What makes a good essay?

Forbes reports.

Violins, Trash and Calculus: 6 Paths To Better College-Entry Essays

What delights college admissions officers as they read high-school students’ application essays? What’s a total turn-off? Six experts weighed in on the subject yesterday at the annual convention of college admissions counselors. The most memorable insights touched on everything from violins to trash.

More than 500 people crowded into a meeting room at the San Diego Convention center to hear from admissions chiefs at Cornell University and the University of California, Berkeley, along with four long-time specialists in advising high school students. The panel discussion occurred as part of the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.

College admissions teams often “are not getting what they asked for, and are unimpressed by many of the essays that come across their desks,” panel moderator Kim Lifton observed. Colleges consistently say they want reflective stories in an authentic voice, but that turns out to be surprisingly elusive for many candidates. Lifton and Susan Knoppow run Wow Writing Workshop in Royal Oak, Mich.