<p>I haven't applied to any colleges yet so I need to know how they work. Do they tell you what to write about? Do you just pick a topic? Can it be about you and why your grades were what they were during high school? Can they reach back to before high school?</p>
<p>Okay, well, first of all, different colleges have different applications. For example, the application for the University of Chicago is different from the application for the University of Washington. Many schools, however, use the Common Application, which is one application that you can submit to many different schools. For example, Carleton College, Macalester, and Reed all accept the Common Application.</p>
<p>The Common Application gives you several options for essays. You can pick a topic or make up a topic and then answer the prompt. The essay is personal, so it should definitely be about you. Your whole application should be like a masterpiece of you. The whole application should be you; it should smell like you and taste like you. It should be authentic, in other words. Your essay, then, is very important. Your application is like a piece of artwork, and the essay is what enlivens the application; it's what you have control over. So you don't want to talk about grades and stuff. That can go somewhere else. Your essay should be personal, and yes, it can go to before high school.</p>
<p>Can I send the same essay to more than one university?</p>
<p>Yes you can, and when you fill out the common application, that is exactly what happens.</p>
<p>With that said however. Many schools have supplements to the application, and many schools will KNOW when you sent them an essay intended for another school (some schools have very distinct essays [University of Chicago]).</p>