Top 5 Mistakes Students Make in College Essays (and How to Avoid Them)

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”                —Mark Twain

It is that time of year. The heat starts to settle. A cool breeze greets you in the morning and puts you to bed at night. Green vacates the leaves, giving way to visions of yellow, orange, and red. There is a denseness in the air, and the birds begin to fly south.

And all across the country, seniors in high school worry and fret about the upcoming college essay—the piece of writing that introduces them to a dream school, a safety school, and everything in between.

If you are a senior (or the parent of one), this is not the joyful welcoming of fall you’re used to. Instead of savoring the season, you may be feeling the weight of the future. Deadlines, applications, and expectations pile up, and looming large in the middle of it all is the college essay.

But all is not lost. You can do this (or support your child through this). 

Here are five common mistakes students make—and how to sidestep them.

1. Not Answering the Prompt

Admissions officers can tell within a few lines if you’ve wandered away from the question. A dazzling essay about your love for guitar won’t matter if the prompt asked about a challenge you’ve faced.

How to avoid it: Break the prompt into parts. Circle the keywords. Ask yourself: What is this really asking me? Then check—does every paragraph connect back? If not, it’s time to trim.

2. Regurgitating Your Résumé

Your essay isn’t a brag sheet. If it reads like a list—National Honor Society, varsity captain, 200 volunteer hours—you’ve missed the point. Admissions officers already have your résumé.

What they want: The story behind the achievement. Not “I was class president,” but what you learned about yourself the day the pep rally flopped and you had to rally the crowd anyway.

3. Being Generic or Inauthentic

“Since I was young, I’ve always wanted to help people.” If your opening line could belong to a hundred other students, it won’t stand out.

The fix: Go specific. Maybe you’re the oldest of five siblings and discovered leadership by refereeing breakfast-table debates. Maybe you learned resilience from a soccer injury that left you sidelined for a season.

What you write about matters less than how you tell it.

4. Skipping Editing and Revision

The first draft is never the final draft. “Good enough” essays blend into the pile. Great essays are rewritten, reshaped, and polished until the voice sparkles.

Try this: After a couple of revisions, set the essay aside for a day or two. Read it aloud—fresh eyes (and ears) will catch what rushed ones don’t. 

And here’s one last trick: read it backwards. If your essay is truly clear and well-constructed, the sentences will still hold together, even in reverse.

5. Procrastination

This is the silent killer. Senior year moves fast, and suddenly the “I’ll start next week” essay is due tomorrow. Procrastination leads to rushed, flat writing that doesn’t reflect your best self.

Your move: Start small, start now. Brainstorm for 15 minutes. Jot down one story. Build momentum with mini-deadlines: draft this week, revise next week, polish after that.

Even just 10 minutes a day adds up—and by the end, you’ll have an essay that feels confident instead of crammed.

The Final Word

The college essay doesn’t have to feel like a monster lurking in the shadows.

Think of it instead as a chance to show what makes you you—the quirks, the growth, the perspective only you can bring.

Admissions officers don’t want another résumé recitation.

They want to meet you.

And if you’d like support—whether it’s brainstorming, revising, or polishing until your voice shines—I’d love to help. www.greersabin.com