When talking about college essays, we tend to focus on the Common Application prompts, and it's true that many students will need to write a Common App essay. However, there are actually quite a few schools, including both public and private universities, that don't use the Common App and instead ask applicants to respond to their own college essay prompts.
Luckily, college essay prompts tend to be pretty similar to each other. In this guide, I'll list all the college essay questions for popular schools in the US (and a few abroad) and then break down the patterns to help you brainstorm topics and plan how to approach multiple essays efficiently. After reading this guide, you'll be able to strategize which essays you'll write for which colleges.
Feature image: Mayr/Flickr
Why Do Colleges Ask For an Essay?
The short answer: the essay gives admissions committees a sense of your personality beyond the statistics on the rest of your application. The essay is your chance to show the committee your unique perspective and impress them with your maturity and insight.
College application essay prompts are written with this goal in mind. Admissions officers want to give you the chance to share your interests, aspirations, and views on the world, so most prompts ask about how your experiences have shaped you or what you're excited about studying or doing in college. I've collected a ton of examples below and provided some analysis to help you begin planning and crafting your own essays.
Keep in mind that the personal statement alone won't be enough to get you in—your grades and test scores are still the most important factors in your application. That being said, a stellar essay can help bring a borderline applicant over the top or give an excellent but not extraordinary student the opportunity to stand out in a competitive applicant pool.
As such, the essay tends to matter most for very competitive schools. Non-competitive schools generally don't ask you to submit an essay.
Complete List of College Essay Prompts
This list collects the 2024-2025 college essay prompts for major state universities, top-50 schools, and other popular schools which have their own unique questions. They're divided by region, with all optional essays listed at the end.
I left off the Common App supplements, as those often require a substantially different approach. I also stuck to four-year schools, meaning I didn't include special two-year programs, such as Deep Springs College or Miami Dade College's Honors Program (both of which require essays).
Finally, note that these prompts are for freshman applicants, so the requirements might be different for transfer students.
General Applications
There are three general applications you can use to apply to many different schools at once:
- Common Application
- Universal College Application
- Coalition Application
Each application has its own personal statement requirement. Some schools will ask for additional supplemental essays.
Many more schools accept the Common App than they do the UCA or Coalition Application, though some will accept more than one of these applications.
Common Application
For the Common App essay, you pick one of the prompts and write 250-650 words about it. Here are the prompts for the 2024-2025 school year:
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Universal College Application
The UCA essay prompt is completely open ended and has a 650-word limit. Here is the 2024-2025 prompt:
Please write an essay that demonstrates your ability to develop and communicate your thoughts. Some ideas include: a person you admire; a life-changing experience; or your viewpoint on a particular current event.
Coalition Application
For the Coalition Application, you'll pick one of five prompts listed below. While there is no hard word limit, the range guidelines are roughly 500-600 words. Here are the prompts for 2024-2025:
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.
Now that you know the essay requirements for the three general applications, let’s look at the application essays for specific schools. To keep things organized, we’ve grouped schools based on the region of the US in which they’re located.
Northeast/Mid-Atlantic
The Great Dome at MIT
Georgetown University
Georgetown asks applicants to write one short response (250 words), one short essay (about half a single-spaced page), and two longer essays (approximately one single-spaced page each). Each applicant must respond to the first three prompts and can choose among the other five based on the specific program she's interested in.
Short Essay: Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight. (250 words)
All Applicants: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved. (About 1/2 page, single-spaced)
All Applicants: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief personal or creative essay which you feel best describes you and reflects on your own background, identity, skills, and talents. (Approximately one page, single-spaced)
Applicants to Georgetown College: Describe your interest in studying in the College of Arts & Sciences. (Applicants interested in the sciences, mathematics, or languages are encouraged to make specific reference to their choice of major.)
Applicants to the School of Nursing: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying Nursing at Georgetown University.
Applicants to the School of Health: Describe the factors that influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University, specifically addressing your intended related major: Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science.
Applicants to the Walsh School of Foreign Service: The Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders to solve global problems. Describe your primary motivations for studying international affairs at Georgetown University and dedicating your undergraduate studies toward a future in global service.
Applicants to the McDonough School of Business: The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Describe your primary motivations for studying business at Georgetown University.
