Best College Application Essay Prompts

Best College Application Essay Prompts Suddenly, a gust of wind blows through an open window, upsetting the pile of applications. As 400 essays flutter around the room, you notice a page with a recipe for cranberry bread. But you must, because the deadline for notifying applicants is just a few days away. You’re facing yet another long night of reading vague, boring, pompous essays. You slowly bow your head and rest it in your hands, wishing for a different job. I didn’t want the readers to feel bad for me or to feel as though I had been defeated by this former obstacle in my life. I wanted them to know that it happened, and that I not only overcame it but used it as the driving force for something positive â€" my subsequent community involvement and my passion for social justice. I initially shied away from writing about this topic because it’s so personal to me and because I’ve grown to be so proud of my skin color and all that it entails. You might alternately be given a space in which to craft a “personal statement” of your own design. When given this freedom, choose a topic that seems inherently interesting to you. Tell a story that best illustrates who you are and how you can contribute to the unique makeup of a student body. Instead, find an area in which you are naturally confident, and use that area of your life to drive this story. The story will, in turn, provide context for your accomplishments. The student who’s able to cut through that, an interesting essay, an unusual topic, someone who makes us laugh, that's someone that stands out for us. And those two things â€" by themselves â€" made the admissions officer smile and made it an easy decision to place Ms. Bluestone’s “respectable” â€" but otherwise unremarkable â€" application in the “Admit” box. She was the one who reinforced my confidence in my essay as she commented on its originality and praised my delivery, while providing necessary constructive criticism with specific reasoning for her suggestions. She was impartial without being detached from the reality of my essay and race relations, which I truly appreciated. I decided to submit the essay that showed skin bleaching’s impact on me and how it molded me into a resilient person passionate about improving her community. And hopefully, this is an illuminating part of the process, one that not only helps you get into the college of your choice, but one that also helps prepare you for success once you get there. Speaking of future drafts, one of the best things you can do is run your essay by a trusted family member, educator, advisor, or friend. Because the student was willing to take a creative risk in how she revealed herself, she came across as an interesting person, somebody the admissions officer would want to greet. As you finish the “recipe” and read through the rest of her application, you start to feel much better. Decent grades, good test scores, solid recommendations â€" you’ve seen better, but it’s certainly respectable. And then there’s this fantastic essay, evidence of an inventive and independent mind. You put her folder into a box marked “Admit,” and you look forward to discussing her with the Admission Committee tomorrow. Get feedback from somebody whose opinion you respect. This feedback will give you a sense of how well your ideas are coming across to the reader, how compelling your story is, and how you might be able to improve your essay. These additional eyes are also critical when it comes to proofing your work, catching typos you might have missed, and helping to refine writing that is unclear or off-topic. I felt as though writing about it may invalidate my current confidence as I’d be forced to share one of the most vulnerable and insecure moments of my life. Frankly, it was also difficult to open up about skin bleaching because looking back, it’s something that I am ashamed of and work tirelessly to prevent others from doing. During our discussions, I would scribble down notes for common app essay on the corner of scratch papers and in iPhone notes. As soon as I left each session, I would write a sentence or two about the topics that popped in to my brain, but I’d never finish them. The examples, tips, topics and prompts outlined above should help you rock your college application essay. What does matter is what you say and how you say it, because you should have clear objectives, and we’ll provide you with advice on that matter in future blogs.” Here’s the first installment for you. Leave adequate time to develop your ideas but also to give your trusty confidant who’ll guide you during this process the time to truly focus on your essay and you. If you’re anything like me, you don’t want to acknowledge the magnitude of this essay and how capable it is of dictating your future. My English teacher, Mrs. McAdams, was the main person who helped me proofread my college essays. And if the topic is weird, feel free to write a weird essay. Some colleges and universities are actually notorious for their unusual â€" and in some cases, genuinely strange â€" college application essay prompts. According to Business Insider, Tufts University and the University of Chicago have both earned reputations for their out-of-left-field essay questions.