<p>Is it the “I volunteered at a homeless shelter in Costa Rica” essay? Or is it the “My struggle with my racial identity” essay?</p>
<p>I have seen the first one listed as the #1 in one of the ‘winning essay’ books… Making the winning touchdown catch/goal/etc also ranks up there. I have never heard the second one you list as being common at all.</p>
<p>For instance, I see so many essays about my time in Nicaragua, which turns out usually to be 14 days, when the parents spent $5,000 sending them there, when I built a home for the poor and I painted a school and I taught a whole village of kids how to speak English in 14 days. Those are terrible essays. They’re about experiences that were purchased, about service that was imposed by parents. So I tell kids avoid those essays. They’re cliches.</p>
<p>oops that was a quote from an interview but I can’t find the source again.</p>
<p>Also recovering from sports injury, death of grandparent, parent’s divorce…</p>
<p>@BrownParent </p>
<p>Those essays work unfortunately. One of the essays that got a transfer student into Berkeley-Haas (5% acceptance rate) was about going to Costa Rica and cliche impact it had on his view of money not being happiness. </p>
<p>IMO.
Generic Immigrant / Struggling to learn culture & language.
Family problems would be number 2. </p>
<p>“I got a C / lost a sporting competition / flubbed my piano recital and it taught me about failure.” </p>
<p>Is writing ABOUT your grandparents cliched too? Like about their lives not their death</p>
<p>Essays that start off w a definition:</p>
<p>determination
dɪˌtəːmɪˈneɪʃ(ə)n/
noun
- firmness of purpose</p>
<p>I want to go to Prestige University because of my determination to succeed.</p>
<p>In my opinion, there are no tired topics–only tired essays. If you can approach your mission trip with fresh perspective, your prospective college will likely thank you for it. It’s not about what they want to hear, it’s about what you want to tell them.</p>
<p>I think the “I play violin/piano/whatever” and the beauty of music reflects life" one is way overused</p>
<p>“It’s always been my dream to be a doctor and help people”</p>