Essay Idea - Please help

Hello,

I am looking to start my common app essay soon and I am going to go to with the first prompt. My idea revolves around my experience in an internship I did over the summer. I am planning to talk about how I was fascinated by the environment and how impacted my interests in certain areas. Not only did it helped my personal goals, but it also impacted me to think about starting a club that instills a similar environment and how it broadened my horizons on progress through service.

Does this sound like a good topic?

Too be honest, it sounds cliche to me and not very interesting. It sounds like an essay anybody could write and not one that lends itself to revealing to admissions officers what makes you special or unique.

If you could share maybe the first paragraph so we could see your approach. I always tell my kids to write it like a story…like the beginning of a good book.

If it has a great story, then sure. If it’s a bunch of “telling” with a limp anecdote or two to flesh it out, then nope.

@marvin100 Thanks for the reply! What do you exactly mean when you say “bunch of telling”? Isnt commentary the best way to show how my experiences shaped the kind of personality I have today?

No, commentary is a way to tell. Narrative stories–that illustrate the quality you want to convey–are the best way to show that quality. The Personal Statement is a narrative essay, not a persuasive one. @indy101