Yay! I have been waiting for this day in eager anticipation for a while!

The Common Application® organization performed a study to determine whether the current essay prompt choices were effective, and I am VERY happy to report that they just announced the decision to stick with last year’s prompts for the Class of 2021!

If it’s not broke, don’t fix it, right?

Here are the 2020-2021 Common App® Prompts:

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story.

2. 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?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma — anything of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

A few pieces of advice to all HS Class of 2021 students beginning this process:

Focus on the message, not the story. The #1 concern I hear from students and parents is that they just don’t know what to write about. This is especially the case from students in Northern Virginia, who have often just lived a normal, suburban lifestyle - no huge tragedies or adversity to overcome. The good news is that with a few exceptions (we’ll get to those), it honestly doesn’t matter what you write about. I swear. An amazing topic is not what makes an amazing essay.

What will make an amazing essay will be an authentic snapshot into your personality - a characteristic that you can share about yourself that really captures who you are. Maybe it’s a cool way you think, an odd quirk, or an interesting habit you have. If you are working on this alone without our help, talk to your parents, siblings, friends, and teachers about characteristics that make you unique. What are you “known for”? It doesn’t have to be fancy or impressive!

Once you have something in mind, back into a story that clearly showcases the characteristic. Again, it’s not really about the story itself (caveat to come!); instead, it’s about how well the story showcases the characteristic… how authentic it sounds!

That said, try as hard as you can to try to avoid cliche, overused, and/or inappropriate topics. If you feel like you HAVE to write about a cliche story, write about one that is loosely related to it (so you are able to reference or mention whatever it is without having your whole essay revolve around it).

End by considering how you will be able to apply that characteristic in the short-term and/or long-term future, to be able to make a difference in a positive way.

What does the prompt release mean for DC College Counseling students in the Class of 2021?

All Class of 2021 students will receive their WOW Writing Workshop login information at some point in the next week, and then our essay writing process will officially begin! Every student and parent will also receive an email containing instructions and next steps from me (Colleen). Get excited!!!

Since all of our work is individualized and customizable, we have set alternate schedules with some students for various reasons; however, most of our students will have their main essay 100% complete by/around spring break. Yep, you read that right! And it is going to feel AWESOME to have this done so early. Bonus: Juniors enrolled in AP English Language typically have to write their “college essay” as an end-of-year assignment. So you can cross that off the to-do list as well. You’re welcome :)

Most of you have heard us rave about the WOW system already: this is now our third season as WOW partners and we use a slightly modified version of their approach, so that we can incorporate our in-person meetings and high-touch project management work. All students will have three assigned meetings at pre-determined stages and ongoing coaching and editing work in between. They will conclude the process with a fourth “meeting,” a final polish from our self-described “Rumpelstiltskin of editing” who specializes in performing the best final edits you’ll ever see! Then, of course, I will weigh in one last time.

If you’re not a DC College Counseling student (yet) but are interested in working together:

It’s not too late to sign up for an ongoing package; we just started with two new Class of 2021 students this week alone! Start with a no-obligation Meet & Greet to learn about how my fabulous team and I can help a student achieve their goals with very little stress along the way.

For students who need less help overall and are primarily concerned with the main essay, we have the new hybrid Strategy & Planning Plus option.

Last but not least - a cool opportunity! If you’re not a DC College Counseling student (yet) and aren’t able to contract for services:

We’re expensive - I get it! This spring, we have three pro bono (yes - free!) spots available for high school juniors who would like to complete their Common Application® Essay before April 1. The students must have parental permission and the ability to attend in-person sessions, and must also allow us to publicly chronicle their experiences throughout the writing process. To be clear, no actual essay material will be shared, just more about the process itself.

We’d prefer to extend this opportunity to students with demonstrated financial need or are underserved in some way, although it’s not a hard and fast requirement. If you are this student, please shoot me an email with a little bit about yourself and why you’d like to be considered! And if you are a third party who knows of a deserving student that might be able to benefit from this, let us know.