For more Georgetown application tips, check out our articles on the Georgetown essays and how to get into Georgetown.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MIT doesn't ask for a single personal statement but rather asks applicants to respond to a series of questions with just a paragraph or two of 100-200 words each.
What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.
We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.
While some reach their goals following well-trodden paths, others blaze their own trails achieving the unexpected. In what ways have you done something different than what was expected in your educational journey?
MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.
How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?
For more details on how to get into MIT, read our other articles on the MIT application process, tips for MIT essays, and an example of a real MIT acceptance letter!
Midwest
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Indiana University Bloomington
IU asks for 200-400 words on your plans and interests.
Describe your academic and career plans and any special interests (e.g., undergraduate research, academic interests, leadership opportunities, etc.) that you are eager to pursue as an undergraduate at Indiana University. If you encountered any unusual circumstances, challenges, or obstacles in completing your education, share those experiences and how you overcame them.
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois asks for two essays (or three only if you selected a second-choice major other than what's noted on your application). All responses should be approximately 150 words.
You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program, and if you've selected a second choice. Each response should be approximately 150 words.
If You're Applying to a Major:
1. Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else.
2. Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
If You're Applying to Our Undeclared Program in the Division of General Studies:
1. What are your academic interests? Please include 2-3 majors you're considering at Illinois and why.
2. What are your future academic or career goals? You may include courses you took in high school and how these impacted your goals.
If You've Selected a Second-Choice Major (Including Undeclared):
Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.
If you're applying to UIUC, check out our UIUC essay tips article as well!
University of Wisconsin–Madison
All applicants must complete two essays for UW–Madison. The essays should be 250-650 words in length and may be used for scholarship and campus program review.
If you apply through the Common Application, you’ll be asked to reply to one of the freshman Common Application essays in lieu of the first essay prompt below, but you’ll be required to respond to the second prompt below.
If you apply through the UW System Application, the following two essays are required:
Each student is unique. Please tell us about the particular life experiences, talents, commitments, and/or interests you will bring to our campus.
Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided please describe your areas of possible academic interest.
South
Kyle Field at Texas A&M (Ed Schipul/Flickr)
ApplyTexas
The ApplyTexas application is used by all Texas public universities and some private colleges. There are four ApplyTexas essay prompts. Which ones you need to respond to will depend on where you're applying. UT Austin, for example, requires applicants to submit at least one essay responding to Topic A on the ApplyTexas application..
While there's no set word limit, the online application will cut off each essay at 120 lines (~1000 words).
Topic A: Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
Topic B: Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself.
Topic C: You've got a ticket in your hand – Where will you go? What will you do? What will happen when you get there?
Topic D: Please Note: The essay in this section is specific to certain college majors and is not required by all colleges/universities that accept the Apply Texas Application. If you are not applying for a major in Architecture, Art, Art History, Design, Studio Art, Visual Art Studies/Art Education, you are not required to write this essay.
Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study (architecture, art history, design, studio art, visual art studies/art education), describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?
We go into all the ApplyTexas prompts in detail here!
University of Georgia
For UGA, applicants must write two essays, one 200-300 words and one 250-650 words. Both essays are required for all applicants. The longer personal essay uses the Common Application prompts; the prompt for the shorter essay is as follows:
“The transition from middle to high school is a key time for students as they reach new levels of both academic and personal discovery. Please share a book (novel, non-fiction, etc.) that had a serious impact on you during this time. Please focus more on why this book made an impact on you and less on the plot/theme of the book itself (we are not looking for a book report).”
For a more detailed discussion of the UGA essays, read this article.
West
The Campanile at UC Berkeley
University of California
Students applying to the UC system must respond to four out of eight short personal insight questions. The maximum word count for each response is 350 words.
- Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
- Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
- What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
- Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
- Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
- Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
- What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
- Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
Learn more about the UC essays, the UC application, and how to choose which UC schools to apply to with our complete guides.
Applicants to the University of Oregon are required to submit one essay of 650 words or fewer. You also have the option to write a second essay (maximum of 500 words), but it’s not required.
