The Ted Lasso Guide to Telling a Great College Essay Story

This article contains spoilers for the Ted Lasso show on Apple TV.

Most students start their college essay with a reasonable question: What do I want colleges to know about me? Maybe they're resilient. Curious. Compassionate. Creative. Independent. A leader.

The problem comes when students “tell admissions officers those things. Great storytelling works differently. Instead of announcing what we're supposed to think about someone, it gives us moments that allow us to discover that person for ourselves. Few television shows do that better than Ted Lasso. Here are five storytelling lessons worth borrowing.

1. Tell a Story Instead of Announcing Your Message

One of Ted Lasso's most memorable scenes takes place over a game of darts. As Ted prepares for his final throws, he talks about being underestimated throughout his life and recalls seeing the words “Be curious, not judgmental” painted on a wall. Ted realizes that the people who underestimated him weren't curious about him. They had already decided who he was.

Had his darts opponent been curious, Ted explains, he might have asked whether Ted had played a lot of darts. The answer would have been yes: every Sunday afternoon with his father from the time Ted was 10 until his father died when Ted was 16. Then Ted wins the game.

Ted could simply have said, Don't judge people based on appearances. Instead, the writers give us a story and let us discover the message ourselves. That's an important distinction for a college essay. A strong college essay usually needs both scene and reflection: show the reader what happened, then help them understand why it mattered to you.

Instead of writing this:

People sometimes underestimate me because I'm quiet, but I've learned not to let other people's perceptions determine what I can accomplish.

Consider approaching it with a story:

When Mr. Hernandez asked who wanted to present our robot to the judges, all three of my teammates looked at Ethan. I looked at Ethan too. He was our team's talker. I was the kid who had spent the previous three nights figuring out why our navigation code kept sending the robot into a folding chair. Then Ethan lost his voice. Ten minutes before judging, he handed me our presentation cards."You're up," he said.

Now we want to know what happens. More importantly, the student hasn't told us people underestimate me because I'm quiet. We're beginning to discover it ourselves. That's much more powerful.

2. Start Small, The Meaning Can Be Big

At the beginning of Season 2, AFC Richmond’s greyhound mascot, Earl, dies in a tragic accident during a match. At the press conference afterward, a reporter asks Ted to comment on what happened. Ted answers with a seemingly unrelated story.

When Ted was three, his neighbor's dog, Hank, attacked him, leaving Ted terrified of dogs. Years later, when Ted was in high school, that neighbor was struggling after his wife's death and stopped properly caring for Hank. Ted began feeding Hank, walking him, and playing with him. Eventually, Ted took him in. The dog Ted had once been terrified of became a dog he loved. About a year later, Hank had to be put to sleep.

Ted connects that experience back to Earl and reflects on how something that once made us cry for one reason can eventually make us cry for an entirely different reason. The story begins with a dog, but it's really about fear, compassion, change, grief, and the unexpected ways relationships transform us. College essays can do exactly the same thing.

Instead of writing this:

My relationship with my younger brother has taught me the importance of patience, empathy, and unconditional love.

Consider approaching it with a story:

There are 147 Pokémon on the poster above my brother's bed. I know because I've counted them. Many times. When he gets overwhelmed, he doesn't want advice. He doesn't want me to tell him everything will be okay. He wants me to sit next to him and count Pokémon. I used to make it to about 30 before getting impatient. Now I know all 147.

The essay starts with Pokémon, but it's not really about Pokémon. That's precisely the point.

3. Let a Detail Carry the Emotion

Ted frequently reveals what he's feeling through seemingly ordinary details rather than explaining his emotions directly. Early in the series, Ted receives a care package from his son. Inside is barbecue sauce from Kansas City. Ted then talks about how food can transport you home: a single taste can bring you back to where you came from.

It's a small moment, but it tells us quite a bit about Ted. He's thousands of miles from home. He misses his family. And home isn't an abstract concept to him. It has a taste. Ted doesn't need to tell us, I'm homesick and struggling with being separated from my family. The barbecue sauce helps us feel it.

That's a useful technique for a college essay. Rather than naming an important emotion, relationship, or value, look for the object, ritual, habit, or memory that makes it visible.

Instead of writing this:

My family and my cultural heritage have always been incredibly important to me.

