I've known I've talked about this a little bit in my videos about like. How I got into Harvard and also my video about my accepted, common application essay but I just wanted to make this more like the impromptu post about it because. I have been thinking about this a lot lately because I've started to read people's essays and I've. been reflecting on my own process even more since graduating and getting into school. I just want to say like do not lie in your college essays at all like you need to stop lying in your college essays and okay let's just get this out of the way first like do not blatantly lie about like things that like factual things like oh like. I won this competition or like I like went to this event and it changed my life like if that didn't happen do not write an essay about that.
That just goes without saying but even more than that like do not lie about your emotions and how you feel about things and um things that have happened in your life that you're talking about in your essay just to please the admissions officer who is reading your essay it's honestly it's not even about like getting into college that I'm like concerned with because like yeah it's more, just about your own like mental health and not you know like doing all these things that are not true and leading your life down a path where you're um you're just molding yourself to fit your like untruthfully molding yourself.
I to attain things that you want you would like. I know this is it's probably bad this is coming from a 17-year-old but I think that this advice is very pertinent to all people and it's something that I definitely like have to work on too and that's something I've been trying to work on which is why I'm making this post but yeah if you're writing an essay about oh I love playing the piano like helps me, express myself. I every day after school I play the piano because I love it so much and and like if that's you then that's great but if you just if you've just been taking piano lessons because you think it's good for your resume then do not write about it in your college essay like write about things that actually matter to you even if it doesn't have anything to do with your activities your achievements your academic interest because like that genuine honesty about writing weight that comes with writing about things that you truly are interested in is gonna be won and most importantly better for your own mental health in the long run because if you get into a school based on false essays that you've written that you've basically convinced yourself are true about you like oh yeah I love playing the piano and like like stuff like that like anything of that nature like it's gonna be so bad for your mental health and like those lives will add up and eventually like it's not going to be good and second of all it'll just be way a more convincing essay and you'll actually have a better chance of getting into the school.
People say like college admissions is all about exaggerating like what you've done like don't exaggerate just be honest with yourself because it's so important for your own mental health and it's gonna come across as so much more authentic and someone that the admissions officer trusts to accept into the school you want to go to there really is no point in lying about anything on your application and a lot of times we don't even know we're doing it because here's the thing in our English classes in high school we are writing to get a grade like we're not writing because we actually believe this stuff for writing in so when you go to write, your college essay you're just in your essay writing mode from English class and it's it's, like it's so bad because you aren't writing about what you should be writing about which is your own beliefs and thoughts and emotions but you are doing what you frankly like all like all you know how to do which is write essays to get good grades and in this case your essay is just writing so that they'll admit, you, but you really should just be writing about yourself it's such a good time to reflect on your own life, in this transition between your senior year of high school and going off to college age or going off to wherever you're going to go to like it's a perfect opportunity to reflect on yourself just as much as it is an application to a university so my tip and I've talked about this a little bit in the past is to every sentence you write ask yourself if you truly believe what you're writing or if you're just writing it because you think it sounds good or you think it sounds like, that sounds like an essay that. I can get into like the school I want to go to like ask yourself if you're writing like that versus if you're writing from your heart like if you're writing honestly and frankly about your interest, because um even if like even in like the worst-case worst case scenario where like oh if you had like you would have gone into the school like imagine what that's gonna do to your personality and your worldview if you got into a school based on a lie like how are you gonna live the rest of your life if you know.
I got into Harvard because wrote about something that actually don't care about like I feel like you'll you'll just keep doing things that you don't actually believe in it just so you can get some outside some outside um recognition for it so don't lie in your college essays um this was a bit this was this was a bit of a rant video but I just wanted to like talk about that because I think it's so important and I think it really comes across when people are not being honest in their essays and it's not that they're trying to lie it's just that day like don't know any better because that's what like our schools like has always been like doing like that's what we we always write essays that we don't believe in in high school so like why would be write a truthful essay now so just don't lie on your essay like think really hard about what you're writing and because more than college it's for your own mental health and your own life and just live and living as an honest person okay um that's all oh thanks for watching um yeah don't lie in your college essays.