<p>for the common app personal statement, i'm seriously considering using my essay from penn (p 217 of 300 pg autobiography) i use it to show what i want to do in the future and i like the narrative better than if i reworked it to be a "what i want to do when i grow up" expository-ish essay. the problem is that i'm sure the yale admissions officers know the penn prompt and will know it wasn't a "fresh" essay. is it ok to have the same topic? the essay i send won't b the same as the one sent to penn. i just like the topic better than the common app ones. idk, so confused. thanks!</p>
<p>Since that's a pretty unique prompt to Penn, I wouldn't use that essay for Yale. You're right, they'll know. And they'll think that Yale isn't your first choice since you're not spending as much time on the Yale app as you did on others. And if they don't think that Yale is your top choice, why would they accept you over someone who has made it clear that Yale is his/her top choice? Does that make sense? lol I dunno. But I wouldn't use the same exact essay. Tweak it a little so it applies more to one of the Common App questions.</p>