The College Essay Mistake Admissions Officers Spot in 1 Sentence

Most college essays fail for the same reason, and it has nothing to do with grammar or vocabulary. Students write the essay they think an admissions officer wants to read, instead of the one only they could have written.

Here's a simple test I use with every student: cover the name at the top of the essay. If you could swap in any other applicant's name and the essay still works, that's the problem. Admissions officers read thousands of essays each cycle. The ones that stay with them are the ones with a specific, unmistakable voice behind them — not the ones that sound like a polished version of everyone else.

After decades on the academic side of this process, I can usually tell within a paragraph whether an essay is generic or genuinely a student's own. The fix isn't more polish. It's more specificity — the actual details, memories, and turns of thought that only one person could have written.

If you want a second set of eyes on your student's draft, the free "Essay Brief" walks through exactly what to look for. Download it at hurwitzadmissions.com, or book a College Readiness Assessment to work through it together.\

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/013784_bbf8f028cc1d4d98a959e9e63d64ed4d/1080p/mp4/file.mp4