Consider telling a story:

There are six containers of tomato sauce in our freezer. There are always six. Every other Sunday, my grandfather arrives at 8:00 a.m. with two bags of tomatoes and the same wooden spoon he has been using since before I was born. By noon, our kitchen windows are fogged, and I've heard at least three stories I've heard before. I used to wonder why we couldn't just buy sauce. I don't anymore.

The student never has to announce that family and tradition matter. The wooden spoon and the fogged windows tell us.

4. Don't Be Afraid to Tell a Story About Struggling

Students often think their college essay should present a steady march toward success. Ted's stories don't work that way. When Richmond is struggling, Ted tells his players about what he calls “rom-communism.” He talks about romantic comedies and how their characters inevitably encounter a difficult stretch of the “dark forest.”

Ted's point isn't that difficult things won't happen. It's almost the opposite. The dark forest is part of the story. It just doesn't have to be the end of it. And Ted acknowledges something else that's important: things may not work out exactly the way you expected or hoped.

That's worth remembering when choosing a college essay topic. You don't need to choose a story in which everything went right. Sometimes the more interesting story is about something that didn't. The point is not merely to describe a setback. The reader should also see how the student responded, changed, or developed a more complicated understanding of the experience.

Instead of writing this:

Although starting the debate club was initially challenging, I persevered and ultimately made it a successful organization.

Consider approaching it with a story:

Seven people signed up for the first meeting of the debate club. Two came. One was my best friend, whom I had threatened with lifelong consequences if he didn't attend. The other walked into the wrong classroom. I had brought 24 donuts.

Now we want to know what happened next. Maybe the club eventually became successful. Maybe it didn't. Either can make a great essay. The interesting question isn't always Did you succeed? Sometimes it's: What did you do next?

5. Give the Reader Something to Remember

Some of Ted's best lessons stick because he attaches an abstract idea to something concrete. After Sam Obisanya, the Nigerian player, makes a mistake during practice and is having trouble getting past it, Ted asks him a strange question: “What is the happiest animal on Earth?” The answer, according to Ted, is a goldfish because it has a ten-second memory. His advice to Sam is simple: Be a goldfish.

Ted could have told him not to dwell on his mistakes. He could have talked about resilience, confidence, or focusing on the next play. Instead, he gives us a goldfish. And we remember it.

Admissions officers read thousands of essays. When they finish yours, what will they remember? Often, it isn't a big idea. It's the small detail that represents the big idea.

Instead of writing this:

Running has taught me that accomplishing difficult goals requires discipline, patience, and the willingness to keep going even when progress feels slow.

Consider explaining it with a story:

My alarm goes off at 5:47 every morning. By 5:52, my shoes are on. At 5:55, I'm standing on the same cracked section of sidewalk at the end of my driveway, negotiating with myself. One mile. That's the deal. I only have to run one mile. I've made this deal with myself 186 times. I've never run only one mile.

The reader may eventually forget the student's mileage, race times, or training schedule. But they may remember 5:47, the cracked sidewalk, or the daily negotiation over one mile. Those small details make an abstract idea like discipline visible. When you're editing your essay, ask yourself: What's my goldfish?

Trust Your Reader

Specific scenes give an essay life, but reflection gives it purpose. After showing what happened, ask: What did I misunderstand at the beginning? What changed in how I think or act? What does this moment reveal that a list of accomplishments would not? Trusting the reader does not mean making the reader do all the interpretive work.

There is an irony to college essays. Students spend enormous amounts of time trying to figure out what admissions officers want them to say. But some of the strongest essays don't feel like applications at all. They feel like stories.

So before writing, I'm resilient; show us the moment you wanted to quit. Before writing, I'm curious; take us down the rabbit hole you couldn't resist exploring. Before writing, I'm compassionate; show us who you sat beside. Before writing, I'm a leader; show us the moment you discovered you weren't listening.

Give us the robot crashing to the folding chair, the Pokémon poster, the wooden spoon, the 24 uneaten donuts and the 5:47 alarm. Then trust us to understand why they matter.

Don't tell admissions officers who you are. Tell them a story that lets them discover who you are.

Have a story to tell but not sure how to tell it? At Mentor Admissions, we help students find the stories worth telling and shape them into essays that reveal who they are without losing their voice. Schedule a complimentary consultation here.