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What is the best topic to write a college admissions essay about?

I have seen lots of ideas and lots of do’s and don’t’s and am not sure what to do.

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Martha’s Answer

Hi, Amelia, you have asked an excellent question and already received great advice. To add my two cents:

- Since many colleges (and universities) accept the Common App, I would start there (current prompts - https://www.commonapp.org/blog/2023-2024-common-app-essay-prompts). Which one or two appeal to you the most, bring up a story from your life that you would want to tell? Once you identify them, write notes about what you might include.
- As Alan and Lisa said, the essay should be about you - your values, how you think, how you have grown, etc. Any event/story could be a jumping-off point. Remember that the essay has limited words, so if the story needs a lot of set-up, maybe it is not the best one to use.
- Use vocabulary and creativity in the service of making your points, not for their own sakes. The point of the essay is to help admission officers imagine you as a student at their school. Even if the essay reads well, it fails if it doesn't do that.
- When/if you write supplemental essays, have them complement the Common App, not repeat it.
- Leave yourself time for multiple drafts and to have someone else read the essay.

Good luck!

Martha recommends the following next steps:

Select the 1-2 Common App prompts that "speak" to you
Write down what you want admission officers to know about you so you can include in the essay
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Lisa’s Answer

Hi Amelia,

The best college essays are the ones that are unique to you and paint a good picture of who you really are you and why you do what you do. That’s the purpose behind each college essay and supplement.

Take a look at Khan Academy’s site and what college admissions officers say about the essay and the type of essays that stand out to them.

If you are still not sure, then start by answering the prompt and brainstorming 2 to 3 stories in your life that you can use to share more about yourself.

For example, you can talk about 2 or 3 of the best birthdays and what you did or received that changed your life. You can talk about travel experiences that changed your life. Again, you’ll write briefly about the destination and spend time explaining what happened to you, what you saw, ate, tried, etc. Again you want to share something that can illustrate your growth, mindset, passion, etc.

If that still doesn’t help, then watch the movie, Nanny Diaries with Scarlet Johansson (I think). The entire movie is her college essay. Pay attention to how she starts, develops the story and ends it.

I hope this helps!
Lisa
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Alan’s Answer

"Do's and don't's" can be helpful if they're not too rigid and arbitrary. The ultimate topic you should write about is you. That's what they want to know about. They want to see insight, purpose, depth, uniqueness and creativity. They want to know about the experiences, hardships and dreams that have shaped you. What they don't want is clichéd, formulaic writing that seems calculated to be "what they're looking for." What do you want to tell them about yourself, your life, your thoughts, your aspirations and your values that will make you a good match and valuable addition to their community? What is your passion? They also want to see skillful, carefully edited and well organized writing. And if you can enjoy writing it, that will come across so that they might enjoy it, too, and remember it. Start it with something that will draw them in, then go from there.
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Laney’s Answer, CareerVillage.org Team

Hi Amelia! This is a great question. My best advice for writing your college admissions essay is to write about something that is special and unique to you (ie writing about what really makes you YOU!). You want to use the essay to convey things outside of your academic resume and test scores. It's a place for you to share more about who you are as a person, the little stuff that gets left out of the other application parts . General do's and don'ts can be helpful, but ultimately, you want to write about something that means something to you. Being creative with your ideas always helps you stand out, but at the end of the day, the point of the essay is to communicate more about who you are on the inside. The best more technical advice I received was to "show and not tell". By this, it means showing who you are (or what you are trying to convey) through a story, rather than telling the reader exactly what you mean. Best of luck and its always helpful to get as many readers/ opinions /feedback as you can. Trust yourself and write from the heart!
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