When most students write their college admission essays, they aren’t thinking about the Essay Readers at colleges whose entire job is to sort students’ essays into NO, MAYBE, and YES piles.

As hard as you’ve worked on your essay, you may get exactly two minutes of a Reader’s time if he or she feels your writing is boring or unoriginal.

Unfortunately, a huge percentage of essays fall into this category.

On the other hand, the few essays that show clear, original thinking get promptly placed into the YES pile.

The admission essay is the one truly personal section of the college application; if your essay stands out, your chances of getting into your top choice school goes up dramatically.

While avoiding grammar and spelling errors are no-brainers, you alway want to steer clear of clichés and overused quotes. 

Take careful note of these 43 phrases. Using them might spell NO for your admission chances.

Phrases to Avoid in Your College Application Essay

1. From that moment on, I always knew
2. Marching to the beat of my own drum
3. I felt at home
4. Throughout history
5. I’ve always known I wanted to be a doctor
6. “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated” -Confucius
7. When I traveled to Africa to help kids with autism
8. My grandmother’s death taught me to not take life for granted
9. Our nation has experienced monumental changes in society
10. I learned so much about myself
11. I realized I had been in this situation before
12. Much of life is unexpected
13. I don’t sweat the small stuff
14. I learned to adapt
15. My true reward
16. I have loved/found/learned; I also love/found/learned
17. I learned first-hand the importance of
18. I hope to one day impact
19. Since my discovery
20. For billions of years, Earth has
21. My passion for
22. My thirst for knowledge
23. This is where I grew the qualities of being a strong leader
24. I may have traveled a world away, but by the time I left, I was no longer an outsider.
25. Drive me to go the extra mile
26. A catalyst for change
27. There comes a time in our lives when we find ourselves at a crossroads
28. One of the most remarkable realizations
29. From the time
30. Of my life
31. An experience central to my creative and intellectual point of view
32. Made a difference
33. I received an excellent grade
34. Winning that game was indicative of my larger ability to be a leader
35. For if I’ve learned anything in this brief life of mine
36. Rare curiosity
37. Big appetite for learning
38. Taste for intellectual experimentation
39. Immensely difficult
40. I began to wonder
41. A land of introspection
42. A magical experience
43. I am not afraid to push limits

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Use R2C Insights to help find merit aid and schools that fit the criteria most important to your student. You’ll not only save precious time, but your student will avoid the heartache of applying to schools they aren’t likely to get into or can’t afford to attend.  

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