This Girl Wrote An Essay About Pizza and It Got Her Into Yale
Writing a college admissions essay is tough. You want to show you’re intelligent, have depth, and boast a unique range of hobbies. Or you could just write about pizza.
That’s what Carolina Williams of Brentwood, Tennessee did, and it actually scored her a spot at Yale. The essay prompt said, “Write about what you love to do” and Williams explains she instantly knew her essay would cover her love of ordering pizza.
“Accepting those warm cardboard boxes at my front door is second nature to me, but I will always love ordering pizza because of the way eight slices of something so ordinary are able to evoke feelings of independence, consolation, and joy,” she wrote.
New Haven, Connecticut. New Haven, home to Yale University.
While it was certainly a risky topic, particularly as she was trying to earn a spot at an Ivy League school, the bold move paid off. Not only did she get an acceptance letter from the school, she also received a personalized note from the admissions officer who reviewed her materials. “As a fellow lover of pizza, I laughed out loud (then ordered pizza) after reading your application. Yale would be lucky to have you,” it read.
In an interesting plot twist, Williams actually declined Yale’s offer and ended up attending school at Auburn University. She joked that the campus has both a Papa John’s AND a Chick-Fil-A on campus, which were major selling points.
Lauren Levine is a freelance writer who has contributed to publications and websites including The Charlotte Observer, U.S. News & World Report, American Way magazine, The Huffington Post, Hello Giggles, Bustle, Thrillist, Thought Catalog, The Charlotte Observer, U.S. News & World Report, and others.
