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How to Answer Each Common App Prompt

Are you trying to choose which Common App prompt to use for your personal essay? Keep in mind that no one prompt is better than the others, but it’s important to avoid the common mistakes students make when answering each prompt. Here’s a guide that explains the do’s and don’ts for all eight Common App prompts!

Every year, over one million students apply to colleges using the Common Application. 900 colleges and universities accept the Common Application, including all eight of the Ivy League schools. By the time you begin filling out the Common App, your GPA, extracurriculars, and test scores are all more or less set in stone. That’s why writing a compelling personal statement is crucial. Your Common App essay has the power to set you apart from all of the other students who have a similar academic profile as you. And for schools like Harvard, Stanford, and Yale, where thousands of highly qualified applicants compete for few spots, your essay can actually make or break your application.

So, how exactly do you write an exceptional essay that’s mature, personal, engaging, and unique… in under 650 words? Unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all shortcut to writing the perfect Common App essay. You might be tempted to write what you think your admissions officer wants to read, but that’s a guessing game that you’ll lose most of the time since they will have read many other essays written in an attempt to impress them. What admissions officers really want to see is how you express your ideas and feelings in your own voice.

That being said, knowing the do’s and don’ts of each Common App essay prompt can help you avoid making classic mistakes and help you write an essay your admissions officers won’t soon forget.

In general, these Common App essay prompts are there to help you, not hinder you. You should use a prompt if it will help you put words to paper, but you should not try so hard to fit an essay to a prompt that you compromise your story and your voice.

Once you have chosen your prompt, it’s time to begin drafting. Before you get started, take a look at these five tips for tackling the essay:

1. Create your application portals.

After submitting your applications, you will receive emails asking you to set up portals for each of your schools. Create these accounts right away and keep a document with links to each portal and your login information. Check your portals regularly, as this is primarily how your schools will communicate application updates to you. The portals will also show which materials (transcripts, letters of recommendation, and test scores) each school has received and which are still missing. Additionally, most universities require you to upload a midyear report documenting your first semester grades, so make sure to upload yours as soon as possible! If a university has not yet received any materials you have submitted, contact their admissions office.

2. Be original.

While it can be immensely helpful to look at examples of past admitted students’ personal statements (Johns Hopkins provides a particularly helpful list), you want to be sure that you are not imitating someone else’s style or content at the expense of your own voice. The key to a personal statement is in staying true to yourself, not writing what you think admissions officers would want to see. Be as unique, original, and creative as feels authentic to you. Write an essay only you could write. The personal statement is an intentionally open-ended piece of writing, so you can be as unconventional as you want to be, as long as it clearly communicates the aspects of your personality that you want to make evident in your essay. At the end of the essay, you want the reader to get a better sense of who you are, how you see the world, how you’ve matured, and how you might uniquely add to their community.

3. Experiment with your topic.

If you start the writing process early enough, you’ll have plenty of time to experiment with your essay to communicate your point clearly and compellingly. Keep in mind that your first draft will never be perfect—essay writing is a process of trial and error, and the best personal statements are the result of extensive brainstorming, drafting, and editing. You can write a couple drafts or outlines responding to different prompts, then choose which topic will allow you to present the most accurate and captivating version of yourself. Or, you can respond to the same prompt in different ways, challenging yourself to discover your most authentic voice. Maybe respond to a prompt more directly in one and more abstract in another, or imagine you’re addressing a different audience in each one (the way you’d tell a story to your friend is very different than the way you’d tell it to your teacher, for instance). Once you have a few drafts to work with, read them all over before you decide which one has made it on to the editing round. It is important to remember that your essay topic is only as engaging as you think it is—as you experiment with your writing, pay attention to what you genuinely enjoy writing about. If you are forcing yourself to write about a topic that you think will impress the readers but that you yourself don’t find interesting, that feeling will shine through your writing.

