College Essay Prompts List

Applicants should aim to showcase qualities like resilience, determination, and humility.The obstacles you choose to explore can vary widely in nature, especially with the recent additions that allow students to explore challenges and setbacks in addition to failures.This is a process we call the Backwards Brainstorm, and you can learn more about it here.

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Applicants who can articulate their thoughts and feelings while showcasing malleability and willingness to thoughtfully consider the ideas of others will likely stand out as valuable additions to any campus.

If this prompt jumps out at you because you have a very specific story to tell or opinion to voice, run with it!

Students’ personal stories and feats of insight will again be relegated to 650 words, which equates to a little more than a single-spaced page.

We happen to believe this is the perfect amount of space in which to make a quick and powerful impression with admissions (or write a comprehensive fan letter to Beyoncé), so as far as we’re concerned, you’re golden.

) So 2019-20 college applicants, like those who came before them in 2017--19, will have seven (that’s right, seven) essay prompts to choose from.

This wide range of questions, meant to inspire candidates in their search for compelling personal stories, is ideal for exploring essay topics of all tones, styles, and subjects.They can be as serious as being tormented by bullies, as ingrained as the financial issues that have plagued your family for years, or as seemingly pedestrian as a mistake that costs you a tip while waiting tables.While the possibilities are almost endless, students should be careful not to choose challenges that may seem trite (the inability to achieve an A on an exam and/or secure tickets to that Drake concert) or that illustrate a lapse in good judgment (that time you crashed your car or ate 15 bags of Cheetos in one sitting).Focus on the key words, “background,” “identity,” “interest,” and “talent,” and use them as launch points for your brainstorming.What about your history, personality, hobbies, or accomplishments might be worth highlighting for an admissions officer?Remember, these essays are not contemplative musings on your toughest times or reflections on the hiccups that populate everyday life (though these things can certainly be touched upon); they are about overcoming obstacles and refusing to submit to life’s greatest challenges. This prompt requires a student to speak passionately about beliefs and ideology, which are often onerous subjects that can be difficult to mold into compact stories.It can be one of the hardest questions to steer in a positive, productive direction without traveling into preachy, overly didactic territory.So take a peek at what the 2019-20 application has in store for you, absorb what these prompts are really asking, and then forget about them (really! The Common App’s Prompt #1 is the Old Faithful of essay questions.It’s been around for years and offers all the flexibility an applicant could ask for from a prompt, with just enough direction to get those creative fountains flowing.The most important thing to consider for this prompt is that your subject and/or perspective is dynamic and specific to you and who you are and no one else.Some questions to ask yourself as you brainstorm: Overall, this prompt is what we at College Essay Advisors call a “choose-your-own-adventure” prompt.