The Perfection Trap
The Perfection Trap
By now you’ve likely thought of the stories you want to tell in your personal statement and supplements and hopefully you’ve been working diligently to bring those stories to life. For many students, writing strong application essays is a frustrating experience; but it doesn’t have to be.
The pressure to create the perfect essay will make your experience much more painful than necessary and may prevent you from doing your best work. Perfection is a trap. Avoid it at all costs!
Wherever you are in the writing process you still have time to create great work; but you must move past the urge of trying to make the current draft you’re working on perfect to allow your future self to do something better. As we help students navigate this process, much of our work is around creating a safe enough space for true expression – a student’s true voice – to shine through.
Keep the following in mind as you write your essays:
You are Not Your Essay
Let’s face it – your personal statement is a big deal. Chances are you’ve never gone through a process with higher stakes than the admissions process thus far in your life. That places added weight on your writing.
It’s easy to conflate your self-worth with the quality of your essay and thus fall into a trap of seeking perfection that, ironically, makes it more difficult to produce your best work. You must resist this urge!
You are not your essay! Silence the inner critic who tells you that you aren’t good enough or capable enough. That voice is not productive and not worth your time. Make a practice of reinforcing positive messages about your process and your ability. Though this won’t always be easy and there will be periods where this feels like you’re faking it, in no time it will help you free your mind to create its best work.
Editing and Writing are Two Different Processes
One reason why it takes many drafts and many weeks to create a powerful college essay is because each draft has a purpose. You cannot circumvent steps in trying to be perfect in your first or second draft.
Some drafts are needed just to flesh out the story more. You may have to blatantly disregard the word count in the beginning of your process to draw enough material into the light to mold into a great story. If you are too focused on editing as you create, you won’t be free enough to explore possible avenues that may reap future rewards. Once you’ve mined all the content you need, then it’s time to begin wordsmithing.
Work with the Right Guide
Having support from an expert who understands the process and has proven experience navigating its nuances can give you the boost you need to produce something truly special. Without the context of understanding the level of excellence required of you, it’s hard to meet the bar.
A worthwhile admissions coach won’t judge you during your process. They’ll aim to keep you focused on your end goal. As soon as you reach moments of feeling “stuck” like this, you can seek and receive help. Being a successful student isn’t about shouldering the burden on your own; it’s about knowing how to receive help and grow from it, fortifying your skills along the way.
There is no such thing as the perfect essay. In a process as subjective as this, there is always room for an admissions officer to form an opinion contrary to what you intended. Seeking perfection, therefore, is not a beneficial marker as you write. Seeking clarity, originality, and persuasiveness are much more productive and attainable measuring sticks. You can tell a moving story that illuminates the power of your character but only if you allow yourself the freedom to make mistakes and take chances.
The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.
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