How to Choose a College Essay Topic

Now that you’re free from the Common App essay prompts, you’re free to brainstorm a topic. After the most competitive application season ever, I’ve been reflecting on what I think worked well. Of course, you benefit from my students’ experiences because now I can advise you on what to do and not do next year. From what I’ve seen in the essays of my most successful students, here are the topics they wrote about:

Sensitive topics: Patrick wrote about being competitive with his sister. In the beginning of life, she beat him in everything. But as they grew older, his strength and power turned him into an elite swimmer that culminated in him having faster swim times. She hated that he won, and he hated how it made her feel. While he couldn’t change his physique, drive to succeed, he did make one promise: in all other instances in their lives, he’d honor, respect, and make his sister feel like she’s #1. Patrick will be attending the College of the Holy Cross next year.

Doing Hard Things: Annalyse wrote about doing hard things the average teen is afraid to do. In her New Jersey school district, she organized a campaign to bring a girls golf team to her school district. Rising to the challenge of a relentless Board of Education, her vision and leadership captured eloquently in her college essay, tells the story of how she changed her school for the better. Every time a girl signs up for the golf team, they’ll have her to thank.

Changing the World: Franchesca wrote about being overwhelmed by the poverty in Manila, Philippines. She takes this experience, coupled with and lets it inspire her commitment to making a difference in low-income communities by donating clothing and other essentials during the pandemic. Franchesca will be attending Cornell University next year.

Growing Up: Kaeli wrote about her obsession with being perfect for most of her life. But when she takes art, she learns to be imperfect, inspired by beauty and ambiguity. She lets go of her need to control everything and embraces a new interest. Kaeli will be attending Arizona State University next year.

The essays the students discussed above are a few examples of potential college topics you could choose. I hope these examples inspire ideas of what you could write your college essay about. As you think about your college essay and begin brainstorming college essay topics, keep these principles in mind:

Choose a topic that interests you and your reader. Remember, the objective of your essay is to make a case for your admissions. Some students make the mistake of only choosing a topic they would like to write about. Still, it doesn’t answer the questions the admissions officer needs to be answered, such as why you’re a good candidate and what contributions you will make to campus and the community.

Write about something that will encourage you to be honest with yourself about the person you are. The advice I give students when they ask me if they’ve selected the right topic, my response is, “if You have revealed something about yourself that is Secret, that you’ve never told even your best friend about, then you’ve stumbled upon a great college essay topic.”

Tell a story that shows you’re still learning and your journey is still evolving. There is a happy ending in Hollywood films, but you’re still telling your story in real life. The best college essays do not have an ending. They end with, “to be continued…”

Choose a relatable topic that’s time-relevant. I get asked all the time if it’s okay to choose a topic from earlier years in life. And while I believe you can highlight some of these moments in your essay. I think it’s more important to show how what’s happening now is shaping who you are as well—you’re coming of age in a pandemic. So much has occurred this year. An admissions officer at the University of Michigan said it best that if she saw an application that did not touch on Covid-19 or reference anything that was happening in the world from a social justice perspective, she passed over that student’s application. Her perception: those students were out of touch and tone death.