What the essay is for
Your transcript shows what you did. The essay shows how you think. A reader finishing it should be able to describe one specific thing about your mind that no other part of the application says.
A 20-minute topic hunt
- List five moments when you changed your mind about something.
- List five things you do that nobody assigned you.
- List five objects in your room that would confuse a stranger.
- Pick the item you could describe for ten minutes without repeating yourself. That is your topic.
Topics that usually fail
- The winning game or the injury, told as a sports narrative.
- The service trip that taught you to be grateful.
- A résumé in prose — the essay restating activities already listed.
- Anything where the lesson could be printed on a poster.
Test the topic before you draft
Say it out loud in one sentence to someone who knows you. If they say 'that's so you,' write it. If they say 'that's nice,' find another. Then draft badly and fast; the real essay usually starts in paragraph three of your first attempt.