Puzzles college essay

Alexander chooses a small and personal scale for the problem he hopes to solve. This decision is perfectly fine, and in many ways it has advantages. When college applicants try to tackle too much, the resulting essay can be overly general, vague, or even absurd.

My grandfather was a puzzle junkie. All kinds of puzzles—jigsaw, Sudoku, crossword, riddles, logic puzzles, word jumbles, those small twisted pieces of metal that you try and separate. He’d always say he was “trying to stay sharp,” and these puzzles occupied a lot of his time, especially after he retired.

The essay can tackle a large national or global issue, or it can focus on something narrow and personal. A winning essay reveals something about you as you describe the problem you hope to solve. A strong essay must make the reader think you'd contribute to the campus community in meaningful ways. My grandfather was a puzzle junkie.

When college applicants try to tackle too much, the resulting essay can be overly general, vague, or even absurd. Imagine trying to describe steps for solving a huge issue such as global warming or religious intolerance in 650 words. The application essay is an awfully small space for addressing such huge issues.