The Prime Directive of College Applications
Make admissions officers think you are an interesting/cool/exuberant/funny/upstanding individual -- someone they would want to go on a cross-country or road trip with, as well as a smart and effortlessly multitalented person.
And remember as you embark on your voyage of composition and self-discovery:
"Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth, without caring two pence how often it has been told before, you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it." - C.S Lewis
"You can write about losing the big game, but when you have finished, read it and ask yourself if anyone else could have written the same essay. No matter what you write, if you think the college might receive even one other essay like yours, rewrite it."
-Director of Counseling
"Often I could be heard shouting after I'd made my way through a long string of essays, none that had told me anything about their authors. Don't tell me a story; tell me the part you played in the story. Don't tell me details; tell me how you experienced those details. Tell me about the process you went through, not the process that took place. I want to know what you did, why you did it, how you did it, and if you do it again."
-Dean of Admissions, Ivy League School