Does anyone have a sample of the correct college essay format?

I’m a Yale graduate and college admissions advisor with over 8 years of experience helping students gain admission to top universities like Harvard, Stanford, and MIT. I’ve reviewed thousands of Common App essays and can walk you through exactly how to format yours so it looks clean and professional when submitted.

The Common App essay doesn’t require — and in fact strips out — fancy formatting. Extra styles like bold, italics, underlining, colored text, or different fonts won’t appear to admissions officers. When you paste your essay into the Common App text box, it will display in a standard, plain-text format, so there’s no need to spend time on visual styling.

Here’s a simple format that works well:

* No title at the top. Most essays jump straight into the story, and admissions officers expect this.
* Separate paragraphs with a single blank line (press “Enter” twice). Don’t indent the first line of each paragraph — just use the line space to break them up.
* Keep everything left-aligned. The Common App doesn’t allow centering or different justification, so everything will line up on the left margin.

Example:

I never thought a soccer injury would land me in the theater department, but when I tore my ACL freshman year, I had to find a new after-school passion. My friends convinced me to join the stage crew.

The first time I held a paintbrush to a two-story backdrop, I realized I could create entire worlds from scratch.

Notice the single blank line between paragraphs, no indent, and simple, clean alignment.

Extra tips:

* Paste your essay into the application and preview it before submitting to catch any spacing issues.
* If you use special characters or em dashes, double-check that they display correctly.
* Avoid using tabs — stick with line breaks instead.

If you follow this straightforward approach, your essay will display exactly as intended and keep the focus where it belongs — on your words and storytelling.

Over the past 8 years, I’ve helped thousands of students craft essays and applications that stand out at the most selective schools, including the Ivy League and Stanford. To give each student the highest level of attention, I keep my caseload small — booking early guarantees a place. I’m currently offering free consultations for new Sundial families where we’ll review your goals, brainstorm essay ideas, and outline a clear application strategy. You can book directly through my profile.

I know this process can feel overwhelming at times, but you are fully capable of navigating it successfully. I’m always here to help guide you through it.