5 common app essay mistakes to stop doing, like, yesterday
Summary
TLDRKevin Zensei, a professional college counselor and YouTuber, shares essential tips to avoid the five most common Common App essay mistakes. He advises focusing on core themes, avoiding resume dumps, maintaining a problem-solution ratio, avoiding abrupt 'Eureka' moments, and steering clear of cliché reflections. Kevin also offers editing services through his website, www.elevated.school, to help students enhance their essays and improve their college application chances.
Takeaways
- 😀 Kevin Zensei is a professional college counselor with a background in Exeter and Yale, and he has helped many students get into their dream schools.
- 📚 His students come from diverse backgrounds and have been accepted into Ivy League and top 20 schools, highlighting his broad experience.
- ✍️ The script discusses the five most common Common App essay mistakes, emphasizing the importance of avoiding these to improve application success.
- 🎻 The first mistake is 'packing everything' into the personal statement, where Kevin advises focusing on one or two key aspects instead of trying to mention every achievement.
- 📋 The second mistake is 'resume dump', where students repeat their activities and awards in the essay, which is redundant and not insightful.
- 🚫 Kevin warns against cliché topics and suggests focusing on personal growth or unique perspectives rather than standard achievements.
- 🔄 The third mistake is the 'problem-solution ratio', where students should spend no more than a third of the essay on the problem and more on solutions and reflections.
- 🏆 He mentions that significant obstacles can be an exception, but still advises focusing on solutions and contributions rather than the problem itself.
- 💡 The fourth mistake is the 'Eureka problem', where students abruptly shift from problem to solution without showing the process of getting there.
- 🎨 To fix this, Kevin suggests introducing a secondary problem and detailing the steps taken to overcome both, demonstrating perseverance.
- 🤔 The fifth mistake is 'cliche one-dimensional reflections', which he advises to avoid by combining interesting values and presenting a unique perspective.
- 🛠️ Kevin offers professional essay editing services through his website, www.elevated.school, for students seeking help in refining their essays.
Q & A
Who is Kevin Zensei?
-Kevin Zensei is a professional college counselor, an Exeter and Yale graduate, a YouTuber, a great dancer, and the person who has edited hundreds of college essays, helping students get into their dream schools.
What is the main topic of Kevin Zensei's video?
-The main topic of Kevin Zensei's video is the five most common Common App essay mistakes and how to avoid them.
What is the first mistake Kevin Zensei mentions in the Common App essay?
-The first mistake is packing everything into the personal statement, trying to talk about every activity or award, which is not necessary and can detract from the essay's focus.
Why should students not re-explain their awards and achievements in the Common App essay?
-Students should not re-explain their awards and achievements because it can come off as arrogant and cliché, and the essay should highlight experiences that are unique and not found elsewhere in the application.
What is the 'problem-solution ratio' that Kevin Zensei discusses?
-The 'problem-solution ratio' refers to the balance between discussing the problem (no more than a third of the essay), the solution (at least forty to fifty percent), and reflection (twenty to thirty percent) in the Common App essay.
What should students focus on in their essays according to Kevin Zensei?
-Students should focus on their personal growth, leadership experience, and demonstrated solutions, rather than solely on the problems they faced or their achievements.
What is the 'Eureka problem' that Kevin Zensei warns against?
-The 'Eureka problem' is when a student abruptly shifts from the problem to the solution, making it seem like they suddenly figured everything out, which can sound unbelievable and unimpressive.
How can students avoid the 'Eureka problem' in their essays?
-To avoid the 'Eureka problem', students should explain that there was no overnight solution and detail the steps or measures they took over time, possibly introducing a second, shorter problem and how they overcame it.
What is the issue with cliché one-dimensional reflections in essays, according to Kevin Zensei?
-Cliché one-dimensional reflections are unoriginal and do not provide depth or insight into the student's personal growth or learning, making the essay less impactful.
How can students make their reflections more interesting and avoid clichés?
-Students can make their reflections more interesting by taking common values and fusing them together in a unique way, or by flipping a cliché on its head to provide a fresh perspective.
What service does Kevin Zensei offer for students who need help with their essays?
-Kevin Zensei offers essay editing services through his website, www.elevated.school, where students can upload their essays for professional feedback and editing.