The essay prompts are as follows:
The UO is interested in learning more about you. Write an essay of 650 words or less that shares information that we cannot find elsewhere on your application. Any topic you choose is welcome. Some ideas you might consider include your future ambitions and goals, a special talent, extracurricular activity, or unusual interest that sets you apart from your peers, or a significant experience that influenced your life. If you are applying to the UO's Robert D. Clark Honors College, feel free to resubmit your honors college application essay.
Optional second essay: As you've looked into what it will be like to attend Oregon, you've hopefully learned what makes Ducks Ducks. No two are alike, though, so tell us what makes you you, and how that connects to our campus community. We are interested in your thoughts and experiences recognizing difference and supporting equity and inclusion, and choosing one of these two options will guide you in sharing those thoughts. You can learn more about equity and inclusion at Oregon by visiting the Equity and Inclusion website. Maximum statement length is 500 words. This statement is not required.
University of Washington
In addition to its specific prompts, the University of Washington gives specific advice about what its admissions officers consider to be good writing before the prompts:
"At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.
Essay Prompt (Required): Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped shape it. Maximum length: 650 words.
Short Response (Required): Our families and our communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW. Maximum length: 300 words
You can also find more tips on the University of Washington essays in this blog article.
International
Generally speaking, international schools are less likely to ask for an essay, since admission tends to be heavily focused on grades and test results. However, a few popular international schools do ask for a personal statement as part of their application.
Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UK Schools)
UCAS is a general application for UK schools (similar to the Common App in the US). There's no specific prompt for the personal statement—instead, applicants are required to write an essay describing what they want to study, why they want to study it, and what they bring to the table. There is a 4,000-character/47-line limit.
University of British Columbia
UBC asks applicants to fill out a personal profile consisting of five to seven short-answer questions that vary depending on the program you're applying to. Answers should be 50-200 words.
Depending on which degree program you apply to, you’ll be asked to answer some or all of the following questions on the UBC application:
- Tell us about who you are. How would your family, friends, and/or members of your community describe you? If possible, please include something about yourself that you are most proud of and why.
- What is important to you? And why?
- Describe up to five activities that you have pursued or accomplishments achieved in one or more of the following areas. Please outline the nature of your responsibilities within these activities. (50 words per description)
- Club
- Family/community responsibilities
- Creative or performing arts
- Work/employment
- Athletics
- Volunteer
- Service to others
- Other(s)
- Tell us more about one or two activities listed above that are most important to you. Please explain the role you played and what you learned in the process. You will be asked for a reference who can speak to your response.
- Additional information: You may wish to use the space below to provide UBC with more information on your academic history to date and/or your future academic plans. For example: How did you choose your courses in secondary school? Are there life circumstances that have affected your academic decisions to date? What have you done to prepare yourself specifically for your intended area of study at UBC?
- Please submit the names of two referees who know you well and can comment on your preparedness for study at UBC. Examples of referees include an employer, a community member, a coach, a teacher/instructor, or anyone who knows you well. One of the referees you select must be able to speak to one of the activities/experiences described in one of your long-answer responses above. For applicants who are currently attending a high school, one of your referees must be a school official (e.g., Grade 12 or senior year counsellor, teacher, or IB coordinator). Neither referee should be a friend, family member, or paid agent.
Some programs of study may ask applicants to respond to the questions above and some additional, program-specific questions when completing the personal profile.
University of Cambridge
Optional Essays
Some schools don't require an essay from all applicants but do recommend or require an essay for certain programs. I've listed a selection of those prompts below.
Arizona State University
Students applying to the Barrett Honors College at ASU must submit one essay of 300 to 500 words in response to one of the following prompts (your response may be critical or creative):
Prompt 1
Barrett's core values are Community and Belonging, Leadership and Agency, and Courage and Curiosity. All three pairs are important to who we are, but which of these couplings most resonate with you and why? In answering the why, be specific by reflecting on both your lived experiences and the ways Barrett will be foundational to your time at ASU and beyond.
Prompt 2
Prompt 3
Identify a local, national, or global challenge – big or small – that you intend to play an active role in resolving. Be specific in explaining why this challenge is important to you, how it informed your selection of a field of study at ASU, and in what ways joining Barrett will prepare you to address this issue.
