Can I Mention Pop Culture in College Essays?
by Kathleen M.
Yes and no. How is that for an answer?
As with many things you are considering as you prepare to write a college admissions essay, the answer is maybe. It depends on what example you are using and why you want to use that answer.
If the pop culture reference shows the reader something about you, then the answer is more likely to be yes. But remember that you will need to focus on you, and not the pop culture reference.
It doesn’t matter how much you know about Star Wars or The Simpsons, if you don’t use the reference to show readers how awesome you are. Your ability to retell the key points and highlights of your favorite pop culture reference only matters if it works for your essay.
Another consideration is if the reader will recognize the reference. Again, this shouldn’t stop you, but if you are a fan of a rather niche form of pop culture, then you will have to offer a little more description to make sure the reader “gets” the reference.
You will need to consider if this is worth the effort or if there is a simpler way of doing the same thing without the pop culture reference in your essay.
So as with all decisions you are making with regard to your writing – the main questions apply:
Will the reader understand this reference?
Does this reference support my idea?
Am I communicating the point I want to make?
As you brainstorm, include all of the ideas that are possible to include.
Then as you begin composing, try out different variations. And as you edit, remove anything that doesn’t work with your purpose and audience.
This is a basic, three-step writing process, but these three steps can take up months of time.
As you write, now you know the factors to think about for including pop culture in your application essay.
