Choosing Your Topic

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Choosing Your Topic

Common Application Prompts, 2017-2018

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.

2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. 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.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Now that you’ve read about what makes Now that you’ve read some great examples and discussed what makes them effective, it’s finally time to get started on your college essay.

On the left are common college essay prompts on last year’s common application, a generic college application used by 488 universities in 46 states as well as some international schools. You can see if the schools you are interested in use the Common Application here. Writing an application essay on one of these prompts means that you should get to use this essay on your actual application this year!

Take a look at the prompts and choose one that you feel you could write about in an interesting essay of 500 words (the limit imposed by the Common Application is 650 words).

If you are not applying to a school that uses the Common Application, feel free to use the prompt from your university’s application. This process should be as real as possible!

e college essay prompts on this year’s Common Application, a generic college application used by nearly 700 colleges and universities in 46 states as well as some international schools. You can see if the schools you are interested in use the Common Application here. Writing an application essay on one of these prompts means that you should get to use this essay on your actual application this year!

Take a look at the prompts and choose one that you feel you could write about in an interesting essay of 250-500 words (the limits imposed by the Common Application).

If you are not applying to a school that uses the Common Application, feel free to use the prompt from your university’s application. This process should be as real as possible!

Once you’ve chosen your topic, go to the next screen to share what you’ve chosen and do some brainstorming with your classmates.