I know it’s early, but I’ve been thinking about possible essay topics and have been really stuck. I think on a personal level with other people I meet I’m a fairly interesting person, but those attributes don’t make for good college essays (living in a foreign country, the experience of having older/aging parents are advised against from what I’ve read).
One idea I kinda like is writing about how music and being involved in band have helped me become more outspoken. It would be more than “I learned to interact with people” but would this be a bad essay topic? The majority of the essay wouldn’t be about how I was shy and introverted, more of it would be about how I developed my own style of leadership and went from being fairly bland to having a distinctive personality? I don’t know, it might be cliche.
I don’t think students should worry whether the topic is well used. Rather, that your message comes through clearly. Keep in mind the essay is for the admit review and that you’ll need to do some “show, not just tell” to let them see how you’ve developed, interact more, have taken on more responsibilities and/or try new things, whatever, and let the readers see the value to the college.
I think it’s a good topic, especially if it’s well-written. I subscribe to AdmitSee where I have access to accepted student profiles, including essays. A student who was accepted at Harvard, Yale, Penn, Cornell, etc wrote her whole essay on music and how it related to her personal growth. It obviously worked for her and it can work for you too. Best of luck!
Here is the problem with that topic. It takes you from something that may be seen as a negative in the eyes of admissions to being more like the average applicant. That isn’t really what you want. You want to stand out in some way in the pool, not just be seen as now meeting the bar others already meet. Don’t take the prompts too literally. Tho k about it from an admissions officer’s viewpoint.
I disagree with the previous poster. I like the topic. I like it because it’s real and it is something a typical teenager might face (being shy). I think too many times students are trying to come up with topics that are really “out there”, beyond amazing, or trendy (like the GLBTQ). Being shy is very real and it’s something a teenager might face. The fact that music helped you with that is a neat thing. I agree, it just needs to be well written. I might caution you on playing up the “outspoken” but maybe four more on that it helped you “find your voice.” Sometimes being outspoken can be negative and obnoxious but being comfortable in your own skin and able to put yourself out there more is a positive. Good luck! I think colleges want real students and they read so many essays. Admissions counselors can see through the “trumped up” topics.
I think that it’s certainly worth a shot. Write it and see what you think.
And I wouldn’t worry about appearing “average.” I think that, here on CC in particular, everyone tries to be exceptional. And that colleges tend to realize that most 17 year olds, in spite of what they write or post, tend to live very similar lives, and have similar problems.
I would agree with the choice of the word “outspoken”-- it can have negative implications. But I think your idea is certainly worth exploring.
My daughter wrote her essay on the same topic, but her approach was of course unique to her. It was important to her that admissions officers know this part of her personality: she’s a shy girl, but is able to push herself out of her comfort zone, even if it isn’t easy. Her essay was clearly well-received because she had a lot of great offers at the end of the process. She never explicitly stated that she was shy and never said she learned how to better interact with people. All was implied in the essay. I don’t think you need to state it. Just show it through the course of your story.