Growing up, we lived only 30 minutes away from the Jersey Shore. Whatever we wanted, we could get fresh out of the water that day. My mom would cook fresh flounder every week, in fact.
Now that I live in a landlocked state, getting "fresh" seafood is like trying to get tickets to a Noah Kahan concert. It's nearly impossible. The seats and seafood are never as good as you want them to be, and you spend way too much money on both of them.
Two nights ago, I craved seafood. I called the local seafood store and asked them if they had fresh shrimp. They said yes. I asked them when the shrimp arrived at the store. They said a week ago. Sigh. That's not fresh shrimp.
I went to the big-name grocery store in town. They had "fresh" shrimp that supposedly arrived that day. I got a pound of it and headed home to make linguine with shrimp and fresh tomatoes. When I deveined the shrimp, I threw out half of the bounty. It just wasn't good. It just wasn't fresh.
So here I am with not-so-fresh seafood to cook on a rare night that I don't have to work. Guess what? It's not so good.
Seafood and essay topics have a lot in common. For both to be exceptional, they need to be fresh.
When it comes to essay topics, most students write their essay about something common. Something others are writing about. Something already being represented in their application.
They write about an activity (that either is listed in the activities section or should be listed), a community service experience, an honor, or even their academic goals. Sigh again. All of these ideas will already be mentioned at least once in the application. That means the topic is not fresh. It's recycled, repeated, hammered, and fishy.
WATCH: My Insider Secrets for Writing an Exceptional College Essay
Think about it. Admissions officers read about 100 applications a day. They get bored easily because a lot of students do the same thing that everyone else is doing. And, if a college really wants to hear about your activities and major choice, they will have a supplemental essay prompt asking about them.
Give admissions officers something they aren't expecting. It doesn't have to be some monumental moment. Small things and small moments in your life deliver big revelations.
READ MORE: Why Colleges Are Changing These Three Admissions Policies
The secret is to write your college essay about something fresh. Something that other students aren't writing about. Something not already listed on your application. When you do this, you give those admissions officers a front row seat for the concert of your life. I'll buy tickets to that.
