The short answer section of a college application carries less weight than the personal essay, but it still matters. To make sure your short answer shines, steer clear of these five common problems.
1. Vagueness
Unfortunately, it's easy to write 1,000 characters that don't actually say anything. College applicants often answer the short answer in broad, unfocused terms. "Swimming has made me a better person." "I have taken more of a leadership role in my life because of theater." "Orchestra has impacted me in many positive ways." Phrases such as these really don't say much. How are you a better person? How are you a leader? How exactly has orchestra impacted you? When you discuss the importance of an activity, do so in concrete and specific terms.
2. Repetition
The short answer on the Common Application needs to be 1,000 characters or fewer, so there's no room to say the same thing twice. Surprisingly, however, many college applicants do just that. Check out Gwen's short answer to see an example of repetition that weakens the response.
3. Clichés and Predictable Language
A short answer will sound tired and recycled if it begins to talk about the thrill of making the winning goal, the heart and soul that go into an activity, or the joy of giving rather than receiving. If you can picture thousands of other college applicants using the same phrases and ideas, you need to sharpen your approach to your topic.4. Thesaurus Abuse
If you have a huge vocabulary, demonstrate your skill with your SAT verbal score. The best short answers employ language that is simple, clear and engaging. Don't test the patience of your reader by bogging down your short answer with excessive and unnecessary multi-syllabic words.5. Egotism
When elaborating on an extracurricular activity, it's tempting to talk about how important you were to the group or team. Be careful. It's easy to sound like a braggart or egotist if you paint yourself as the hero who saved the team from defeat or solved all the personnel problems in the school play. The college admissions officers will be much more impressed with humility than hubris. See
Doug's essay for an example of how ego can weaken a short answer.
