The authors examined how high school seniors conceptualized the task of writing college admissions essays, the audience for that writing, and themselves as potentially college-worthy writers. In a survey and related interviews, students revealed more emphasis on generic good writing than on the narrative argument genre that college admissions personnel often privilege. Students who wrote to address a specific college admissions audience varied considerably in how they conceptualized this set of readers, and many students did not write with a particular audience in mind. Students who emphasized the pivotal role of writing quality were often equivocal about their chances of being convincing. These findings suggest that teachers should help students learn about the narrative argument genre, build students' familiarity with admissions readers as audiences, and support students' sense of self-efficacy in academic writing. Recommendations for reshaping college admissions are also included.