Hey guys!
Ive started looking into my common app essay topics and I was stuck between two choices I could write about.
I was initially thinking to write about my parent’s divorce and how that has shaped me into a more independent and intrinsically motivated student (since my mom had to take on a job which led me to find my own motivation for doing well as opposed to being motivated by my mother). However, Ive read online that it isnt a good idea to base your essay on your parent’s divorce so I’m now having second thoughts on this one…
The second topic I was considering is writing about how a middle school friendship changed the way I view those I don’t know.
I was in a jewish middle school and mostly everyone was jewish in my class with the exception of one student who was a muslim. I noticed how unfairly people can judge this student without even knowing the kid only after becoming best friends with the him. This truly showed me how people base their attitudes and regard for a person before getting to know them solely base on their outer appearances and ethnic association , which is what I have learned to avoid.
I agree-- I’ve already read the first essay at least twice this season.
With number two, make sure the middle school incident is just your starting off place. How have your views matured in the past 5 years? Where does it take you, going forward into college where you’re likely to meet both people of other faiths and your fair share of bigots.
In fact, how open minded will you be with those bigots? Maybe that’s a new direction you could consider-- how do you react in a positive direction to people whose views you don’t share? Do you ignore, do you try to re-educate, do you tolerate them in spite of their views?
Divorce is a tricky topic because it’s common. Also it’s not mainly about you. Yes, you inevitably changed from it, but your parents were the center of the story.
I have reservations about the second topic, too. I agree with everyone who says that the incident in middle school should be the jumping off point and that your recent experiences are more important. However, unless you’ve had further formative experiences in high school that are similar, then the topic is a nonstarter. You might be inclined to write about the current political situation in the country, remarking how you feel about the two travel bans or open displays of intolerance like Charlottesville. But this will not make for a good essay. The AdCom doesn’t want to read social commentary. They want to read stories about your life, experiences you’ve had that have shaped and changed you. Also, writing about racial and religious intolerance if you’ve never experienced or witnessed it directly (and recently) is a cliché. It’s an attempt to show how enlightened you are, and yet, you haven’t experienced the cruelty of life firsthand – which is a good thing!
I’ll give you an example. Two years ago on December 2nd, 2015, the tragic shooting in San Bernardino happened. Since it was heavily in the news, as the truck attack in NYC is now, many students wanted to write essays expressing their feelings about intolerance. I discouraged them from doing so. It wasn’t their story to write. Thus, if you have no other experiences with racial/religious intolerance aside from the one in middle school, then I would say you don’t have enough material to write a full, compelling essay.
Consider the moments in the past three-and-a-half years that have had the biggest effect on you. What were they? How have you grown and changed as a result? These would be my recommended jumping off points for essay topics.
