Yes, an anecdote about your son's positive impact on a kid, or a story about having to leave his comfort zone at his summer camp counseling job makes a better college essay than how well he did in the stock market, the DECA competition, or debate team. The purpose of the essay is to reveal a fine character (there are many character traits), not to "impress." In the same vein, parents often ask me to make the language in their kids' essays more sophisticated. No doubt they wa