City University of New York
Applicants to Macaulay Honors College must write two essays: an “about you” essay, and an essay describing your plans for college. Each response should be around 500 words, give or take a few within reason.
Essay 1
Describe an experience/time that impacted your life. It could be when you learned something new, faced a situation that challenged you, or anything academic, personal, or professional related that has made an impact on you.
Essay 2
Why do you want to go to college and what are some of your areas of academic interest or career goals? How does your specific Macaulay campus choice fit with those plans? What do you expect to contribute and gain from the campus-based and Macaulay communities?
Ohio University
For the Ohio University application, students who've been out of school for more than a year must submit an essay explaining what they've done in their time off from school.
Applicants who have been out of high school for more than one year must submit an essay detailing activities since graduation.
Additionally, applicants to the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism are encouraged, though not required, to submit an essay detailing how they want to help shape the future of journalism.
For all other applicants, submitting an essay here is optional; however, if you do wish to write an essay, the application suggests that you describe any academic challenges you’ve faced, academic and career objectives, or involvement in community affairs (recommended length is 250-500 words).
Those interested in Ohio University's OHIO Honors Program (including the Cutler Scholars Program) are required to answer the following essay prompt (limit 250 words):
Students in the OHIO Honors Program represent all majors on campus and take engaging honors courses while applying what they learn outside of the classroom. Students choose from classes and experiences across three pathways: community engagement, research and creative activity, and leadership. Students in OHP can move among the three pathways as their interests evolve and they develop their goals. What pathway is most exciting to you right now, and why?
Finally, those interested in the Honors Tutorial College are must answer the following two essay prompts (in about 500 words each):
HTC Question 1: Please explain why you have chosen your particular program(s) of study.
HTC Question 2: We expect that one reason you seek a tutorial education is for the one-on-one interaction with faculty, but other than that, what interests you about pursuing a tutorial-based undergraduate education? What aspects of your education and life experience have prepared you for a tutorial education with its emphasis on research and creative activity?
Ohio University in the 1970s (Sent From the Past/Flickr)
Pennsylvania State University
Penn State allows applicants to complete the following optional essay with a limit of 500 words:
Please tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State. This is your opportunity to tell us something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records.
Additionally, applicants to the Schreyer Honors College must answer the following two essay prompts and five short answer questions.
Essay questions (maximum word count of 800 words)
Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
One of our values is Empowered Growth. What values, beliefs or experiences have empowered you to grow intellectually and/or personally?
Short answers (ideally under the maximum word count of 200 words)
#1: What do you hope to get at Penn State as a Schreyer Scholar to help you accomplish your future goals and aspirations?
#2: If you were able to go anywhere in the world, outside of the country you currently reside, where would you go and why?
#3: Tell us about your leadership experiences and why leadership is important to you. This could include community roles, family contributions, research, clubs and organizations, etc. Describe challenges you've faced and successes you've had in these roles.
#4: List awards or other recognitions you have received in or outside of school over the last 4 years. Which award or recognition means the most to you and why.
#5: Tell us about a book or other media that has made you think about something in a new way.
#6: Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups, including shared geography, faith, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities or groups to which you belong and describe how it has influenced your life over the last four years.
#7: Please use this space to share information you would like us to consider that has not been discussed elsewhere in your application.
University of Arizona
Applicants to UA who do not meet the assured admission criteria will go through the comprehensive review process, which allows for an optional personal statement:
The personal statement is 100% optional and gives you the opportunity to share your unique life experiences and personal achievements that may not otherwise show up in your application. Through this process, we get to know you better and can make more informed admissions decisions.
University of Central Florida
The essays for UCF are optional but recommended. Applicants are provided two prompts and may compose responses of no more than 250 words each.
Why did you choose to apply to UCF?
What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community?
For tips on how to write the UCF essays, read this article.
University of Kansas
Applicants to KU's honors program must answer one of the following three essay prompts in 500 words or fewer:
Option 1: Physicist Albert Einstein said: “It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education.” Drawing from your formal and informal educational experiences, assess the truth of Einstein’s statement, then discuss how you plan to nurture your curiosity at KU and in the honors program.
