If Gen Z had a motto, it might be: “Curate first, feel later.”
Your feed is polished. Your Notes app is a graveyard of half-poetic captions. Your BeReal is… well, real-ish. And your college essay? You’re tempted to make it sound like the trailer to the indie film of your life.
But here’s the plot twist: college admissions officers aren’t scrolling for vibes. They’re looking for something far rarer in the age of filters — actual depth.
After years of working as a college admissions process consultant, I’ve seen a surprising trend: the students most obsessed with looking “interesting” online often struggle to sound authentic when it matters. Meanwhile, the kids who have zero aesthetic (you know who you are) sometimes write essays that knock admissions officers flat.
Let’s break down how the social-media-powered performance of identity is messing with the college admissions process — and how to snap out of it before you submit something that reads like a Pinterest board with a GPA.
Your Application Isn’t a Highlight Reel — It’s a Close-Up
On Instagram, you show the win.
In a college essay, you show the why behind the win — and sometimes why you didn’t win at all.
Admissions officers aren’t impressed by your perfectly curated volunteering trip in Costa Rica if you write about it like a travel influencer. But they are impressed when you write honestly about something small: the moment you realised you misunderstood someone. The time you messed up. The thing you’re still questioning.
The internet taught you to post finished products.
Universities want the behind-the-scenes footage.
This is where a little old-fashioned college admissions counseling (from a school counselor, mentor, trusted adult, whoever) forces you to stop performing and start thinking.
The Algorithm Loves Predictability — Humans Don’t
Here’s the thing about admissions readers: they go through thousands of applications, so anything predictable goes straight into the mental recycling bin.
Do not — I repeat, do not — give them the “I learned leadership from being captain of the team” essay.
It’s giving: basic.
It’s giving: ChatGPT circa 2023.
It’s giving: We’ve seen this 400 times today, sweetie.
But when a student writes about something weird, specific, or deeply them — even if it’s messy — the human brain lights up.
Admissions officers remember:
- The kid who compared learning calculus to adjusting the seasoning in her grandmother’s soup
- The student who talked about the oddly comforting sound of a bike chain clicking
- The applicant who admitted he didn’t know what he wanted to study, but could explain exactly why uncertainty excites him
None of these stories are “impressive” in the Instagram sense.
All of them are unforgettable in the human sense.
Stop Writing for an Imaginary Judge — Start Writing for Yourself
A big mistake students make: writing for the person they think is reading.
You picture someone cold, important, and mildly disappointed in your extracurriculars.
But real admissions officers are… people. They laugh. They tear up. They like when you sound like a person and not a résumé dressed in vibes.
This is why even guidance from an admissions consultant can help you recalibrate. Not to “brand yourself” or “elevate your messaging” (ew), but to recognize the difference between self-expression and self-marketing.
The first makes you interesting.
The second makes you forgettable.
Your Essay Is Not a TikTok — It Needs More Than a Hook
The internet has trained Gen Z to hit hard in two seconds.
College essays work differently.
Yes, you need a hook — but if your entire personality is built around the hook, the essay collapses. Your writing should unfold, deepen, surprise. A TikTok grabs attention. A story earns it.
Admissions officers aren’t looking for your “main character energy.”
They’re looking for your mind.
Being ‘Interesting’ Isn’t the Goal — Being Real Is
Every year, students try to reinvent themselves on paper. Suddenly everyone has a “moment of transformation” that reads suspiciously like a Disney plot.
Let me be clear:
You do not need a tragic backstory.
You do not need a viral achievement.
You do not need to cry while writing your essay (but go off if you want to).
What you do need is reflection. Not the type you post on your close friend’s story — the type you only think about on the bus when your music gets emotional for no reason.
Write from that place.
That’s the place that gets students into selective universities more than any “aesthetic application” ever will.
Final Word
Your college application isn’t a performance. It’s not an audition for the coolest version of yourself. It’s a chance to show a real human that you’re a real human too — complex, curious, imperfect, and in progress.
If social media taught you how to curate, college essays will teach you how to communicate.
And when you stop trying to sound impressive, you finally start sounding like someone worth admitting.
