“How much does the essay matter?”
“Do you (and with recent volume “can you”) really read the essays?”
“Which topic is best for me to write about?”
“What are you looking for in essays?”
Over the years, I’ve answered each of these questions (or some version of them) hundreds of times. And in the last decade, I’ve written tens of thousands of words in blogs and articles trying to provide insight, perspective, and advice to students about essays.
But maybe, as U2 suggested, “We thought that we had the answers/ It was the questions we had wrong.” Maybe you need to take two hours to go back and re-watch The Matrix (because if you have not already seen it, you are not college-ready anyway.)
Seriously, though – watch The Matrix. And pay particular attention to the dilemma Neo faces when he must consider whether to take the red pill and see the world for how it really is—or take the blue pill and slip back into a world that’s more comfortable, but not reality.
One Essay; Two Approaches
Sure, you can approach your essay and supplemental questions from a blue pill standpoint: you can keep worrying about what schools are looking for; you can keep stressing about which topic you should write about; you can go down the deep, dark corners of the interwebs on YouTube or TikTok or Reddit where shysters will try to convince you they have “five easy steps to the perfect essay that will get you into your dream school.”
Or, my friends, you can see into THE MATRIX and flip the essay world upside down. You can ask yourself:
- What if the essay doesn’t matter?
- What if it is never really read?
- What if there is no best topic?
- What if colleges aren’t actually looking for anything at all in the essays?
- What if the essay section is just an effort to make the application longer?
- What if AI is really reading your responses?
If you are a rising senior, my hope for you (Neo), is you’ll ask the ultimate RED PILL QUESTION…..
WHAT IF THE ESSAY IS REALLY ABOUT YOU?
Because if that’s true, you are freer to write what you really think.
If it’s really about you, you will actually enjoy the writing experience.
If it’s really about you, there will be no pressure to pull in a random quote or use at least 14 multi-syllabic words.
If it’s really about you, then you may lean on ChatGPT for brainstorming or initial idea generation, but your voice, your thoughts, your style, your convictions will be what is most important and dominant.
If it’s really about you, the essay will be an opportunity to really consider and articulate what you value.
If it’s really about you, your voice—your true voice—the one you’ll bring with you to a college classroom or residence hall, will be clear and unique.
As I said at the top, I’ve been on hundreds of panels over the last quarter century. I’ve written blogs and articles and spoken on podcasts and radio shows about essays and writing for college, and what colleges are looking for. And let me tell you, friends, THESE. ARE. THE. THINGS.
The Choice Is Yours
So just like Neo in The Matrix, you have a choice…. You can stress about which topic to pick. You can try to analyze college admission websites to figure out “what they’re really looking for.” You can get seven other hands and eyes to comb through your writing and scrub out all evidence of your original voice and convictions. You can pay a self-proclaimed professional to write your essay for you.
But here is the truth…
What are colleges looking for in essays? It’s simple. They’re looking for YOU.
And the best way to do that is make your writing about YOU. But that takes a Red Pill mentality.
Rick Clark is the Executive Director of Strategic Student Access at Georgia Tech. He has served on a number of national advisory and governing boards at the state, regional, and national level. Rick travels annually to U.S. embassies through the Department of State to discuss the admission process and landscape of higher education. He is the co-author of the book The Truth about College Admission: A Family Guide to Getting In and Staying Together, and a companion workbook published under the same title. A native of Atlanta, he earned a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a M.Ed. from Georgia State University. Prior to coming to Tech, Rick was on the admissions staff at Georgia State, The McCallie School and Wake Forest University. @clark2college