Welcome! If you’re reading this first post in our “How to Write the Common App Essay” series, we know exactly why you’re here. You know what they say… the admissions blog loiterers of today are the college freshmen of tomorrow!
So let’s hop to it — applicants put a lot of pressure on themselves when it comes to the Common App Essay, and that’s understandable. It is, after all, the only essay that goes to every school on your list, and its primary purpose is to showcase personality and character (as opposed to supplements, which often ask academically and extracurricularly targeted questions).
Think of it this way: the Common App essay is more of a snapshot than an encyclopedia. You’re hoping to share something memorable and authentic that communicates who you are. It’s like picking a headshot: you choose the one that captures your energy and shows your natural smile. You can’t send a lookbook of every facial expression you’ve ever made from a variety of angles.
Before you can get to the brainstorming and drafting, though, you have to know what you’re supposed to be doing — how you get that headshot just right. That’s why this series will devote a post to each of the seven Common App prompts. We’re here to help you understand your options, explain which is our favorite (spoiler alert: it’s #7), highlight common pitfalls to avoid, and begin crafting a personal essay that puts your best foot forward while setting you apart.
Common App Prompt #1
Let’s start with prompt #1 (obviously). Here she is in all of her glory:
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 Disadvantages
This prompt is broad! And vague! And we don’t like it!
There are a couple of good reasons for that. One is that it sets an impossible expectation of sharing a story that represents the applicant fully and “completes” their application. We’re sorry to break it to the folks at the Common App, but there is no way to boil anyone’s complex experiences and rich background down to 650 words without leaving some key details out here and there.
Now, we understand the good intentions behind this question. With federal policies banning the vocabulary and policies behind DEI initiatives, the general phrasing of this prompt hopes to convey that this is a space for students to talk about social issues that have influenced their self conception and adolescent experiences. It’s a way of leaving the door open to real topics without explicitly referencing race, gender, sexual orientation, or the bogeymen of “equity” and “justice.”
But here’s the thing. This is a fairly common question in individual college supplements, so you’ll likely have space to address this later, and if this topic is as important as the prompt states it will already be reflected in other application materials (the activities section and demographic info, for example).
Beyond that, there is an additional information section where applicants can provide an explanation of extenuating circumstances or hardships that might have affected their education or school performance. In our opinion, that’s a great opportunity for students to have challenges they’ve faced taken into consideration without having to turn their trauma into a captivating and creative essay. Delving into painful or difficult topics for the purpose of “promoting” oneself to strangers in the college admissions office can understandably feel upsetting, stressful, and othering, and, while this process is at times challenging, it should never feel violating.
How to Do It Right
But consider that the end of our rant! Yes, there are some drawbacks to this prompt if it’s approached incorrectly, but you can respond to it in a way that is unique and compelling.
But… how can you write it “right,” then? By getting as specific as possible. As readers, a singular detail captures our attention, feels relatable, and remains memorable. Please don’t misunderstand us — we aren’t saying identity doesn’t matter. It matters so much! But social groups can be broad categories and coming-of-age stories often recycle common topics and themes, and we want to ensure your essay can’t be mistaken for anyone else’s.
As an example, let’s consider an applicant who wants to write about how important discovering and championing feminism has been to her high school years. It’s true that the patriarchy oppresses women, but stating that political opinion — even though most rational people would agree — doesn’t give the reader a chance to personally relate to the writer. Here’s an image that might, though: a student who writes about hating PeptoBismol not because of its flavor or chalky texture but because it’s so pink. Maybe this student talks about a stomachache that made her realize she’d internalized misogynistic stigma without recognizing it and that she’d been avoiding a certain color because she was afraid it would make her look silly, predictable, or vain.
Suddenly the essay has presented a common experience in new terms — this writer has an epiphany about unconscious self-censorship, the liberation of individual expression, and the rejection of societal stereotypes. On the surface, she might be talking about giving herself permission to wear the retro polka-dot skirt she scored during a thrift haul but had kept hidden in her closet, but it actually tells us a lot about who the writer is: a critical thinker, an introspective and thoughtful person capable of changing her mind, someone invested in justice but also, like the rest of us, deeply human with a favorite outfit and favorite song and strangely philosophical relationship to over-the-counter multi-symptom digestive relief medicine. That essay isn’t going to sound like anyone else’s, even though a lot of applicants are women and have been deeply informed by their gender identity and gendered experiences.
Getting to Your First Draft
When trying to come up with an idea, try approaching this essay from unexpected angles. Don’t start with a big, abstract topic like “grief” or “resilience” or “optimism.” Think about strong memories or little moments that remind you of something significant but that might seem ordinary or unrelated to the average person. A few questions to get you started:
What is your favorite weird snack combination? Why do you think you like it? What does it remind you of?
What is a smell that reminds you of home?
Do you have any strange talents most people don’t know about? How did you discover you were good at them? What do they help you do?
The key here is to tell a story; you want to choose a short anecdote or intriguing image that represents a more intangible quality you have.
If you’re feeling stuck, start in the middle, or set a timer for a “free-write” to get the juices flowing. Give yourself a concrete place to begin — set the scene, describe sensory perceptions, narrate the plot. From there, you’ll find your flow and follow a natural direction. All you need to do at this point is make sure your essay tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Does that mean there must be “conflict” per se? No! But there does need to be change — a “so what” so to speak. Why should we care? Why did you care when this happened to you? That’s your guiding question.
Are you done? Of course not! But having a first draft — no matter how rough — makes the task feel less amorphously impossible. You might need a new structure; you might need to write an introduction that has a better hook, or a conclusion that has a stronger emotional impact and more cohesive takeaway; you might need to revise awkward sentence structures or add more imaginative language. That’s normal. Not to shade the Beats, but “first though, best thought” is horrible advice, and we have evidence of Allen Ginsburg’s revised poems to prove it.
Give yourself a break and some time to decompress. When you can return to your essay with fresh eyes, read it aloud and retype it word by word into a fresh document — you’ll naturally identify the places that sound awkward, cause confusion, or become monotonous. Make note of the edits you need to make, and then tackle the most extensive and conceptual revisions first. That could mean writing a new paragraph, clarifying transitions, or changing the format of your essay entirely.
After several solid rounds of self-directed revision, gather feedback from a select group of trusted readers — one or two people, max. You can’t have too many cooks in the kitchen! But a friend, mentor, or teacher whose advice you trust can be invaluable in identifying your blind spots and leveling your essay up to its nearly complete form.
And suddenly you’ve done it! Look, we’d seem like hypocrites if we endorsed Prompt #1 as our first pick in the Common App topic draft. You know how we feel, and we implore you to read our post on prompt #7 and knock yourself out. Nevertheless, you can write a superb Common App essay by responding to this prompt. Just make sure you keep it tangible and specific, and while you’re at it? Go ahead and give it some razzle dazzle.
Looking for support as you start your Common App essay? Reach out to us today.