CommonApp Essay

The Common App is sent to all universities, is 650 words, and tells your personal story. Students who applied this past year had the option to select one of the following 7 essay prompts. Keep in mind that some prompts may change each year (you will know for certain what they are when the Common App opens in August): 

• 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? 

• Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

• 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.

Before you begin this process, we encourage you to read all sample essays presented below. 

Complete brainstorming exercises: There are several exercises you can use for brainstorming essay topics, which can either be found in your student portal or in this document. These include: 

• 21 Details Essay Brainstorm

• Essence Objects Exercise

• Values Exercise 

• The “Everything I Want Colleges to Know About Me” List

• The CP 360 College Essay Bible Brainstorm 

There are some useful ways to frame the question that may make it easier to get started when picking a prompt and topic, such as: 

• If you had 10 minutes to talk face-to-face to the admissions officer reviewing your application, what would you say to them?

• What do you want the admissions officers to know about you that isn’t elsewhere in your application?

• What’s an anecdote or specific moment that reveals a lot about you, is important to you, or is relevant to any of the prompts?

• What’s something that’s incredibly important to you? How can you relate this to yourself, and then to one of the prompts?

• Your essay does not have to be about the war or the direct impact of the conflict, even if it has had a significant impact on your life. This can be incorporated in other parts of your application.  

Writing a strong Common App Essay is not only about telling a good story (although that’s important), it’s also about being vulnerable, sharing your most authentic self, and sharing what you will bring to the university campus. Please use the tips below to help you develop your essay: 

If you’re writing about a challenge you faced, you can use the following structure to be able to meet the goals for the Common App essay outlined above: 

• What was the challenge? Explain the challenge (spend the first 25%, or approximately 160 words, explaining the problem) 

• What did you do about the problem? (spend the next 50%, or approximately 325 words), explaining what you did about the project

• What did you learn? Spend the last 160 words explaining what you learned from the challenge and navigating the challenge, and close strongly! 

For each essay a student writes, there will be at least three reviewers:

• The Student’s Mentor

• SYE Staff or Interns

• An Expert Reviewer

We also highly recommend SYE students to provide feedback on each other's essays. This will both allow students to learn from each other, and to become acquainted with peer-editing processes, which can be invaluable in college settings. It takes several months to perfect the Common App essay, so it is important for students to begin them as soon as possible. 

Note to mentors: 

When mentors give students feedback, they should not write any portion of the essay or rewrite any parts of it. It is very important for this to be the students’ work and for them to maintain their voice. Mentors should, however, provide feedback on how to craft the essay, help them clearly tell their story, and provide feedback on grammar and structure.