Is it okay to quote Taylor Swift in my UC appliaction essay?Answered
I am a rising senior writing my college essays. One of my essay topics for the UC application is "What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?" I am writing about how I volunteered to write the quote of the week on the board before school every Monday in my history class. I did it all year anonymously. In my essay, I talked about a specific quote I wrote and how it is something I actually believe in. It is a Taylor Swift quote.
To conclude my essay, I talked about how I find joy in helping and inspiring people anonymously, or in seemingly small ways. I ended it with another one of my favorite Taylor Swift quotes: "Silence speaks so much louder than screaming tantrums."
I am not sure if that is the best way to go about an essay. Is it appropriate to use quotes from celebrities if they fit the context?
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5 answers
I think that your essay idea is creative, and quoting Taylor Swift is definitely fitting for your story. This could be a good essay if executed well.
More importantly than quotes though, this essay will need to explain the power of your impact in detail. Show that your impact was tangible at your school through anecdotes - for example, you could describe hearing someone in your class talking about how happy your quote made them. Hope this helps!
Should you use quotes? Yes
Should you use a lot? No
Should you quote a pop star? Unless you are studying music and/or pop culture history and it is relevant, helllll no.
Even though I'm a big Swiftie, quotes should be used sparingly in your college essay. Only include a quote if it had an enormous impact on your life and is extremely relevant to the narrative you are crafting. Since quotes themselves are the focus of your response, I think a quote would be appropriate! However, I would only include one. Too many quotes can seem like a cheap way to meet your word count. Instead, I would focus on how selecting and writing out the quotes you chose impacted you and your fellow students.
I think it would be best not to end with a Taylor Swift quote but instead end it with something that's more personal and shows more about yourself.
While I think your topic is a good one to write about, I do not think college admissions readers will give you more bonus points for quoting a pop star. Rather, I think if you can pull off the essay without dropping celebrity names, you'll be better off. Why? Let's face it 17 and 18-year-old girls might love Taylor Swift but you don't know who your reader is. They might be a 40-year-old single mom of 3 boys or a 55-year-old former history professor. Name dropping does not help reinforce your selfless behavior. Rather, it is unnecessary to tell the story.
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