If you’re frozen at the very first step in your college essay-writing process, I can’t blame you. Choosing a college essay topic really is as important as you’re making it, so it’s worth brainstorming thoroughly and evaluating your choices carefully.
Why Does the Essay Topic Matter?
As I’ve mentioned here before, I regularly see college admissions officers giving the terrible advice, ‘You can write about anything!’ They’re remembering those vivid examples in their experience when an unexpected topic made for a fascinating change of pace. But just because you can choose any topic doesn’t mean that any topic will do for you what you need it to. Your essay needs to introduce you effectively to the school, so writing about the apple tree in your side yard might be acceptable … but is it going to be successful? (It might be—but that depends on you as a writer.)
Don’t make your life harder by choosing your topic based on trying to be DIFFERENT. Choose your topic based on what’s going to work. With that in mind, use the following questions and tips to guide your choice.
Who Will They See?
When you consider your possible essay topics, this question should be at the front of your mind: What person is this story introducing? What impressions is your reader forming about you? If the message isn’t the one you most want readers to hear—or the message is entirely too subtle because the topic doesn’t really center around you—then it’s not the right topic.
Don’t write about a mentor or someone you admire. Don’t write about something philosophical without any grounding in reality. Don’t write about that apple tree—unless you’re showing up beside it the entire time. This is your chance to introduce you. Don’t waste it.
Where is the Growth?
If you read the Common App essay prompts, you’ll see a clear pattern. Almost every prompt asks for a story about your growth. Showing how you have grown in the past does two things: It shows us a little more about who you are through how you got that way, and it shows that you have the capacity for growth.
The school wants to know that you’re planning to grow when you get there. They aren’t looking for perfection—it’s not possible at any age, but it’s definitely not possible at 17! So show that you have the capacity to learn from your mistakes or be challenged and rise to the occasion.
Hold Their Attention
I’ve said it before. I’ll say it again: We are buying their time, not their hearts. If you want the admissions readers to be gripped by your essay, then write something exciting! Just because you’re paying them to read it doesn’t mean they’re really paying attention if you haven’t given them something worth paying attention to. So make it engaging. For most writers, that means including a thread of story that the reader wants to know the conclusion of. If you have an idea that is philosophical or thematic that you’re just sure would work … ask yourself how you can ground it in your real life. What is calling you to write about the importance of free speech? If you can’t tell a story about a petition you wrote or a speech you gave or a project you completed for history class … don’t write it.
Try It On
The frozen fear you’re feeling at this point is because you don’t want to start with the wrong thing and be “stuck with it.” Guess what: You’re not stuck with it until it’s submitted. You can ALWAYS go back and start again! What you need to do is stop being so obsessive about your writing before you commit to your topic. Try on the topic like you’d try on a pair of shoes—you don’t go for a hike in the woods before you buy them. You walk around the store (or your living room).
So if you have a topic you’re thinking about, don’t just think about it more—jump in and start writing it, without spending a lot of time or energy stressing about each individual word choice. If it starts going really well, you have your answer. If it seems boring after a few paragraphs, that’s telling you something, too.
Need More Help?
Wrestling with topic choice and understanding what a good personal growth essay looks like are two of the biggest issues I see for students. That’s why I’m so excited to launch my new self-guided Essay Kick-Off Workshop. It combines a workbook filled with my best mindset and writing process guidance, an audio guided brainstorm to come up with every possible topic you could work from, and a Sample Essay Breakdown video lesson to see your destination and how a writer gets there. The tools and techniques in this workshop will open you up to better brainstorming and help you choose from among your topic options the one that will serve you best. Learn more at programs.carakalf.com!
(Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash)
