Avoid These 3 Mistakes When Writing Your Personal Statement

For students entering their senior year, applying to colleges can be an exciting and anxiety-inducing time. While college applications are the perfect opportunity to showcase all the amazing things you’ve achieved in high school, there is one part of the process that many applicants struggle with: having to talk about themselves. This can be especially challenging when writing the Common Application’s Personal Statement. In just 650 words, students need to share who they are and how they’ve grown in an essay that is unique to their life experience. 

Today, we’ll cover three things to avoid when crafting your personal statement and three tips to try instead! 

#1 - Avoid: Cliche topics

You want your Personal Statement to stand out amongst thousands of applicants! Picking a common or over-used topic can weaken not just your Personal Statement, but your entire application. Admissions Officers read hundreds of essays each season, which means they start to recognize popular topics and themes. 

Below are topics that are frequently used by students:

• Immigrating to America or moving to a different school

• Overcoming social anxiety or shyness

• Excelling in academics or becoming a stronger student

• A traditional sports narrative (ex: overcoming an injury or winning the big game)

• Tragedy without resolution, including death, divorce, or struggles with mental health

• Volunteering or mission trip work

• “Mosaic” or “smoothie” essays where a blend of 3 or more activities are used to symbolize your personality/journey

Try this instead: Brainstorm specific moments or events that occurred within the past 3-4 years that sparked a period of personal growth. Think outside the box! Our counselors provide students with targeted brainstorming questions and workshop ideas and early drafts for weeks to ensure every students’ essay is uniquely theirs. 

If you are unable to pivot from one of the topics above, focus on how you can develop a different perspective or angle. Often, this will require a deeper commitment to the writing process as it will take more time to craft a distinctive narrative. 

#2 - Avoid: Listing your high school experiences and awards

When reading the Personal Statement, admissions officers want to know more about you—your values, personality, and life lessons you’ll take into the future. They can read more about your academic accomplishments and involvement in clubs, volunteer organizations, and research in the Common App Activities section, on your resume, and in school-specific supplemental essays. In fact, if you write about too many activities, you ensure you don't have enough space to dig deeper and refine your theme. 

Try this instead: Pick 1-2 experiences that aren't seen anywhere else on your application. Reflect on important experiences you’ve had that are not included or cannot be completely described elsewhere. Think about your relationships with family and friends, discovering a new passion or skill, or unexpected hobbies and interests.

#3 - Avoid: Reading others’ materials and comparing yourself to them

Be careful not to browse online for “successful” essays from past applicants. Though these essays may be well-written, you do not know what other factors (GPA, rank, test scores, activities, awards, etc.) led to that student’s offer of admission. Additionally, reading too many examples will make you lose sight of your own voice and feel less confident in your own story. While it can be helpful to draw inspiration from others, be careful not to change your topic, theme, or writing style to fit someone else’s idea. 

Try this instead: Focus instead on developing your own story. After brainstorming, carefully review the details and experiences you wrote about. Identify the ones you most enjoyed writing about or that have the strongest potential. For these, dive into the who, what, where, and why, adding specific details in your own voice. Work through the entire writing process—outlining, drafting, and revising—to bring your story to life. 

IMPORTANT BONUS TIP: DON’T USE AI. 

Most colleges have a system that checks for AI usage on your application materials. Submitting essays written (and even revised) by generative AI models is not only frowned upon, but for some competitive colleges, the use of AI/plagiarism could disqualify your application. 

Need help with your Personal Statement? Sign up for our Gateway Program and get 1:1 support through the entire writing and application process for 5-10 colleges. Your best-fit college counselor will help you brainstorm ideas, come up with a unique theme based on your profile, outline, draft, and revise until you’re ready to submit essays that represent your highest potential! 

You can also choose hourly College Admissions Sessions for more flexible guidance and feedback on your application materials.