College Essays: The Common Application
So you have to write an application essay? Or maybe several? This is the first in a series of blog posts that breaks down different types of application essays. My goal is to give you a clear picture of who your readers are and what they expect.
Today’s post focuses on the college application essay required by the Common Application.
Overview:
The Common Application (a.k.a. “the Common App”) streamlines the college application process by allowing students to apply to multiple institutions at once. Applicants upload letters of recommendation, transcripts, test scores, and other materials—including an application essay—that the Common App provides to the applicants’ selected colleges or universities.
As part of the Common App, students must submit an essay that responds to one of a series of prompts. Generally, the prompts ask students to reflect on a life experience or some aspect of their identity. For example, here are three of the essay prompts for the 2023-24 application season:
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
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.
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?
Who Will Read Your Essay (Audience):
Colleges and universities typically have an admissions office that is responsible for choosing who to accept, reject, and waitlist. Depending on the institution, the admissions committee that makes these decisions may include admissions officers, readers hired by the admissions office, college faculty, and sometimes students or alumni.
If the institution uses the Common App, the admissions committee will receive all of your application materials, including your Common App essay. The good news is that if they are reading your essay, you’ve probably already passed an initial round of review based on your academic achievements. Your essay helps the committee get to know you better and distinguish you from candidates with similar achievements.
As you’re writing your essay, keep in mind that your readers won’t have much time to spend with your essay, and that they’ll also likely be reading many essays in a short amount of time.
What Your Goals Should Be:
If you’re writing one or more essays for a college application, then clearly your goal is to get accepted to that institution. But if you want that to happen, you also must consider what specifically your essay needs to accomplish for your readers. I recommend that you let these three goals guide you as you write:
Set yourself apart from the competition. There may be hundreds—or even thousands—of other applicants with similar transcripts, GPAs, and test scores. Your essay is an opportunity to show what you bring to the table that others don’t.
Persuade readers that you are someone they’d like to have on campus. When you zoom in on the particular details of a formative experience or foundational identity, you allow your readers not only to learn about who you are but also to envision what you have to offer as a student, a roommate, and a member of the campus and local communities.
Be authentic. You have an entire lifetime of experiences and a unique trove of personality traits to draw from—so there is no need to invent or exaggerate based on what you think your readers want to hear. Be you. Your readers (who are excellent B.S. detectors) will appreciate it. And when you get that acceptance, you’ll be able to head to campus with confidence.
Features:
The Common App limits essays to 650 words (about 2.5 double-spaced pages). Essays should be narrative in nature—offering story and reflection from the first person point of view.
In most cases, college application essays differ from academic essays: They don’t need thesis statements or quotations from outside sources. They’re less formal in tone, and there’s more room for creativity in language and in structure.
Tips:
Remember that multiple schools will see your Common App essay. For this reason, you should avoid mentioning majors, classes, or goals and plans that only apply to specific institutions.
Aim for variety. If you’re applying to schools that require school-specific application essays (discussed further below) in addition to the Common App essay, make sure to select prompts that differ significantly for each essay. That way, you maximize what readers are able to learn about you and give a more well-rounded portrait of who you are.
Be wary of submitting an essay you wrote for class. The Common App offers applicants the opportunity to submit a previously written essay on any topic, but in most cases, you should avoid the temptation to submit an essay you wrote for class. Most academic essays are too formal and impersonal to fulfill the purposes of a college application essay.
Use paragraph breaks and transitions. Remember that readers have a limited amount of time to spend with your essay. Rather than overwhelming them with a wall of text, make each idea unit its own paragraph and use transitions to help them quickly and easily navigate.
Make sure to check out my next post for information about school-specific college application essays!
