<p>My S really hated the very directed prompts about art and his plans as an artist (MICA, SAIC, external scholarships) because he felt he was making stuff up (has no idea what his plans are) but muscled through them and seemed to do well. For the common app, he did write about how he felt watching people respond to his first sculpture/installation…and did get into three common app schools for art but was rejected by Yale (possibly his rather random essay for the supplement doomed him and he should have gone arty for that essay–he really hated that supplement). Favorite essay prompts were vcu (imagine yourself 25 years from now and write page 87 from your autobiography) and MICA’s scholarship essaty (pick any artist to spend the day with–say who, why and how you would spend the day and what you would talk about). It may be coincidence but he actively enjoyed writing these and had fun and he also received his best scholarship offers from these two schools. These essay prompts allowed him to be very creative and enjoy the process and it came through in the writing. They were, not surprisingly, also very enjoyable to read. Advice for all students…write about something that you enjoy and give yourself 2 hours to write out your first attempt. Write it like a letter to a good friend rather than a structured 5 paragraph essay. Walk away and edit/rewrite a week later and then let go. I don’t think the essays matter t hat much overall so it isn’t worth suffering over them.</p>