In September 2008, 5500 college admissions officials and guidance counselors met for the annual conference of the National Association of College Admissions Counseling. One well-attended session was “Why Good Students Write Bad College Essays — and How to Stop It.”

The following lists some advice on how to put the breaks on those bad essays:

1. Don’t get too personal. Admissions officers I’ve interviewed said they’re stunned by many of the revelations they read. They’re looking for applicants who can handle their course load and remain emotionally stable enough to stay in school. Revealing problems like depression can backfire. Your “I’ve overcome adversity” story might be construed as “Does he/she have what it takes to succeed here.” Depressing, overly-revealing topics are a high-stakes gamble.

2. Leave controversy at home. You don’t know if your reader is male or female, old or young, gay or straight, right or left. “Why Everyone Needs a Semi-Automatic Weapon,” “September 11 Conspiracy Theories,” and “Lessons I Learned from Hitler” aren’t your best material. If anyone might be offended by what you’re writing, come up with another topic.

3. Avoid clichés. Admissions officials wade through enormous stacks of essays (at the University of Vermont they read over 700), spending about 4 minutes on each. Want to make sure yours is memorable? Unless you have an incredibly unique angle, don’t even consider writing about:

• National or international issues (it’s almost impossible to get personal or be original)
• Sports (there are only a handful of game stories…and they’ve all been done thousands of times)
• Prominent figures such as Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa
• Significant life experiences (at 17, most students haven’t had many, and they’re usually the same—death of a relative or friend, losing/winning the big game, etc.)