No Common App. "Topic of Choice" this year -- Help?

[bhchamp]

<p>None of the presented topics really do it for me this year. I'd rather have no boundary and be able to write about whatever I feel is best. </p>

<p>Do you guys think topic 1 "some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be complete without it" would suffice as that "topic of choice." It is kind of vague so could I write about anything? Such as my dreams/plans for the future, in the field of business? It's not really a story, but it is central to my identity. Do you think I should make it work with the question more or is it just okay to write whatever I want and say it is topic 1? </p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

[ironchariot]

<p>as long as it is central to your identity, go for it</p>

[movemetoo]

<p>Maybe you could write a draft of the essay that you feel inspired to write, and then see which topic you might be able to tailor it to?</p>

[jmoney22]

<p>Personally, IMO, that topic would turn dry and cliche very quickly-colleges say show, dont tell, which means anecdotes and details that exhibit who you are as a person. Simply writing about your aspirations and likes are not enough, everyone has those. Plus, your essay will be irrelevant as it has to do with the present you and whether or not colleges think you at present fit in. Now, if you had quirky little anecdotes regarding your business interests, like a failure or time you tried something new, that could work. However, remember that alot of these academic related and achievement related topics USUALLY come off dry and not very unique.</p>

[gibby]

<p>The Common Application members took away “Topic of your choice” because they wanted students to write on specific topics. Writing about “A Topic of Your Choice” for any of the 5 questions is not following directions. Depending upon the college, that could spell trouble.</p>

<p>This is a great article about how to avoid the pitfalls in the new Common Application questions: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/college-essays/college-essays/www.getaccepted.org/app/download/.../PitfallsOpportunities.pdf‎[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-essays/college-essays/college-essays/www.getaccepted.org/app/download/.../PitfallsOpportunities.pdf&#8206;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>

The Breakfast Club Question
• Some students have a background or story that is so central to their identity that they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.</p>

<p>Pitfall: </p>

<p>Um…… like, that you will answer this as a character from The Breakfast Club (Hughes). My parents raised me to be a (fill-in-the-blank) and that is why I am who I am. </p>

<p>In the book, The College Hook, Pam Proctor actually recommends that students use one of ”The Top Ten College Hooks” as way to “package” themselves for college admissions. Her hooks are:</p>

<ul>
<li>The Athletic Hook</li>
<li>The International Hook</li>
<li>The Music hook</li>
<li>The Political hook</li>
<li>The Technology Hook</li>
<li>The Humanitarian Hook</li>
<li>The Science Hook</li>
<li>The Writing Hook</li>
<li>The Drama Hook</li>
<li>The Multicultural Hook</li>
</ul>

<p>(Proctor): I think it is a mistake for students to label or categorize themselves for college admissions officers. They are not casting a movie and not looking for “types”. As these new questions highlight, college admissions reps are looking for unique, mature, articulate students who can think critically about how their experiences have shaped who they are and influenced who they will become.</p>

<p>Opportunity: </p>

<p>At the end of “The Breakfast Club”, Anthony Michael Hall’s character reads the letter he wrote in response to a prompt very similar to this one; “Who are you?” The answer he gives is brilliant:</p>

<p>“Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you’re crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us… in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That’s the way we saw each other at seven o’clock this morning. We were brainwashed. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal. Does that answer your question? Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.”</p>

<p>The opportunity with this prompt is for students to demonstrate how they have been able to move beyond the situations or circumstances which sought to define them to become something unexpected.

</p>