Popular Argument Topics for College Applications?

Hey everyone, I'm starting to draft my college essays and I'm feeling a bit lost. Can you guys share some popular argument topics that you've come across in college applications? It’d be great if you could also share why you think these topics are popular and how they help the admissions see your potentials.

Sure, happy to share some insights! When it comes to writing college essays, there aren't necessarily "popular" argument topics per se. Rather, it's more about how you use a particular topic to illustrate an aspect of your life, values, or experiences.

For instance, discussing your passion and involvement in an extracurricular activity can be a compelling topic. Say you're an avid member of your school’s debate club, you can talk about how this experience honed your logical thinking and public speaking skills, and how you used these strengths to have a positive impact in your community. You can discuss a particularly challenging debate topic you had, how you tackled it, and what you learned from this experience.

Another potentially rich topic could be around problem-solving. If there's a problem or challenge you've faced in your life - academic, personal, or community-related - you can discuss what steps you took to overcome it, what you learned in the process, and how it has shaped your perspectives and character.

Alternatively, you could choose to write about a leader, philosopher, or author's ideology or philosophy that strongly resonates with you. Then, discuss how this thinking has impacted your actions, outlook, or decisions, tying it back to your own capabilities and character.

The critical point here is to use these topics as a vehicle to reflect on your experiences, values, and future aspirations. Ultimately, these essays help admissions officers see your potential by providing a window into your personality, values, and ways of thinking, rather than your ability to argue a certain standpoint.