Common app issues.

College Essays
1

<p>So i'm having issues with deciding what to write about for the common app. I find the prompts to be pretty mundane and i'm having issues running with them. Is the common app the place to be creative or should i try and save that for the supplements and just use the common app to paint an accurate picture of my self. Also could anyone help me with figuring out which topic and prompt to use? I'll share my ideas for each prompt. I will not do prompt 1</p>

<p>Prompt 2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
-When i was a freshman i ran for student council office and lost. The next year i attended a stuco camp, came out of my shell, worked hard, gave a killer speech and won, defeating the kid who beat me last year. I was affected because the loss destoryed my self confidence but it did help me realize that i needed to truly be myself and that there was no benefit to being shy or awkward. </p>

<p>Prompt 3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
- I'm bad at sports, like really bad. It's not that i'm not athletic, it's just that i can't see. I was convinced that I wouldn't be able to play any sports in high school because of my vision. I then started wrestling and found out i could play sports, and that i could be good at them.
- I challenged the belief that i had to fit into other e people's ideas for my life. I used to be terribly shy and awkward, i was smart but i had few friends and not many people knew who i was and i was nonathletic. Most people i knew assumed i would move through high school unnoticed making good grades then go on to become a historian or something. In my freshman year I joined stuco on a whim. They preach about self empowerment and about betterment, i learned about this in wrestling as well. At the end of my freshman year i decided i wasn't going to settle that there was no point in being a shy nerd. I came out of my shell and moved up to be one of the most prominent figures on my schools leadership scene. i also wrestle and I'm fairly good as well as continuing my academics. I'm no longer shy and nearly everyone knows who i am. </p>

<p>Prompt 4: Describe a place or environment where you are perfectly content. What do you do or experience there, and why is it meaningful to you?
-In a book
- In the rain
- At my State's Governor school. The environment and intellectualism was astonishing, and beautiful, and it put me at a peace i have never know. </p>

<p>Prompt 5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
-i got nothing significant. </p>

<p>THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!</p>

2

<p>Just from the length of your paragraphs, it seems like you have more to say about prompt 3 than any the others. So, start writing and see where prompt 3 takes you.</p>

3

<p>bump, dcoes anyone have any info on my first couple questions?</p>

4

<p>I think you should take a look at the first prompt. It’s pretty general so you can write about almost anything related to you</p>

5

<p>And if you can pull it off, prompt four: in a book can be really interesting.</p>

6

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<p>I hesitate to say “Sure, you can be creative” because creative means different things to different people. What do you mean by creative? If creative means including dialogue within in your story – yes! If creative means writing a screenplay as your essay – maybe. If creative means writing a poem as your essay – maybe. If creative means trying to be funny – probably not, as humor in college essays is really difficult to pull off, as you really don’t know who your audience will be (what’s funny to a 17 year old may not be funny to a 35 year old).</p>

7

<p>Thanks all! Anyone have any more info?</p>

8

<p>bump please</p>

9

<p>I vote for the wrestling, that seemed to connect more to me than your other themes. It seemed the most personal. As an introvert, I always find the “magically came out of my shell” thing a little off-putting.</p>

10

<p>Ooo I really like in a book and in the rain, if you can write it well. That could be great. I agree, though, that it does seem like you could write about the wrestling the easiest, and it most likely does tell more about you.</p>