<p>I will be a rising senior in August, and aiming to apply for early action.... I have already created a common app account but I'm hearing that the accounts will all be wiped out in the summer. So will the essay topics change, they say. So any ideas when the essay topics are going to be released?</p>
<p>The main common application essays are the same, but the supplements for each individual schools may change.</p>
<p>Thanks a lot, shawnspencer 
So I’m guessing essay topics for 2015-2016 will be the same as 2014-2015?</p>
<p>Yup! You can find them with a quick google search</p>
<p>Hmm I did a little bit of google search and I figured out that the essay topics for 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 were same, and 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 were the same. I couldn’t find any for 2015-2016… :S</p>
<p>Usually the Common App essays are released in February, though they usually don’t change. The changed them in between 2012-2013 and 2013-2014 because they completely redesigned the Common App, so they deleted the “free choice” essay option (:(). I think it’s safe to assume that the current ones will be the same as the 2015-2016 ones.</p>
<p>That being said, I would caution you to not start your essay until the spring of your junior year. You need to make sure that you’re writing about something current when you’re applying to college, so unless it’s something that’s really significant to your background, it’s usually better/more common to choose a subject that is as recent as possible.</p>
<p>Supplemental essays can change or stay the same every year; it depends on the college. Colleges will usually release their specific prompts in the spring or summer, but if they don’t, you’ll be able to see them on the Common App in August or September. I don’t know if it’s because of all of the difficulty with the new Common App release last year, but some colleges didn’t post their supplemental essays on the Common App until late September or even October. As far as I know, they aren’t automatically released with the new version of the Common App on August 1st.</p>
<p>2014-2015 prompts are here: <a href=“https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1694/2014-15-Common-Application-Essay-Prompts[/url]”>https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1694/2014-15-Common-Application-Essay-Prompts</a></p>
<p>If youre a rising senior right now planning to apply early decision, you would be using the 2014-2015 topics. The 2015-2016 topics are for those graduating in 2016. </p>
So if I graduate in 2016, I’ll have a different essay question? I took a class that focused on College App writing and we completed the essay (and I thought I did a pretty good job). Does that mean that I don’t get to use the one I wrote? Or are they the same every year?
Sorry but bump
I am also graduating in 2016. You will be using the 15-16 Common App prompts whether you are applying Early Decision, Early Action, or Regular Decision. The 15-16 Common App prompts have NOT been released yet, but they are due to be released by the end of this month. The Common App people just released a statement about it:
It’s not “safe to assume” that the prompts will be the same. I would not start writing anything until the 2015-2016 prompts have been officially released by the Common Application.
You are right, @Hoolala, that the accounts are deleted every summer. Any information you’ve stored or written on your account will be deleted. It’s best to wait until Common App goes “live” (August 1, I believe) until you start inputting your data into the Common App system.
And as I say above, the essay topics will be changing, and they will be released by the end of the month.
When are the prompts going to be released? It’s the 25th already.
And now it’s the last day of March, with no prompts yet…
They have officially been released:
- 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.
- The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
- Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
- Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.