Here are a few places that helped me when I was trying to understand what a good college essay looks like: University writing centers – lots of schools publish real sample essays with notes on why they work. Scholarship foundations – many share winning essays publicly, and they’re super clear and personal. HelpWithEssay – their editors sometimes share anonymized examples when you ask for guidance, and seeing those made it way easier for me to understand tone + structure. They explain why certain choices work, not just “here’s a good essay.” More on reddit.com

not to mention the stanford roommate essay 💀 More on reddit.com

i usually start with a narrative: one of my short stories (anecdotes) that reveals a trait about me that fits in with the university's culture! Then i weave that story and my trait into how i'd use that at the university and using what resources (programs). I don't do the whole professor thing , not because everyone at this point does it, but because it sounds hollow most of the time to me. Very rarely are people truly passionate about this one professor's research. they often times just literally just searched it up mere moments ago (albeit there are people who actually are super into a faculty member's work). i don't want to risk looking like i'm just name dropping people, only to not go through with connecting with that professor if accepted. Sound genuine. Don't start listing off things you would like to do at the school because that gives you less room to expand on maybe 1 or 2 aspects that could show the college you really love them. Here, I'll give an example. Don't worry, it's from scratch. It's no one's essay. Take it AS you will. I'm only telling you this from past observations. If Princeton had a why princeton essay, here's what I'd write: "In fourth grade, when my teacher told the class to decorate their notebooks, I, inspired by Rick Riordon books, chose to decorate it by writing a biography on the back, in basic hieroglyphs. Although it's slightly cringe-worthy to think of now, I remembered how Egyptian ancient history filled me with wonder. The stories took me on adventures through the Nile river or above the clouds on a sun chariot with Ra. If history is my playground, then Princeton provides all of the slides, swings, and seesaws. Princeton provides the opportunity to not just learn about history as we know it, but to uncover more of it using the present. No where else are people able to discover how mining waste in the present day can reveal Japanese topographical history in the 18th century. No where else can students enjoy a "spoken Latin" course, where the only language allowed to be spoken from the beginning to end of the class period is Latin, a presumable dead language. This fusion of combining the past and the present into a more innovative form of learning is why I genuinely love Princeton. It's a place where my 4th grade self, drawing ancient symbols in modern day classes, would be proud that I'm going to." This might be considered ass to some of you, but my main focus of writing all of this is to maybe provide a bit of inspo through seeing how other people would write it!! More on reddit.com

Tough, because essays are more subjective. The difference between a 9/10 essay and a 10/10 essay is the reader. More on reddit.com