Why Top Students Write the Worst College Essays

It’s always easy for us to identify top students because they approach their college applications in the same way:

GPA: They take as many AP or Honors courses as possible, and they get perfect or near-perfect grades throughout high school.

Standardized Testing: They do significant test prep and “crush” the SAT/ACT.

Extracurriculars: They build an impressive list of extracurricular achievements that they showcase in their resumes.

Top students excel at everything they undertake, which is great. But there’s a problem here. The same skills that mean excellence in every other area can actually  lead high achieving students to make a critical error when they write their college essays. Top students don’t necessarily write top college essays. 

The college essay is different from every other part of the application.

Take a look at the Common App prompts. You’ll see they’re refreshingly honest attempts to get you to reflect on your life experience. They’re basically asking something like this:

“Did you encounter any major obstacle in your life to date? If so, please tell us a bit about what you learned. If not, maybe think about some other aspect of your experience that’s so central you just can’t leave it out of your application.”

There are no prizes for working out what admissions officers want here. They want to see self-reflection, introspection, and maturity. They’re hoping you’ll tell them a story they haven’t read before — something they might actually connect with. 

And this is exactly where most top students make a big mistake.

Top students treat the college essay like every other part of the application.

Instead of showing real humanity in their responses, top students treat the college essay as another test they need to crush. So what do they do? They boast about their accomplishments. They reiterate what makes them such great applicants. And if they reveal a weakness, they make sure it’s nothing that bad, and they make sure to turn it into a strength by the end of the essay.

In other words, they submit a cliched, generic essay – an obvious B.

Students who aren’t at the top of their class, on the other hand, often do the opposite. Because they don’t have perfect grades, they’re comfortable being honest and vulnerable as they talk about themselves, and they submit essays that readers connect with.

What’s the takeaway here? How can top students distinguish themselves in this elusive part of the college application and submit a great college essay?

Top students need to take a step back and reflect about something they haven’t already mentioned in their application.

If you have a great GPA, SAT, and extracurriculars list, admissions officers will definitely pick up on this. They don’t need you to spell it out for them in your essay, and they will probably be annoyed if you do so.

That’s why you should use the essay as an opportunity to present a different side of yourself. A side you haven’t shown in your application so far. A side that makes you seem like more than just a “top student.” If you do the hard work and take the Common App prompts seriously, you’ll seem different from other top students – and you’ll end up submitting a truly impressive application.

We understand that changing your mindset like this can be daunting, and you may want to talk to a college essay tutor who has experience working with high performing students. If you think you could benefit from college essay coaching, feel free to get in touch; we’d love to help you explore your life story and give your application the extra boost it deserves!