Outlines
📚 Common App Essay Mistakes and Solutions
Kevin Zensei introduces himself as a professional college counselor and shares insights on common mistakes made in college application essays. He emphasizes focusing on one or two key aspects of a core theme rather than trying to mention every activity or award. He warns against 'resume dumping,' where students merely restate their achievements in the essay. Instead, he suggests writing about personal growth or unique perspectives. Kevin also discusses the importance of maintaining a proper problem-solution ratio in the essay, advocating for a narrative that showcases the student's proactive role and contributions. Lastly, he mentions the availability of his editing services for students.
🛠 Overcoming Common App Essay Pitfalls
The second paragraph delves into specific strategies to avoid common pitfalls in essay writing. Kevin advises against abruptly shifting from problem to solution without a clear transition, recommending the inclusion of intermediate steps and a second, brief problem to illustrate determination. He provides an example of a beach cleanup essay that uses a double problem-solution framework to demonstrate creativity and perseverance. Kevin also addresses the issue of clichéd reflections, suggesting a more nuanced approach that combines multiple values into a unique insight. He invites students to seek professional help for their essays through his website, offering a quick turnaround for feedback.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Common App Essay
💡Personal Growth
💡Resume Dump
💡Problem-Solution Ratio
💡Leadership Experience
💡Eureka Problem
💡Cliche Reflections
💡Creative Problem Solving
💡Intellectual Concepts
💡Ivy League
💡Additional Information Section
Highlights
Kevin Zensei is a professional college counselor who has edited hundreds of college essays and helped students get into their dream schools.
Kevin discusses the five most common Common App essay mistakes to avoid.
Mistake number one is packing everything into the personal statement, which should focus on one or two key aspects of a core theme.
Kevin's own Common App essay focused on selflessness and vulnerability by sharing his experience working in his parents' Chinese restaurant.
The second mistake is the resume dump, where students re-explain their achievements in the essay instead of focusing on personal growth.
Essays should revolve around family, personal growth, or mundane topics flipped in a unique way, like the famous Costco essay.
Avoid writing about cliché topics such as winning tournaments or performing at recitals.
Writing about failures or moments of weakness and how they were overcome can be more powerful.
The third mistake is the problem-solution ratio, where students spend too much time on the problem rather than their actions.
Kevin advises reserving at least 40-50% of the essay for the solution and 20-30% for reflection.
Exceptions can be made for students who have faced significant obstacles, but the focus should still be on solutions and contributions.
The fourth mistake is the 'Eureka' problem, where students abruptly shift from problem to solution without showing the process.
To fix this, include the steps taken over time and possibly introduce a secondary problem to show determination and perseverance.
The fifth and final mistake is cliché, one-dimensional reflections that do not add depth to the essay.
Kevin suggests taking cliché reflections and flipping them to add creativity and depth, such as turning removal into creation.
Kevin offers professional essay editing services for students through his website, www.elevated.school.
The video concludes with a call to action for likes and subscriptions, and a personal note from Kevin about his upcoming birthday.
Transcripts
hello there my friends I'm Kevin zensei
Exeter grad Yale grad YouTuber great
dancer and I also happen to be a
professional college counselor that's
edited hundreds of college essays and
helped dozens of students get into their
dreams School in fact just last year
more than 40 of our students from every
background imaginable ranging from
public school students in Florida to
boarding school students in the
Northeast to International students from
India Latin America Canada you name it
collectively they were accepted into
every single ivy league and top 20
school today I'll be sharing some of
those tips which have helped our
students in the past because we'll be
talking about the five most common
common app essay mistakes make sure you
watch to the end though because the last
two are by far the most important
mistake number one packing everything
into the personal statement note that
your common app essay is just one
instrument in an orchestra you don't
need to talk about every activity or
award You've Won here nor should you in
fact one of the best winning strategies
is just focus on one or two key aspects
of a Core theme or principle you're
trying to communicate for instance in my
own viral emo Common App essay I focused
on selflessness and vulnerability by
admitting how honestly I wanted to quit
when I was working you know 12 hours at
my parents Chinese restaurant every day
but ultimately I stuck through and
persevered knowing that I was focusing
on a more personal dimension in my
common app essay I made sure to
reference tons of intellectual Concepts
and ideas in my supplements like magical
realism and Global diplomacy since I was
applying to be a creative writing and
international relations major this leads
us to our second common mistake the
resume dump too often I see students
just regurgitate or re-explain their
awards and achievements in their common
app essay huge mistake not only is this
rather arrogance and cringe it kind of
defeats the purpose of the essay itself
which is to highlight experiences that
