Don’t Chase Perfection
What Makes a “Good Enough” College Essay
By Mel Horadam
The Personal Statement is Scary
When I talk to parents, anxieties often lead our conversations. They worry about finances, if their kid is going to fit in, and the viability of various majors in this precarious job market. Students worry about these things, too. However, when weighing the biggest stressors on their plate, students most often bring up essays and all the mythology surrounding them.
Some of the essay panic very likely comes from the proliferation of social media advice that ranges from catastrophic alarmism (“you won’t get into college if you don’t have an incredible hook”) to straight-up bad advice (“lie about your accomplishments”). I also suspect much of the anxiety comes down to a noticeable atrophy of basic reading and writing skills. For most applicants, the college essay is a style of writing that is completely new to them. Unlike an expository essay on the themes of light and darkness in Othello that is graded on a strict rubric in English class, the personal statement is usually narrative, deeply personal, and evaluated in a much more nuanced and mysterious way. It’s an opaque process, and that lack of clarity brings understandable uncertainty
If that isn’t enough to clench the tummy, with the rise of AI and all the different policies surrounding its usage from university to university, students don’t know if they will flag an AI detector, rightfully or not. They try not to sound like AI as AI tries to sound like them.
It’s a lot! I don’t blame students at all for being freaked out by the prospect of the personal statement essay in the shadow of all that baggage. As a college advisor, my hope is to allay some of these fears, because here’s the thing: narrative writing is art, and art does not need to be perfect. Most good art isn’t.
My hope is that when students know that they no longer need to pursue perfection, they should be able to move out of crippling writer’s paralysis into romping through rough drafting.
An Important Aside
I do need to say something that everyone needs to hear: there is no college I have ever encountered that weighs the essay as the most important part of the student’s application. Many colleges will read and evaluate essays, but usually, GPA, rigor, and parent income will be bigger indicators of future success. Essays often matter, but they don’t matter as much as students seem to think they do. With that caveat out of the way, let’s talk about what makes a good college essay.
What are Colleges Actually Looking For?
A few years ago, I wanted to double-check what I suspected—that students were overthinking the college essay. I am a member of a very large Facebook group filled with admissions professionals, including thousands of admissions counselors. I asked them, “which aspects of the college essay are most important in helping you make your admissions decisions?” I included many essay pieces in a poll, and I asked them to select no more than three items each. Hundreds of admissions counselors voted, and these were the results:
- Authentic student voice: 33%
- Showcasing values/personality: 25%
- Writing ability/skills (higher-level concepts such as using sensory images, themes, and stylized writing): 6%
- Writing literacy (basic grammar, basic syntax, ability to handle college writing): 22%
- Learn more about the student’s activities/interests: 3%
- Fit for declared major/department: 2%
- Learn something about a student I wouldn’t find anywhere else in the application: 9% (this one was added by an admissions counselor)
So, far and away, the top three selections were authentic student voice, showcasing values/personality, and writing literacy. None of the other options even broke 10%, and while they might be considered as part of an exceptional college essay, they shouldn’t necessarily be the highest priority as students grapple with the idea of what to write and how to write it.
If a student simply needs to showcase their personality, ability to utilize basic grammar, and write in their own voice to make their essay useful in their application, that’s not too bad, right? Many of my students come to me thinking they need to do something very specific, written at the same level of James Joyce or Charles Dickens. Most of them don’t read anything, much less the masters of modern literature, and those who don’t read are rarely great writers. But even when they do read, they cannot really expect to be held to that same level of writing. Those were professional writers, and these are just teenagers.
The Nature of Art
Chasing perfection isn’t really possible anyway because taste varies. I prefer Alien, while my husband prefers its sequel, Aliens. All opinions are valid and defensible, even if they aren’t always understandable. Someone out there loves Alien 3 best. It’s weird, but it’s statistically likely.
If my colleagues and I all read the exact same essay, we would all have different notes. This divergence of opinions can be maddening for parents and students who want binary, clear-cut answers.
While there are a few objective ways to judge writing, it is, at the end of the day, art, like any other creative medium. My favorite part of working with students on their essays is watching them express themselves in daring, authentic ways that may or may not be natural for them. It’s almost like being a physical therapist for their minds. I only have to push a little, and analytical students flex their creativity. Shy students open up. Jokesters get serious. It’s different and exciting every time.
While a “good” college essay is one that accomplishes what the colleges say they are looking for—showcasing the student’s personality and values in a genuine and articulate way—a “great” college essay will go a bit further, whether in its writing or introspection. It becomes a reflection (or even a refraction) of the student. It will be uniquely them, often both thoughtful and vulnerable. Maybe even experimental and purposeful. It’s hard work to create art, and it takes time and effort. Art does not have to be “great” to be meaningful, especially to its creator. I once did a painting of flowers on a tree that is actually pretty bad; I am proud of it anyway, and it is hanging in my guest bathroom.
Not every student can write something great, especially if they aren’t accustomed to writing. And, guess what? They don’t have to. Because they’re 17. However, they can write something good that they are proud of, and that’s enough.
Mel Horadam has been working in higher education admissions consulting for twelve years, and the essay-writing process is their favorite part of the application process. Mel helps students from all different backgrounds from around the world to write their essays. In 2025, Mel eagerly joined the team at Dobler College Consulting, where they are excited to share increased opportunities and resources with their experienced colleagues.