My professor was furious because 3 of the students wrote on the same example in their essays and the similarity of the overall paper was just too similar. Turns out they have all used ChatGPT with simple generic prompts, that's why it was so similar.

What the text says.

I really want to do the enlightenment, but specifically the book "Cannibals and Philosophers," the essay of A Modest Proposal, and other works.

But my only concern is how this will come across to an English professor. As the topic would be about how cannibalism is perceived and how that has impacted the modern world.

Is that too Anthropological? Is that unethical, if you are looking more at the enlightenment era? I was thinking the Western Enlightenment philosophy.

So the cause and effect is how the enlightenment era's justification of "cannibalistic savagery" as a means of colonialism. And the effect it caused for post-colonial nations on the economic and geopolitical impacts.

But I don't know if this makes sense to someone else, so I want to ask the public.

Does the topic make sense? Should it even be done? And if the topic has been overdone too many times? Or would this not sound like a cause and effect paper?

I've been working on my essay for a few months, and I just can't figure out how to make it better. I need some good tips and I'm not opposed to scrapping whole stanzas. Let me know how I can make this better? Deadline is Nov 1... Any help is super appreciated.

Every three months when I get blood work done, I’m reduced to a series of numbers that show the change occurring inside my body. The numbers are important; they provide information that healthcare professionals need to know to give me adequate care. But when I look at those numbers, all I can see is the lack of meaningful information about who I am.
The numbers show my cholesterol levels and how it impacts my health, but they don’t show my love for art that I’ve carried with me throughout my entire life. The numbers show my hemoglobin and my hematocrit levels, information that helps doctors understand how my blood flows through my body, but the numbers don’t show the passion I’ve developed for playing guitar and bass over the past three years. The numbers show measurements that can tell healthcare professionals about what is happening inside my body, but they don’t show the years I have spent boxing or the satisfaction of watching my body grow stronger through the effort I put into it. The numbers show my hormone levels and the changes taking place within my body, but they don’t show my growing love for science, which has developed throughout high school through biology and forensics. My medical chart can describe my body, but it cannot describe me.
Even before taking an interest in healthcare, I was a caretaker. At the age of six, I was potty training my younger brother while my parents were going through a divorce. At nine, I was bandaging my older brother’s wounds after he fell off his bike. Now, at seventeen, I have completed CPR certifications, studied anatomy and physiology, and participated in ambulance ridealongs, where I have assisted people experiencing seizures and people involved in motorcycle crashes. As I have grown, I have continued to take advantage of opportunities to learn how to care for others. Each experience has taught me something different about healthcare, but through them all, one thing stays paramount. Before every patient, there is a person.
With all of my opportunities, I make sure to take the humanity of the person I am caring for with me. A seizure is not only a medical event. A motorcycle crash is not only an injury. Behind every vital sign, symptom, and medical decision, is a person with a life that cannot be captured through numbers or check boxes on a chart. I have learned that healthcare requires both the ability to understand the science of the human body and the ability to recognize the human being within it. The numbers may tell me what is happening, but they cannot tell me how someone feels, what they are afraid of, what matters to them, or what they need beyond medical treatment.
This is the kind of healthcare provider I hope to one day become. I want to understand the science behind the conditions I identify and treat, and the data that helps me make informed decisions, but I never want the numbers to become the whole patient. 
Through each experience, I have learned to carry humanity alongside science. Blood work may reduce my condition to numbers, but my experiences have taught me that no person should ever be reduced to theirs. As I hope to go into nursing, I want to be able to read the numbers, understand what they mean, and use them to provide the best care possible, all while never forgetting the person that comes before the patient.

I have these two sentences in my essay and they got flagged for sounding like AI, now I’m hesitant to use it. Should i paraphrase or just keep it?

“Every time, I said it to people who weren’t there. Now I don’t have to image them. My curiosity can be the invitation.”

“Whether I’m knocking on the door across the hall, walking into my first club meeting,or sitting down in the dining hall….”

I know it sounds corny but within the context of my essay I don’t think it sounds too bad. Lmk ur thoughts thx!!!

I was thinking about writing my essay about how growing up as an army brat impacted the way I not only grew as a person, but also how many different perspectives ive seen of other peoples cultures, worlds, and just the overall stronger understanding ive gotten about diversity. is this a good, strong essay idea ? if not, does anyone have tips on what i could include or write more about ?

Can I upload my essay's first draft and have yall check it out?

i’ve been finishing up my common app essay but i feel like it should expand more on my community impact. i am happy to share the full essay in dms to get feedback and note changes i should make!!

It’s unfinished, but lmk 😊🫶🏻

I have read so much advice about what a personal statement should be, what it should be, what to include, what not to include. But how do I actually start it? What should I write in my first line. I have always struggled to find the starting point. And nobody is able to help me with this one...

i am planning on writing my essay about girl scouts but i have not earned my gold award but did earn my silver award. should i talk about my gold award even though i didnt earn it??

Its hard. I’m still writing and refining it right now. But it was honestly a kind of therapy.

I’m not a reflective person. I don’t make conversation about myself to other people, I don’t vicariously live through life and remember important moments and think of how it’s impacted me, and I don’t sleep much, which probably all contributes to my struggle to recall and reflect and talk about my experiences and how they’ve shaped me. 

And that’s why I’ve been so demotivated to write the essay. I generally don’t do jackshit that’s important, and I couldn’t recall anything worthwhile about myself. Until I finally had to sit down, get my shit together, and throw together some bullshit that still felt true to myself. In all honesty, most of my material is really recent; reflections I’ve made about myself, the way I think and process information, scenarios that occurred the day of writing bits and pieces of my essay. Grasping onto these small bits, and being forced to flesh it out- i’ve been thinking more recently, “hey, there’s more to me than I thought?”

