11 Common App essay clichés admissions readers actually hate.
Admissions officers read 30,000+ essays a cycle. They can spot a cliché opening in 4 seconds. Below: the specific phrases that show up in over half the essays we’ve seen, why they kill momentum, and what to write instead.
Here’s the thing nobody tells you: clichés don’t make essays bad because they’re poorly written. They make essays bad because they’re indistinguishable. An admissions reader sitting on file 47 of the day reads “Ever since I was young” and their eyes glaze over before sentence two — not because the writer is bad, but because the first 12 words promised a familiar story they’ve already read 30 times this week.
Your job is to break that pattern in the first sentence. Below is the list of openings and phrases you should never use — paired with a real fix.
“Ever since I was young, I’ve been passionate about science.”
Why it kills the essay: It says nothing. Every applicant has been into something since they were young — that’s the definition of being young.
“The first time I burned my eyebrows off was over a homemade rocket fuel test in my driveway. I was 11.”
“I have always loved learning.”
Why it kills the essay: If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be applying to a top program. This is space-filler.
“I keep a notes app called “dumb questions I want to know more about” — it has 142 entries.”
“My passion for X began when…”
Why it kills the essay: “Passion” is the most overused word in college essays. Replace it.
“I got obsessed with X the night I [specific moment]. I haven’t put it down since.”
“It was at that moment that I knew…”
Why it kills the essay: Knowing things in moments is what every essay claims. Show the moment, don’t announce it.
“Drop the line entirely. Let the moment do the work.”
“Stepping outside my comfort zone…”
Why it kills the essay: Lazy abstraction. Everyone does this. Be specific about what you actually did.
“I signed up for a debate tournament on a topic I knew nothing about. Got destroyed. Came back the next week.”
“The lab/team/club felt like home.”
Why it kills the essay: Home is a cliché metaphor for belonging. Belonging deserves better language.
“I started leaving my jacket on the back of the same chair every Wednesday. After a month, no one moved it.”
“I learned the value of teamwork.”
Why it kills the essay: If you’re writing this in 2026, you have lost. This sentence is in 80% of essays.
“Cut the abstraction. Show the specific teamwork moment that mattered.”
“I have never been the same since.”
Why it kills the essay: Every essay claims a transformation. Show the specific change instead.
“I still flinch at the smell of pine — that’s the only place that experience left a mark.”
“It taught me to never give up.”
Why it kills the essay: Lesson-learned essays read as performative. Adults don’t talk like this. Don’t.
“I gave up — twice. I came back to it on a Tuesday in March. Here’s why.”
“Through this experience, I gained…”
Why it kills the essay: Generic transition. Cut it and let the next paragraph do the work.
“Just delete the line.”
“I am the [adjective] [role] who [generic claim].”
Why it kills the essay: Self-labeling sentences (“I am the determined leader who…”) read as job applications.
“Show the trait through a specific action. Let the reader call you what you are.”
The pattern behind every cliché on this list
Every one of these phrases is abstract where it should be specific. They claim a feeling, a lesson, a transformation — without the concrete moment that makes the claim believable. Fix the abstraction-to-specificity ratio in your draft and the clichés self-destruct: there’s no room for “I learned the value of teamwork” once you’ve described the actual moment your team almost split up over a Google Doc fight.