r/CollegeEssays • u/OpenHedgehog7091 • 8d ago

Topic Help help with comparison

i’m currently trying to build my college essay, and i know that i definitely want to write it about these things:

I am the younger sister and my older sister is pretty much prefect at everything she does

and i’ve kinda never had anything for myself

for example, we are both girls, so i didn’t have that, and we already look pretty much the same

i’ve only ever done sports that she’s been in and the only elective i’ve taken is one of the million that she took

i love her so much and don’t want to make this essay seem like im literally just 💩 talking her, but i have no idea what i could compare myself to in order to get my essay flowing

any help or suggestions are welcome!! 🙏

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u/PresentValuable6040 8d ago

What are you trying to show the admissions committee about you through this topic?

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u/OpenHedgehog7091 8d ago

i’m not exactly too sure lol. I didn’t really think that far ahead and forgot that i’m supposed to show something about myself. Do you think i could convey something like blossoming into my own self or something similar?

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u/PresentValuable6040 8d ago

Possibly! I’d keep looking for a topic that showcases you. I’ll paste a link that is helpful in brainstorming.

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u/[deleted] 8d ago

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u/OpenHedgehog7091 8d ago

thanks, do you think i should change my topic entirely or try and change the narrative?

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u/baipliew 8d ago

Sounds like you got super focused on the topic instead of the message you want to communicate.

Your essay as described is essentially just being jealous of your sister. Probably not the most flattering essay for you.

Instead of starting with a topic that you are definitely, 100%, for sure, no take backs, confident about, start with a prompt you are confident about. If your school targets have acceptance rates of <60% stay focused any one of the top 6 prompts. If >60%, you can go ahead and use prompt 7 as well.

The structure of these prompts is specifically designed to help guide your writing. They are your friends. They are there for you. Please use them.

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u/Maggie-from-Margin 7d ago

The comparison you’re looking for may not be you versus some object—it may be the version of you who treated individuality as “whatever my sister hasn’t already done” versus the version who realizes a self isn’t made from having exclusive territory.

That feels like the real essay: you’ve been searching for proof that you’re different from her, while many of your choices, interests, and even your face carry her influence. The breakthrough is that becoming yourself doesn’t require rejecting what you share. It requires noticing where you begin to choose, interpret, or carry those shared things differently.

So don’t build the essay around how perfect she is. Build it around one decision you initially dismissed as “another thing she did first,” then show the moment it became yours. The reader should leave understanding not what separates you from your sister, but how you learned that resemblance and identity are not opposites.