 2024 (decided to go late) and I'm not from the us so I'm not sure if my essay is good or terrible

I was planning on writing my essay on daydreaming and basically how it consumed my life, and how limerence made me realize I need to stop. I don’t have any other thing significant happen to me so this all I got. Also just realizing if I write my essay on this they’ll wonder how I’ve done volunteering clubs etc.. Also I’m an extremely bad writer I need some tips on how I can make my essay sound better

Heres the first couple of sentences: I hate unicorns because they remind me of what I haven’t accomplished. Those unicorns twirl around my head like a crib mobile twirling around a baby. It started in childhood, being bored in class, thinking of places I would rather be.  I dreamt of becoming rich with a husband. On a deserted island where the waves spoke lullabies in my ears, and the sand warmed my feet. Or, in a beautiful castle, making creams that cured any imperfections. In the moment, they all seemed out of reach.

Ok, so this might be kind of stupid, but how does writing my essay about my writer’s callus sound? I can connect it to how it shows my creativity because of how much I write stories and draw art. Even in a time when writer’s calluses are less common due to the increased use of technology, mine is much bigger than the average writer’s callus. Despite it hurting sometimes, I’m still proud of it because it shows my passions.

Idk, something along these lines. Any ideas to improve this would be helpful!!

I'm having trouble deciding between two topics.
Which do you think is stronger?

1. Braid essay
   My mom used to braid my hair every morning before school until I was about 10. My hair is really long, reaching my knees, and braiding has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, I didn't really think much about the time and effort my mom put into it. As I got older, I started appreciating it more and realizing how much meaning something so ordinary can hold.
   I'd write about my relationship with my mom, family, and how familiar things can become important to us without us realizing it.

2. Blushing essay
   I've always been really self-conscious about blushing because I hate the idea of people noticing it and judging me. It made me avoid certain situations because I didn't want to embarrass myself. Over time, I started pushing myselt to do things even when I knew I might blush. I also realized that I was assuming people were judging me more than they actually were, and I became less judgmental of myself and

I am a senior in high school currently and I am applying to colleges right now. I could use some advice on my essay and how to make it more different I guess. I’m applying to all Colorado schools and majoring in elementary education because all of my extracurriculars follow with that major. For example I worked at a charter aftercare program school for elementary schoolers for over a year, so basically junior and senior year. I also have done three seasons of volunteer youth soccer coaching. Already am receiving college credit to go towards my teaching degree through dual enrollment class. I wrote my essay relating to my job at the charter school and how parasocial relationship relationships can relate to that. If you have any feedback to make it more deeper or more about me please let me know.

To nine-year-olds, a high schooler in an aftercare program occupies a position similar to a celebrity. About a month into my job at an elementary school, three fourth graders made it their daily routine to find me for card games. Whether it was James Bond or Speed, they were fascinated by me. Compared to their classroom teachers, I represented something exciting and accessible, living proof that growing up does not require losing excitement in life.  
At first, I was caught off guard by how much they were interested in talking to me. But as I observed our interactions more closely, I recognized the pattern. I reflected on my own middle school and high school years, when my bedroom walls were completely covered in posters of Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles. At an early age, growing up with an iPad, celebrities in the media had provided a blueprint for how I would navigate adolescence.  I drew inspiration from their confidence, aesthetic, and artistic expression, using their public image as a flexible workspace to explore and shape my own developing identity.  
Sitting at a brightly colored elementary table, I realized these kids were engaging in the same dynamic with me. Because I was new to them, they had only witnessed the most positive side of my personality, I was smiley, patient, and engaging. I had not yet had to enforce strict rules or raise my voice. To them, I was not a full human being with bad days or stress. I was a projection, a glorified idea of what a cool older kid looks like. One moment I would be laughing with them over a game of cards, and the next I would turn away to speak to a coworker to complain about an assignment or high school drama. They were reacting to a new personality, not a full personality.  
This realization altered how I approached my responsibilities and relationships, and mainly how I viewed my own identity.  
At work, I stopped relying on their validation to feel successful and stepped into genuine leadership. I recognized that each child brought a unique home life and  emotional needs. I began treating them as individual people rather than a collective group, establishing firm boundaries when necessary while remaining supportive, shifting our interaction from them, just perceiving me to effective mentorship.  
That same perspective influenced my personal life. During spring break of my junior year, I took down the celebrity posters that had covered my walls for years, replacing them with art that reflected my own personal taste rather than someone else’s image. I began to view public figures through a more mature lens, recognizing them as a brand and cultural models rather than expansions of my personal identity. Criticism of an artist I enjoyed was no longer a personal attack on me.  
Understanding how individuals project expectations onto others, both as a fan watching and as a mentor at the card table, taught me how to look beyond the surface-level perception. Recognizing these dynamics turned me into a more observant leader, and a far more thoughtful friend, helping me form connections based on genuine understanding rather than idealization.

