How to write the Commonapp EssayAnswered
So I'm a rising senior, and I wish to start on the main Commonapp essay, but I don't have any ideas on prompts or what to write on. What should I avoid when writing this major essay?
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2 answers
Hey!
Collegevine has great resources for essay starters if you haven't already seen. On the home page is the AI Ivy Assitant that I use ALL the time! It works like wonders! Ask that AI for essay prompts, tips, and tricks. All of my essays I have written, I have copy and pasted into Ivy for feedback and tips on how to improve. Also, I recently found some videos on Khan Academy about what admission officers like to see and not see in college essays. I'll put the links down to the video below. But in essence, what the videos talk about is: Admission officers don't want the limited amount of words you have in a college essay that is supposed to be used to tell about yourself, only to end up talking about what you do. Telling about yourself and telling about what you do ARE NOT the same things, and it is what students typically mess up on. The essay IS NOT a way to show yourself off or to write a fancy-worded essay, the essay is a way for the admissions officers to understand why you do the things you do, how those things impact you, how those experiences have shaped your world for you. Also, in the college essay, do not describe an event without explaining the significance in it. But if you explain the significance in the event, do NOT say "The significance in this event was..." Don't ever say that. Instead, let the admission officers read between the lines about why the event was significant by actively showing how the story changed you, it's a little hard to explain, but I REALLY recommend watching these videos down below, they explain in perfectly! I am also a rising senior by the way so I understand your stress on all of these questions and concerns, but I hope these videos and advice will give you a better understanding about what to do with the college essay. Also, some of the people in the videos are Ivy league admission officers talking, so that is something to note if I were you. Let me know what you think about all these things please and keep on asking questions, you only learn through asking and that's what I've been doing my whole life to get these tips and tricks :) And I know you may not want to sit down and watch these videos, but trust me when I say THEY REALLY HELP!! Plus most of the videos are like 1 to 3 minutes long, there are maybe like one or two that are 6 minutes and one video that is like 10 minutes, but they're pretty quick and insightful overall! I hope all these things help and again, let me know what you think! :)
youtu.be/tjNTOwePU?si=8yOqxo4t7lyxbak
youtu.be/tRC0HZyNCW4?si=WSm1rf4LjbFglX9O
youtu.be/kwzGJB4ZZg?si=6W8PDo8cR5gPpj2p
youtu.be/v4dxlsTEaY?si=oQUhye4Y67vv4N6k
youtu.be/RKPKLFXkDA?si=VenPjygi-upA4hTq
youtu.be/cQRJYTBozXQ?si=09Gbf9MhL70AOz4
youtu.be/KDb3YEnM0WY?si=tyCqQ1yKQisx5aqq
youtu.be/VX643tF89ZE?si=Ox1p83plyoSJv4Kb
youtu.be/4-LNrHGwtL0?si=kQ43VPotufQ8NNFn
youtu.be/08gsb8p--JM?si=Yd4F5FoQStci5v7
Something that helped me is thinking of myself in personality islands like in Inside Out, and then finding something that connected all of those parts of me together. I brainstormed my identities and "homes" and fun facts about myself and eventually found a common theme between my favorites and wrote about that. I'm submitting the essay under the open prompt because my first sentence acts as almost a hook and a prompt.
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Thanks for sharing such a detailed response!