50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays

Not Trying to Be Profound
“I went through many different drafts of my college essay and tried to go in 
different directions with it. I tried to be introspective and serious in my essay 
but realized that at the age of 17, I didn’t have much to be profound about. I 
felt my strength was in my humor and wanted that aspect to show. After find-
ing a more genuine voice, writing that essay became much easier and faster.
“When citing something specific like a personality trait or an event that 
significantly characterizes the student, I think it’s important to think hard 
about how to stand out from the crowd. I don’t intend this to mean sensa-
tionalize or create a fictional story, but I do think everybody is unique or has 
something unique in their life to write about.”
—Dan Tran, Stanford University