example common app essay

Common App Essay Examples. Here are the current Common App prompts. Click the links to jump to the examples for a specific prompt, or keep reading to review the examples for all the prompts. Prompt #1: Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without ...

Common App Essay Example #1: Seeds of Immigration. This student was admitted to Dartmouth College. In this Common App essay, they discuss their immigrant family background that motivates them. Although family is a commonly used topic, this student makes sure to have unique ideas and write in a genuine way.

Example #1: My Shape. This essay example comes from the Essay Academy, our digital college essay course. It has a really unique structure and uses shapes as a metaphor. It's also written in response to Common App Prompt #2. Read + Analyze a Common App Essay With Me!

What is the Common Application essay? The Common Application, or Common App, is a college application portal that is accepted by more than 900 schools.. Within the Common App is your main essay, a primary writing sample that all your prospective schools will read to evaluate your critical thinking skills and value as a student. Since this essay is read by many colleges, avoid mentioning any ...

Brainstorm (I think it's the most important step). Structure your essay according to your topic. Draft. Revise. Repeat. Common App essay word limit. The word limit for the Common App essay is 650. That doesn't mean you need to use all 650 words—many of the great example essays below don't.

Common App Essay Prompts 2024-2025. Part 2: Pre-writing your Common App Essay. Brainstorming Common App Essay topics. Freewriting. Essay writing timelines: how to write your Common App personal statement if you have six months, three months, one month, or even less. Part 3: Choosing your Common App Essay topic Part 4: Writing your Common App ...

Show, don't tell. Be specific. Choose active voice, not passive voice. Avoid clichés. Write in a tone that aligns with your goals for the essay. For example, if you are a heavy STEM applicant hoping to use your Common App essay to humanize your application, you will be undermined by writing in a brusque, harsh tone.

Sample Common App Essay #2. The second of our Common App essay examples takes the unique—and potentially challenging—approach of talking about another person. In this essay, the author describes her relationship with Sophia, a child with special needs that she meets while volunteering.

The "Challenges" App Essay. The "challenges" common app essay example asks students to explain a challenge they have faced, how they overcame it, and how they applied what they learned to their daily lives. Students can share their personal stories and illustrate their resilience through this essay.

According to the 2023/2024 Common Application, the Common App essay prompts are as follows: 1. Background Essay. 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.

2. 3. 4. Writing quality. Essay reads at a noticeably low level, with poorly constructed and unclear sentences or vague generalizations. Essay communicates its main idea well enough, but does not do so in compelling or clear detail; it is linguistically boring or structurally repetitive.

Successful Common App Essays. This page features all of the successful Common App essay examples available on Squired, accepted to dozens of schools including Stanford, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.

Common App Essay Examples: Essay #1. On a hot day last summer, my brother ran his bike into the mailbox. He skinned his knee, but was less worried about that and more worried about the chipped paint on his new red bike. Tears welling in his eyes, he rubbed the chip with his finger and even more paint flaked off.

Common App Essay Example #15. The clock was remarkably slow as I sat, legs tightly crossed, squirming at my desk. "Just raise your hand," my mind pleaded, "ask.". But despite my urgent need to visit the restroom, I remained seated, begging time to move faster.

Example 4: Highlighting Community Service. This common app essay puts focus on the student's extensive involvement in community service, providing concrete examples of projects they led and the impact they had. The narrative demonstrates empathy, dedication, leadership, and a strong commitment to community building.

An essay structured as a narrative follows a chronological order of events. It could be walking the reader through a single experience from start to finish, or it could be spanning years. Examples of common app essay topics that are great for narrative structure are: Personal Growth; Community Involvement; Unconventional Experiences; Relationships

And the stakes are high. A great essay can help you get accepted to your dream school. A mediocre essay can contribute to rejection. We want to help you write that great essay and get accepted. We've compiled a list of college application essay examples to use as a springboard for you own reflection and creativity.

Achievable ACT - $129. Achievable's ACT course includes endless math quizzes, hand-crafted practice exams, and our easy-to-understand online textbook (including the Writing section) with proven strategies to hit your target score. View ACT prep course. This collection of Common App essay examples will provide you some much needed inspiration ...

The exact word limit for the Common App essay has varied somewhat over the years, but the current range is 250-650 words. You must stay within this length; in fact, the online application won't allow you to submit fewer than 250 words or more than 650. Some schools will state that if this isn't enough space, you can send them a physical copy of ...

Essay Example #5 - A Shakespearean Shambles. A "C+" might not constitute a technical failure, but for an honors student with a constant eye on my GPA, my grade on the English group project certainly felt like an "F.". I should start from the beginning. Last year, I was excited when my English teacher announced that she was assigning a ...

The Science and Culture of Cuisine. Common App Prompt 7 B. Washington University in St. Louis. Embracing Identity: My Journey with the Name Ady. Common App Prompt 1 A. Johns Hopkins. Northwestern University. Breaking the Bubble: Embracing Diverse Perspectives for Personal Growth. Common App Prompt 5 B.

Common App Essay Example #1. Prompt #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.

I understand that starting your Common App essay can be daunting, and looking at successful examples can provide valuable inspiration. Here are a few resources where you can find successful Common App essays: 1. College Confidential: This online forum has a dedicated section for college essays, where users often post their own successful essays ...