Opinions on my new common app topic?

Applying to College
1

So I’ve been super wishy washy with the topic of my common app essay and I think I’ve finally found a topic that I can write naturally and passionately about. I will be answering the first question on my background. My topic centers around my family’s ritual of monthly movie nights. My family is a pretty unconventional one so we never celebrate anything and we never really gather together (for example at evening dinners). I would write about the power of tradition in my family and how I have learned from that. How does this topic sound?

2

If you can write passionately about it, go for it.

3

The topic sounds good as long as you can make it meaningful and interesting to read. It’s not what you write, it’s how you write about it.

4

I agree.

But I think you have an essay that will be different from the 300 others the Adcoms read that day.

BUT…here’s the thing. That story can be the background-- the first paragraph or so.

Here’s the prompt: “1. 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.”

How does that family history tell YOUR story?? What about it is so meaningful that the Adcoms NEED to know it if they’re going to get to know YOU??

Make this essay about YOU, not your family’s busy schedule.

5

I think that your topic is really interesting!! It’s definitely unique, and I think that it will help you stand out from the cliche essays. Don’t make the entire essay about your family’s history; you don’t want to make college admissions question what you’re like. I think that starting off your essay with the history of your family would provide great insight. It also will help to set the tone of the essay. In the rest of the paragraphs, talk about the effects your family has had on you. How has your family shaped you into the person you are today? What lessons have you learned from your family? I think that your topic has a lot of potential, and if written properly, it could turn out to be really great.