Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 17:31     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:I 100% hate all the advice to kids about their essays. It makes me actively angry that we put kids in these impossible positions.

Be different! But not weird!
Don’t write about something lots of people do! But write about something you know! (Which by definition will be something lots of people do for lots of kids).
Show your personal growth and grit but don’t write the cliche essay about how you faced a challenge and grew because of it!
Show who you are but don’t write about the things that are listed on your activities list (even thought that’s basically what you did for the past four years with all your time)!
Tell a good story but don’t feature other people hecsuse we want to know about YOU!
Don’t sound spoiled but also don’t dwell on hardship or really feature any significant challenges that the AO might worry might impact your ability to succeed at the school!


The vast majority of excellent writers and excellent people could not meet these criteria. It’s really dumb we expect 17 year olds who have incredibly limited life experience to do this.


Amen!
Tell me about a time you overcame a challenge... but don't write about sports, or school, or a family trauma, or anything that suggests your family has money, or anything too mundane, or anything too weird....
I mean, for most 17 year olds, their life is pretty mundane, and being class president or being persistent when losing a game, or struggling in a class ARE the major things that have happened to them.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 17:24     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
The “leader of AN” did not like my DC’s essay topic either and suggested something that even my kid knew was a bad topic. Like it would have been thrown out right away. Stick to your gut!
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 17:20     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?


Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.


Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.


The essay OP suggests is about their DC's "overall approach to life and what drives them." That isn't generic -- that is exactly the kind of thing that works well. The activity in question there is simply the means to the end.

-- a writer


Exactly what every other kid will write because it involves zero creativity -- generic and boring. It's passable but won't move the needle either way.

Much better to write something that wouldn't otherwise be known about the kid or demonstrates personality.

I
You are so wrong. But you say it with authority, lol.


My kid is going to one of H/Y/P and his high school counselor said his was one of the best essays she’s seen, but sure, anonymous stranger, I’m sure the AO would rather hear about the kid’s main extracurricular for the fifth time.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 17:14     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?


Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.


Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.


The essay OP suggests is about their DC's "overall approach to life and what drives them." That isn't generic -- that is exactly the kind of thing that works well. The activity in question there is simply the means to the end.

-- a writer


Exactly what every other kid will write because it involves zero creativity -- generic and boring. It's passable but won't move the needle either way.

Much better to write something that wouldn't otherwise be known about the kid or demonstrates personality.


You are so wrong. But you say it with authority, lol.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 17:05     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
It sounds like some of you have really boring kids. Surely they have a life and personality beyond academics and extracurriculars.

Anyway, an AO once said only ten percent of essays stand out for how bad they are, and ten percent stand out for being good, the rest don't move the needle. Writing about something already on the resume is a good way to make sure the essay is in the unobjectionable but meaningless middle.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 16:58     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?


Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.


Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.


The essay OP suggests is about their DC's "overall approach to life and what drives them." That isn't generic -- that is exactly the kind of thing that works well. The activity in question there is simply the means to the end.

-- a writer


Exactly what every other kid will write because it involves zero creativity -- generic and boring. It's passable but won't move the needle either way.

Much better to write something that wouldn't otherwise be known about the kid or demonstrates personality.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 16:01     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Keep in mind that many of the supplemental essays tend to either ask you to 1) write about a community you're part of (which is a easy place to talk about a very consuming activity) or 2) write about why you are interested in a particular field of study (or the school in particular), which can also be a good place to talk about an activity if it relates.

So the common app essay can be a good place to talk about something different.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:42     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:Just imagine being an admissions officers reading their hundreds of essays, all of which are how I learned grit or responsibility from my favorite extracurricular. It won't help but it likely won't hurt either, but a missed opportunity for your kid to distinguish themselves.



Generally because the topics are so repetitive. Don't write about sports, don't write about grandparents etc. Find a topic that is unique to the kid, whatever that may be, and write about it with verve, humor, and insight. They want to know what kind of person you are, what makes you tick, will you contribute to the life of the college beyond academics. Hundreds of hours on an activity is probably a spike an AO will find helpful in this regard. The most important thing is that it be authentic, personable, and memorable.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:42     Subject: Re:Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have read a bunch of "essays that worked" from colleges that publish them.

Some of them completely focus on the kid's activities.

My takeaway is this: let's say my kid was a competitive gymnast and that was their main passion. I would not encourage them to write an entire essay about being a competitive gymnast and what it taught them (i.e. it taught me persistence, it taught me patient, it taught me to rely on myself).

But I would not tell them to shy away from the activity at all. I might have them drill down on one instance of where they grew in one of the qualities like persistence. ("I used to give up easily, but this situation or this coach showed me how to be persistent).

Or maybe there is a unique reason why they love gymnastics.

Something that makes them a whole person and not just, this is what this person learned from gymnastics.


Along this line, a competitive swimmer I knew wrote about what they think about when doing laps (it wasn't swimming), and how this made them enjoy the sport more.


When I did competitive swimming all I did was math on my head. One lap is 25% of the way through my set, and x percentage of the time until I get to a break and x percentage of the time until I am done for the morning. Update math every half lap.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:42     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Don’t forget that the essay is just one part of the package. There are so many other factors colleges take into consideration.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:38     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:Look at the college influencer Ivy Roadmap on Instagram or Youtube. He disagrees with the advice from AN and thinks that the activity should at least be mentioned in the main essay so the ad officer remembers who you are.
He's no better, just different.

I think OP already knows the advice is wrong. These militant advisors might have kids getting into colleges, but it's despite the bad advice, not because of it.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:37     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Look at the college influencer Ivy Roadmap on Instagram or Youtube. He disagrees with the advice from AN and thinks that the activity should at least be mentioned in the main essay so the ad officer remembers who you are.


AN at least has a former Ivy admission’s officer as the head. Do I agree with everything she says? No. But Ivy Roadmap guy is just an influencer that likes to talk about college admissions, right? Has he ever worked as an admissions officer? Correct me if I’m wrong!


I thought she worked at F&M or one of the PA liberal arts colleges like that?
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:36     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?


Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.


Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.


The essay OP suggests is about their DC's "overall approach to life and what drives them." That isn't generic -- that is exactly the kind of thing that works well. The activity in question there is simply the means to the end.

-- a writer


OP here. Yes the activity itself is a bit of a differentiator and unique so is kind of the hook for the first paragraph. After that, the rest of the essay is about how many things/choices in DC's life, on reflection, satisfied the same thirst and how DC now understands their inner motivation better.
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:25     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I have been following Application Nation and the leader of it is pretty militant that kids should not write about an activity for the main essay. My DC has a very time-intensive activity that is really their passion (100s of hours a year). DC wants to use what appeals to them about that activity to explain their overall approach to life and what drives them. Is this really a no-no?


Not only is it not a "no-no," it's a good approach to the essay.


Have to disagree. Sounds generic and will be rehashed in the supplementals.


The essay OP suggests is about their DC's "overall approach to life and what drives them." That isn't generic -- that is exactly the kind of thing that works well. The activity in question there is simply the means to the end.

-- a writer
Anonymous
Post 06/16/2026 15:20     Subject: Should you really avoid an activity as a main essay topic?
Just imagine being an admissions officers reading their hundreds of essays, all of which are how I learned grit or responsibility from my favorite extracurricular. It won't help but it likely won't hurt either, but a missed opportunity for your kid to distinguish themselves.