Never Pay Someone to Write Your College Essay

If you do a quick internet search, you’ll find that it’s very easy to hire someone to write your college application essays for you. Many websites promise they can deliver a Common App or supplemental essay written by a skilled college grad; many elite counseling services are known to write college applicants’ essays for them.

If in your darker moments you find yourself asking, “Can I pay someone to write my college essay?” we’re here to tell you: no. We obviously don’t need to tell you that getting someone to write your college essay is a violation of academic ethics, and if you’re caught, you will either be rejected from the college in question or your offer of acceptance will be rescinded. That’s not the point of today’s blog post. Instead, we’re going to explain why paying someone for this service is a bad idea for a different reason: it simply won’t improve your chances of being admitted in the first place. 

Here are three reasons why you should never pay someone to write your college essay for you — and if anyone offers you this service, you should run.

Admissions officers can pick up on subtle problems with college essays written by someone else

As you probably know, universities use special software to detect plagiarism and inconsistencies in your writing. If you’re caught, as we’ve already said, you’ll get in trouble. But even more important, admissions officers are seasoned readers of college applications, and they’re able to pick up on more subtle problems with application essays.

What do we mean by this? Well, if you’re applying to college, you’re probably 17 years old. People in this age bracket tend to write in a very specific way. If you get someone who’s 25 or 35 or 45 to write an essay for you, it will inevitably sound different — and the college admissions officer reading your file will know that something is wrong. They may not necessarily guess that you got someone to write your college essay for you, but their ears will prick up and they’ll have a sense that your essay doesn’t sound like an authentic submission from a high school student.

This extends beyond age to everything else on your college application: your background, your personality, and your career goals. If you get someone to write your essay for you, they will make subtle mistakes. 

If you pay someone to write your college essay, you’ll submit something mediocre

As we’ve said countless times on this blog, writing a college essay is hard. The only way to do it is to stop, reflect on your past, and come up with a story that distinguishes you from everyone else. If you “hack” the college essay by using one of the strategies promoted online (copying sample essays, using the montage structure, etc.), you’ll end up submitting a generic college essay that admissions officers have read hundreds of times before.

The same thing applies to paying someone to write your college essay. Sure, your essay will be completed relatively quickly, and you may not even get caught, but you certainly won’t end up with something compelling. Why? For the simple reason that the person writing your essay isn’t you. They could certainly come up with a powerful essay about themselves, but they won’t be able to come up with a narrative that explains what makes you unique. At best, they’ll write something mediocre, and the admissions officer reading your file will assign you a grade: the equivalent of a B or B-.

Incidentally, this is the same reason you shouldn’t use ChatGPT to write your college essay. Yes, ChatGPT generates text quickly and without fuss, but the text it generates puts you in the bottom tier of a college’s overall submissions (assuming you don’t get caught by their software).

If you pay someone to write your essay, you’ll reenforce the idea that you’re not good enough

This is the most important reason why you should never pay someone to write your college essay for you. Beyond the immediate consequences (you may get caught, you’ll submit something mediocre at best), you’ll prevent yourself from taking charge of your destiny.

The college essay is an interesting phenomenon in American culture. It’s a rite of passage, in that everyone who goes to college writes one. But it’s also an opportunity to take stock of your life before you leave high school. If you approach the college essay with this mindset, you’ll come up with something authentic to say about yourself, and you’ll feel very validated when colleges accept you based on what you’ve written. You’ll know that they’ve accepted you as you, and you’ll build the kind of confidence that will serve you for the rest of your life.

If you get someone to write your essay for you, however, you’ll validate the idea that you’re not good enough — and this will have negative consequences later in life. Instead of feeling like you can achieve things on your own, you’ll feel helpless and give up whenever the time comes to do something difficult.

Remember: you don’t need to be a great writer to write a great college essay. You just need to come up with a compelling story about yourself. You can do this if you put in the work — but if you pay someone to write your college essay, you’ll begin your professional life with an act of self-sabotage. Instead, if you find yourself feeling stuck, reach out for ethical support that can help you develop the self-knowledge, skills, and wherewithal to write a unique college essay yourself.