It’s about time!

This year’s Common Application ® essay prompts were released much later than in years past, and it sounds like a lot of thought went into them- two committees were involved, and experts in psychology and gratitude were consulted.

That said, there were ultimately only two shifts from last year:

Shift #1: The long-standing “problem-solving” prompt was phased out.

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 that is 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.

Shift #2: A new prompt, meant to “validate the importance of gratitude and kindness,” was added.

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

I think the new prompt is adorable… for a social media post, conversation with friends, or maybe a therapy session. But not a college essay!

It’s cute, and would be fun to write - especially during such a depressing year.

Our friends at the Common App ® wrote that the experts who helped develop the new prompt “believe the new choice will generate stories that students are inspired to write and that colleges are excited to read.”

They continued: “An essay prompt can’t erase the loss and anxiety of the last 12 months, but it can validate the importance of gratitude and kindness. We hope students see the new prompt for what it is intended to be: an invitation to bring some joy into their application experience.”

Totally fair. In fact, I actually could not agree more.

An essay on this topic would be inspiring to write and exciting to read, and who wouldn’t feel a little more positive after spending time brainstorming examples of nice things that other people have done to make them happy or thankful?! I certainly agree that writing this essay would be enjoyable.

I think that the gratitude experts may have missed a critical piece of information here, though - we don’t write college essays for the enjoyment. We write them for a purpose.

That’s not to say that we don’t want the experience to be enjoyable, too; we definitely do. We make it as fun as we can - but the two don’t need to be mutually exclusive. And let’s be honest, people don’t come to us for entertainment purposes.

Revisiting the Purpose of a College Essay

The first thing our juniors do in the essay writing process is learn about the purpose of a college essay, which I covered at length last year in a blog post on the topic:

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.

Revisiting What the Purpose of a College Essay is NOT

• A way to bring joy into a student’s application experience

• A way to validate gratitude and kindness from others

• A way to appreciate what may have been overlooked in a student’s life

• A way to inspire students to write

Don’t get me wrong. These are all great things, and they’d make great journal entries, conversations with friends, or topics to cover in therapy. And if a student can emerge from the application process as a more joyful or grateful person (or feel more validated), no one would be happier than me. Truly.

But we’ve got to keep our priorities straight here! Even if the essay turns out to be very exciting for an admissions officer to read, that doesn’t mean that the admissions officer learned anything new about the candidate or that the candidate is more likely to be accepted.

With that said, here’s the full list of 2021-2022 Common Application ® Essay prompts

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.

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. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

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 that 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.

Pro Tips on Prompt Selection

• As I keep reiterating, the purpose of the essay is to share a message. Go with the prompt that offers the best way to get that message across - whether it’s the new prompt or an old prompt! That being said, I’ve been doing this for a while and I don’t think it’s going to be easy to accomplish this goal with the new prompt, even if it provides a more enjoyable essay writing experience.

• I actually found the “retired” prompt about problem solving to be a great way to demonstrate some very positive characteristics - critical thinking skills, creativity, and so forth. That was probably my second-favorite prompt and I’m pretty bummed that it’s not going to be an option anymore.

• The prompt that is my all-time favorite, though, is still here: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. Remember, what’s right for one student is not going to be right for another, so I’m not suggesting that this is a good choice for everyone. But for most students, this prompt offers the easiest way to share a unique characteristic in the context of an interesting story while also looking forward to the future by showing growth.

• I also really like this one: 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? That said, you need to be careful. Writing about overcoming a “failure” that shows persistence, creativity, or out-of-the box thinking is awesome - but writing about what you learned from the time you got in trouble for smoking pot in the parking lot of your high school? Not so much.

• My least favorite is the last one: 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. Never say never, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a response to this one that I liked. Essays that respond to this prompt are typically sort of direction-less and don’t share a clear message.

Our Class of 2022 students will begin their essay writing process later this week or next week, and almost all of them will wrap up right around spring break. Like we always say, it’s going to feel so amazing to have that done and out of the way with very little stress. Our juniors will then be able to shift their focus to working with us to prepare information for their teacher and counselor recommendations, along with writing supplemental essay material.

If your family isn’t working with us yet, sign up for a no-obligation Meet & Greet to learn how we can help your student - and why an amazing college essay and an enjoyable writing experience do not have to be mutually exclusive! We make the process as easy as possible for our families while still keeping the right priorities at the forefront!