How To Pick The Best College Essay Topics

Choose the perfect college essay topic that will get you noticed by your top schools

When the Common App, a typical application for over 1,000 colleges and universities, opens each year, high school students across the country start the intensive college admissions process. 

Most of the required information is pretty straightforward that includes information like name, family members’ background, a snapshot of extracurricular activities, and a comprehensive view of your academic performance. 

The essay portion of the Common App is difficult for many students, and it has become a right of passage that inspires high school seniors to consider their worldview, make a personal statement, and craft a unique story that will allow them to clinch an acceptance letter. 

However, choosing a good college essay topic is easier said than done. The Common App essay prompts are often general to allow for much interpretation, leading to writer’s block among many students.

If you are nervous about the essay portion of the Common App, just know that you are not alone. While the college application is stressful, writing the perfect essay for the Common App doesn’t have to be. 

Let’s look at some essay tips you can use when choosing the right topic to captivate college admissions officers and increase your chances of landing a spot in your top school. 

Why does the college essay prompt matter? 

While some colleges and universities are turning to test-optional applications, meaning your test scores aren’t mandatory for admission, all institutions still value the traditional college essay. 

In fact, the top universities count the prompt essay response as 25% of your overall application. This means your college essay accounts for a quarter of why colleges will choose you to attend their institution. 

And with so many high school students striving to attend top schools to improve their job prospects after graduation, how you answer the Common App prompt is one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd and help you get into your dream school. 

What are the most common college application essay topics? 

Whether you are writing an essay for the Common App or a college application for your dream school’s unique application, you’ll be faced with different prompts each year.

These essay questions act as a springboard for your unique essay and help guide your essay for the admission departments to read in your school of choice. Admission offers read many essays each year, so you must add your spin to the prompt that will paint a broader picture of your skills, personal growth, and why you’re a good fit for their institution. 

Here are some examples of college application essay prompts featured on The Common App: 

• 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?
• Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
• Reflect on when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
• Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

You’ll notice these prompts are very general and open for interpretation. This is because colleges and universities want you to put your unique stamp on them to showcase who you are. 

While these types of broad prompts are great for showing your unique traits and experiences, they can also confuse you as you struggle to write specific examples in your life from the open prompt provided to you. 

The good news is that you can follow some basic frameworks when writing your essay to help focus your story and allow you to shine. Let’s break down what topics make for a great college essay and how you can use them to capture the attention of your dream school’s admissions counselors. 

Good college essay topics 

A good essay topic sets the stage for a memorable, one-of-a-kind personal statement that helps you stand out from other applicants. While some topics are easier to work with, you should choose one that allows you to craft a personal, specific, and original college application essay. 

Your chosen topic should allow you to divulge additional information not featured on your application. This is important because you can use the essay portion of the Common App to show your accomplishments and personal growth that is not captured in other aspects of the application process. 

Remember, a good essay topic allows you to share your positive qualities and uplifting experiences. 

Here are some tips for choosing the right topic to help you write a unique essay. 

• Share your unique story: You have qualities that make you authentic and different. Choose a topic that sheds light on your unique experiences and personality. 
• Overcoming obstacles or challenges: Think about difficulties you’ve faced throughout your life and focus on what you did or learned that helped you overcome them. 
• Solving a problem: Everyone faces problems in their lives. How you use your talents and skills to solve them sets you apart. Choose a topic that shows your problem-solving skills and how you can apply them to your college education. 
• A meaningful extracurricular experience: You don’t want to recount all the extracurriculars you listed in your application. But you may want to focus on interesting things you do after school, such as baking, fandoms, or even learning about your family history. 

The right topic will allow you to showcase what makes you a strong competitor. When writing your college essay, let’s consider the topics you must avoid at all costs. 

College essay topics to avoid 

As seen in the previous point, there are several ways for you to approach different essay topics to showcase your strengths and highlight how you have matured. However, as you brainstorm ideas for a college essay topic that will get you noticed, it’s essential to consider factors that may work against you. 

For example, choosing common or cliche topics will have the reader yawning and reaching for the next essay since college admission officers know that some topics are easier to write than others. 

Additionally, picking edgy issues will have the enrollment representative from glossing over any other details you’ve included if it does not meet their institution’s brand and beliefs. 

It’s important to ensure your college application essay topic helps you make the best first impression possible. Here’s a list of some topics and themes you’ll need to avoid to ensure your essay is more hidden gem than a dime a dozen. 

