by Amanda Yen, Student Writer
The Common App essay is one of the longest and most broad essays you’ll write as you apply to college. How can you make yours stand out? Here are some simple tips for kick-starting your Common App essay creatively.
- Don’t write about COVID. The pandemic is a traumatic experience, but it happened to everyone, which means that a lot of people are probably going to write about it. Unless you have a really unique spin to your story or a special circumstance, it’s probably best to talk about something else.
- Write about yourself. Maybe you learned a lot from your parents or your best friend or some old woman you met on a service trip to Nicaragua, but this isn’t their application. It’s yours. So talk about yourself.
- You don’t have to make them cry. If you don’t feel like you have a sob story, you don’t have to write a sob story. Essays about struggle are effective when they reveal a silver lining, or include a hopeful twist. You don’t really want your reader exclusively feeling sorry for you, because that’s not really a layered emotion. There are other ways to show depth and complexity.
- Write first, then type. When you write out your answer, you force your brain to slow down and really think about what you’re saying. Usually, you can come up with much more creative and complex answers this way. It might take more time, but you will definitely get higher quality responses this way.
- If you can’t write about it, talk about it. Sometimes it’s easier to answer a question as though you’re having a conversation. Answer the question out loud first and record what you say in response, because you might have a breakthrough you can’t automatically commit to paper. Just try not to cringe when you hear your own voice on recording.
- If you care about it, write about it. Your passions should show through in your personal essay. Maybe you spent six years playing soccer, but you didn’t really love it as much as you love painting, a mere side hobby. Just because you’ve won a bunch of awards for something doesn’t mean you have to write about it. You’ll turn out a better essay if it’s about something you really love.
When you’ve got that first draft done, write and rewrite! There’s no such thing as a perfect first draft. A good Common App essay takes a lot of time and care, but it’s so worth it in the end when you have that acceptance letter.
There are plenty of great potential roommates out there, so give everyone a shot. And remember, you can always go random! Your roommate doesn’t have to be your best friend –– they just have to be someone you can live with well.
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