What do you think about talking about receiving a C and how the student pushed themselves to do better next time in response to the Common App failure prompt? I’ve heard this isn’t the best choice for admissions essays failure prompts, but is that true at the undergraduate level?
Bonus points: any suggestions about what kind of failures a normal high school student might be able to write about?
The whole “I failed at ___ and learned from it” thing is kind of cliche at the undergrad admissions level. I would stay away from it if possible, however if you can bring YOUR voice out and make it your own, then go ahead.
I would absolutely choose one of the other prompts. Why highlight a failure when you’re trying to get accepted by the schools?
Colleges want to see the vulnerable part of you. The failure prompt is okay if you have a unique perspective.
I’m not sure just how many 17 year olds can provide that “unique perspective” on this particular topic. The common response seems to be either:
a) I didn’t make the freshman basketball team, but tried and tried and tried an made JV as a sophomore
or
b) I got a C in math during freshman year and studied and studied and studied and got an A sophomore year…
How about the student who got a bad grade, that kept them off the team, then they buckled down and did better, and next year they were in the championship game?
I understand that if they are a recruited athlete, this essay topic can work.
Just about any topic could work under the right circumstances.
My point is that the typical 17 year old will have the typical answer-- and this is one time when you really don’t want to be just like everyone else.
They’ve read that essay. Time and time again. They read it multiple times last year, they’ll read multiple times this year, and they’ll read it multiple times again next year.
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?”
I would be careful about using a C as a “failure.” Yes, it’s a failure to do well, and it signals that you have high standards, but if you consider a C a failure, what is a D or F? If you failed a class, or failed a marking period and pulled things together to eventually pass the class, that can work, if you show a fresh perspective. Was there a particular hurdle that you overcame? Did failure change your perspective about life in general?