For those who are looking for examples of what makes a good essay, here are ten that were just published in Harvard’s newspaper. Also, the NYT publishes essays every year that somehow relate, even tangentially, to the subject of money/finances/economic class. More on talk.collegeconfidential.com

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

i’d really like to think mine succeeded. i wrote about how the roads i live off of are named after my great grandparents and my connection to my family. I connected that to my experience with grief and love towards my family More on reddit.com

There's one thing that still confuses me. If our essays are so much about our vulnerable selves, values, beliefs -- is uniqueness still not a metric? It sounds a lot like what differentiates a "good" essay from a "bad" essay is how genuine and thoughtfully one can write about oneself, rather than how unique and interesting one's character is. Is THAT what makes certain applicants stand out from others? Or are you implying that these type of "strip me to the core" essays will naturally make those with a unique character shine? Obviously, the harsh reality is that not everyone's "true self" is interesting enough for a top university. I assume this post implies this, as pessimistic as it sounds. Only in that case would I understand why "genuinity" and "letting the AOs know about your character" are the decisive factors. I know we're all high school students, and the typical high schooler is very limited in terms of experience, but then again, selective students only select a small minority. If so many students articulate their struggles through a sports season (a very cliché topic) so thoughtfully and genuinely, then who does the AO pick? Is the problem that students are just bad at personal reflection? More on reddit.com