Can You Use Humor in a College Essay?

Short answer: Yes. If it’s truly funny and reveals more than just your sense of humor.

Longer answer: Humor can be super effective if done well. The risk is that the joke or the sarcasm or the turn of a phrase doesn’t land. Full inherent bias disclosure: I use humor to positively differentiate myself daily. If you’ve seen my other videos, you will notice the absence of the bookshelf behind me and that I have a character named Duke Earl King IV, Canine Ventriloquist.

If humor is part of who you are and how you think, it will come across organically.

Fun fact: Few things are as bad as getting caught trying too hard — whether it be humor or vocabulary. As Duke says, don’t do it.