Four Common Mistakes
1. Visualizing the admission committee as a bunch of stuffy old professors in tweed jackets and then trying to write something that will impress them.

2. Trying so hard to be memorable that you end up being eccentric.

3. Writing an essay so predictable and generic that with fewer than three noun revisions (change “my Dad” to “my boss,” change “summer in Maine” to “summer in Colorado,” change the “Mastersingers” to the “varsity tennis team”), your essay could work for 1/3 of the senior class.

4. Forgetting that your counselor and your teachers are your allies and that even your parents know something about this topic.