The Common Application, which is also known as the Common App, is the so-called application that students use when they go to college and is universal for more than 700 educational institutions. Thanks to the Common App, the process applying to college is more comfortable and more convenient for all scholars. Thus, if you plan to apply to several universities at once, you need to fill out just one application and compose one essay. That is why the use of the procedure is so essential today.
! If you successfully complete the process, your chances of getting confirmation from various educational institutions increase significantly.
Basic features of the essay
Even though the themes used to fill the procedure may be different each year in 2019 and 2020, they will remain unchanged. That is why you can start preparing for college next year right now. In this article, we would like to consider each of the app topics proposed and to understand in more detail which information is necessary to compose in order for the essay to be as effective as possible and to facilitate the chosen institution.
Some of the app topics that are offered for drafting essays have already been used previously. The rest of the themes were revised, and utterly new app topics were also added (those that had not been used before). Today, the majority of universities that operate in the United States (as well as Ivy League universities) use the procedure to facilitate the process of students entering higher education institutions. In addition to the United States, there is also a list of countries that also use this system for educational purposes. These countries include:
- Austria;
- Belgium;
- Bulgaria;
- France;
- Germany;
- Italy;
- Latvia;
- Qatar;
- Singapore;
- Switzerland;
- Great Britain.
Such an approach once again proves a single system of commitment to the maximum effective process of receiving documents and entering higher education institutions. Besides, this is one more evidence that educational institutions that use of the procedure want to evaluate first of all the student’s personality and not only base their choice on exclusive figures and test results as well as GPA (Grade Point Average) indicators.
In this consideration, the way you wrote the essay as part of admission to a higher education institution is one of the most critical factors that the college admissions officers draw attention to. In this case, drafting the task is a unique chance to tell about yourself and demonstrate that you are truly worthy of studying at the chosen educational institution.
The features of drafting the common application essay
Remember that developing a college essay, in this case, has one common goal: to demonstrate who you are and why your candidacy is most suitable for college. Also, as part of writing a college essay, you can compose about what exactly you will be doing at school and which of the items are of primary importance to you.
In 2019, the app topics that were selected for the essay will help you to describe your character, the society in which you live, as well as your aspiration, and plans for a future career. It absolutely does not matter which college theme you choose.
Things you need to consider before applying
The most important thing is to think in advance about what information you plan to indicate in a particular issue and why it is essential to you. Besides, sincerity and energy in your answers are an essential factor. Although drafting an essay, in this case, can take a considerable amount of time, remember that this is one of your most critical tasks that can affect your future.
Also, take into account that thousands of other college students compete with you and therefore you need to try hard to surprise the school admissions committee pleasantly and also show your personality in drafting this type of task. Well, perhaps the time has come to consider each of the common school topics that you can choose from to compose your future essay.
Essay prompt # 1
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.
In this case, you need to most interestingly describe such parameters as your origin, unique personal qualities, various vital interests, and also talents that help you to achieve your lifetime goals. In fact, in this topic, you can try to compose what is truly unique to you, and this all may include:
- Various factors of cultural heritage;
- Sincere interests and hobbies;
- A unique set of talents, and skills;
- Your sense of identity;
- The most unusual circumstances that you have encountered.
After that, you need to indicate how one of the above parameters affected your lifetime and worldview. In general, you need to describe why the information about which you decided to tell is really important to you and why it plays a crucial role in your life. Perhaps this helps you prepare for your future career or interact more effectively with the environment and society.
Prompts # 2
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?
If you decide to choose this theme for drafting essays, then, in essence, you need to answer the question of exactly which failures from your past have a fundamental impact on your future. In other words, you need to indicate a specific problem or failure in your life and how you overcome them, as well as any changes you underwent subsequently. Describe what you could learn from your experience and what changes this has brought about in your daily life.
! Do not focus solely on the very fact of failure or problem. A more effective step will be to emphasize how this problem has affected the change in your point of view for the better.
Try to consider some of the most critical adverse events in your life that have become the motivation for your future successes. Perhaps you realized that hard work really pays off or that the balance of all sides of a lifetime is a critical goal for success. Just demonstrate how you were able to solve this or that serious problem and what lessons you learned while doing this. The most important thing is to try to demonstrate true resilience, regardless of the circumstances you are facing.
Prompt # 3
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
This theme is very similar to the previous question; however, it is more focused on such parameters as lifetime values, faith, or an idea in certain ideals. In fact, if you decide to compose an essay on this theme, then you need to pay attention to your thinking and also to the perception of the world in which you live.
The most important thing is to demonstrate your revaluation of values that occurred as a result of some situation. Perhaps you stood up for the beggar and, accordingly, seriously thought about how defenseless homeless people can be. And this consequence prompted you to become a volunteer of one of the local organizations that help homeless people gain confidence in themselves and receive additional social protection.
In this case, try to describe what factors made you reevaluate your views on a particular problem and what result you ultimately got. It is worthwhile to pay attention separately and try to convey your feelings about a specific problem and how it reveals you as a person.
! Try to show the moment at which you made the decision and why your previous beliefs were questioned as a result of the experience gained.
