Don’t let the Common App essay intimidate you.
Students often find application essays especially challenging. Even students who like to write may be unfamiliar with the kind of personal narrative that the Common App essay section requires. Their most common complaint?
“I don’t have anything to write about.”
This is a frequent roadblock to getting started on the process. Without a topic, how do you begin? Parents may think there is some perfect topic that is beyond their student’s grasp. The reality? Every student has a topic. Much like Dorothy’s ruby slippers, the topic is part of them, and well within reach.
The right topic is the one that helps the reader (e.g. the admissions team) see something important about the real person behind the grades, scores, activities, and recommendations.
Ideally, that means a narrative about something that happened in high school where the student experienced some kind of growth or change. Bonus points for essays that reveal how the student learns, thinks and/or works with others.
Focus On Who, Not What
Perhaps surprisingly, WHAT the student does in the Common App essay matters less than you think—the plot or events are only a container for helping the reader better understand WHO the student is. Students don’t have to have cured cancer or gone to the moon to have a great essay. In fact, a standout essay from a former Flying Colors student described his experience driving around the block as he contemplated his options after grazing a parked car one snowy day. (Spoiler alert: he took responsibility.)
Even topics that would be considered more cliché, such as the loss of grandparents or overcoming sports injuries, can evolve into a successful essay when the student is clear about why the story is important to understanding them.
The Ruby Slippers
The good news? The seeds of those topics already exist for your student because everyone’s life is full of defining moments — as mundane as they may seem at the time. Telling the story of those moments is the key to writing an effective Common App essay.
Want to learn more? Email Sally Spector at [email protected].