Should I indent my paragraphs in college essays or use block formatting?

Question

I'm starting to draft my Common App essay and I'm a bit stuck on the formatting details. I've always indented my paragraphs for school assignments, but I heard that's not necessary for college essays. 

Is it better to use block formatting with a space between paragraphs, or is indenting acceptable (or even preferred)? I want my essay to look as professional as possible. If there's an official rule, can someone point me to it? I'd appreciate any advice, especially from students who have submitted their essays already or counselors familiar with what admissions officers expect.

Accepted Answer

For college essays submitted through the Common App and most online application platforms, it's best to use block formatting rather than indenting your paragraphs. That means you should not indent the first line of each paragraph; instead, start new paragraphs by hitting "Enter" twice to put a blank line between them. This makes your essay much easier to read on screens, which is how admissions officers will review your application.

There's no official formatting rule from the Common App stating you must use block formatting; however, their system automatically removes indents when you paste your essay into the text box, so indenting won’t appear as intended anyway. Admissions offices are very used to seeing block format because of this. If you submit a document upload (very rare for the Common App’s personal statement), you could use either, but block formatting is still recommended for consistency and readability.

For example, if your essay looked like this in Microsoft Word:

     I’ve always been fascinated by how things work.
     From a young age, I tinkered...

it will lose those indents in the Common App editor. Instead, you should format it like:

I’ve always been fascinated by how things work.

From a young age, I tinkered...

This is also what students and counselors with experience recommend. It might feel a bit weird if you’re used to indents, but readers appreciate the clearer structure, especially when working through hundreds of essays a day.

Just double-check your essay in the Common App preview before submitting to make sure the paragraphs appear how you want. Focus more on clarity and content—admissions officers care much more about your story than tiny formatting details, as long as your essay is easy to read.