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The essay for admission to an American university is 7 cliches, which should be avoided

Essays for admission to an American university often contain typical stories and clichés, which will be discussed in this material. "Tell us about your personal qualities, talents, achievements or experience that you consider the most significant."
7 cliches that should be avoided when writing an essay for admission to an American university
In one form or another this question is asked when entering almost any American university, forcing members of the Admission Committee to read thousands of essays that differ little from each other.
So, how can you make your answer notice in the ocean of the same stories? It all begins with the choice of a suitable topic, which will help you describe your experience in a capacious and sincere way, while demonstrating the opportunity to write beautifully.
However, it is easier said than done. Before choosing what you will write your introductory essay, it is useful to know which topics should be avoided and why. Here are some of the most popular template topics.
1. A story about a volunteer project demonstrating your willingness to help others in an essay for an American educational institution.
"Many applicants decide to write about their participation in the volunteer project or involvement in the activities of the church," says Marie Chaufer, head of the Admissions Committee at Cornell College. "This is a wonderful experience that has undoubtedly affected your personal development. The only problem is that wherever you go and whatever projects are involved, the conclusion is always the same - you like helping people. And it's great, - she explains, - but, unfortunately, this experience will not help you stand out against the background of other arrivals ».
2. "Continuity of a certain profession in your family" as a topic of an essay for admission to an American university.
"There is nothing wrong with being proud that your family is also associated with the profession you have chosen, but the continuity speculation does not help you" sell "yourself to the admissions committee," explains Christopher Hall, assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. "Perhaps Mick Jagger and an excellent singer," he adds, "but this does not guarantee that this gift was passed on to his children. Therefore, it's better to tell about your own talents and abilities, and not about the achievements of your great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers. "
3. Overcoming sports trauma in the center of the narrative of your essay for the University of the United States.
As Drew Nichols, the head of the Admissions Committee of the University of St. Edwards and writer at the writing service
rightly points out: "Applicants of most American universities come from different classes of society. Many promising candidates had to go through such difficulties as poverty, a difficult family situation, a serious illness. The essay on the topic of a sports injury is demonstrated only by the fact that you do not realize how lucky you are. " "If you bring the inability to play football for one semester as the biggest difficulty in your life," he explains, "then you simply do not realize what challenges some of your peers have to face."
4. Description of the national disaster in the inaugural essay for the educational institution of the United States of America.
"Usually, American universities ask you to write an essay to learn more about you, but this information can get lost if the focus of the narrative is tragic events from the history of your country," explains Michel Curtis-Bailey, lead reception officer and coordinator of the University's Educational Opportunities Program Stoney Brook. "After the hurricane Sandy hit New York in late October 2012, at the peak of the application season," she says, "we received many essays, the authors of which somehow referred to these events. But, again, retelling what happened to them and their families during the hurricane, the entrants did not achieve their cherished goal, because this information did not say anything about their personality. " "We already know how natural disasters can affect the lives of our future students, do not write once again about the experience, which exactly repeats the stories of other arrivals," - sums up Michel.
5. A story about a trip that helped you realize how hard it is for young people from poor US classes to have a hard time, as a topic for an essay on admission.
"Quite often, we receive essays that describe the experience of helping poor countries, for example, by building houses or teaching English to local people," Hall says. "But the whole value of such an experience comes to naught as soon as people start writing about it , how this project helped them to realize in what situation the inhabitants of poor areas of American cities are, or to feel a special emotional connection with the inhabitants of the USA who are in distress. " Hall believes that "the comparison of young people from poor areas of the US with the inhabitants of Third World countries shows a lack of understanding of cultural differences and the ability to truly empathize."