Emotions and college essays: Where's the limit?

I read an admission essay recently described as the most emotional college essay ever. How do colleges perceive emotional essays? Can being too emotional harm my chances of admission? Is there a balance between sharing a touching story and being overly sentimental?

Absolutely, there is indeed a balance. The college essay is a chance for schools to get to know you personally, beyond your academic achievements, so emotions aren't inherently a bad thing. In fact, reflecting on personal, emotional experiences is a crucial component of creating an engaging narrative.

However, the emotions in the essay should always serve the broader story about you as an individual. Your reflections on your emotions during a particular experience should always connect to some broader lessons or skills that you took away, and that will help you thrive in college.

Additionally, avoid being overly sentimental or trying to shock admissions officers with tragedy. Heart-wrenching sagas might evoke sympathy, but admission officers primarily want to know how you've grown as a person and the unique perspective you'll bring to their campus.

For example, let's say you've dealt with a major hardship in your life such as an illness. Rather than focusing solely on your pain and suffering, your essay could instead highlight the mental toughness and perseverance you developed in response. Schools appreciate stories of resilience, and if you focused exclusively on your emotions, that trait wouldn't come across.

In essence, focus on demonstrating how the emotional experiences you mention in your essay directly contribute to your character growth, abilities, or perspective. There's no fixed rule on how emotional your essay should be - just make sure you're always communicating your unique story and growth.

For more guidance on how to strike the right balance, I'd check out the extensive essay-writing guidance available on CollegeVine's blog. For example, this post contains a thorough breakdown of how to tackle your main personal statement: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-common-application-essays/

Happy essay writing - I hope you find this overview helpful!