“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
― Gary Provost
Here are the Common App essay prompts for 2022-2023.
College essay Dos and Don'ts from William & Mary.
Tips from Hamilton College. "Essays That Worked" from Hamilton's alumni magazine.
Parke Muth, former Senior Assistant Dean and Director of International Admission Office of Undergraduate Admission at UVA, on the "McEssay." (Originally published in U.S. News and World Reports.)
100+ Recent College Essay Topics
Public Speaking Tips from Comedians
See more examples in docs uploaded below.
Impressive speeches & TED talks
Nick Kocher - Paideia High School, 2007 (Atlanta, GA) (Nick went on to write for Saturday Night Live)
Reggie Watts (comedian/musician)
Chimamanda Adichie (author of Purple Hibiscus)
Alex Peavey at TEDxYouthRVA in fall 2018
Eli Bowles ('14) at TEDxYouthRVA in fall 2017
Past Collegiate Senior Speeches
Assemblies from the from the Class of 2015 through today can be watched on Collegiate's Ustream Assemblies channel.
Ellie Fleming ('16) (speech starts at 17:55) A thoughtful reflection on the nature of community service in a foreign country.
Millie Dubose ('16) & Evie Taylor ('16) (Millie starts at 8:22 & Evie starts at 12:32) Millie speaks about community service in Richmond. Evie tells a fond memory from childhood.
David Angstadt ('16) (speech starts at 33:00)
Caroline Ennis ('17) (speech starts at 9:34)
Price Withers ('17) (speech starts at 22:27) Price speaks about his adopted sister from China.
Grant Villanueva ('17) & Shaan Sharma ('17) (speech starts at 23:26) Two friends talk about getting mistaken for each other and their identities as hyphenated Americans.
Zaed Karabatek ('19) speaks about his mother's story of perseverance (speech starts at 26:40).