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Writing a Common App essay is a task many college applicants must undertake. If you are looking to apply to institutions in the US, you may have heard of the Common App essay required to submit your application through the Common App portal. Common App provides a wide range of prompts, as seen here, and you are only required to answer one of them. With a whole lifetime of experiences, it can often be hard for students to narrow down the exact topic they want to write about. This post is here to help provide some guidance in choosing your essay topic by showing you some commonly overused topics so you can avoid basing your essay on these and ensure it stands out more.
Common App Essay Topics To Avoid
Overused Topics To Avoid | |||
|---|---|---|---|
Holidays to foreign countries | Overcoming minor illnesses | Mission trips abroad to help the less fortunate | Describing your hero (family member, celebrity, etc.) |
Restating information from your resume | Outlining academic achievements | Being part of a sports team | The death of a family member or pet |
Explaining why you like a subject and want to study it | Learning to play an instrument | How your life was impacted by changing schools | How your life was impacted by moving countries (due to parents' jobs, etc.) |
Explaining why you want to attend a particular institute (This should be in supplemental essays, not the Common App essay) | Describing your time management skills | Being a perfectionist | A generalized story about friendship |
Describing a summer job | How difficult life was after your family immigrated to a new country | Outlining a time you faced peer pressure | Getting over stage fright within a single speech or performance |
Difficulties due to procrastination | Your first relationship ending | Explaining how you received a scholarship | Describing your experience at summer camp |
Highlighting acts of kindness towards others | Stating political or religious views in a negative way | Describing that you had a privileged life compared to others | Generic stories without explanation of how you made a difference in the community |
Now that you are aware of what to avoid writing your essays on, let's discuss what admissions committees want to see in a student's college essays. Click the links in blue below to see examples from the Clastify website of how each point is addressed in the Common App essays of various students.
Personality: Admissions officers want to see what makes you "YOU". This can be in the form of explaining your passions, interests and lived experiences. This is a way to show what you bring to the table. A good example of a student showcasing their personality can be found here.
Background: Admissions officers want to see how your background has shaped you and prepared you for the future. This is where you should be describing the challenges you faced and how they helped you grow as a person as well as any experiences that will prepare you for life at college. A good example of a student describing the challenges they faced due to their background can be found here.
Fit for the Institute: Admissions officers assess how your skills and experiences make you a good fit for their schools. They see how your values and beliefs align with the principles of their institute. A good example of a student demonstrating their fit is shown here as they explain why they are interested in their intended major.
Community Impact: Colleges want to see how a student has contributed to their community as this highlights that the student cares about others and will make a positive contribution to the college community as well. A good example of a student showing their impact in their community can be seen here.
We hope that this guide has helped you identify topics to avoid when writing your Common App essay as well as help you see the qualities that admissions officers are looking for in strong essays. Good luck with your college applications!
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