Click here to explore thousands of successful college essay exemplars!
Are you currently applying to college using the Common App platform and need to complete the Common App essay section? You may be wondering if it's a good idea to discuss some of your weaknesses in your essay. Discussing weaknesses might be a great way to show admissions officers all aspects of your personality, even the not-so-positive ones. But is it really necessary to discuss weaknesses in your essay? This guide is here to answer this question, so read below for some more details.
Common App Essay: Should You Write About Your Weaknesses?
The Common App essay is a way to show admissions officers your personality outside of academics. This could include both strengths and weaknesses, which make up who you are and give a holistic look into your personality. Hence, although it is not mandatory for you to write about your weaknesses in your essay, you may choose to do so if it fits your narrative and contributes to the main focus of the essay.
An exception to this would be if the prompt specifically asks you to discuss your weaknesses and the challenges you faced in life. For example, the 2024-25 Common App Essay Prompt 2 is:
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?
As seen above, this prompt specifically asks students to talk about their challenges and setbacks. When answering such prompts, it would be mandatory to discuss your weaknesses as they show why the situation was challenging. Talking about your weaknesses will allow you to show personal growth as this could lead to a discussion of how you overcame the challenge or setback by a change of perspective/mindset, etc.
Now that you know whether or not to include weaknesses in your essay, let's go over some benefits and things to avoid when doing so.
Benefits
Shows self-awareness: Talking about your weaknesses shows self-awareness and vulnerability to admissions officers, as well as that you recognize areas for improvement and are actively working on improving yourself.
Personal growth: Talking about weaknesses in the context of overcoming challenges can show how you turn negative moments into positive ones. This shows admissions officers your desire to improve as a person.
Shows authenticity: Talking about your weaknesses shows your human side, rather than portraying a perfect story. This helps make your narrative feel more real.
Things To Avoid
Focusing on the problem: Avoid focusing too much on your weaknesses, rather than on how you overcame them or solved the problem. Focusing too much on the problem can detract from your narrative.
Don't make excuses: Don't use your weaknesses to justify a mistake you made. Instead, explain the error in your ways by highlighting your weaknesses and outlining how you worked on them to face the challenge or setback.
Discussing the wrong thing: Admissions officers want to see weaknesses that allow you to demonstrate personal growth. Do not discuss weaknesses such as procrastination, or lack of discipline/time management, etc. as these are common in most students and will not allow you to craft a unique narrative.
We hope that this guide has helped you identify whether you should write about your weaknesses in your Common App essay as well as what to keep in mind if you choose to write about them. Good luck with your college applications!
The Fast Track To Your
Best IB Coursework & College Essays
All content on this website has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization.