Does there have to be a specific college essay topic?

Applying to College Common and Coalition Application
1

<p>Ik this is kind of a stupid question but does there have to be a specific college essay topic or can you just write about anything?</p>

2

<p>Depends on the college. Your MAIN Common App essay is just a general personal statement, and this should not be school-specific as it gets sent out along with the rest of your general personal info to the schools on your list. When you add colleges to your list, they will almost always have a writing supplement of their own, in addition to some of their own questions for you to answer. Oftentimes, the colleges will ask you to write a “Why [college name]?” essay as a part of their writing supplement. You have to answer the question; you can’t just use that space to write an additional personal statement.</p>

<p>I didn’t fully understand your question, but I hope this answers it :)</p>

3

<p>The Common Application, with many colleges use, has one main essay. You can pick from 5 prompts (below). There used to be a “pick your own” category where you could write about anything you wanted, but that went away last year. Here are the prompts:</p>

<p>Option #1: Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Option #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
Option #3: Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
Option #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?
Option #5: Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.</p>

<p>Many colleges also ask for a supplemental essay (topics may vary from year to year, so you have to get at this year’s application to figure out what the prompts will be this year).</p>