Should you research before writing a college essay?

RReaders in Stanford's admissions office traced the two most common essay failures to one belief: that students can only write about what they remember. Something odd happens when a bright student sits down to write. She has spent years reading, arguing and solving problems, and the moment the prompt says tell us about yourself, she starts thinking like a diarist. Memory hands back what memory always has, childhood scenes, a cousin who moved away, a lesson about appreciating what you have, and the draft becomes a dear diary essay about being generous, kind or a little silly.

The applicant is asking to study alongside people who win major prizes for discovery, and the essay offers a story about a family move. The memories themselves are rarely the problem, and the difference lies in what a student brings to them.