Jan 15, · January 15, UPDATE: Read our update about the essay prompts here. The Common Application has announced that the essay prompts will remain the same as the essay prompts. Based on extensive counselor feedback, the existing essay prompts provide great flexibility for applicants to tell their unique stories in their Common App has announced the essay prompts. Below is the full set of Common App essay prompts for Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it Usually, it takes words to write an impressive college application essay. Similarly, it has been announced that the essay prompts for will remain the same as According to the counselor’s feedback, the existing prompts provide flexibility for students to tell their life stories in their voice
The Common Application Essay Prompts Are Here
For the application cycle, the Common Application essay prompts remain unchanged from the cycle with the exception of an all new option 4. As in the past, with the inclusion of the popular "Topic of Your Choice" option, you have the opportunity to write about anything you want to share with the folks in the admissions office, college admissions essay prompts 2020.
The current prompts are the result of much discussion and debate from the member institutions who use the Common Application. The essay length limit stands at words the minimum is wordsand students will need to choose from the seven options below. The essay prompts are designed to encourage reflection and introspection. The best essays focus on self-analysis, rather than spending a disproportionate amount college admissions essay prompts 2020 time merely describing a place or event.
Analysis, not description, will reveal the critical thinking skills that are the hallmark of a promising college student. If your essay doesn't include some self-analysis, you haven't fully succeeded in responding to the prompt. According to the folks at the Common Applicationin the admissions cycle, Option 7 topic of your choice was the most popular and was used by The second most popular was Option 5 discuss an accomplishment with In third place was Option 2 on a setback or failure.
The stories and information shared in an essay are what the Admissions Officer will use to advocate for the student in the admissions committee. Always keep in mind why colleges are asking for an essay: they want to get to know you better, college admissions essay prompts 2020. Nearly all selective colleges and universities as well as many that aren't overly selective have holistic admissions, and they consider many factors in addition to numerical measures such as grades and standardized test scores, college admissions essay prompts 2020.
Your essay is an important tool for presenting something you find important that may not come across elsewhere in your application. Make sure your essay presents you as the type of person a college will want to invite to join their community. Below are the seven options with some general tips for each:. 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.
What is it that makes you you? The prompt gives you a lot of latitude for answering the question since you can write a story about your "background, identity, interest, or talent.
You could write about an event or series of events that had a profound impact college admissions essay prompts 2020 your identity. Your "interest" or "talent" could be a passion that has driven you to become the person you are today. However you approach the prompt, make sure you are inward looking and explain how and why the story you tell is so meaningful. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to college admissions essay prompts 2020 success, college admissions essay prompts 2020.
Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience? This prompt may seem to go against everything that you've learned on your path to college.
It's far more comfortable in an application to celebrate successes and accomplishments than it is to discuss setbacks and failure. At the same time, you'll impress the college admissions folks greatly if you can show your ability to learn from your failures and mistakes.
Be sure to devote significant space to the second half of the question—how did you learn and grow from the experience? Introspection and honesty are key with this prompt. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome? Keep in mind how open-ended this prompt truly is. The "belief or idea" you explore could be your own, someone else's, or that of a group. The best essays will be honest as they explore the difficulty of working against the status quo or a firmly held belief.
The answer to the final question about the "outcome" of your challenge need not be a success story. Sometimes in retrospection, we discover that the cost of an action was perhaps too great. However you approach this prompt, your essay needs to reveal one of your core personal values.
If the belief you challenged doesn't give the admissions folks a window into your personality, then you haven't succeeded with this prompt. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Here, again, the Common Application gives you a lot of options for approaching the question since it is entirely up to you to decide what the "something" and "someone" will be. This prompt was added to the Common Application in the admissions cycle in part because it gives students the opportunity to write something heartfelt and uplifting after all the challenges of the previous year.
The best essays for this prompt show that you are a generous person who recognizes college admissions essay prompts 2020 contributions others have made to your personal journey. Unlike many essays that are all about "me, me, me," this essay shows your ability to appreciate others.
