Pre-2013 Common Application Personal Essay Tips

Pre-2013 Common Application Personal Essay Tips Important Note for 2019-20 Applicants: The Common Application essay options have changed twice since this article was written! Nevertheless, the tips and sample essays below will still provide useful guidance and essay samples for the current Common Application, and both the old and new applications include the topic of your choice option. That said, be sure to read the most up-to-date article on the 2019-20 Common Application Essay Prompts. ________________________________ Heres the original article: The first step to writing a stellar personal essay on your college application is to understand your options. Below is a discussion of the six essay options from the Common Application. Also be sure to check out these 5 Application Essay Tips. Option #1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. Note the key word here: evaluate. You arent just describing something; the best essays will explore the complexity of the issue. When you examine the impact on you, you need to show the depth of your critical thinking abilities. Introspection, self-awareness and self-analysis are all important here. And be careful with essays about the winning touchdown or tie-breaking goal. These sometimes have an off-putting look how great I am tone and very little self-evaluation. Read Drews essay, The Job I Should Have Quit, for an example of option #15 tips for essay option #1 Option #2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you. Be careful to keep the importance to you at the heart of your essay. Its easy to get off track with this essay topic and start ranting about global warming, Darfur, or abortion. The admissions folks want to discover your character, passions and abilities in the essay; they want more than a political lecture. Read Sophies essay, The Allegany County Youth Board, for an example of option #25 tips for essay option #2 Option #3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence. Im not a fan of this prompt because of the wording: describe that influence. A good essay on this topic does more than describe. Dig deep and analyze. And handle a hero essay with care. Your readers have probably seen a lot of essays talking about what a great role model Mom or Dad or Sis is. Also realize that the influence of this person doesnt need to be positive. Read Maxs essay, Student Teacher, for an example of option #3Read Jills essay, Buck Up, for another example of option #3Read Catherines essay, Diamond in the Rough, for yet another example of option #36 tips for essay option #3 Option #4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence. Here as in #3, be careful of that word describe. You should really be analyzing this character or creative work. What makes it so powerful and influential? Read Felicitys essay, Porkopolis, for an example of option #4Read Eileens essay, Wallflower, for another example of option #47 tips for essay option #4 Option #5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you. Realize that this question defines diversity in broad terms. Its not specifically about race or ethnicity (although it can be). Ideally, the admissions folks want every student they admit to contribute to the richness and breadth of the campus community. How do you contribute? Read Carries essay, Give Goth a Chance, for an example of option #55 tips for essay option #5 Option #6. Topic of your choice. Sometimes you have a story to share that doesnt quite fit into any of the options above. However, the first five topics are broad with a lot of flexibility, so make sure your topic really cant be identified with one of them. Also, dont equate topic of your choice with a license to write a comedy routine or poem (you can submit such things via the Additional Info option). Essays written for this prompt still need to have substance and tell your reader something about you. Read Loras essay, Eating Eyeballs, for a sample of option #6