Decoding the Common App’s Essay Prompts
- Updated for 2015!
Written by Tal
Aviezer, Associate of ITTC and Writer/Editor
Each prompt presents its own opportunities and pitfalls.
Let’s look at each in turn.
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.
Choose this prompt if…
…you have a unique story in your past that strongly
defines your present. Were you born in a different country? Did you move often
throughout your childhood? Were you adopted? Was your life touched by serious
illness or an injury? Did you learn English as a second language? Do you have a
special aptitude in an artistic or athletic area? Are you a mentor? Do you have
a special skill such as sign language, ballet dancing, or video editing that
has played a defining role in your life?
Watch
out for…
…Self-pity, or recounting tragedy for the sake of
tragedy. It’s fine to talk about adversity or sadness or challenges you have
faced, but it’s vital to discuss how past difficulties resulted in change and
growth, and what you learned from them. Alternatively, if you’re sharing a
positive story from the past or discussing a special aptitude, be sure to
stress how lessons learned or skills acquired can be applied to your present
and future life.
2. The lessons we take
from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or
time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did
you learn?
Choose this prompt if…
…You have experienced an instructive failure. And who
hasn’t? There’s nothing very unique about not succeeding in every endeavor;
what matters is what you took away from a situation where the outcome did not
meet your expectations. Did your team lose the championship game? Were you
defeated in a debate? Were you defeated in a school election? Miss out on a job
or a part in a play? Great! What did you learn from that?
Watch
out for…
…A lack of perspective. This essay can be a dangerous one
for some students. If losing that playoff soccer game was “the worst pain”
you’ve “ever felt in your life”, then you’ve had a pretty painless life so far.
Similarly, if the lesson you learned from losing was to “make sure” you “never
lose at anything ever again”, then you really haven’t learned anything from the
experience of defeat and are not prepared to deal with similar situations in
the future. It’s important to demonstrate maturity and a sense of perspective
here. Some setbacks and failures are inevitable and unavoidable in life; we
want to know what you learned from this one in particular that can be applied
to future experiences.
3. Reflect on a time when
you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the
same decision again?
Choose this prompt if…
…You had a memorable experience when challenging the
views of a parent, teacher, sibling, or other authority figure, or if you made
an important statement opposing a political, religious, or cultural belief.
Note: It’s okay if in the end you decided that you were in the wrong! This
prompt is a great opportunity to tell a story about a time you expressed
yourself at some risk of punishment, opposition, or embarrassment because you
felt it was important to do so.
Watch
out for…
…Being disrespectful. This essay may prompt you to write
about a time you strongly disagreed with someone or questioned a belief system
that you saw as flawed but which others may highly value. Be sure that in your
essay you treat the people with whom you disagree as human beings; demonstrate
the ability to view the situation from their perspective, even if ultimately
you conclude that that perspective is one that you oppose. The essay reader
will appreciate your wisdom, maturity, and ability to examine multiple sides of
an important issue on which you took a stand.
4.
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.
Choose this prompt if…
…You have the ability to clearly identify and explain a
challenge, and to offer solutions. This prompt gives you a lot of range;
perhaps you were able to solve a problem confronting your family or in your
school or among your friends. Or perhaps you have identified a social or
ecological issue in the wider community and you have ideas on how it could be
addressed. Either approach is valid here. But note the qualifier about
“personal importance”; we need to know how and why this problem caught YOUR
attention – why does it matter to YOU? And don’t forget to explain what the
results of your solution were – or what they could be, once your solution is
implemented.
Watch
out for…
Low stakes. It can be very compelling for the reader to
follow your process of identifying, tackling, and ultimately solving a problem.
But you should focus on a problem that has urgency and importance, and also be
detailed in your analysis and your solution. “My brothers were fighting over an
ice cream and I got them to share” doesn’t quite capture the level of
specificity and personal importance that is needed here. “My school did not
have a cheerleading team that welcomed special needs students, so here’s how I
created one” DOES fit the bill.
5. Discuss an
accomplishment or event, formal or informal that marked your transition from
childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
Choose this prompt if…
…You experienced an important milestone on the road to adulthood. This could take many forms – did you transition from camper to counselor? Get your first job? Act as a parent to a younger sibling? Were you called upon due to circumstances to accept adult responsibilities at a young age?
Watch out for…
…Transitioning before you transition. The truth is that some college applicants really haven’t fully transitioned from childhood to adulthood, and you can fall into a trap here by prematurely proclaiming yourself to be an adult. Before tackling this question, ask yourself honestly, “Is my childhood over?” If the answer is really “yes”, you probably have a very good essay for this prompt. If the answer is “I don’t know”, “sort of”, or “ask me that again in two years”, then you may want to select a different prompt.
