So I have decided on my topic for the common app essay prompt. I am answering the last question about an event that transitioned you from childhood to adult, and I am writing about going back to China for the first time since I was adopted and meeting my foster mom. I know it is a unique topic, which is what I wanted but i don’t know how to make it more than a good story. What exactly are colleges looking for in an essay? Im not sure how to show them who I am
- Think about what you want to show them. If you could sum up your entire character / identity, etc. in a few words, what would they be? What are the things that are most important to you?
- Think very deeply about what you're trying to write about. There's a simple narrative that may be pretty conspicuous, but life experiences often have a deeper impact that we aren't even aware of. For example, you might want to write an essay about how joining the debate team helped you get over your shyness. Join debate team --> Become less shy. But that's cliched and boring.
Alternatively, maybe join debate team --> making mistakes and embarrassing yourself over and over --> confronting cultural belief that showing your vulnerabilities and making mistakes is bad --> epiphany that those things are not bad; rather, they’re necessary to better yourself and make life richer --> ride off the high of that epiphany --> start seeing all of your other ECs in a new way --> become less shy and defy cultural norms and accept new aspects of your identity.
- With that being said, vulnerability = authenticity. You don't have to tell an adventure story; be honest. Even if your experience ended up being awkward and anticlimactic, that's still important. Even if you still struggle with what it means for your life, that's still important. That also means don't try to be poetic if it's not that kind of topic; a lighthearted, conversational tone can really give your essay a voice.
Your essay is a story–it should have an arc, and take the reader somewhere, from start to finish. Start by setting the scene–take a moment from your trip, meeting your former foster mom, and paint a picture. Describe how you felt, how things smelled… include details. Pull them in, and then transition into the what/why parts of the essay–those are the parts that tell them who you are (and the story should show them/give them a clue, as well). So you’ll have a thesis statement, just like you would with any essay, but it’s all about artful execution and narrative so the reader isn’t bored. Does that make sense?
Make sure that you answer the question.
If you’re writing about lessons we can take from failure that can be fundamental to later success, I should see the failure, the lesson and the link to success-- all 3 components. A simple narrative about failure doesn’t answer the question… and doesn’t give the adcom any reason to think that you’ve learned anything besides how to fail.
After you’ve written your essay, put it away for a few days and then look at it again. You may be surprised to find that the essay that was perfect on Monday has a few holes you need to fill on Thursday.
And, needless to say, proofread. Over and over and over. Do NOT rely on spell check/ grammar check to proofread for you. After you’ve read and reread it, pass it off to someone else who hasn’t been involved (and who isn’t reading what they expect to read)-- very often someone else can find errors in our own work that we can’t find ourselves.