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Lesson One: College Essay Question Help
Please select from the following common application essay question topics:
Consider a significant experience, achievement, or risk that you have taken and discuss its impact on you.
Colleges use the relation of accomplishments to get insight into applicants’ personalities and character traits. Some schools ask targeted questions, while others leave the topic open for applicant interpretation.
An important point: refrain from repeating information found elsewhere in the application. Some "overachievers" try to include virtually all their accomplishments in one essay, missing the point of the exercise altogether. A laundry list of academic, extracurricular, and work successes will not give admissions officers much more insight into your personality. In fact, they may infer that you do not realize that, in college, you will not be able to be editor of the yearbook, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, president of the honor society, captain of the football team, and class president all at the same time. The mature applicant knows that college will require a student to focus on a few interests but spend more time and effort pursuing them.
For those of you who were not the school "all-star", don't worry. Some of the best Accomplishment essays have been written about what could be construed as mundane events — learning how to bake a cake, miraculously getting the engine in your first car (which you affectionately call your "clunker") to start, or getting your elderly and bed-ridden neighbor to smile by performing your cheesy stand-up routine. The accomplishment does not need to be earth-shattering, but you do need to show why it is important for you and how it has affected you in a discernible way.
For an example of an Influential Experience Essay, click here.
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Consider a problem facing society today and reflect on its importance to you.
Unfortunately, this is one of the most difficult categories of questions to write about. Admissions officers are looking for your take on age-old problems, such as racism, poverty, and world hunger, as well more publicized current issues, such as business ethics, the impact of technology upon society, and the rapid spread of AIDS across the globe. The tragic events of September 11, 2001, gave special meaning to this category, as applicants were asked to discuss issues that hit closer to home that most of us ever expected.
Though it is tempting to argue in favor of your point, remember to be as objective as possible and consider multiple sides of the issue. This will portray you as a mature, astute individual. Stay away from clichés and generalizations. Instead, write about what the topic means to you personally—what it has meant in your life and why you think it is important. Spending some time researching the topic on the Internet or at your local library will ultimately prove worthwhile.
For an example of a Social/Political Issue Essay, click here.
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Identify a person, fictional character, or historical figure who has had a significant influence on you. Describe that influence.
Admissions officers will want to know if there is more to you than your SAT scores and GPA. Therefore, it is important for you to find a way to differentiate yourself from the other qualified applicants. You can demonstrate that you are not just another pretty transcript by showing a completely different side of yourself through the role models and influences that shaped the person you are today.
The key here is to personalize: Do not go off on tangents, focusing on someone else instead of the most important element—why your topic is significant to you. Focus on what these influences have meant to you and how you have grown, tying in relevant aspects of your personal or family life when appropriate. Show your strengths in new ways without restating the obvious.
Do not feel that you need to write about famous people or impress admissions officers by noting your family’s ties to an influential member of the government or movie star. Writing about a teacher who sparked your interest in archaeology by taking your third-grade class on a field trip to see a dinosaur exhibit is more effective than name-dropping in the hopes of impressing admissions officers.
For an example of an Influential Person Issue Essay, click here.
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Why do you want to spend the next four years at our school?
Surprisingly, most students find this topic difficult to write about. If you have chosen to apply to an institution based upon its ranking in a popular magazine or because your parents told you to, you may have to spend some time thinking deeply about exactly what it is that makes this particular institution right for you.
A main point of these questions is to see if you care enough about the college or university to have researched it beyond what anyone could have read in its marketing literature or on its web page. Knowing yourself—your passions, skills, and goals—can go a long way in helping you answer School Target questions. If you see yourself as an aspiring journalist and are applying to a school that can help you land a coveted internship writing for the Washington Post, you can discuss how you plan to make it as the editor-in-chief of the college newspaper. If you want to be a social worker and are applying to a university in a large urban area, you can talk about how the geographic location will provide ample opportunity for your involvement in community outreach programs. However, make sure to show how and why that particular school offers what others do not.
For an example of a Future Goals Issue Essay, click here.
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 Move on to Lesson Two: Brainstorming a Topic
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