• • Controversial topics: These hot, headline-worthy issues may be important to you, but they tend to be polarizing and somewhat sensitive, which can work against you in college admission. Remember, you have no control over who reads your college essay, so alienating your audience could put you at risk of having them overlook your skills and knowledge. 

• Delicate or highly personal subjects: Avoid discussing disabilities, injuries, or illnesses in great detail when possible. It’s better to approach these topics through the prism of how you overcame the challenges rather than focusing on the challenges themselves. Remember, the essay portion of the admissions process is meant to show how you have grown through adversity, not to discuss the adversity itself in great detail. 

• Most important person or place: While some prompts may ask you to describe a role model or place that has impacted you, it’s essential to keep your college essay topic focused on you. After all, the college admissions committee wants to know what makes you unique. So only discuss other people and places by focusing on how they inspired you to change and achieve personal growth. 
• Examples of luck or privilege: Discussing wealth or luck about your accomplishments may create the impression you are bragging. It also fails to demonstrate our capability since luck and family wealth are not features that show personal growth or accomplishments. Instead, be sure to focus on your talents and skills apart from these factors. 
• Negative qualities of education: You may think choosing a negative topic will help you stand out from the crowd, but it won’t help you stand out constructively. Schools will see criticism and negativity as a sign that you don’t want a spot at their institution, which will cost you in the long run. 
• Group accomplishments: Athletes may feel compelled to write about being on an underdog team or winning a tough competition, but these accomplishments belong to a team, not just you. Additionally, focusing on sports culture is a very common topic, which means you are less likely to stand out. 

Take the time to craft the strongest essay, no matter your chosen topic, to ensure your essay highlights how you have grown through adversity and how your experiences will benefit the institution to that you are applying. 

In addition to writing an essay with great content, you also need to ensure there are no grammatical errors. Always proofread it multiple times and ask for feedback from trusted individuals, like family members, current college students, or your English teacher. 

How to brainstorm the best college essay topics for your own college application 

Now that you know the ins and outs of choosing the best essay topic for your college essay, you’ll need to start brainstorming topics that will work best for you.

Depending on the prompt category, here are some questions you can ask yourself to start the ball rolling on finding the best college essay topic.

How do I make sure my college essay topic is riveting? 

Now that you have the correct essay topic, you may think, “How can I be sure it’s an interesting topic?” 

This is a common issue for many writers, especially if you are unsure what the college admissions board is looking for. 

Here are some writing tips for making even the most common essay topic more engaging to any reader. 

1. Use vivid descriptions, figurative language, and other literary techniques to paint a picture of a specific, life-changing event. 
2. Only give brief snapshots of your role model or inspirational person. Instead, keep the spotlight on yourself and how you applied your lessons from that person to specific situations in your life. 
3. Don’t spend too much time on adverse events. Instead, speak to the event and then focus on how you overcame it and grew as a person..
4. Avoid broad explanations of essential experiences. Focus on the changes you experienced and specific details that made the event impactful. 
5. Include unique insights and connections as you reflect on your topic. 

Analyze your brainstorm list for surprising story arcs, opportunities for vivid language, and other factors unique to your worldview or experiences. 

Here are some examples of how you can turn items from your list into fascinating topics: 

• A person you admire: After giving a brief background on the person, tell a story about how they made an impact on your life and what you learned from it. 
• Extracurricular activities: Use vivid language to describe what you saw, heard, and learned from participating in your favorite activity. 
• Overcoming obstacles: Describe the obstacle in an interesting way, then focus on the steps you took to move forward. 
• New experiences: Use your five senses to communicate your observations and tie it back to what the new experience taught you. 
• Special interests: Discuss a hobby or interest that’s special to you and the lessons you’ve learned from it. 

Choose the best college essay topic to land your dream school 

You have a unique story to tell, so even if you feel as though you have nothing exceptional to write about, there is something about you and your life that will be interesting for others to read about. 

The right essay topic will help you highlight your skills, talents, and experiences to show the college admissions counselors that you bring a lot to the table. 

Always opt for a topic that allows you to shine and share what helps you stand out from other applicants. 

FAQs

What are the most common college essay topics? 

The most common college essay topics center around sports, personal tragedies, and a resume of your accomplishments. 

How long should a college essay be? 

Typically, your college essay should be between 400-600 words. The Common App requires an essay that is between 250 and 650 words in length. 

When do students prefer to study?

Students prefer to study Mondays through Thursdays, 3 PM-5 PM