Most Trite "What makes me unique and why I want to go to your school"

College Essays
1

As I look at colleges and see how idiosyncrasies can make the difference between rejection and acceptance to top schools; I am wondering what do you guys tend to see as the most trite pecularities spoken of in essays and interviews?

For me these appear to be the ones I see most often:

-I want to change the world and your school has produced many people who have done so
-It has been my dream to go to your school and so I am more enthusiastic and appreciative of your school than others.
-Cure cancer
-Become president
-Your school is a very unique enviroment
-Family tradition

Thanks for any replies, I just want to know what to avoid in my writing.

2

If you’re talking about the “why your school” essays, the one I see a LOT is students going on and on about the city the school is in more than the actual school itself. I’ve read a lot where it was clear the student was enamored of Boston or Chicago more than the school (ie: you could insert BU, Harvard, NEU, BC or UChicago, Northwestern, etc. and the response wouldn’t change at all).

In the regular Common App essays, I’ve seen a LOT of “I love books and this is how they’ve inspired me,” service trips, lots of “I failed at this thing but I have perseverance!” I actually really hate the failure prompt b/c I think 99% of applicants don’t do well at it–the essays come across trite and shallow, and relay very little concrete personal information.

3

@proudterrier Yes, that is what I mean’t. thanks for your reply; I never thought of those.

4

[ul]
[]The amazing facilities
[]Doing groundbreaking research with distinguished professors
[]As soon as I stepped foot on this campus, I knew I was home
[]The diverse array of majors and courses will satisfy my numerous, eclectic interests
[li]The diversity of the student body[/li][/ul]

If you throw phrases like this out there and can’t really support them with personal information in a way that’s authentic (Why, for example, is a diverse student body important to you?), and if you can’t elaborate on them (What kind of research? How will that bring you closer to your goals?), it just becomes an extremely generic essay.