Common App Ideas

Hi everyone,

So I will be starting my common application over the summer this year and just wanted to ask if anyone could suggest possible good ideas or great ones they’ve seen that might help. (I’ve seen many sample essays online, don’t mean those). I consider myself pretty boring and ordinary (but I don’t want to write that of course) so I don’t really know what topic would make for a memorable essay. Im in a few clubs and do afterschool community service and research, but those are all resume things and I don’t want to end up with a laundry list in my essay. I don’t really have or want to write about a specific person or my family situation, since I feel that it’s unnecessary and doesn’t really showcase who I am. As for future career goals, I like science and research but may be applying undecided to a few school so thats counterintuitive as well. If anyone has any great suggestions or out-of-the-box ideas, I’d really appreciate it so I can start putting together better ideas. If you are comfortable with sharing your essay as well which you are particularly proud of then please do, (I promise I am not trying to copy, nor would I be able to). I am just trying to put together a list of ideas to start drafting, most of the ones I’ve seen are about a certain class, club, or team, none of which apply to me.

Thanks

I honestly think it’s best to write about a simple topic that will allow you to showcase an aspect of your personality. My Commonapp statement was about how I love to read, and how I’m a more empathetic person because of that. Some people think that’s a common/cliche topic, but I thought it was well written and I got into most of the schools I applied to. It’s about how you write your essay, not what you’re actually writing about.