The Common Application has just announced that it is keeping the same essay prompts for the 2018-2019 as this year. This means that juniors can take a look at the prompts and at least start ‘stewing’ about what might be suitable for their essay. In addition, students can start researching colleges and universities as well as begin to fill in some of the nuts and bolts of the application that will roll over to senior year. Go to their Common App Ready tool kit for some excellent tips on the application and to prepare for application season.
The announcement about the prompts can be found here.
Here are the essays:
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?
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.
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 design.
Students choose one of the seven to write about – word limit is between 250 words and no more than 650 words. For more details, please look at the website above.