Seniors

By the end of this week you should have completed the essays and have narrowed down your college choices. Then you need to check admission deadlines with those colleges.

Remember your letters of recommendation are needed and your teachers should give them to you no later than next week.

For all documents you get, make copies to keep your own personal file of your own application process.

The Common Application offers six different essay prompts for you to choose from as you write your personal statement. However, sometimes having lots of choices can be overwhelming and confusing. Here are some general tips to help you get started.

• Start by making a list of the five or six things that are most important to you and that you feel you could talk about on paper, in a conversation, over coffee, etc. for a really long time. This list can include people, places, things, ideas, events, issues, and more.
• Next, think about what kind of information is found in the other sections of your application. Is there something new that you want to communicate about yourself? Is there a particularly meaningful activity or piece of information that you have listed that you would like to say more about?
• As you look over this preliminary list, see if any of the topics jump out at you and make your heart flutter a little more than usual. That could be a match made in heaven.
• Next, look at the list of Common Application essay prompts. Which one fits the topic that you’ve chosen the best?
• As you begin writing, if you feel like the prompt you have chosen doesn’t quite work or fit your topic, don’t worry. There are five others to choose from.

Here are the options given:

Option #1: Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.

Option #2: Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.

Option #3: Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

Option #4: Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence.

Option #5: A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.

Option #6: Topic of your choice.