Common App Essay Guide

Something that remains constant throughout the college application process are the Common App essays. Every year, students are expected to provide a personal statement in the application portal, which is then sent to each school that the student applies to.

  The Common App began when a group of universities brainstormed a way in which students would not have to send a separate application to each school that they applied to, but instead could just have one application that would be copied and sent to each school. The Common App is probably one of the most widely used application portals, with over 900 schools accepting it, including at least one school in each state and 60 international universities on 18 different countries accepting the Common App. However, many public universities, such as the University of California, have their own application systems, as do some private universities, such as Georgetown University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

The Common App has seven different prompts for the student to choose from, one of which is a prompt of the applicant’s choice, and the word limit for the personal statement is 650 words. The prompts remain largely the same each year ever since 2017, except for the 2020-2021 application cycle in which prompt #4 was changed, so that should be something the student keeps in mind while planning their essay in advance. The personal statement, as the name suggests, should be personal and show the admission’s officer why that student is unique and should set that student apart from other applicants. 

• The applicant should respond to this prompt not by writing about something they think the admission’s officer wants to read, or what will make them look more “impressive”, but instead by writing about something they feel very strongly or passionate about. 
• If the applicant finds themselves uncertain about whether this prompt can or will work for them, they should ask themselves questions examining why whatever topic they are thinking of writing of comes to mind, and then all the reasons why that topic is so important to them. That will give the applicant their answer on how to proceed. 
• Furthermore, the applicant should not feel obligated to write about something just because they believe it will make them “unique” or “different”; yes, the applicant wants to show that they are unique, but they should not do this by writing something that has the sole purpose of making them seem unique. The key word in this prompt is meaningful.

• The applicant should really show how this challenge they intend to write about taught them and affected them, but at the same time should make sure they avoid using over-used responses, such as the story of a sports-related injury. 
• This prompt is very useful in displaying how the applicant reacts and overcomes obstacles, no matter how “big” or “small” this obstacle may be. The important thing for the applicant is the showing rather than the telling. 
• This prompt is about the effect the event had on the applicant, and what the applicant learned, so this does not just need to be a typical “applicant had X problem, but then at the end it worked out and now everything is fine”; this topic can also be sad or shocking in how it ended, but what is most important is that the applicant shows their journey and how they learned and were affected. That being said, however, make sure the response is not too much. 

• Although this prompt might seem difficult to answer, it does not need to be something as dramatic as a questioning of one’s religion or something like that; it can simply be about a disagreement with someone or a group of people regarding an idea they might have had. 
• The key takeaway from this response should be demonstrating that the applicant has the ability to think for themselves and form their own opinions regardless of what others are doing. 
• Also, the applicant should not shy away from discussing difficult issues in this response, but what is important is showing that a good deal of thought was put in and the applicant is not just trying to appear “right” or something like that.

• This prompt is something that can be an opportunity for the applicant’s response to be very deep and insightful, since it is a chance to show their unique gratitude and how that uniquely motivates them. However, the focus of this essay should be on the applicant, rather than the subject of gratitude. 
• This is a chance for the applicant to potentially showcase a unique aspect of their background or upbringing, which will set them apart from other applicants, since no one else has the exact same experiences as that applicant. 
• The applicant should try to avoid cliches when responding to this prompt, since this is a prompt in which cliches are an easy trap to fall into, and the admissions offers will not exactly be thrilled. 

• The response to this prompt can be as large as discussing a cultural rite of passage or discussing an informal event. The important thing for the applicant to do is make sure that they show how this topic tied into their personal growth and new understandings, since that is really what should be the main focus of the response. 
• Going off of the previous point, the applicant should make sure that whatever they discuss is important to them, since that is the point of the personal statement; the admissions officer is not interested in hearing what was important to the applicant’s family, unless it was important to the applicant as well.
• The applicant should make sure that they really dig deep when thinking about their response to this prompt; they should really examine that whatever the topic is, that it truly sparked a period of growth and understanding, because admissions officers will be able to tell if this was not actually the case. 

•  This prompt, similar to Prompt #1, allows the applicant to really show something that they are passionate about. Once again, the applicant should not write something that they think will be what the admission’s officer wants, but instead should use this prompt as a way to really show their unique passion and the why of that passion, which will be unique to that applicant. 
• The applicant should also not get so lost in discussing the topic that they forget to tie themselves into it. The personal statement, ultimately, is all about the applicant and their personality. 
• Once again, the applicant should try to avoid cliché statements in this response, since it can be easy to fall into that trap while writing about a topic like this. Just make sure to proofread and have a trusted person proofread and the applicant will be alright. 

• Although this prompt is very broad and allows for quite a bit of wiggle room, the applicant ultimately must ensure that the prompt is first and foremost about them and their personal journey, rather than an “impressive” academic paper that although well-written, has nothing to do with the applicant. These essays are all about allowing the applicant’s personality and uniqueness to shine through. 
• The applicant should not choose this prompt just because they believe it will be “less work”, especially if they have something they can already use, because it is not. Just because the applicant has something they can already use, it helps them with coming up with a new idea, but they should still make sure that essay is perfected and refined.
• Finally, the applicant should really use this prompt as a way to have fun and really show off their writing skills in a way that is creative and uniquely the applicant’s. 

