Common Application Essay

College Essays
1

I’m internally flipping out because I don’t know what to write for my Common Application essay. Below I have the prompt that I’m leaning towards and the ideas that I’ve brainstormed thus far for it. The things I feel I could write the most about are my interest in STEM, highlighting what I’ve done in high school and my utter fascination in it, or my role models, and how they’ve taught me priceless lessons that have become a big part of my background. At the same time, I feel like my identity as a Muslim woman in America would be significant in an essay, though I don’t think I personally have much to write there. Am I overthinking things? Would it be bad to write about role models even if I focused on how they’ve impacted me become part of my character? Can I write about STEM without even knowing what I want to major in?

I think I need some advice from someone with some experience, haha.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

  • Muslim woman in America
  • STEM (Biology, IT, or Engineering)
  • Leadership & Communication
  • Influences by role models
2

I think that you should write what you’re leaning towards, not what you think other people might find interesting or something. Any of those topics could be good; it really depends on how you write it. There might even be overlap between some of those topics.

3

PM me. I’ll provide some advice.

4

Keep in mind, you only have a max of 650 words. I think you should find a smaller focus, one that paints you in a positive light and enables the reader to want to meet you.

I think your first choice would be interesting reading, but you would need to ensure that it doesn’t become a story of negatives… again, you want to give the reader “a reason to say yes.”

5

Maybe you could write about the fact that you, as a minority in the STEM discipline (women, Muslim) are interested in taking STEM to a new level through leadership and communication awareness. What can you bring to the field of STEM? You utter fascination in the concepts of general science…etc