And I think what’s really been helping is 1) interacting with other people, maybe after an argument or a conversation on a particular topic, and then thinking about how your responses were and 2) being by yourself in various scenarios and noticing where your mind wanders. Really my issue has been seeing myself, and when I finally did, I finally thought there was substance to me. 

Basically, this essay is legitimately forcing me to grasp things about myself, expand on it as I’ve never had to before- say “I matter”- and try to win the audience over with these experiences. 
And I think its winning me over too.

And overall, what I mean to say is- I’ve been approaching this essay as thinking of it as the big finale, the culmination of my life experiences, and then getting terrified at the idea that I’m not enough. It’s okay though. This essay doesn’t capture all of me. There’s still more to come. There’s stuff happening everyday. This essay just captures me in the past few weeks, even days. And it's enough. 

Now sorry for basically rambling, you can imagine the state my actual essay looks like right now if I’m struggling to get concise points across here. But I hope I’m getting the message across.

Don't think that there’s nothing. Start looking. :)

I didn’t use any AI idk why it says this?? Does anyone else hace this problem. I have just polished my essay so much ( word by word) so what if it sounds too polished?!?!?!

“my fourth grade teacher who wouldn’t let anyone enter the classroom without saying, “good morning”. But not everyone has a good morning, so why do we say it?” Then I explain why being respectful/good manners is super important to have and why it’s been something that i’ve always tried to live by.

or

write about playing basketball but always sitting on the bench and realizing at halfway through (junior year) basketball that i only kept playing to exceed my family and friends expectations but never truly questioning whether I wanted to keep playing the sport.

Can someone please review my essay? Early Action deadlines are in a week. Stressed. Thank you!!!

Hello! I'm a senior in high school and am soon applying to various colleges. I started my college essay and am currently writing about how I joined a sports team my freshman year and how it affected my life. I also wanted to tie in the fact that my mom passed away when I was ten and how joining a sports team helped with my grief, but also how I was able to apply some of the things my mom taught me to sports. I was wondering if this was maybe too much or not a very strong topic idea, does anyone have any suggestions or input? I'm feeling super stresses about this so any input is appreciated!!

How much do generic insights or unique insights matter in supplemental essays? By generic I mean not something like teamwork makes dreamwork i mean like "empathy doesn't mean agreeing but understanding others without your own personal judgements" I know you have to be "yourself" in these essays and use your own voice but having a generic insight will hurt you no?

i want to improve my essay writing skills by reading other successful essays,which ones are recommended?

1 week until EA deadlines, and I pretty much just scrapped my old personal statements. They kinda sucked, were pretty corny, and just didn't really represent me.

I feel like I am a pretty generic applicant with nothing too special about me, so it's been pretty tough trying to come up with something unique to write.

Since every time I come up with a "good" idea, I end up finding out its bad or that it's super cliché, I just wanted to put some ideas in here to see if anybody can tell me if they are good or bad (and why)

1. How I overcame the challenge of social anxiety and found my place in the Model UN club (which I'm now president of) and how i try to help other ppl who i see myself in (super cliché, ik)
2. Moving from Silicon Valley to rural VA and how that affected me as one of the only POC's in the entire school, then how I gradually came out of that bubble (also super cliché)
3. (this one might be super corny and bad) likening throwing away a toothbrush after months of use to moving on to a new phase of life/accepting change, whilst talking about what I went through on each toothbrush phase

• The reason I have this one is just cause i remembered how I used to get sad or emotional before throwing away my brushes as a kid 😭

Anyway, if you have the time, please give me some brutally honest evaluations or tell me how I can come up with some better ideas

Just came back from the US as a senior and a little late to the process but trying to get it done fast

I have an idea of what I want to write about but I have concerns if i SHOULD write about it

During a college visit, the advisor of my dream said that they pick applicants that might fit well into the school.

The school is a suburban environment, and I live in an urban environment but I have an excellent idea on it so I am a little hesitant on whether I should continue on this topic or if it will hurt my chances at the schools I wanna go to because most of them are in suburban environments

I appreciate any advice and tips since I am just starting the process of my college applications.

Best Regards

I'm an international student applying to Bowdoin ED, and I'm planning to major in engineering. I'm stuck between two possible Common App essay topics. I'd appreciate honest feedback on which has the most potential to become a memorable, personal essay rather than a generic one.
1. The childhood project that didn't work: When I was around 12, I built a hydraulic bridge using cardboard and syringes. One side worked, but the other didn't. I could explore my reaction to the gap between what I imagined and what actually happened, and how that reflects the way I approach problems.
2. Makeup: I love experimenting with makeup, getting the details right, and doing makeup for my cousin. I could explore how I approach experimentation and creativity, but also how I have to adapt my ideas to someone else's preferences instead of just imposing my own vision.
Makeup is also a form of self-expression and autonomy for me.

I know this is a very very general question.

i have recently finished writing my supplemental to Cornell, and I took more like a narrative and reflective way of writing it and I quoted some research I was interested in by a professor there and explained how it relates to my past work, also gave examples of some courses and why I would take outside of my intended major to answer why liberal arts curriculum

please share your thoughts!

an international (full pay) praying to get into Cornell ED

Hi everyone! I’m new to this sub and was wondering if anyone would be willing to read my essay and share some feedback, if you have the time. I'd be really grateful for the help, thank you so much!

Hey guys! I’m new to this subreddit but was wondering if some people would be open to reading my college essay. I just finished it. Please let me know if you can and thanks for your help.

I’ve written my essay, but I have no idea if it’s good or not. Every essay I’ve read seems so different from mine, so I’m feeling a little lost. I’m applying to engineering schools, and I’m not sure if that makes a difference.

If your interested in proof reading and giving advice please DM. I don't mind rewriting a new essay if my idea is not entirely there.