I am debating which topic to choose for my CA essay.
- "Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story."
For this topic, I would write about learning to ride the unicycle in middle school. I am generally unathletic in traditional sports so I could write about how I found acceptance through an obscure and odd talent. The only thing I am concerned about is that this happened in middle school and I would not be able to elaborate how it helped me in high school. I want to write about this one because it is unique and could really engage the reader.
- "Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution."
My family has been negatively affected by cancer in a big way and I started a club at school that raises money/volunteers for organizations like St. Jude Hospital and UNC’s Cancer Hospital. I could write about WHY I started the club because I’m afraid that colleges will view that particular EC as a resume filler, even though it’s quite the opposite. The problem with this topic is that I’m afraid it’s too basic and a lot of people will write similar essays.
Please tell me which one you like better and why. I need to write as good of an essay as I can because I’m trying to get into some top-notch schools. Thanks so much!
Definitely the second one. It doesn’t matter how cliched it was (doesn’t seem that basic to me, actually), it seems like it represents you more than the first one does and that’s all that matters. Remember, colleges want to see YOU on the paper when they read your essay.
@OnMyWay2013 you seem to know a lot about the essay, what do you recommend?
Hi! I agree with lilypippili. The second topic sounds much more meaningful to you, and that’s more important than thinking of something that will entertain your readers. You can definitely write an engaging essay about a “basic” topic. Plus, I’ve heard the unicycle thing get thrown around a lot; it’s not as unique as you might think.
I third using the second idea for the Common App, but I think the unicycle story could make a great short-answer for the ‘Elaborate briefly on an extra-curricular’ type questions that often appear on supplements!
Hum, it is too bad you didn’t raise money for St. Jude’s by riding a unicycle for 24 hours. Is it too late?
@BrownParent I believe I just found my next activity for the summer!
The first one I found was very unique and eye-catching - my attention was immediately drawn to the word unicycle. But I still think you should do the second one. It sounds like it’s something you genuinely care about. A lot of people feel like they have to do deep topics like this, but when they try to it doesn’t sound like them because it’s not them. But for you, I feel like it would be almost silly for you to do a quirky topic when you have such a cool story with so much passion behind it.
Does that make sense? 
I was debating between three essay topics for my essay. I ended up writing a draft for each topic. I felt like this really helped me choose because one of the essays was significantly easier for me to write, and just came out a lot more easily. So if you have any doubts, I recommend you try that. No matter what our opinions are, you’re the only one who really knows which topic says the most about you.