4. Use your own voice.

While your personal essay should be a polished piece of writing, this does not mean that it should be stiff or formal—keep in mind that this is not an academic essay. That is to say, incorporating fancy vocabulary words won’t necessarily improve your essay the way you think it might. In fact, using words you don’t fully understand will likely hurt your essay by making it sound awkward and forced. On the other hand, don’t fall into the trap of sounding too colloquial by relying on cliches or slang to get your message across. When you get the urge to write idiomatically or use cliches, try to think of a more personal and nuanced way to convey your idea. Doing so will prevent your voice from getting lost in a sea of overused phrases. Finding an authentic, middle ground can be a real challenge, but it’s essential to ensuring that your essay is readable, engaging, and true to your personality.

5. Know when your essay is finalized.

It can be hard to recognize when it is time to conclude the editing process. Given the importance of the personal statement, many students find themselves stuck in an editing loop, tweaking and rewording endlessly and unsure of when to deem the essay ready for submission. However, this will likely leave you frustrated and unsatisfied when your essay might be perfectly structured, written, and edited. After you have gone through 2-3 rounds of revisions, have two trusted parties (whether a parent, a peer, a tutor, or a teacher) read through your final draft for any minor tweaks—these should be primarily grammatical edits or small word choice suggestions. Once you have made their suggested edits to your final draft, your personal statement is likely ready for submission. If you find yourself obsessively rewriting, reworking, or restructuring your final essay, close your laptop and do a final read through the following day. Odds are, a fresh set of eyes will help you recognize that your essay is complete.

KEY TIP

Peers, older siblings, or friends in college are great resources for editing your essay. While parents can be a good second set of eyes on your grammar and spelling, peers and friends closer to your own age who have just gone through the college admissions process can offer helpful feedback on the content, style, and voice of your essay.

For more tips and tricks, check out our Senior Mentor Henry’s short video guide to the personal statement!

 

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #1:

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.

DO: Tell a story only you can tell. This is your chance to show that you’re more than numbers on paper and demonstrate other aspects of your personality. When you set out to tell this story, make sure to be specific and choose a particular topic to hone in on. You can write about a physical feature, a certain food, or a part of your history that sets you apart from other people. The key to this essay is to latch onto a concrete object or idea, and then transition to a more abstract discussion about it. Your essay should provide a narrative that is grounded in this main idea, but also weaves in other details that reveal other facets of your identity and personality.

DON’T: There are several classic pitfalls for this prompt. Number one is confusing the word “story” for “autobiography.” Don’t start this essay with the moment you were born and end it with you sitting at your desk writing this essay. 650 words is not enough time to tell your whole life story well. Not only will you not be able to recount your whole life story, but a sharper focus will shed more light on your values than a chronological life story might. The essay will end up feeling rushed, and your reader won’t know much more about you by the end of it. Another common mistake with this prompt is latching onto the “background” or “identity” portion of the prompt and writing a classic, self-pitying narrative of struggle and triumph. While your race, ethnicity, sexuality and gender identity, and family background are all essential components to your story, if you choose to write about one of these, you most likely won’t end up with a story only you can tell. Lastly, should you choose to write about a personal interest or talent, avoid bragging about it. With any Common App essay prompt, strive to balance humility with confidence.

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #2:

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?

DO: Focus on recent history rather than on an obstacle you overcame when you were young and may not remember with as much clarity. Once you choose the obstacle or setback you want to discuss, talk about your feelings in a mature and emotionally intelligent way, selecting an experience that demonstrates your potential to thrive in and learn from difficult situations. As with any other prompt, try to show, rather than tell, this growth. You could potentially juxtapose two situations: one in which you failed, and a later one in which you implemented what you learned the first time around in order to succeed.

DON’T: You might shy away from this topic because you think your life has been easy, or you haven’t overcome an enormous challenge–don’t! If this prompt jumps out at you, focus on a challenge that might’ve seemed small but made a huge difference in your character development. Sometimes, the most insignificant instances make for the best stories. There are, however, some topics you might want to avoid. You want your reader to know you better after reading this essay, but you don’t want to get so personal that you make your reader feel uncomfortable. You can avoid this by avoiding issues which you haven’t fully processed or still view with bitterness or hopelessness. Remember, you are trying to demonstrate growth, not wallow or complain. You should also avoid writing about things you know many other people will write about, especially something like COVID-19. If you do choose to write a common narrative, work hard to give it a unique twist. Tell it the way only you can. Lastly, if you choose to write about a setback or failure, don’t deny the part you played. Self-awareness is a trait admissions officers love to see, and you can demonstrate that by being as unbiased and reflective as possible.