This type of generosity is an important character trait that schools look for when inviting people to join their campus communities. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. This question was reworded in admissions cycle, and the current language is a huge improvement.
The prompt use to talk about transitioning from childhood to adulthood, but the new language about a "period of personal growth" is a much better articulation of how we actually learn and mature no single event makes us adults.
Maturity comes as the result of a long train of events and accomplishments and failures. This prompt is an excellent choice if you want to explore a single event or achievement that marked a clear milestone in your personal development. Be careful to avoid the "hero" essay—admissions offices are often overrun with essays about the season-winning touchdown or brilliant performance in the school play see the list of bad essay topics for more about this issue, college admissions essay prompts 2020.
These can certainly be fine topics for an essay, but make sure your essay is analyzing your personal growth process, not bragging about an accomplishment. 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? This option was entirely new inand it's a wonderfully broad prompt.
In essence, it's asking you to identify and discuss something that enthralls you. The question gives you an opportunity to identify something that kicks your brain into high gear, reflect on why it is so stimulating, and reveal your process for digging deeper into something that you are passionate about.
Note that the central words here—"topic, idea, or concept"—all have rather academic connotations. While you may lose track college admissions essay prompts 2020 time when running or playing football, college admissions essay prompts 2020, sports are probably not the best choice for this particular question. 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.
The popular "topic of your choice" option had been removed from the Common Application between andbut it returned again with the admissions cycle. Use this option if you have a story to share that doesn't quite fit into any of the options above. However, the first six topics are extremely broad with a lot of flexibility, so make sure your topic really can't be identified with one of them. Also, don't equate "topic of your choice" with a license to write a comedy routine or poem you can submit such things via the "Additional Info" option.
Essays written for this prompt still need to have substance and tell your reader something about you, college admissions essay prompts 2020. Cleverness is fine, but don't be clever at the expense of meaningful content.
Whichever prompt you chose, make sure you are looking inward. What do you value? What has made you grow as a person? What makes you the unique individual the admissions folks will want to invite to join their campus community? The best essays spend significant time with self-analysis college admissions essay prompts 2020 than merely describing a place or event.
The folks at The Common Application have cast a wide net with these questions, and nearly anything you want to write about could fit under at least one of the options. If your essay could fit under more than one option, it really doesn't matter which one you choose. Many admissions officers, college admissions essay prompts 2020, in fact, don't even look at which prompt you chose—they just want to see that you have written a good essay.
Share Flipboard Email. Allen Grove. College Admissions Expert. Allen Grove is an Alfred University English professor and a college admissions expert with over 20 years of experience helping students transition to college.
our editorial process. Facebook College admissions essay prompts 2020 Twitter Twitter. From the Admissions Desk "While the transcript and grades will always be the most important piece in the review of an application, essays can help a student stand out.
Cite this Article Format. Grove, Allen. The Common Application Essay Prompts. copy citation. Watch Now: Common College Essay Mistakes to Avoid. Common Application Essay Option 4—Gratitude. Common Application Essay Option 2 Tips: Learning from Failure. Topic of Your Choice: Common Application Essay Tips. Common Application Essay, Option 1: Share Your Story. Common Application Essay Option 6: Losing Track of Time. The Length Requirements for the Common Application Essay in Tips for Writing an Essay on an Event That Led to Personal Growth.
Guide to the 2021-22 Common App Essays: Writing about Your Background (Prompt 1)
, time: 3:45Common Application Essay Prompts - Spark Admissions
Common Application essay. You’ll choose one Common Essay prompt to respond to in words. These prompts are common to all schools who accept the Common Application, and you can view the prompts here. The Common Application also has an optional section where you’ll have the opportunity to write about how COVID has affected you Common App has announced the essay prompts. Below is the full set of Common App essay prompts for Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it Usually, it takes words to write an impressive college application essay. Similarly, it has been announced that the essay prompts for will remain the same as According to the counselor’s feedback, the existing prompts provide flexibility for students to tell their life stories in their voice
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