<p>I think it’s important that the essay use every precious word allowed to reveal whatever is unique about your daughter that cannot otherwise be demonstrated by her grades, test scores, teacher recommendations, and quality of extra-curriculars. So if the “out-of-the-box” essay cleverly or intriguingly links to and reveals your daughter’s strengths in a memorable way, then great! But if it is more of an exercise in creative writing, I think she runs the danger of having the delivery obscure the message.</p>