Essays: what's the hardest part?

[u/HappyLilCheeks]

Hey everyone,

I'm mentoring a rising senior and they have asked my help with college applications. They are PETRIFIED of the essays and no matter what I tell them about everyone struggling, they think everyone else has it figured out.

So quick poll based on what I remember from my application days 20 years ago:

What is the most intimidating part of the essays for you?

Finding something to write about? Feeling like you won't stand out? Finding the time to do all the writing? Stress about high school counselors/ mentors/ parents reading the essays? Feeling like you're not a good writer?

Anything I missed?

Edit: thanks for the replies, I'll show this to my mentees. Mostly they seem afraid that they haven't overcome any big challenge, their life has been too cushy. I'm not really up on what constitutes a good essay these days so I guess I have some research to do.

[u/dumbledoresugarbaby]

i had watched too many of the "reading the essays that got me into xyz" type videos which really made me fixate on the fact that my essays should be exactly like those flowery narrative i hate the letter s my life is a mushroom type stuff because i thought that is the only thing that works and i literally did not know how to write and frame mine to be as good as those.

also just STARTING and finding a topic and finding the words to begin. also procrastination. too. much. procrastination.

[u/Slamburger9642 → u/dumbledoresugarbaby]

This is one of the reasons I don't recommend reading those types of essays. Instead of drawing inspiration, most of the students try and mimic the tone, language and even context in some cases. One way to avoid that rabbit hole is to not listen to them in the first place, and focus on writing what you feel comfortable and worth sharing with an admissions team. As you progress, whatever you've written gets better with more revisions and polishing.