Essay for College Applications

College Application Essay (aka Personal Statement)

Not all colleges require an essay. Check the application requirements on the college website to be sure.

• Common App colleges require a main essay and often some shorter essays. See below for essay prompts. 
• University of Washington Seattle requires an essay. See below. 
• University of Washington Bothell requires an essay. See UW Bothell First Year Application. 
• Western Washington University requires an essay. See WWU Freshman Application Essay. 

 

How to Tackle the Essay 

1. Brainstorm. Write in response to Brainstorming Questions to get in the groove for personal writing. Also try the College Essay Guy's Essence Objects Exercise which will help you think more concretely. Check out the great advice & guidance on collegeessayguy.com.
2. Generate possible topics. Look at the prompts for your schools and create lists of ideas, or concept maps, or fragments of sentences. Try to come up with 20 possibilities. Don't naysay any ideas. 
3. Write six paragraphs. Choose six of your ideas and write paragraphs that contains the germ of each idea. They do not have to be opening paragraphs, or grammatical, or "good". Simply write something that focuses in on each of your ideas. 
4. Develop two or three of your most promising paragraphs into longer pieces. Don't worry too much about word count. Shorter drafts can be extended and longer drafts can be condensed. 
5. Seek feedback on your drafts. 
6. Revise according to your own goals and feedback from others. 
7. Edit carefully. Seek help on this; sometimes we don't see usage errors in our own writing. 
8. Only when you are absolutely ready, copy & paste the essay into the field in the Common App, the Coalition App, or the independent college application. Then, save & close and go back later to make sure that the essay is how you want it. 

 

2024-2025 Common Application Essay Prompts 650 word limit

From:  Common App First Year Essay Prompts

Over 1000 schools use the Common App; look for member colleges at www.commonapp.org. Choose from these seven options:

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.

They will retain the optional community disruption question within the Writing section. 

 

University of Washington Seattle First Year Writing

From: UW Seattle First Year Application Writing Section  accessed 5.23.2024; check for updates. 

Note that UW Seattle will NOT view the main Common App essay, only the Writing section within the UW Seattle section of the Common App.

At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.

View UW Seattle First Year Application Writing Section for advice.  

• Essay prompt [required]
  • Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
  • Maximum length: 650 words
• Short response [required]
  • Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW.
  • Maximum length: 300 words
  • Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.
• Additional information about yourself or your circumstances [optional]
  • You are not required to write anything in this section, but you may include additional information if something has particular significance to you. For example, you may use this space if:
  • You have experienced personal hardships in attaining your education
  • Your activities have been limited because of work or family obligations
  • You have experienced unusual limitations or opportunities unique to the schools you attended
  • Maximum length: 200 words