<p>Everyone keeps telling me that I should start working on my essays this summer (I am a junior right now). Exactly what essays are they talking about? I know there are essays that you submit with your application but doesn't the college give you the topic?</p>
<p>Colleges will give you a topic, but the Common Application will probably have the same topics as they did this year (look up the Common App). And, almost all topics (except Why-This-College) will be some variation of what is “The Personal Statement.” Many, many topics are straightforward requests for a personal statement, e.g., “Tell us about yourself” or “If you wrote your autobiography, tell us what is on page 232” or “Tell us about an stumbling block you encountered in your life and how you got over it.” But many other topics are really disguised ways of asking for a personal statement, e.g., “What quote defines you?” or “What creative work (book, play, film, painting, etc) has had an influence on you and how has it shaped who you are.” For these, too, a good personal statement can be adjusted to fit these topics as well. There are several tricks to help with that. So… if you know the “formula” for creating a powerful personal essay, you will be almost done when you do get specific topics to answer. Search this forum for some of my posts where I talk about the “rules” for writing something interesting.</p>