One of the best ways to write a successful college essay for your college application is by

learning from real college essay examples that worked. I've compiled a few of my favorite essay
examples here that cover a variety of college essay topics.

Need help writing your college essay? Click here for my ultimate guide.

Or, check out my complete guide for answering the most popular college essay prompts on the
Common App.

Some essay samples below are by students who chose to write about a challenge, while other
examples may be helpful if you’re looking to write about yourself more generally. And yes, a
few of these essays did help these students get accepted into the Ivy League, (I’m not telling you
which!) though these are all great essays regardless of where (or if) students were admitted to
their top choice school.

Looking for more college admissions essay examples about yourself? Check out more personal
statements here.

Behold, some of the best college essays of 2021 (in my humble opinion).
1. Background Essay: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is
so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this
sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. Challenge Essay: The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental
to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did
it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Belief Essay: Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What
prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Gratitude Essay: Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you
happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
5. Accomplishment Essay: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a
period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Topic Essay: Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you
lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you
want to learn more?
7. Create-Your-Own Essay: Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one
you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own
design.

WHAT MAKES A GREAT COLLEGE ESSAY?

These application essays show many sides of a person.

Many of these essays also demonstrate vulnerability. College admissions officers reading your
college application will want to know how your values, qualities, and skills will flourish in
college—and how good your writing skills are. 

Whether it’s a supplemental essay, personal statement, Common App essay, or diversity essay,
the essays below can help you better understand what can result from following a college essay
format or applying tips for how to write a college essay to help you get into your dream school. 

COLLEGE ESSAY TIPS

1. Imagine how the person reading your essay will feel.

No one's idea of a good time is writing a college essay, I know. But if sitting down to write your
essay feels like a chore, and you're bored by what you're saying, you can imagine how the person
reading your essay will feel. On the other hand, if you're writing about something you love,
something that excites you, something that you've thought deeply about, chances are I'm going to
set down your application feeling excited, too—and feeling like I've gotten to know you.

This college essay tip is by Abigail McFee, Admissions Counselor for Tufts University and Tufts
‘17 graduate.

2. Write like a journalist.

"Don't bury the lede!" The first few sentences must capture the reader's attention, provide a gist
of the story, and give a sense of where the essay is heading. Think about any article you've read
—how do you decide to read it? You read the first few sentences and then decide. The same goes
for college essays. A strong lede (journalist parlance for "lead") will place your reader in the
"accept" mindset from the beginning of the essay. A weak lede will have your reader thinking
"reject"—a mindset from which it's nearly impossible to recover.

This college essay tip is by Brad Schiller, MIT graduate and CEO of Prompt, which provides
individualized feedback on thousands of students’ essays each year.

3. Don't read the Common Application prompts.

If you already have, erase them from memory and write the story you want colleges to hear. The
truth is, admission reviewers rarely know—or care—which prompt you are responding to. They
are curious to discover what you choose to show them about who you are, what you value, and
why. Even the most fluid writers are often stifled by fitting their narrative neatly into a category
and the essay quickly loses authentic voice. Write freely and choose a prompt later. Spoiler
alert...one prompt is "Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already
written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design. " So have at it.

This college essay tip is by Brennan Barnard, director of college counseling at the Derryfield
School in Manchester, N.H. and contributor to the NYT, HuffPost, and Forbes on intentionally
approaching college admissions.

4. Show your emotions.

Adding feelings to your essays can be much more powerful than just listing your achievements.
It allows reviewers to connect with you and understand your personality and what drives you. In
particular, be open to showing vulnerability. Nobody expects you to be perfect and
acknowledging times in which you have felt nervous or scared shows maturity and self-
awareness.

This college essay tip is by Charles Maynard, Oxford and Stanford University Graduate and
founder of Going Merry, which is a one-stop shop for applying to college scholarships

5. Revise often and early. 

Your admissions essay should go through several stages of revision. And by revisions, we don’t
mean quick proofreads. Ask your parents, teachers, high school counselors or friends for their
eyes and edits. It should be people who know you best and want you to succeed. Take their
constructive criticism in the spirit for which they intend—your benefit.

This college essay tip is by Dhivya Arumugham, Kaplan Test Prep's director of SAT and ACT
programs.
PERSONAL STATEMENT EXAMPLES
THE "BURYING GRANDMA" EXAMPLE
COLLEGE ESSAY
Written for the Common App college application essays "Tell us your story" prompt. This essay
could work for prompts 1 and 7 for the Common App.

They covered the precious mahogany coffin with a brown amalgam of rocks, decomposed
organisms, and weeds. It was my turn to take the shovel, but I felt too ashamed to dutifully send
her off when I had not properly said goodbye. I refused to throw dirt on her. I refused to let go of
my grandmother, to accept a death I had not seen coming, to believe that an illness could not
only interrupt, but steal a beloved life.

When my parents finally revealed to me that my grandmother had been battling liver cancer, I
was twelve and I was angry--mostly with myself. They had wanted to protect me--only six years
old at the time--from the complex and morose concept of death. However, when the end
inevitably arrived, I wasn’t trying to comprehend what dying was; I was trying to understand
how I had been able to abandon my sick grandmother in favor of playing with friends and
watching TV. Hurt that my parents had deceived me and resentful of my own oblivion, I
committed myself to preventing such blindness from resurfacing.

I became desperately devoted to my education because I saw knowledge as the key to freeing
myself from the chains of ignorance. While learning about cancer in school I promised myself
that I would memorize every fact and absorb every detail in textbooks and online medical
journals. And as I began to consider my future, I realized that what I learned in school would
allow me to silence that which had silenced my grandmother. However, I was focused not with
learning itself, but with good grades and high test scores. I started to believe that academic
perfection would be the only way to redeem myself in her eyes--to make up for what I had not
done as a granddaughter.  

However, a simple walk on a hiking trail behind my house made me open my own eyes to the
truth. Over the years, everything--even honoring my grandmother--had become second to school
and grades. As my shoes humbly tapped against the Earth, the towering trees blackened by the
forest fire a few years ago, the faintly colorful pebbles embedded in the sidewalk, and the wispy
white clouds hanging in the sky reminded me of my small though nonetheless significant part in
a larger whole that is humankind and this Earth. Before I could resolve my guilt, I had to broaden
my perspective of the world as well as my responsibilities to my fellow humans.   

Volunteering at a cancer treatment center has helped me discover my path. When I see patients
trapped in not only the hospital but also a moment in time by their diseases, I talk to them. For
six hours a day, three times a week, Ivana is surrounded by IV stands, empty walls, and busy
nurses that quietly yet constantly remind her of her breast cancer. Her face is pale and tired, yet
kind--not unlike my grandmother’s. I need only to smile and say hello to see her brighten up as
life returns to her face. Upon our first meeting, she opened up about her two sons, her hometown,
and her knitting group--no mention of her disease. Without even standing up, the three of us—
Ivana, me, and my grandmother--had taken a walk together.

Cancer, as powerful and invincible as it may seem, is a mere fraction of a person’s life. It’s easy
to forget when one’s mind and body are so weak and vulnerable. I want to be there as an
oncologist to remind them to take a walk once in a while, to remember that there’s so much more
to life than a disease. While I physically treat their cancer, I want to lend patients emotional
support and mental strength to escape the interruption and continue living. Through my work, I
can accept the shovel without burying my grandmother’s memory.