There are certain college essay topics that we at Ivy Coach like to call “third-rail topics.” Why? Because choosing one of them is tantamount to self-sabotage! The topics on this list may surprise you. One of the worst offenders is the college admissions essay centered on travel. Have you ever had to hold your tongue and pretend you cared about the photos your friend is sharing from their recent trip? You probably were struggling not to roll your eyes with annoyance. Imagine if your job was to do this thousands of times a year. That’s the plight of the college admissions officer. They don’t care about your travel experience, and writing about it in your essays will only hurt your odds of admission!

Say you went to Peru to build houses for disadvantaged communities and now consider it a transformative experience that has shaped who you are today. Or perhaps you visited family in India and discovered a reason to be incredibly proud of your heritage. There is no doubt that travel experiences can profoundly impact a young mind. But they absolutely should be left out of your college essays!

The Many Sins of the Travel Essay

The cardinal sin of college essays is showing your high socioeconomic status. College admissions officers are duty-bound to curate diverse cohorts of incoming students. One of the most critical metrics of diversity, yet the one that is often most overlooked, is socioeconomic diversity. Nothing signals that you come from money other than an essay about your time sightseeing in Europe with your family or participating in an expensive foreign travel program. You might think you have the writing skills necessary to distract your application readers from the fact that your topic set your parents back $10,000, but believe us when we say you won’t be able to.

Moreover, your likability is another critical aspect of your competitiveness as an applicant. Coming across as rich and out of touch will only hurt this qualitative metric many students think they possess but then totally miss the mark. The average salary of a college admissions officer is less than six figures. If you spent a sixth or a tenth of their annual salary on a trip to an exotic locale they would love to visit on vacation, they won’t live vicariously through your essay. They will roll their eyes and write you off as yet another unlikable candidate! 

College Essay Misconceptions are Hard Pills for Many to Swallow

We get it. College essays are profoundly personal writing assignments in which many bear their souls, hoping that something will make an impact. Many families and students struggle to hear this reality about the travel essay for this very reason. By all means, ignore our recommendation and write your essay about when you witnessed a natural wonder of the world during a trip to a place you’ve always dreamt of going to. But don’t be shocked when this decision backfires, and you don’t get into the school of your dreams because you chose to stick with the essay of your dreams.

You may think you have the literary chops to pen an essay that defies these rules and wows admissions officers by relating your tale of adventures in foreign lands or emotional journeys to familial homelands, but chances are you won’t. Take it from us. We’ve seen it all before.

Ivy Coach’s Students Do Not Write Travel Essays

Travel is just one of six third-rail topics we direct our clients here at Ivy Coach to avoid at all costs. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Our team of former elite college admissions officers will help you steer clear of the many (and there are many) application pitfalls that well-meaning students and families so often fall for. We’ll work with you and your child to optimize their odds of admission to a highly selective college with knockout application essays that play well at elite admissions offices. So, fill out our complimentary consultation form and we’ll be in touch.