•  First and foremost, this essay should be personal. College applications can often feel very impersonal, especially for the admissions officer reading them, so the applicant really wants to ensure that their personal statement for the Common App attaches a living, feeling person to the application. The applicant wants to make sure that the admissions officer reading their essay can get a deeper sense of who they are, and what their background and story is. The applicant should not write what they think the admissions officer wants to read, since they will be able to see right through that; this essay should be what the applicant wants to write and what they want the admissions officer to know about them. 
• Before writing, every essay needs to begin with an idea. It can seem daunting when there is so much freedom with the prompts, so that is why it is important for the applicant to have at least one good person to bounce ideas off of, preferably someone who is familiar with personal essays or the college application process. 
• Do not use cliché topics in your essay, since this essay is supposed to help the applicant stand out to the admissions offer, not make them groan because they’ve already read twenty other essays about the sports victories of other applicants. Even though it is not impossible to write a good essay with a cliché topic, applicant should still aim to write an essay that is unique to them and their identity, rather than something that any other applicant can write about.
• Do not worry about length right away. Although the applicant might want to start thinking about the length of their essay as soon as they start writing, this can be a restriction on the writing process. The applicant should first work on telling the full story that they wish to tell, and then going back and shortening the essay if necessary. This allows the applicant to use whatever pieces that might have seemed “extra” to craft the best essay for themselves, since many times those pieces were included for a reason and can allow the applicant to see what parts really highlight their personality. 
• Make sure to proofread the essay. The applicant should also have another person proofread their essay, in order to make sure it makes sense to another person, since it is easy for the writer to read what they were thinking rather than what they actually wrote. This other person should be someone the applicant trusts and who has experience with essays and college applications, as mentioned previously. When proofreading, the applicant should make sure they are careful, but also not overthink too much; they should be confident in what they wrote. 

The ways people describe family vary. Some may say that family is everything, while others believe family is annoying and just something to deal with. Some argue that family is what shapes us into who and what we become, while others argue that we mold ourselves in response to our families. Perhaps, while we have control over ourselves and our futures, our family does play a rather significant role in the start that we have and the direction of the path that we take in the future.

As a young child, I was raised mostly by my paternal grandmother, Granny, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. I spent much of my childhood with my grandmother in the Amsterdam Houses right behind Lincoln Center because my mother was in residency and my father worked long hours. Since my grandmother lived so close to Lincoln Center, we would visit almost every day. I enjoyed playing near the fountain and asking my grandmother about the opera and the ballet. She would often play classical music and opera while I painted, since she firmly believed that classical music stimulated the mind and creativity. She enrolled me in a ballet class because my favorite composition was Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and the billboards by Lincoln Center made me think that being a ballerina would be the coolest job a person could have. However, my ballet career was short-lived since I did not like being told how to dance or that I had to dance with the orange scarf instead of the pink one, which was my favorite.

I then decided that science would be my passion, since my mother was a pediatrician and I enjoyed watching the space videos at the Museum of Natural History. I even carried out a flawed experiment, where after watching a video about zero gravity in space, I decided to ignore the “Do not try this at home” warning and proceeded to drop my grandmother’s mug on the floor once we got back to the apartment. After hearing the loud shattering noise of ceramic hitting linoleum, my grandmother rushed into the room to find me crying because gravity did not work. She proceeded to explain that gravity was in fact working and that was why the mug had broken.

My grandmother always encouraged me to pursue my interests and learn more about subjects that fascinated me, so we would often go to the library by her apartment. After a while the librarians got to know the little girl with curly hair who would leave with large books on Egyptian mythology, human anatomy, or the solar system. I was an avid reader because of my grandmother’s influence. She would tell me about her childhood when she would read and get lost easily in a good book, and how books can expand one’s knowledge of the world and the people in it.

My grandmother’s influence in my life continued even after she passed away from pancreatic cancer. Because she nurtured my natural curiosity and love of the arts, throughout high school I participated in my school’s singing group as well as our school musicals. Through the time that I spent with my grandmother in my early childhood in New York City, I was able to grow a passion for the arts and sciences, which led to my desire to pursue my interest in singing and a career in medicine. As I make decisions today about what I wish to pursue in college and which direction I wish to go in my adult life based on my interests and experiences, I still remember my Granny’s influence during those formative years that I had with her.

• First and foremost, this essay is personal. The writer describes an aspect of her childhood that greatly impacted and continues to impact her life even at the moment of writing, and this provides insight into the writer as a person. One can see from the essay that the writer has had an interest in science from a young age, as well as the arts, and that the writer was very close to her grandmother, who had a large influence on her life. This is seen from what is explicitly written, but also one can read between the lines and see a level of assertiveness in the writer from how she did not want to be told how to dance or how she refused to dance with the orange scarf because she did not like it. A reader can also see that the writer has a high level of curiosity and desire to learn more, as evidenced by the writer’s many questions she asked as a young girl and the wide array of interests she had. 
• Furthermore, this essay is unique to the writer. Although she chose a broad theme, like family, she narrowed it down to the times she spent with her grandmother and made the essay specific to her experience. The author references specific moments in her childhood and ties them back to her present, which in theory is something that any essay can do, but what makes this essay stand out is the fact that these moments are unique to the writer and the ways in which she connects them to each are unique as well. 

Overall, the personal statement should not be overwhelming, even though it is something that will attach a person to an application; this is an opportunity for the applicant to really show the people in admissions what makes them themand also really flex their story-telling muscles. So, just relax, get brainstorming, and write!