sample common app college essays

When you begin writing your Common App essay, having an example to look at can help you understand how to effectively write your college essay so that it stands apart from others. These Common App essay examples demonstrate a strong writing ability and answer the prompt in a way that shows admissions officers something unique about the student.

Common App Essay Example #9: Mountaineering. Here's a liberal arts college Common App essay from Colby College. Colby is a highly ranked liberal arts college. As with all colleges—but especially liberal arts schools—your personal essay will be a considerable factor.

Why? The essay you write for the Common App is sent to basically every school that you apply to. The Common App essay is 650 words, and you have 7 prompts to pick from. (But note: It doesn't matter which prompt you pick. In fact, I recommend you write your essay first and then choose the prompt to match it.) Here are those Common App prompts:

Written for the Common App college application essays "Tell us your story" prompt. This essay could work for prompts 1 and 7 for the Common App. ... here is a writing sample that illustrates my enthusiasm for the latter. In my AP Literature class, my teacher posed a question to which students had to write a creative response. My response is ...

What is the Common Application essay? The Common Application, or Common App, is a college application portal that is accepted by more than 900 schools.. Within the Common App is your main essay, a primary writing sample that all your prospective schools will read to evaluate your critical thinking skills and value as a student. Since this essay is read by many colleges, avoid mentioning any ...

It may seem counterintuitive, but college essays aren't about showing only showing successes. There's also room for showing growth. Of course, you want your Common App essay to ultimately communicate a strength about you, but it's okay to show vulnerability and humility—just like this student does.

When applying to college, few tasks seem as daunting and pivotal as crafting the Common App essay.This personal statement offers more than just a chance to showcase writing skills—it's a unique opportunity to share your story, illuminate your personality, and convince admissions committees that you belong on their campus.

A Common App essay is a personal statement submitted through the Common App. Astoundingly, over 1,000 colleges and universities in the United States use the Common App as an application platform. As a result, when you apply to college, you will almost definitely use the Common App.

Because the Common App essay prompts are your chance to help college admission officers understand who you are and what you bring to their college classrooms and community. Just in case, for context: The Common App is a college admission application with 900+ member colleges that students can apply to. The Common App can allow students to ...

Final Thoughts - Common App Essay Examples. The college personal statement is an important part of the application that can reveal more about who you are and what you'll bring to a college campus. Studying the genre is an essential part of being well-prepared to do your best writing, an exercise that includes understanding the essay's ...