Common App Essay Prompts: Guidelines and Insights

Each year, over a million aspiring university students navigate their path to more than 1,000 colleges globally through a streamlined online platform, the Common Application. This comprehensive guide will guide you through the challenging process of Common App essays, offering step-by-step insights to help you craft an essay that resonates with your dream universities. 

Whether you're a first-time applicant or seeking a refresher, this article will equip you with the tools and knowledge for a successful application journey! 

Understanding the Common App Prompts

The 2023-24 Common App presents seven diverse essay prompts to reveal different facets of your character and journey. By choosing one of these prompts, it will be easier to write your story, encapsulating a captivating essay. 

2023-24 Common App Prompts

1. 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.
   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?
   3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
   4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
   5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
   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?
   7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

Choosing the Right Prompt for Your Story

While each prompt offers a unique opportunity to showcase different sides of your personality and life experiences, choose one that aligns best with your story! Allow the prompt you’ve chosen to give you the space to express yourself authentically and compellingly to attract the eyes of the admission officers. 

Tips for Choosing Your Prompt 

• Reflect on your personal experiences: Think about the moments that have shaped who you are. Which prompt allows you to dive deep into that experience? 

• Consider your strengths: Are you a problem-solver, a creative thinker, or a born leader? If you already know the strengths you want to showcase, it will make it easier for you to elaborate on them in your essay. 

• Think about your goals: What do you want the admissions committee to know about you? Choose the best prompt that helps you communicate this message. 

• Be true to yourself: Don’t just choose a prompt because it seems popular or challenging. Opt for one that feels right and authentic to your story. 

Guidelines for Compelling Essays

Now that you know which prompt you will use for your application, write the first draft! If you need help figuring out where to start, here are some essay structures to help you. 

STAR Structure 

The STAR method is a structured manner of storytelling that stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This technique is particularly effective for essays where you need to showcase problem-solving or leadership skills.

• Situation: Sets the scene for your story. For example, if you want to describe a volunteering experience – you will introduce the project and your role first. 

• Task: Describe what your responsibility or challenge was. In this part, you can describe your challenges while volunteering. It may be targets that still need to be accomplished or communication barriers that might appear. 

• Action: Explain the steps you took to address the task. After explaining the challenges, you can discuss strategies you implemented to overcome obstacles. 

• Result: Share the outcomes of your actions. Conclude your story with the project’s success and what you’ve learned. Don’t just give quantitative data, but interpret these data. 

5-Paragraph Structure

This classic and easy format includes an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. It’s ideal for structuring longer, more detailed personal statements. 

• Introduction: Open your essay with a captivating yet straightforward hook that can describe your essay’s purpose. You can use a personal anecdote about where an interest was born. For instance, you were interested in environmental science as you frequently visited zoos when you were younger. 

• Body Paragraphs: Each paragraph should cover a different point or aspect of your story. You can discuss various experiences, like volunteering, coursework, and personal initiatives in the body. 

• Conclusion: Wrap up your essay by summarizing the main points and re-state the overall significance. To conclude, you can reflect on your choices and how these experiences shaped your views and future goals. 

Essay Formatting Guidelines

Some may underestimate the importance of formatting essay guidelines, so here are some things you need to pay attention to when it comes to the essay format!

Title

A title is generally not required for a personal statement. It can refine your essay to be more specific, so be careful when using a title.

Word count 

Aim for 250-650 words, ideally targeting around 500. 

Indentation

Since the Common App doesn’t support paragraph indentation, use a blank line to separate each paragraph for clarity. 

Uploading Your Essay

It's advisable to compose your essay in a Word document first and then transfer it to the Common App. 

Font Requirements 

Set it to a simple, 12 pt., single-spaced font such as Times New Roman or Calibri. Furthermore, to maintain a professional tone, refrain from using all caps, bold, underlining, italics, and avoid emojis, hashtags, and excessive exclamation points. 

Key Takeaways

Successfully navigate the Common App essay with our guide, focusing on selecting the right prompt to represent your story and strengths authentically. Utilize effective structures like the STAR method or the five-paragraph format to craft a compelling narrative, paying close attention to formatting to ensure your essay is professional and engaging.

If you need more help in your Common App Essay, ALL-in Eduspace will undoubtedly help you!

Here’s what we can do for you:

1. Maximize your university entrance prep with Admission Mentoring.
2. Explore your interests and dive into different industries through Career Exploration.
3. Improve your grades and knowledge through Academic Tutoring.
4. Highlight your personal brand through the Writing Skills Improvement Program.

Let’s #TakeOnYourFuture with ALL-in Eduspace! Remember, #itsALLintheprep!