Does Adcom Get Bored Reading Essays?

An admissions officer with over a decade of experience explains why college essays bore them. Most applicants just rehash their resume or tell the same hardship story everyone else does. Stand out by offering something unique and actually reflecting on what matters to you.
So this Quora thread recently showed up in my email. How bored do admissions officers get when they read college essays? And as you can see, the answer is very bored. And as somebody who's been reading admissions essays for more than a decade, I can definitely guarantee that this is the case. And this is because a lot of people use the same stories, or they use the opportunity of the essay to retell their CV instead of thinking really critically about what makes them stand out. And what makes you stand out is not necessarily, oh, you know, here's the worst thing that ever happened to me. Let me just write that. In an essay, you want to think really critically about what unique value can I bring to the class? And I'm not saying that you shouldn't talk about hardships that you've overcome or difficult situations that you've been through. This can be great content for essays, but you want to think about how can that content add value to the class? What have I learned? How has it shaped me? Show that and then combine that with the things that have made you an exceptional professional so far, and you're well on your way to getting in and not boring the admissions committee.
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