Option 2: KU graduate and NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara shared that seeing the planet from the International Space Station gave her “a sense of urgency to come back down to Earth and play a part in making it better.” What plans for college and beyond do you have for making our planet or society better? How have your experiences and background helped to ignite these aspirations?
Option 3: The University Honors Program highly values interdisciplinarity. Tell us about two of your contrasting academic interests or passions and the ways they interact. How do you plan to continue exploring and interweaving them at KU as a member of the honors program?
University of Utah
Applicants to the Honors College must complete an essay using the Common Application. The maximum word length is 650 words.
The prompts you may choose from on the Common Application are as follows:
1. (In 250 words) Your first semester at college, you find you must take a required course in a discipline you have never been interested in exploring. What happens next is...
2. (In 250 words) What is it that interests you about the Liberal Arts and Sciences education (hint: look this term up) offered by the Honors College?
Applicants to the Business Scholars Program must complete an additional essay. There is no word limit, but U of U recommends keeping answers between 250-500 words.
Exploration, perpetual learning and development, and a passion for the world of business are essential traits of Business Scholars. Describe a time in your life when you experienced something impactful, challenging, or new and how that experience encouraged you to be the person you are today and will help you be successful in business.
This parrot has questions. Do you have answers? (Matthias Ripp/Flickr)
The 3 Main Types of College Essay Questions
As you can see above, a few schools ask simply, "Tell us something about yourself," but most have a more specific prompt. Still, many questions are pretty similar to each other and can be grouped into three general types. In this section, we'll break down each type of college essay question to see why colleges ask about it and how you can respond effectively.
Type 1: Questions About a Meaningful Experience
This type of college essay question is the most common. The exact focus of these prompts can vary quite a bit, but they all ask you to reflect on an important experience. Some questions specify a type of experience whereas others don't, simply opting to have applicants write about whatever matters to them.
There are three basic sub-types that you'll see when dealing with these prompts. Let's look at an example of each.
#1: Overcoming a Challenge
These prompts ask about how you dealt with a particular challenge or solved a problem. Below is a typical example of this question type from the MIT application:
Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?
To address a question like this, you need a topic that has real stakes—that is, something that you genuinely struggled with. Even though it can seem as though you should only discuss positive experiences and feelings in your college essay (you want to impress your readers with how awesome you are!), unwavering positivity actually hurts your essay because it makes you seem fake.
Instead, be honest: if you're writing about a negative experience, acknowledge that it was unpleasant or hard and explain why. Doing so will just make your overcoming it that much more impressive.
#2: Engaging With Diversity
Questions about diversity ask how you interact with those who are different from you. See an example below from the Common Application:
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
When approaching this type of question, you need to show that you're thoughtful about new ideas and perspectives. Colleges are full of students from all kinds of backgrounds, and admissions officers want to know that you'll be accepting of the diversity of other students, even if you don't necessarily agree with them.
Also, make sure to pick a specific instance to focus on. Writing a general essay about how you accept others won't impress admissions officers—you need to show them an example of a time that you did so.
#3: Growing Up
Finally, this type of prompt asks about a transitional experience or rite of passage that made you feel like an adult. I've reprinted another example from the Common App:
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
For these types of prompts, you want to show personal growth. Explain to the reader not just who you are but also how you've changed. (Really, this is a good idea no matter which prompt you're addressing!)
College can be challenging, so admissions officers want to know that you have the maturity to deal with (likely) living on your own, managing your own life, and planning for your future.
Regardless of the exact prompt, the key to this type of college essay is to show what you've learned from the experience. Admissions officers don't care that much about what happened to you—they care about what you think and feel about that event. That's what will give them a sense of who you are and what kind of college student you'll make.
How have you changed between graduating from kindergarten and graduating from high school?
Type 2: Questions About How You Would Fit Into the Community
When admissions committees evaluate applicants, they consider how a student will contribute to the college as a whole. These college essay questions ask you to explain what you would bring to the college's community and how you'd fit in with its values.
Here is an example from UW–Madison:
Tell us about something you've done — academically or personally — and what you've learned from it. Was it a success or a challenge? Did it represent a turning point in your life? How did this particular moment in your life influence you, and how will it continue to influence you as you pursue your college education?
