Hello everyone, I’m currently reading some of the personal insight questions for the UC and Common app prompts. but I have no idea what to write.
The problem is that I’m a very average kid with average life. I’ve never really been through hard circumstances and never really had huge interest in hobbies.
A lot of the prompts ask for examples of your creative side, greatest talents, or unique traits. All these things that it asks for seems to be something I’m not.
It seems like when I’m writing these personal statements, it seems very dry because I don’t really have many special qualities I have that distinguishes myself from others.
Would it be alright for me to just write a honest essay about myself and just answer the prompt straightforward? I could use some tips. Thank you guys!
Don’t focus on being particularly “unique.” Just think about what you want to convey about yourself through your essays. Who are you? What is important to you and why? What are your strengths?
From, there, try to brainstorm stories and examples that will highlight the answers to those questions. Focus on adding a lot of details about you and your life. Your essay will become unique because you’re unique (even if you don’t think so); no one has lived through all the same experiences or possesses the exact same combination of skills and passions.
Also, write with confidence! There’s a way to turn any topic–even the most seemingly boring–into something exciting and engaging. If you’ve ever talked to someone who’s really passionate about something, you’ll know that their enthusiasm can be contagious. Ideally, you want to do the same thing with your writing. But that means you have to believe that you’re special and that colleges should want you.
One of the best essays I ever read was about the applicant’s unruly hair. He may well have been your average middle-class kid with no major hardships or passionate hobbies, or he may have had some huge dramatic backstory – I have no idea, because the essay had nothing to do with those things, and I still thought it was great. (I haven’t worked as an admissions officer, but I have worked as a college application essay tutor and have served as a volunteer alumni reader/evaluator for scholarship applications.)