Take this week’s newsletter with a grain of salt.

The choice of essay prompt matters little next to getting students to brainstorm their experiences and write essays that demonstrate the 5 Traits and their college potential.

Still, we think some of the personal essay choices are better than others. And this is a fun topic, so let’s explore it!

To be clear: Despite our ranking, any prompt can lead to an excellent admissions essay. We just think it’s less likely with some than others and we’ll explain why.

In this newsletter:

Common Application Prompts we like most (5, 6)
Common App Essay Prompts we’re neutral on (7, 1, 2)
Common Application Essay Prompts we like less (3, 4)

For reference, we’ve labeled each prompt with a short name to make them easier to discuss:

Background and Identity.
Lessons from Obstacles.
Challenging a Belief.
Gratitude.
Personal Growth.
Intellectual Curiosity.
Topic of Choice.

Note: Most admissions officers don’t even look at which prompt the student chose. Unlike for the school’s unique supplements, where students must explicitly answer every part of the prompt, they can use the Common App prompts as thought-starters that help identify compelling content to share.

Common Application Prompts we like the most (5, 6)

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

This is a top-two prompt. It’s also the second most used behind Topic of Choice (not that it matters). It’s a great prompt because it naturally focuses on drive – the most important of the 5 Traits. It also easily allows students to prominently feature one or more of the other traits: intellectual curiosity, initiative, contribution, and diversity of experiences.

The key is for students to choose experience(s) that show a differentiated self BEFORE the time of growth and AFTER (better). Moreover, the student must have been an active participant in their defining experience.

For example, the event might be that the father left the family. But the period of growth is how the student responded by getting a job, taking on more responsibility in the family, working hard to keep up with their school work, and developing more empathy through it all.

Overall, be sure that the period of growth ends with a good outcome, such as improved skills, a better way of doing things than the student had before, or a profoundly different way of viewing themselves and others.

6) Intellectual Curiosity — 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?

‍Our other “top two” prompt gets to the very essence of intellectual curiosity — a trait colleges love. Students who love learning for fun are more likely to succeed in college and in life.

This prompt can also powerfully showcase drive and diversity of experiences (i.e., a unique set of interests), as well as initiative or contribution when the “intellectual curiosity” aspect involves other people.

The key is for students to write this prompt as an intellectual journey. They should begin by describing what sparked their interest; then get as nerdy as they like explaining why they find the topic so fascinating, how they engage with it, and how they continue to deepen their understanding/learning/skill. Finally, they can talk about how it might relate to their future.

Note: The topic need not be related to a school subject. It can be anything they find fascinating and spend significant free time learning about deeply.

Warning: Students should avoid this prompt if they haven’t spent months or even years developing this topic in their free time or if they can’t write about how they deliberately work to improve their skill or knowledge in the area.

Common App Essay Prompts we’re neutral on (7, 1, 2)

7) Topic of choice — 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.

This is the most-written prompt, with about 25% of students writing it (not that it matters). It’s a great choice if the student’s content doesn’t neatly fit in one of the others.

But it is possibly too open-ended. Many students who choose “topic of choice” write up content that doesn’t match what colleges are looking for: proving they’ll be successful in college and beyond.

The key to pulling this topic of is staying laser-focused on experiences that show off the 5 Traits. In fact, students should avoid this prompt if their content does fit neatly into one of the others. Conversely, if they’ve got great content that just won’t otherwise fit, this is the best way to write a winning essay.

1) Background or Identity — 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.

This was the most-used prompt before the Common App went from five to seven prompts (not that it matters).

It works for students who truly have a story that is core to their identity. Admissions officers love applicants with a strong identity and sense of purpose. These stories, if told right, are memorable and authentic. Importantly, that background, identity, interest, or talent should be one that the student can tie to one or more of the 5 Traits.

The issue, as always, is that many students don’t write about what admissions officers care about: showing traits that prove success in college and beyond. In addition, students should keep away from this prompt if their identity isn’t impressive or memorable or if that identity doesn’t link to what they want for their future or career.

Note: music, band, chorus, athletics, drama, and theater tend to be difficult to tie to the 5 Traits, as they don’t relate specifically to academics. When students write about these topics, they should be the setting of the essay, not the theme (e.g., the setting is athletics, but the essay is really about self-improvement or leadership).

Examples:

The student had a loved one who was a victim of gang violence, and their life mission is to become a law enforcement agent and address crime.
They love technology, they met and were inspired by a startup CEO, and now, they dream of being an entrepreneur and are learning to code.

2) Lessons from obstacles — 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?

This is a fine prompt, but it can be tricky. It’s the third most commonly-used prompt (not that it matters).

The key is having a meaningful enough obstacle (ex: a bad grade is not “bad” enough) AND having meaningful personal growth as a result of the obstacle.

Many students struggle with this prompt because, while they write compellingly about the obstacle, they don’t move on to discussing the actions they took to get past that obstacle (or that they took in spite of the obstacle). Merely facing an obstacle isn’t compelling. It doesn’t prove potential for college success.

On the other hand, succeeding in spite of an obstacle or acting on learning from the obstacle can be compelling content as it shows drive, the most important of the 5 Traits.

Example: The student lost the student council election. They learned from their mistakes and succeeded in being elected Senior Class President the next year.

Common Application Essay Prompts we like less (3, 4)

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

This is the least-used prompt. That’s because it’s hard to have compelling content here. We suggest avoiding it unless the student’s most compelling content naturally fits, in which case, go for it!

The key is to make sure the situation doesn’t reflect poorly on the student and isn’t controversial (e.g., abortion). In addition, as always, the content must tie to one or more of the 5 Traits.

Good content for this prompt often shows contribution, generally where the student is standing up for someone else in the face of criticism. Make sure, though, that the student goes beyond just describing one event or moment — they should show it as part of a pattern of other actions taken based on their beliefs.

It’s also good if the essay can showcase the student’s ability to empathize with and/or persuade others while simultaneously displaying interpersonal skills (e.g., conflict resolution within a group of peers or superiors).

4) Gratitude — 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?

Students should try to avoid this prompt. Yes, gratitude is a force for good in our lives. But in an essay, it’s hard to translate feeling thankful into evidence of a student’s potential for success.

The key is to focus on the second part of the prompt, which asks about the student’s actions. The kindness should have had a momentous effect on their life, and that kindness should have made the student take action in a radical way.

Don’t let students get stuck on the “what someone has done for you" part of the prompt. Admissions officers want to know about the applicant, not some nice person who inspired them.

Examples:

The student’s grandmother left them the family bakery in her will. Since then, the student has taken on that role with reverence for her legacy, and a fierce determination to see the business thrive, even as they pursue their high school life.
A stranger donated bone marrow, saving the student’s life. They’re determined to make the most of this gift, dedicating their life to cancer research.

In our next issue, The biggest essay myth: Telling your story

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The Apply

The best Common App Essay Prompts and why