How do i choose an essay prompt that best describes meAnswered
How do I choose an essay prompt that best describes me and will help me express myself to admissions officers on the common App?
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4 answers
Hi there @Boity21,
@gracecatan formulated a really great answer to this question, and I completely agree with their approach and points. I would also add that you want to focus more on the content and quality of your essay and that the actual prompt you select (unless it's super specific) does not matter as much.
CommonApp prompts are designed to be able to be answered by pretty much any student, so you should have no trouble writing to one of them. A better strategy if you're stuck on choosing might be to work out the subject of your personal statement (and even potentially write out a rough draft) and then match it to a prompt retroactively.
Hope this helps and best of luck!
The best approach, in my opinion, is to consider what you want to say to the colleges. Choose a narrative or topic to write about, and then try to match it with the prompts. If none of the options apply, select "Share an essay on any topic of your choice like cookie clicker." You actually just need to determine what you want to say and not worry about the prompt because none of the prompts are better than the others.
I think the best way is to think of what you want to tell the colleges. Decide on a story or something you want to write about and then try to match it with the prompts. If it doesn't match with any then you choose the "Share an essay on any topic of your choice." No prompt is preferred over the other so really, you have to decide what you want to tell and don't worry about the prompt.
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