I can’t think of anything at all to write about for my essay for the common app. I know I have time but I’m trying to start as early as possible. My life just seems pretty dull and even if I come up with an idea I can’t write about it for more than like one paragraph. Is there anything I can do to focus my ideas better and come up with a good topic?
Your essay is designed to give the schools to see you as more than a bunch of numbers on a page. It’s the one part of the process that allows you to simply be you. It should be an essay that your mom or your best friend could pick out of a stack and know that it was written by you.
Here’s the approach that worked with my kids:
- Take a look at the Common App prompts. Make a Word document, with each prompt on a separate page.
Day 1: Set a timer for 4 minutes per prompt. Use that 4 minutes to brainstorm anything that might remotely fit the prompt. Nothing is too mundane or outrageous to be considered on Day 1.
Day 2: Go over your list. Come up with a sentence or two detailing how this topic could “give them a reason to say yes” and what you would say. Eliminate as necessary.
Day 3: Go back over your list. Give bullets to describe what you would say. Eliminate as necessary.
Day 4: Go back over your list. Those bullets become an outline. Eliminate as necessary.
Day 5: start rough drafts of the few topics that remain. Eliminate any that aren’t feeling solid.
And so on.
My son wrote about a phone conversation he had had with someone at the head of his field, and the advice that person offered him. My daughter wrote about how she really is a conglomeration of all the people she loves.
It doesn’t have to be a theme of earth shattering importance; you don’t have to cure cancer (or even the common cold.) What you need to do is show a little glimpse of yourself.
How about this for a twist on what my kids did: you and your best friend do the above exercise— for each other first. Then, without looking, for yourselves. See what you come up with. Include lots of “remember the time…” types of stories.
I just wrote a rough draft for my essay. I have a topic in mind but I can’t really figure out how to put it into an essay that makes sense. Would anyone be willing to read my really bad first draft and give me some advice?
Sure, I’ll be happy to take a look at it.
But first, the usual disclaimer. Before you send ANYONE (me included) a copy of your essay, click on the name and look under “threads.” If you do that with me, you’ll see that I’m a high school math teacher with 3 teenage kids. That should make it pretty clear that I have no reason to consider plagiarizing your essay. Any poster who can’t show a history of evidence of a spouse, kids and/ or career is a plagiarism risk.
I agree w/ @bjkmom. I work in Guidance, and too many times we see kids with the same cliche essay ideas - while they are good, well-written and true, they could be the same as many other kids’. We tell them to focus on, “If someone randomly found your essay on the street and read it, can the read it and see it was you?” or “After reading it, do you want to meet the person who wrote it? Do you have a snapshot in your mind of who they are?”.
My son chose the generic prompt and went through 3 different topic ideas until he finally found his honest voice. There was a lot of trial and error until finally he embraced his final essay idea. It was his last choice, he hated the idea at first, and then ran with it. Sometimes it takes a while. Try not to stress, deep breaths. You don’t have to be the best writer - my son isn’t. Your essay doesn’t have to have a lot of superfluous vocab to make a point or paint a picture. My son’s essay was actually simply written, but concise and to the point. It was just a good snapshot of himself - humorous, quirky and real. I think the hardest part is being 17 and knowing “you”.
And, remember, people’s opinions vary. What one person may like, another may not. I had a couple of colleagues who were less than enthused when reading my son’s essay (which I, and 2 of his English teachers, loved). Yet, the Dean of Admissions at his school highlighted it at Accepted Students Day…and he told my son face to face, "When I read your essay, I thought, “I couldn’t wait to meet this kid” ".
My advice: be yourself, be honest and let you shine through. Best of luck!!!
I’ll be happy to take a look. I’m a soon-to-be high school graduate with plenty of essay experience and nothing to do right now.
When I reflect upon my application and compare my essays with those who got into more selective institutions, I found that I lack the skill of finding significance in small day to day events. Good essays reflect on small cultural/ academic/ life experiences and show how the author grow from the experience. Since picking interesting but down to earth details on the one hand guarantees the authenticity, these essays don’t have to be about experiences that nobody else has. Furthermore, reflection and abstraction guarantees both the uniqueness of the essay and the writer’s capability of high level intellectual sophistication. So good essays tend to show deeper level of reflection. All in all, pick interesting daily life details and write about them philosophically.