To address this type of prompt, you'll want to give specific examples of how you embody the traits they're looking for or what benefits you'd provide to the school's community. Some prompts will ask you to address more specific ideas about the school than others, but it's always a good idea to touch on the individual school's values or philosophy.
Balancing talking about your experiences and traits with describing what excites you about the school can be tricky, but it's vital that you touch on both. If you don't talk about yourself, you're missing your chance to give the admissions committee a sense of who you are and how you would fit into their community. And if you don't discuss the school itself, you risk coming off as uninterested. So make sure to do both!
Type 3: Questions About Your Goals
These college essay questions ask about your professional, personal, or academic goals and interests and how you'll pursue them. They also often ask you to outline how pursuit of your interests has shaped your life and how you've worked toward these goals so far.
Take a look at an example from the ApplyTexas application:
Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself.
When addressing this type of question, you'll want to prove to admissions officers that you're thoughtful about your future and excited about the opportunities college provides. Colleges want to admit students who will be successful, and a big part of finding success is having the drive to work toward it.
As always, remember to use specific examples to illustrate your point. What relevant experiences have you had or interests have you pursued? What made you think this subject or career would be a good fit for you? Are there related classes or activities you're excited to participate in at the school? The more specific you can be in addressing these questions, the stronger your essay will be.
Of course, these three types of questions don't cover every essay prompt, and some questions will be more unusual (especially those for supplemental essays).
Nonetheless, you should analyze any prompts you encounter in the same way. Ask yourself why the college is asking that question and what admissions officers are hoping to see—not in terms of specific topics but in terms of general trends and traits. Understanding what admissions officers are hoping to get out of your essay will help you pick a great topic that'll help you exhibit your unique personality and perspective in the most effective way possible.
How to Plan Your College Essay Writing
Now that you've seen the range of questions you might be asked to answer for your college apps, let's discuss how you can plan your college essay writing process most efficiently.
Make a Chart of All the Essays You Need to Write
Depending on how many schools you're applying to and what their requirements are, you might have to respond to 10 or more college essay prompts. Therefore, you'll want to make sure that you're organized about what needs to get done.
I recommend creating a chart with the school, its deadline, and its essay's word count in one column, and the prompt(s) in the other. Then, prioritize your essays by deadline and preference. In other words, focus first on essays for the schools with the earliest deadlines and the ones you're most excited about.
You'll also want to consider whether you truly need to write a different essay for each school. If the prompts are similar enough, you might be able to reuse essays for more than one college. I'll go over how to make these calls in more depth below.
When Writing Multiple Essays for One School, Use Different Topics
You probably noticed that many of the schools listed above ask for more than one essay. When completing one of these applications, make sure your essays aren't repetitive. You want to take the opportunity to give admissions officers as fleshed out a sense of who you are as you can, so pick topics that show different sides of your personality.
For example, let's consider a student who's hoping to become an engineer. If she writes her first essay about competing in a science fair, she'll want to focus on something slightly different for her second essay—perhaps an unexpected interest, such as figure skating, or a time that she used her scientific skills to solve an unscientific problem.
Be Careful About Reusing Essays
A common question students have is whether you can just write one essay and submit it to every school. The answer is, unfortunately, no. As you can see, college essay questions differ enough that there's no way you could use the same essay for every single one (not to mention the fact that many schools require two or more essays anyway!).
However, it does sometimes work to reuse an essay for more than one school. The key is that the prompts have to be asking about basically the same type of thing.
For example, you could use the same essay for two prompts that both ask about a time you solved a problem, but you probably wouldn't want to use the same essay for one prompt that asks about a problem you solved and one that asks about a time you interacted with someone different from yourself.
You can also reuse an essay by submitting an essay originally written for a specific prompt for a more general prompt as well. For example, you could submit your ApplyTexas topic A app (how your family, home, neighborhood, or community shaped you as a person) for the Coalition essay prompt (the one about a meaningful story from your life and what you learned). In that case, you might want to tweak the essay slightly to address the question of what you learned more explicitly, but you could likely use the same personal statement with minimal changes.
The other reason this instance of essay recycling works is because the ApplyTexas and Coalition applications have compatible word limits. In general, you can't reuse a 600-word essay for a prompt with a 250-word limit. Why? Because by the time you've cut out that many words, you'll usually be left with something that either doesn't make much sense or that doesn't show much about you (since you've only left enough of the story to explain what happened).