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #3:

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

DO: Take this as an opportunity to share something about your ideology as well as demonstrate maturity, independence, and critical thinking skills. Include a healthy amount of conflict leading up to the resolution, so that this reads more like a story and less like an essay.

DON’T: Try not to write in a combative tone, because you never know what views your reader will hold. Certain topics, like civil rights or gender equality, are pretty cliche; unless those hot topics have personally affected you in a significant and unique way, steer clear of them. Don’t feel like you have to get political or philosophical either. You can write about a time you convinced all of your friends that Neapolitan is the best ice cream flavor by conducting a blind taste test at lunch every day for a week!

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #4:

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?

DO: Begin with a narrative describing one specific instance that made you happy or thankful, even if the event or action occurred multiple times. Focus your essay on how the kind action itself was surprising or how your realization of your own gratitude surprised you. Something as small as a sibling making you food when you were feeling down can speak volumes about your values and personal life. Did your sibling’s unexpected kindness surprise you or were you surprised that you did not appreciate their actions until that particular moment? When discussing how your gratitude has motivated you, try to show how you’ve been affected through your writing rather than directly telling your reader how your thinking has changed.

DON’T: Tell a story that can be written identically by thousands of other applicants. A seemingly mundane action can still make for a fantastic essay, but the details and impact of that action should be unique to you. Many students can talk about their supportive parents driving them to all of their activities, but only you can describe the discussions you had, the music that played, and specifically why those drives made you happy or thankful. Dig deep here — a Hallmark card can describe anyone’s gratitude, your essay should not!

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #5:

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

DO: Focus on the second half of this Common App essay prompt that asks you to describe “a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.” While this prompt might invite you to describe a major event or accomplishment, what you really want to show is a transformative period and your reflection. Your college years are all about transitions and transformations — show your admissions officer that you are not only capable of growth, but also embrace change and strive to keep an open mind about yourself and others.

DON’T: Most importantly here, if you do choose to focus on an accomplishment, don’t brag. Much like prompt #2, avoid writing about events that everyone experiences or has experienced. If you do, be very careful not to write a generic-sounding essay.

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #6:

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?

DO: First of all, you should consider saving this essay topic for a supplemental essay, since it’s a common theme in those. If you do choose to respond to this prompt, take it as an opportunity to delve deeper into an activity mentioned elsewhere in your application that didn’t receive the attention it deserved. Also, feel free to embrace your nerdiness — no need to play it cool. In fact, the more passionately you write about your nerdy obsession, the better!

DON’T: As tempting as it may be, don’t try to impress your reader with something obscure or complicated. If your passion in life really is quantum physics, just make sure you explain it in layman’s terms. Don’t get too abstract either; make sure to include a concrete example of how this fits into your life, so that your reader knows more about you, and not just quantum physics, by the end of the essay. Additionally, make sure to avoid turning this into an essay about what you want to major in for college. This is an especially tricky issue for international students applying to American universities. Most universities outside the US want students to describe their academic interests, rather than their personality, in their college application essay. However, this Common App essay prompt is designed to help you tell your reader who you are, not just what you want to do or study.

COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPT #7:

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.

DO: Get creative! Take advantage of this prompts’ flexibility and tell your story in a captivating, unique fashion. Carefully choose a story that demonstrates growth or an important character trait that you want colleges to know about.

DON’T: Since this prompt is so open-ended, the don’ts for this prompt are the same as the don’ts for every other prompt combined. However, there are some particular challenges this prompt poses as well. Due to this prompt’s extreme flexibility, you should be careful not to write an unfocused essay with a story that isn’t very relevant or overly broad.

KEY TIP

This prompt is our personal recommendation! It’s the catch-all prompt. If you’re having trouble getting started, just approach the personal statement like a diary entry and simply start writing. If the story doesn’t end up fitting in with any of the prompts, you can submit it as a response to Common App essay prompt #7.

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