<p>I grew up upper-middle-class, both parents with graduate degrees, 3rd-gen college student, etc. I wrote about (for UC prompt 1) my passion (languages) and how it was at odds with the STEM-focused community I grew up in; (for UC 2) an unusual job I had had and what I learned from it and from the interesting person I worked with; and for the (old version) Common App, a language immersion camp I had attended. If I had to do it over again, I’d keep the UC essays and change the Common App one to an essay about my favorite teacher and how she changed the way I approach life (which I know may sound cheesy, but my English teachers responded really enthusiastically to drafts of that essay; I changed topics because I had a hard time staying under the word limit). </p>
<p>Also, one of the best application essays I’ve ever read was about the applicant’s unruly hair. So, no you do not need to have lived a tragic life in order to write an interesting essay.</p>