Lucy’s Litmus Test

Whether you’re applying to college, graduate school, a residency, a job, or another opportunity—one thing you can be sure of is that you are engaged in a competitive process. You might be one of 10 applicants or 1,000 applicants. Either way, one of the main goals of your essay or letter of application should be to make you stand out from the competition.

Why Is It So Hard to Stand Out?

Standing out isn’t easy. In my experience, there are a handful of things that can make it really hard to set yourself apart:

1. Common experiences: Oftentimes, people applying to a particular institution, program, or job have done similar things to prepare themselves for that opportunity. For example, people applying to law school have often interned in law offices. Similarly, many people applying to speech language pathology programs have worked at summer camps for children with autism. So, applicants have a tendency to write about the same kinds of experiences in their essays.

2. Standard narratives: There’s a very natural human tendency to interpret our experiences according to familiar or expected narratives. For instance, when an applicant writes about their own disability or someone else’s, there may be a strong temptation to use an “overcoming adversity” narrative. Or, if an applicant writes about a volunteer or service experience, they might be inclined to write a narrative about “becoming a better person.” Not only are these storylines overused, but they’re sometimes problematic (a topic for another blog post). 

3. Cliché language: We tend to use the language that most readily comes to mind to describe our experiences. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read “I have a passion for helping people,” “For as long as I can remember,” and “Throughout history…”!

The Litmus Test

You won’t stand out if your application essay says the same thing everyone else is saying. So, I developed this litmus test to make sure every line is doing the work it can and should be doing. I ask of every sentence, “Could someone else use this sentence in their essay?” If the answer is yes, then that sentence either needs to go or to change.

So, what’s really great about this litmus test is that it catches three problems that tend to crop up in application essays:

1. Vague generalizations: It’s important to avoid broad, sweeping statements like, “A college education is important,” which tend to conform to standard narratives.

2. Clichés: You should also stay away from readymade phrases, like “I want to be the best ________ I can be.”

3. Unsupported claims: Anyone can claim they’re curious, compassionate, committed—or whatever other characteristic you think readers want to see in applicants. 

All of these problems get caught by the test, because all of them could appear in any application.

What To Do When the Litmus Test Fails

So, what do you do when you find a sentence that someone else could use in their essay? There are a few things I recommend:

1. Weirdify it: Are there any strange or unique elements of the story or example? If so, highlight those. 

2. Be more specific: Add details. Add examples. Even if your experience isn’t weird or unique, you can explain it in a way that no one else could say it.

3. Offer the unexpected: Interpret your experiences in a way that deviates from standard narratives.

4. Go back to the drawing board: Consider whether you should use different examples or information that might do a better job of helping you stand out.  

I want to acknowledge that it may not be possible to write an essay in which every single sentence passes the litmus test. What I tell my clients is that if they’re going to use a sentence that doesn’t pass the test (e.g., “That’s why I want to attend Kellogg School of Management”), they need to earn it with several sentences that do pass the test. 

Here’s an example of the opening paragraph of a personal statement for medical school that fails the litmus test several times over:

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by the human body and how it works. I remember reading books about anatomy, physiology, and diseases, and asking my parents endless questions about health and wellness. I also enjoyed volunteering at a local hospital, where I witnessed the impact of doctors on patients’ lives. These experiences sparked my interest in medicine and inspired me to pursue a career that combines scientific knowledge, compassion, and service. That is why I am applying to medical school, where I hope to learn from the best and become a competent and caring physician.

And here’s a revision of that paragraph that does a much better job of setting the writer apart:

I can still perfectly remember the top of my grandfather’s dresser. I see his black plastic comb, a ceramic bowl full of loose change, and a framed picture of my grandmother, all flecked with dust. But most memorable: the glass jar with a tumor suspended inside of it. A neurosurgeon removed the benign tumor from my grandfather’s brain a year before I was born, and he kept it—whether to celebrate survival or terrify his grandchildren, I am not sure. The hours I spent staring at that grape-sized knot of pink and white tissue were the beginning of my fascination with human anatomy and disease. But they were only the beginning. In the intervening years, I have seized every possible opportunity to not only learn about the human body but also learn what makes a good physician. I hope to enroll in medical school next fall, taking my biggest step yet in the journey that began with that jar on my grandfather’s dresser.

If you are struggling with writing an application essay that will stand out, I’d love to help. Book a consultation with me today.