Help! How Do I Choose a Good Common App Essay Topic?

Every year I hear it from students and see it online: How, they ask, can I find a “good” essay topic? How can I avoid the “bad”? What do I do if nothing amazing or special has happened to me?

As we spend time going over their extracurricular activities, their hobbies, their interests and their family situation, the questions begin:  Should I write about being on the soccer team? Is that a good topic? What about the time I broke my leg? That was a really rough time. Our robotics team went to state. What about that?

The reality is, none of these topics are “good” or “bad” on their own. And, the hope I have, ultimately, is that their essays go way beyond merely a focus on one topic or story. 

One of the best ways I have discovered to “find” that elusive perfect essay topic (or topics, as it may be) is to have the student go through a series of 10-minute free writes. They might write about being on the soccer team, about breaking their leg, or about going to state. As we look over the free writes, we search for personality traits, character traits, themes, and trends, anything that tells us more about the student’s personality, character and life. 

For example, perhaps I notice that the student is very funny and tends to see the humor in whatever situation arises. Their essay might begin with them breaking their leg and cracking a joke at the time or maybe keeping all the nurses on their floor in stitches or entertaining a sick child they meet on the ward. Then, we might pivot the essay to discussing soccer, but focus on how they have a particular gift for encouraging and uplifting the team during difficult times. We then conclude by the student noting how their cheerful, humor-filled, optimistic outlook is something they hope to bring to their college campus, something that will carry them through challenges. 

Now, this example is a bit of an oversimplification, but as you can see, the student includes more than one “story” or activity in their essay and their essay is less about the things discussed and more about the theme of humor, what that theme expresses about them, and what they have learned about life. 

One website I use to show my students examples of essays is called Johns Hopkins Essays That Worked. One essay, called "Queen’s Gambit" by a student named Dante, begins with a moment in time: his chess coach advising him in a particular situation. The coach shares that it is necessary for Dante to oversee the whole board and to look at the whole picture in order to solve a puzzling problem. 

Next, Dante segues to discussing his unremarkable play on the soccer field and gives an example of how using the wisdom of “looking at the whole picture” helped him to turn himself into a valuable player, not a top player (he humbly notes he will never be that), but a player that is an asset to the team.  

As you can see, if Dante were asked what his essay is “about,” he could say chess; he could say soccer. But the reality is, it’s not really about either of those things. It’s about learning how to see “the whole picture,” learning how to solve life’s puzzles, and learning to find purpose as being part of a larger whole. 

So, here's my advice to students trying to begin their Common App essay:

• Read some sample essays for inspiration

• Note what the essay is really about

• As k yourself:

  • how many activities does the student discuss?

  • does the student develop metaphors or themes?

  • what personality and character qualities are highlighted?

• Get a couple of free writes going. And, by free writes, I mean writing that is not trying to be perfect, not trying to be “good’ in any way. These free writes should flow from your fingers in an almost stream-of-consciousness jumble.

• Read your free writes over - note any qualities emphasized; see any themes?

Remember: Your essay topic is essentially YOU, but a “you” shared about in a subtle way through varying lenses.

So, off you go! Read some more examples. Get some free writes going and see what emerges. 

And, as always, if you need more help, feel free to get in touch.