Hi Parents,
I need some help! The juniors need to start working on the college essay and this time last year, Common App decided to keep the same topics and Apply Texas (Texas version of Common App) changes the topics.
Have you all seen any new topics or where they kept the same again for the current junior class ( graduating 2021 - entering college fall 2021)?
Any insight would help!
Thank you!
The Common app goes live August 1 each year. That is when you can see the general essay topics. Coalition goes live around the same time.
Seems early to worry about it. Students can practice on past topics to get started.
I believe the Apply Texas application will open on July 1st.
If you want to get a head start on applications, you could make a chart of all of your extracurriculars with dates down to the month level as well as a contact phone or email for jobs.
Our high school also has juniors make a resume and ask parents to fill out a brag sheet. These documents are used by the counselor and teachers who write your recommendations.
Pro-tip:
Google “Hacking the College Essay 2017” and read it.
Write the Essay No One Else Could Write
“It boils down to this: the essay that gets you in is the essay that no other applicant could write.
Is this a trick? The rest of this guide gives you the best strategies to accomplish this single
most important thing: write the essay no one else could write.
If someone reading your essay gets the feeling some other applicant could have written it,
then you’re in trouble.
Why is this so important? Because most essays sound like they could have been written by
anyone. Remember that most essays fail to do what they should: replace numbers (SAT/GPA) with the real you.
Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer. She’s got limited time and a stack of
applications. Each application is mostly numbers and other stuff that looks the same. Then she picks
up your essay. Sixty seconds later, what is her impression of you? Will she know something specifically
about you? Or will you still be indistinguishable from the hundreds of other applicants she has been
reading about?”
Common App made the following announcement on Jan. 15, 2019. So just Google for similar wording. They will make the prompts available well before Aug. 1.
Common App prompts for students entering in fall 2021 are the same as they were this past year. See https://www.commonapp.org/apply/essay-prompts