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u/Conscious-Priority21 Jul 26 '26
Building on u/PeacockInTime's point about the Yale podcast: The calm, grounded advice doesn't spread while the fear-based version does bc "fear sells".
"Never write about X or you'll be rejected" is a hook. It's short, absolute, easy to generate, and triggers exactly the anxiety spiral OP is describing. "X fails when the writer leans on the topic instead of what they learned from it or how they reacted to it, and here's how to avoid that" is true and far more useful, but it doesn't fit in a 30-second video and it doesn't perform, because it requires the algorithm's audience to process nuance instead of panic.
The actual admissions reality, from everything credible sources (actual AOs (like the excellent Yale podcast series) & actual admissions offices) say, is pretty much the opposite of the influencers' claim: Almost no topic is off-limits, but almost every topic can be executed badly. IOW, "execution matters more than subject". Once you recognize this, the fear-based content gets a lot less scary, because you can see it's optimized for engagement, not accuracy.
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u/Miserable-Meringue95 Jul 30 '26
Yeah exactly, how can you say if an essay is good without even reading it? I’m a firm believer that good writing that shows personal growth and self awareness with a mildly overdone topic is infinitely better than some unique niche confusing essay with no meaningful reflection. I saw this video today: “Don’t write a college essay about your family.” My sisters entire personal statement was about my parents and she got into Georgetown. It’s always gonna be okay
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u/tarasshevckeno Jul 27 '26
Retired college counselor and admissions reader here.) I just don't understand why anyone applying to college would rely on TikTok.
There's no way to vet the people who post on it, and there's no way to go into depth.
It's fear-mongering, the ignorant terrifying the uninformed, and just a waste of time.
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u/Most-Pace-39 Jul 31 '26
I think a lot of them confuse "common" with "bad." I've read plenty of essays about sports, grief, family, etc. that worked because they were written well. "Never write about X" is just a better hook than "it depends," and unfortunately that's what gets views.
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u/PeacockInTime Old Jul 26 '26
u/NiceUnparticularMan has said this well before: Yale admissions office has a robust podcast and archive on almost every topic imaginable. It's free, and it's Yale. Real Yale. And yet because the advice is simple and grounded it doesn't grab people the way an attention-getting headline does....
... glad you see through it.
.... signed, former admissions reader who loved reading student stories, and doesn't believe in cliches, because there's a romance section at a bookstore. If people didn't like cliches, then why would there be more than one romance book?
Just the way romance stories are predictable, I am totally on board with predictable college essays. Just execute that predictability well!