Can someone show me a good example of college admission essay formatting?

You’re definitely not alone in stressing about college essay formatting! The good news is the required format for the Common App essay is actually a lot simpler than what you might use for a school assignment.

Here are the key points to keep in mind:

1. Font & Size: The Common App essay box has a default font and size. You don’t get to pick font style or size, so you don’t have to worry about that. If you’re drafting in a separate document (like Google Docs or Word), use a basic, readable font like Times New Roman or Arial in 12-point size—just to make things easy to read while you work on it.

2. Spacing: When you copy/paste your essay into the Common App, it single-spaces your text by default. Double-spacing isn’t necessary.

3. Indents & Paragraphs: Don’t use a tab to indent new paragraphs. Instead, hit "Enter" twice to create a blank line between paragraphs. This is the standard way college application essays display new paragraphs.

4. Title: You don't need a title for your essay unless a specific college requests one, which is rare for the Common App. If you do add a title, keep it very short and simple. Most applicants skip it entirely to save space for their story.

For example, a typical essay submission will look like this:

(First paragraph without indentation)


(Second paragraph after a line break)


(And so on.)

No special formatting like italics, bold, or underlining is needed for any part of the essay, unless you want to emphasize a word or phrase—but use that sparingly, as the formatting doesn’t always carry over into the application.

One more tip: When you finalize your essay, always copy and paste it into the Common App preview tool to see exactly how it will look to admissions officers. This helps you catch weird line breaks or lost paragraph spacing that can happen with copy/paste.

The focus should be on your story and authentic voice, not fancy formatting. As long as your essay is easy to read, clearly divided into paragraphs, and within the 650-word limit, you’re all set!