Although, technically, you could use a short essay (200-300 words) for an application with a higher word limit (say, 500-650 words), I strongly advise against doing this. If you have the space to tell a more in-depth story and explain your perspective and feelings in more detail, you should take it.
Reusing a much shorter essay out of laziness is a waste of an important opportunity to impress the admissions committee. (You can, however, write a longer essay on the same topic.)
Ultimately, whether you can use a recycled essay for a given prompt will depend on the specific prompts involved and your chosen topic. However, I've outlined some general guidelines below.
Essays About Experiences Are the Most Easily Transferred Between Schools
There's a reason the Common App prompts are all type 1: Because they ask about important experiences, these prompts are much more about you than they are about the school. As such, it's much easier to use them for more than one school.
That being said, as I described above, if the prompts are different sub-types or are otherwise clearly distinct from each other, you'll still need to write unique essays.
Essays About a Specific School Generally Can't Be Recycled
If a prompt asks about why you're interested in a specific school or how you'd fit in, don't try to use it for more than one school. Admissions officers want to see that you're excited about their school and will bring something interesting or special to their community. It's impossible to show them this if you can't be bothered to write a unique essay for their application.
Take the time to think about what appeals to you about the specific school or how you relate to its core values.
Essays About Your Goals or Interests Might Need to Be Customized to Each School
For questions that ask about your future, you might be able to keep the same basic structure—assuming you're interested in studying the same subject—and simply tweak the section about your plans for the future to reflect each school's specific programs or activities.
However, don't lie to avoid having to write a new essay. If one school's music program interests you while another school's architecture program does, write a unique essay for each.
How to Write a College Essay That Works: 3 Key Tips
There's one key takeaway from looking at the many prompts above: colleges are looking for your essay to tell them something about you. This idea should be your guiding principle as you write and edit your essay.
I've summarized our top three college essay writing tips below, but for a more in-depth take on the writing process, check out our step-by-step guide to writing a great college essay.
#1: Pick a Topic You're Excited About
A great essay requires a great topic, and a great topic is one that you really want to write about. Remember that admissions officers want to get to know you: you'll have to be honest about your interests and your perspectives if you want to impress them.
For more guidance on picking a great topic, check out our guides to brainstorming college essay ideas and finding the best topic for you.
#2: Focus On Specific Details
No matter how great your topic, your essay won't be compelling without detailed descriptions that put the reader in your shoes and let them see the world from your perspective. Details are what make an essay stand out because they're unique to you.
For example, a lot of people might have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, but only one could have stood outside in a pink hat listening to her high school history teacher drone on about the different types of screws for 25 minutes. In short, don't settle for telling readers what you did—show them with specific details.
You also need to explain how the experience affected you and/or why your topic is important to you. Students often get so wrapped up in telling a story that they forget to show why it matters, but your feelings are the most important part of your essay.
This aspect of the essay should also include plenty of details. Otherwise, it's easy to fall into clichés that bog down your storytelling.
#3: Edit Carefully
As you embark upon the college essay writing process, keep in mind the famous Ernest Hemingway quote: "The only kind of writing is rewriting." It might be extremely tempting to just write a draft and call it a day, but revising is a vital step in crafting an engaging essay.
Once you write a first draft, put it in a drawer for a week. Taking some time away from it will allow you to come back to it with fresh eyes. Then, try to read your essay from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about you. Would they be able to understand the story? Do you explain clearly what you learned? Does your intro grab the reader's attention?
It can also be helpful to ask someone you trust, such as a parent, teacher, or peer, to read your essay and give you feedback. Really listen to what they say and think about how you can improve your writing.
Finally, try reading your essay aloud. This will help you catch any weird or awkward phrasings.
What's Next?
If you're struggling with how to approach your personal statement, consider looking at some college essay examples.
The essay is just one part of the college application process. Check out our guide to applying to college for a step-by-step breakdown of what you'll need to do.
Finally, if you're planning to take the SAT or ACT, consider taking a look at our expert test-prep guides for some helpful advice on whatever you might be struggling with.
