Unboxing the Common App Essay Prompts, Part 1

The Common App is a one-size-fits-all application accepted by over 1,000 universities. Over 1.2 million students rely on this streamlined application when applying to their dream schools. Likely, you will too. Applying through the Common App reduces the quantity of work so you can focus on quality.

The dreaded essay section is infamous amongst seniors. Each year, there are 6 new prompts released. And each year, students get caught up in how to perfectly serve their chosen prompt. But admissions officers want you to know: instead of serving the prompt, let the prompt serve your unique story. 

Keep reading to gain fresh perspectives on Common App prompts 1, 2 and 3. Learn how to best use them to frame the story you choose to tell. 

TL;DR 

Don’t get hung up on serving the prompts, let the prompts serve you.
Regardless of the prompt, highlight:

• Growth
• Meaning
• Authenticity
• Unique Voice

Forget what you know about writing. Your college essay is vastly different from the pieces you write in school. The type of thinking that goes into writing them, the strategy around using the prompts and the voice used is almost backwards to school assignments. 

Unlike AP exams or standardized tests, the prompts for this essay are meant to be a guide, not a rigid box that you have to stay locked inside.

Don’t get boxed in. The trick is to deconstruct your chosen prompt. You want to unpack the raw, simple themes that will provide context as you write your essay. Time to unbox Common App prompts 1-3 and discover what’s hiding inside.

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.

Cut through the noise: Tell us about something that is meaningful to you. 

The key word here: “meaningful”. Significant. Whether it’s an interest, identity, background or talent that you choose to highlight, it should be something so important that it matters to you even when admissions officers aren’t watching. 

Admissions officers can rattle off the perpetual essays that land on their desks year after year!. The students behind those essays are all different people, but their writing all sounds the same. How do you avoid this?

Flip your thinking and start small. Rather than starting with the most lofty answers, start with the things that maybe feel insignificant in the long run, but vastly change your day to day. The goal is to reach for the things that make up your “normal life”. Find your Mundane Miracle and run with it. 

Helpful Questions: 

• What’s something small that still feels critical to who you are? 
• If you were to ask your friends what they think of as most meaningful to you, what would they answer? 
• If you could only share three things about yourself when trying to communicate who you are, what would they be? What stories could you share to further display those three chosen characteristics?

Example Essay for Prompt 1: Chicago

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?

Dive in: When have you failed? How did it impact you? What did you learn?

Admissions officers will tell you that one of the most important aspects of the college essay is to show growth. This prompt is an opportunity to be vulnerable, lean into your humanness and write something relatable. 

It may feel tempting to reach for a narrative where you struggled first but ended up winning big. These stories can feel warm and fuzzy, but they don’t highlight the moments of uncertainty. How do you function when things don’t turn out the way you planned? Will you be able to manage when Biology 113 is harder than anticipated, your roommate talks in their sleep and the cafeteria food is nothing like how you imagined it? 

Helpful Questions:

• Think of a time where things didn’t turn out the way you expected. Why was it so upsetting? How did you move through it?
• When was the last time you felt frustrated with yourself? What was getting in your way? How did you grow as a result of this experience?

Example Essay for Prompt 2: My Father 

Prompt 3: Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Orient yourself: This prompt is all about understanding your place in a diverse world, interacting with people who live and think differently from you.

As you’ve grown up and experienced differences in ideas and beliefs from others, how has that made you feel? Reflect on the ways your thinking has changed as you’ve been in relationships, learned alongside, and understood other people. 

Are there any stand-out moments where you felt tension around what you believe? Take your reader on a journey through an experience where you found yourself questioning the values around you. Show your future college how you take action when your gut feels that something isn’t right. Will you feel comfortable as you begin to meet different types of people, learn new ways of thinking and encounter different belief systems?

Helpful Questions:

• What values are central to your being? How did they get to be so important to you?
• Who are the largest influences in your life? What have you gleaned from them? 
• When met with differences of opinion what do you feel? 
• How do you manage your responses when people disagree with you? What’s an example of that?

Example Essay for Prompt 3: Key To Happiness

This brings us to the end of our first unboxing of the Common App prompts. Regardless of which prompt you choose, remember this: Admissions officers are looking to meet the real you. They want to witness ways in which you’ve grown. They’re eager to discover what matters most to you. This bolt of insight might be hiding in your background or your interests, your most difficult moments, or your deepest beliefs. The prompts are there to help you unearth the story that is uniquely you.

If after reading these first three prompts you’re still struggling to come up with your stand-out story, keep your eyes peeled for part 2 next week where we unbox prompts 4-6.