<p>I'm close to having a nervous breakdown because I can't think of anything to write for my college essay. I don't understand why! I've never had a problem of writing essays and have gotten a 5 on my AP English Language exam, yet nothing is coming to me. I can't even organize my ideas UGH. I'm so stressed. Any advice?</p>
<p>Everything I’ve read about college essays has pointed toward how essays are where you get personal and show them a personality to go with your test scores. Don’t over think it. </p>
<p>I’m deff. not an expert myself, but pretty much any college admissions book will tell you that.</p>
<p>One easy starting point is the prompt. What prompt are you answering? Since you are having trouble getting started, you probably want to avoid “topic of your choice.” Once you have the prompt, analyze the components of the prompt. For example, prompt #1 on the common app has two components: 1) significant experience and 2) impact on you. Now you have a more concrete starting point.</p>
<p>The next step is to brainstorm significant experiences. What high school experiences, whether academic, extracurricular or personal, were most meaningful to you? Once you have that list, try to identify particular moments or examples that convey what the experience meant to you. Identifying these moments is what will move you from the general (and generic) to the specific (and unique). That’s the difference between saying “I am disciplined” and saying “I run 5 miles each morning at 6:00.” The more detailed, the more compelling, and the less generic.</p>
<p>After you identify your significant experience, test its significance by brainstorming its effect on you. After all, if an experience is significant, then it should change you in some fundamental way. An experience that changes us is one that makes us act differently. For example, a volunteer experience in a soup kitchen might be significant if it caused me to start a canned food drive. If an experience produced no new actions - life went on as usual - then the reader will probably question its significance. Your goal is to identify that experience that changed you.</p>
<p>Of course, all of this brainstorming and organizing is easier said than done, but keep at it!</p>
<p>JP</p>