<p>I am currently trying to write my essays for the Common App and I have no idea how to choose a topic. What types of things should I try to convey? My personality? My extracurriculars? Do I need to have an interesting hook? Do I need to be creative?
I'm trying to go to a highly selective school (<20% acceptance rate) </p>
<p>Hey!
So I can’t say that I’ve written some winning essay (I’m only a senior myself), but I can tell you what I’ve been doing.
instinct. If you see a question and something immediately pops into your brain, then try it out. The worst that happens is that you write an essay you dont like at all and move on. In addition, write multiple essays. The more options the better. Then perfect the ones that you like/have potential.
figure out what you want to convey about yourself that isn’t already in your app. Write about something that doesn’t have to do with your numbers. (my example would be that I like both math and art and while im pursuing computer science, a STEM subject, I also bring a creative side to my thinking)
choose something that speaks about you. So you cured AIDS. That’s already mentioned, i assume, in your ECs. Write about how the process affected you. Write something that they wont already know by looking at the rest of your essay.
sell yourself, not just as a student, but as a person they should want to know. My aunt, who used to be an admissions associate, told me that she looked for people who would give back to the school and would increase the value of the name of the school, instead of just going for its prestige. Also those essays went though multiple rounds of people. </p>
<p>Here’s the way admissions officers recommend you come up with a topic for writing an essay.
Step 1- Determine what it is you want to showcase about yourself. Are you hilarious? Are you the greatest actor to ever grace the stage? Are you a “glass half full” kind of person? Are you passionate about learning?
Step 2- Think about a story that reflects that thing about you. </p>