When are essay topics released?

From my understanding besides the new change to one of the questions they usually stay the same. I recommend you start planning by picking a topic. Which ever one you end up picking it should have to underlying theme of telling them how you are as a person and your values without flat out saying i'm an honest, community oriented person. You can pick an object that means something to you, an event or realization, the list can go on as it is person specific.

You can start by writing short essays based on the current prompts on the different topics you come up with to prepare.

It's always okay to plan early, like I'm doing. It is better to have a plan than stress and procrastinate next year. Look at the past 2 or 3 years of essay topics excluding COVID. Hopefully this helps!

No offense but way to early. It's still the class of 2022's time to apply. You won't get to start until August of next year (which is when the next rotation of essay topics are released and when the common app opens again for class of 2023. However, you can still use the most recent prompts to practice! Just remember don't use the COVID questions because they were only temporary for 2020 and 2021 seniors. Hope this answers your question.