Prompt # 4
Describe a problem you’ve solved or a question you’d like to address. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma– anything that is of personal importance. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could take to identify a solution.
The most crucial thing, in this case, is to state the problem you want to compose about clearly. Remember that in this case, the scale of the problem is absolutely unimportant. The most crucial thing is that the problem is important to you and why you want to solve this problem. In this case, we can talk about some personal issue or a problem in the social sphere. Considering a specific question, try to imagine why this particular factor causes you concern and how the solution to this issue will help to show you as a person.
Be sure to speculate on how you could solve this problem and what results you would like to achieve. The essence of drafting an essay on this theme is to demonstrate possible scenarios for solving various issues as well as your unique ability to come up with a solution. In response to this essay, you must confirm your personal qualities as well as your worldview and attitude to specific problems that surround you. Try to realize the most creative approach when drafting an essay on a given topic.
Prompt # 5
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
In this hint, you have a unique opportunity to speculate on exactly how you see your future personal development. In this case, you need to think about yourself in the period before you were able to achieve potential personal development and how it affected your perception of the world, family, friends, and so on.
Try to imagine what kind of person you could become if you had full-fledged Instruments in order to achieve absolute freedom of action or self-realization. Try to describe a specific achievement or events during the implementation of which significant changes could occur in your life. Besides, be sure to compose about how your new success helps you and motivates you to serve society, help your family, and change the world around you.
Prompt # 6
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?
In this case, you need to discuss an idea or concept that captivates you. The scale of the idea under consideration is unimportant. The most important thing is to explain why this idea is so important to you. Try to compose about who motivates and supports you in a lifetime.
Perhaps these are some mentors or people close to you who help you gain new knowledge and experience. The most important thing is to try to convince readers that the idea that you have chosen is fundamental and exciting for you. If you are able to convey all your enthusiasm and passion for a particular idea, then you will fully comply with the requirements on this topic.
Application prompt # 7
Share an essay on any theme of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Many of the students consider this theme is one of the most convenient and practical when writing the task. In this case, you can compose anything. However, you should not consider this theme as one of the easiest ways to arrange the assignment and still get a high score. In fact, the choice of issue, in this case, is not so important. The most important thing for yourself to understand is that writing an essay on a free theme should demonstrate your drafting skills and also become a unique example of expressing something that is most important to you in a lifetime.
Try to imagine yourself in the place of a member of the selection committee and tell about yourself something fundamental that will help to reveal you as a person. Perhaps we are talking about:
- Unique character;
- Life values;
- Views of the world;
- Bright life experience.
Features of writing an essay
Regardless of the prompts you choose for drafting the task, you need to consider that the amount of this work should correspond to 650 words. If, after reading the above topics, you are still not sure which topic you would like to choose, try to allocate a certain amount of time to think about your life experience. One option would be to talk with your parents and teachers at school about ideas you could compose in this case.
Thus, after long deliberation, you will undoubtedly come to understand the topic that would help you to reveal yourself and show you a unique personality. It is far from necessary that the theme you choose is entirely new and extremely unique. The most important thing is to try to demonstrate your individual point of view on a specific issue.
Remember that drafting the essays for entering a university is directly a demonstration of why the selection committee should choose you. Do not forget that you will not have a second opportunity to make a first impression and absolutely all the colleges and universities that use the form want to know something unique about you.
Tips for drafting essay prompts
When you are entering high school, college or university, you will be asked to compose the task, so the educational board can get to know you, your goals, academic expectations, and future plans. The essay plays a considerable role in the selection of students, so you need to take its drafting seriously.
Write only unique essays. It is through the task that the admissions committee can understand you and hear your opinion. Most of the applications for admission are common, and they mention equivalent achievements, so try to offer something really unique.
Stand out from others with the original task. Do not try to impersonate another person, imagine that your friends and relatives have been given 1000 written works, and they should be able to find your essay.
Write the task by yourself, and do not try to seem like someone else. The admissions committee will immediately notice this.
Choose essays topic that matter to you
This does not mean that you need to play on emotions, telling how your pet got into trouble. You must choose a common topic that you can reveal and at the same time, show yourself as a person, distinguish yourself from a massive list of applicants. You need to write simply, accessible and understandable, and avoid professional vocabulary.
Start writing. Do not postpone drafting the task “for later,” you run the risk of not having time to send it on time. There is nothing wrong with creating an essay from scratch. Gradually new ideas will come to your mind, and you can improve your common work to make it more attractive to the reader.
Write as much as possible and edit
Write down literally every common idea that comes to your mind even if it seems absurd to you. Later you can choose the most important ones. Read your essay aloud, correct any flaws that you encounter until you are proud of your essay.
Show your school paper to other people. Read the resulting work to your friends, parents, relatives. Everyone will happily agree to help you and share common tips. Take into account all the recommendations and comments that you received from friends and make sure that your essay is original and accurately remembered by the admissions committee.
Recheck the school paper once again. Look carefully at the essay for grammatical errors; they should not be there, because they can ruin the impression of you. There are a considerable number of collections of the best essays, the authors of which study at top educational institutions. The best way to learn how to compose college essays and school papers is to practice more and write consistently.
