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Oh! That College Essay!!
The College Essay, also known as the Personal Statement, will serve as the centerpiece of your college application. It is the one piece of your application that is current and in your voice.
Colleges are looking for the following out of your college essay:
Who is this applicant, in their own words?
What will this applicant contribute to our school and school's community?
Can this person write, both with clarity and attention to detail?
College essay parameters--
Length - the college essay needs to be between 250-650 words long
Format- the college essay should be in MLA format (e.g. has a concrete introduction, body, and conclusion and uses correct punctuation).
Title- your college essay does not need a title, but you are welcome to put one at the top of the essay.
College essay topics--
Most students write their college essay about some sort of challenge or obstacle they have overcome, but the college essay can be written about just about anything so long as it is about YOU!
Lots of great essays have been written about how wonderful a parent, friend, grandparent, etc. is, but the college isn't looking to accept them, they're looking to accept YOU. Make sure to sell yourself when writing your essay.
Below are the various prompts (only choose ONE) that Common App allows students to choose from, including a "choose your own topic:"
The 2024-2025 Common App Essay Prompts are as follows:
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
How Do I Choose a Topic?
This is a great question!
Some students read through the prompts and instantly think of something to write about. That's a good sign that it's probably a good topic to write about and something you know a lot about.
Other students read through and can think of an essay topic for multiple prompts. In this case, I usually suggest that students write down bullet points of everything they want to include for each prompt. Usually one prompt has more bullet points than the others, which is usually a good sign that is the prompt you should go with.
Stuck on coming up with a topic altogether? That's OK too- we're here to help. Watch this VIDEO to be inspired and this ONE to be inspired!
How do I Edit my Essay?
There's a couple schools of thought on this.
Clarity, grammar and correct spelling/punctuation are all extremely important. For those aspects of your essay, it is important to have one or two trusted people proofread your essay.
Though, the admissions representatives who read your essay are very good at deciphering if the voice in a college essay sounds different from the voice in the rest of the application. When this happens, it likely means that the essay was over-edited and is no longer an accurate representation of who that student is. Make sure that the tone and writing style are still yours and that, if someone does help you edit your college essay, they're not re-writing it for you.
How Do I Upload my Essay to Common App?
Log-in to your Common App, and to go the Common App tab at the top.
Go to the 'Writing' section of your Common Application (bottom tab on the left).
Click to check off the 'I understand' box (this allows your essay to be sent to your schools when you apply).
Check off which prompt you chose to write your essay about.
Copy & paste your essay into the box at the bottom.
Resources for organizing, writing, and editing your college essay/personal statement:
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