Guys please review my essay!!!! I thought my idea was straight gas but I keep reading it and it might be terrible. Nov 1st is coming quickly, and now I'm thinking about restarting :(

Help!!!!!!!

Ill dm it. I chose prompt 7 on common app, the essay of your choice. can someone let me know real quick if you hate it or not?

I'm from Belgium and would like to apply for college in America, but the problem is that in belgium they never teach you on how to write essays so i'm trying to improve my essay writing skills. Normally i'm not active on reddit, but now I make more posts on reddit to acquire more English skills, but then I realized I could just ask for your help, so what do you think could help me with writing better essays?

I’ve been procrastinating on my college essay for months at this point mostly because whenever I sit down to actually write something I get a mental block and nothing, whether good or bad, comes out. And now I’m at the point where I physically can’t ignore this anymore, I have two weeks to dedicate to writing this stupid essay and I can barely start.

I have roughly mapped out my essay. I created a rough outline for each paragraph with what subjects / events I want to focus on, and what they meant for me as a person. However whenever I sit down to actually write out any of the paragraphs I start losing my mind because nothing comes to me, I don’t know how to start it or link it together (at least not in a coherent way).

Did anyone else experience this while writing? I’m begging for tips on how to overcome this. My essay doesn’t need to be great, I’m mostly applying to state schools and very non-competitive programs. I just need to get something done before the November 1 deadline.

I have written a few essays completely by myself, but when I ran it through Pangram, I got a horrible score back, sometimes 50%, and sometimes even 100%.

Do T20s flag essays for AI based on such a percentage or a tool, or is it mostly on how the essay reads? I don't know why, but I feel that my essays sound rational and what any normal human (like me) would write like, and my essays do contain a lot of personal detail (obviously). Other than such a tool, are there any other ways to find out if your essay really sounds like AI? Even if not AI, can I somehow check if my essay "voice" or style/structure of essay blends in with others?

Thanks!

hate could be an exaggeration, but i don’t love my personal statement. It feels windy and i can’t tell if the message is unclear!! lines feel jammed in and the conclusion is so egregiously mediocre

i REALLY would love if anyone is open to reading it for some feedback-or knows a good essay/application reviewer that won’t make me go broke!!

I wrote my common app essay completely by myself but when I put it into a few AI detectors, it came back as somewhere around 79% AI written

Is there an actually accurate tool to detect AI. im worried that AOs would flag my essay

Hello all,

I've been incredibly busy this semester of High school, so I just started writing my personal essay for early application, which is due in around 2 weeks. I've always been great at writing, which is why I've been so surprised to find myself stumped on what to write about for my college essay. I was just wondering if those who have written essays before find this topic interesting. In my junior year of high school, I struggled a lot with AP Physics 1. In my high school career, I've taken 16 AP classes, all of which I succeeded in relatively easily, but for some reason AP Physics 1 just gave me so much trouble. In fact, it was the first test in school I ever got an F on (rough score with no corrections). I thought about dropping it, but I struggled on and earned an A- in the class and a 4 on the AP exam. Do you guys think I could write an essay on this? I was thinking of making my opening line a physics equation and then writing a narrative about me studying for one of the tests? Any feedback on this idea would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!!

I wrote about how I got addicted to gaming whenever COVID came by and when a COVID ended I still was addicted but then I showed how I was able to change and go back to my passions I loved and being able to create things and play sport