<p>For some, it's politics or sports or reading. For others, it may be researching solar power fuel cells or arranging hip-hop mash-ups. What makes you tick? (200-250 words)</p>
<p>Can I interpret this as like, What gets you up in the morning? Or like what keeps you going throughout the day? (not literally of course)</p>
<p>You can interpret it however you want to. Both your thoughts–what gets you up in the morning and what keeps you going–are just fine.</p>
<p>My S was just accepted ED to Tufts on Friday. Without giving too much away, he loved this essay because it gave him a chance to talk about a passion of his that had nothing to do with academics. The committee is looking for something that you just love and would love to talk about why you love it!</p>
<p>
Complete Agreement.</p>
<p>This may sound a little backwards, but it worked for my son. He wrote several essays first and then figured out what questions they could be answering. Rewriting those essays to actually answer the questions actually made them stronger. He knew there were two or three things that he wanted to tell colleges about himself and wanted to make sure that they were covered. What he thought at first would be the main Common Application essay ended up being one of the minor essays. </p>
<p>Also, try not to take these questions too seriously. My son’s answer to his year’s equivalent to this question was pretty silly, but I think it probably made him seem quite likable.</p>