There has been big news these past weeks with Early Action Decisions coming out, College Board and overshadowed by this is College Board’s decision to maintain the same essays for the 2022-2023 application year.
To remind everyone, below are the essay options, and, if you are a junior in high school, you can start an account with The Common Application. I recommend you fill in as much information as the application allows. You can’t fill in everything, as the application allows only so much. But, getting that basic information will save you some time-your name (as it appears on your official documentation such as a passport or birth certificate), address, parents information, siblings, etc. Quite often, it is these little details that bog people down. So, get those out of the way.
Here are the essay options for the upcoming cycle (despite the fact that your classmates are just learning about their future, you are next in line!). Remember, this does not mean that you have to start writing now, and by all means, don’t. You have a lot on your plate right now.
Straight from the Common Application
Something else we’ve said in the past: prompts are not topics. They are simply questions designed to spark thinking. Our Telling Your Story resource (https://www.commonapp.org/static/5644ed8a8e3aab10ba9af63da6b99c50/FYEssayPromptsCAReady.pdf) shows students just how much flexibility they have in what they write when the time comes.
Below is the full set of essay prompts for 2022-2023. We will also retain the optional COVID-19 question within the Additional Information section.
- 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.
- 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?
- Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
- 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?
- Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
- 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?
- 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.
Please contact World Student Support for assistance with college search, application support and of course assistance with essays and writing support. I do like the Telling Your Story Resource the Common Application provides, but there is a lot more that World Student Support can do to assist in the writing process.