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Rick Clark of Georgia Tech is a source of lots of great college admission advice.
In this piece for Grown & Flown, he cuts right to the chase of what makes a college essay stand out.
Knowing the topic won’t differentiate you; it must be something else, right? This is where your voice has to be evident. And like the list of extra-curricular activities, it must be clear in the first sentence or two. I know many readers who read the first and last paragraphs and only go back if those are compelling. Otherwise, it’s a dime a dozen, and the ratings are average.
This advice is spot-on. Contrary to conventional wisdom, you don't need to trauma-dump or solve the world's problems in 650 or fewer words.
There are no new topics under the sun, as Rick says. But this advice about starting and closing whatever your essay is about is invaluable. Rick echoes my own frequent take on this-- I would guess that something like 85% of college application essays get the equivalent of a "check mark" in review. They are neither memorably great or memorably off-putting, but basically line up with the academic record and activities in the application, without adding much.
I think it's much easier than most would imagine to land in the top 5-10% of essays that admission officers will read in a year, by following Rick's advice-- finding your voice, sharing it honestly, and working on those bookends of your statement.
By the way, Rick is co-author of a great book for families entering the college admission conversation. There's a brand new edition; but take a look at the "blurbs" from the first edition-- I'm a fan!
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