By far, one of the biggest mistakes that you can make when writing your admission essay is to base it on your resume, recounting achievements and enumerating them in your essay. Doing so can easily extinguish your readers’ interests (if you’re even able to ignite them at all). Furthermore, basing your essay on your resume does nothing to show your character and personality, which is what most admissions panels are looking for in your admission essay. Here are some tips on how to avoid writing your essay based on your resume:
Avoid enumerating achievements and tell the story behind the events
One of the best ways to avoid turning your essay into a lengthened version of your resume is to tell the story behind your achievements. For example, if you were a class president, athlete, or working student in high school, try to reflect upon your experiences and write about how they have helped to shape you into the person you are today. Focus on how certain experiences have fostered positive virtues and values that are important to your goals of attending college and succeeding in life, in general.
Reflect and find more significant topics
Another way to avoid basing your essay on your resume is to avoid talking about just your achievements and instead think of more meaningful and significant experiences to share. For example, instead of talking about your achievements in high school or your work experience, you can instead talk about a time in your life when you had to make sacrifices to help others (such as your family or friends). The idea is to show that, although you are proud of your achievements at school and work, you also want to show a side of you that cannot be seen in your resume – one that truly speaks of who you are as a person.