can't be found anywhere else in your
application or your activities list
personally I prefer reading about essays
which revolve around family and personal
growth or as these which take a mundane
topic or idea that are able to flip it
on its head like the famous Costco essay
which I'll link below now I'm not saying
that you can't write about your
activities or extracurriculars at all of
course you can I'm just saying focus on
your personal growth rather than
centering an entire narrative around
some crowning achievement like winning a
tournament or performing at a recital in
fact those are actually some of the
worst most cliche topics imaginable so
avoid those like the plague instead if
you could share your failures or moments
of weakness and explain how you overcame
them that would actually be far more
powerful moving on to problem number
three which is a mistake that I see over
90 percent of seniors make the problem
solution ratio basically this is when
students spend the majority of their
essay talking about things happening to
them as opposed to them making things
happen please please please avoid this
I've already spoken about this topic in
detail in another video so be sure to
check that one out but just to recap
you're going to want to make sure that
no more than a third of your essay is
related to the problem then Reserve at
least forty to fifty percent for your
solution and then the final twenty to
thirty percent should be for your
reflection the one exception to this
rule would be if you had to overcome
some really insane obstacles like truly
significant medical or financial
challenges some examples of these would
be serving as the primary caretaker of a
sick member of your family or having the
electricity or water turned off on you
guys because you couldn't afford to pay
for utilities but even then I would
still advise you guys to focus on your
Solution on your impact on your
contributions rather than the problem
itself why the reason is because you can
actually share these obstacles you face
in another part of your application the
additional information section
ultimately the Common App essay is being
used to figure out what kind of
Community member you'll be so your job
is to articulate exactly what you can
bring to the table and the way we do
that is by referencing your previous
leadership experience and your
demonstrated solution
[Music]
thank you
all right friends I hope you enjoyed
that little break I also wanted to
mention that we are available to edit
your essays and we're even taking on
scholarship kids this application cycle
so if you would like to work with us or
receive our help please visit our
website
www.elevated.school get started all
right back to business mistake number
four is what we call the Eureka problem
this is when a student abruptly shifts
from their problem to their solution and
they just claim all of a sudden out of
nowhere I just figured it out even if
this is how it actually happened it
still sounds pretty unbelievable and I
don't mean that in a good way now to fix
this all you have to do is say something
like there was no overnight solution it
took weeks even months of and then you
would elaborate and insert specific
examples measures of steps you took
usually at least two or three something
good to include here would be to
actually introduce a very short second
problem just one or two sentences is
enough then elaborate on how you you
overcame that too this would showcase
determination and perseverance in the
face of trials and tribulations for
instance let's pretend that you were
writing an essay about a beach cleanup
you start by sharing your first problem
which was seeing the dirty Beach so then
your initial solution was to recruit
folks to help you clean up the trash but
then you found out you couldn't get
enough volunteers because let's be
honest I mean who wants to be in the sun
picking up plastic bottles on a Sunday
morning so your second solution was even
more creative you told your friends that
you guys would take the trash and
upcycle it by turning it into artwork
and then in true capitalist fashion sell
it online for a profit this double
problem solution template is one of our
favorite Frameworks and it works like H
charm and finally issue number five
which makes me wanna face palm every
time I read it cliche one-dimensional
Reflections through this experience I
learned the value of hard work and
determination starting my own non-profit
taught me the importance of community
this nonsense well it's very simple
we're going to take two or three really
interesting values and then fuse them
together now using the environmental art
example from before we could take a
mundane reflection like you know this
experience taught me creative problem
solving and upgrade it to something like
this cleaning up a beach is not just an
act of removal it's an opportunity for
creation a way to promote both awareness
and artistic expression now notice what
we did there we actually took the cliche
and then just flipped it on its head by
going from removal to Creation
admittedly this is pretty tough for
students to do on their own so if you
are looking for professional help again
please don't hesitate to contact us you
can actually just upload your essay here
to
www.elevated.school edit my essay and
we'll help you you'll get feedback back
within two or three days all right my
friends that's it for today thank you so
so much for your time for your attention
and I hope to see you in our next video
don't forget to like And subscribe this
month it's my birthday and I would
really appreciate your love and support
as my presence I genuinely hope you
found this content useful helpful and I
wish you the absolute best of luck in
this application cycle alright take it
easy guys peace
foreign
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