Common App Essay: How to Write It Step-By-Step & Examples

It may not be the easiest task, but it is always useful to take such an option when submitting via Common App system. It gives you an opportunity to make a good impression with your writing skills.

This article will help you with such preparations. We’ve collected basic information about this essay type and picked several helpful tips on how to start and how to complete it. Read them carefully, and it should be easier for you to come up with an excellent composition your college would approve. Let’s go!  

Common App is a system that lets students prepare standard applications that can be accepted by many different colleges in different US states and abroad. Over 900 institutions in North America, China, Japan, and Europe participate in it.

A Common App essay is a part of the application process. It serves as your personal statement and can be mandatory or optional, depending on a school. When starting the Common Application process, you can typically find information about an essay, particularly the suggested prompts, in an assignment. After you upload an essay, all institutions participating in this system will be able to access it, which is useful when applying to multiple schools at once.  In a rush? Try our admission essay writing service for the best results.

As shown above, Common App essay is a unique opportunity to improve your chances of admission as a senior. If done right, writing and submitting such a personal presentation could help you make a strong positive impression on the admissions officers. What makes it even better is that you can use the same essay when applying to different schools of your choice. All colleges participating in this system get access to essays that have been uploaded there. That is why you need to invest your time into coming up with a top-notch essay!

Recommended Common App essay length is 650 words. However, some schools might recommend using between 250 and 650 words. Anyway, it would be wise to use the whole limit. If your personal statement is too short, it won’t stand out much. At the same time you shouldn’t write much more than that, so take your time and plan it carefully.

There are several prompts for writing this type of essay. Some of them might be easier for you than others. So take the word limit into account before choosing one.  

Now let’s discuss the main thing: how to write a college application essay that will help your application stand out? Try thinking like one of the admissions commission officers when you write it. What kind of a student’s self-presentation would impress you in a positive way? Do you feel this person would fit in your college?

A general rule of a good Common App essay is to be concise, well readable, original, and interesting. Below you’ll find a brief guide where we explain each step to you in detail.  

First, spend some time to come up with some good ideas and choose the best one. The goal is highlighting your strength and experience and showing that you really can fit in a college of your choice.

Here are several core common app essay questions to be addressed in your work:  

Make sure your topic will allow you to answer all of them without being too wordy. It should be related to something both important for you and for those who will read an essay. If you have doubts, best pay for college application essay to play it safe. 

After you’ve decided on the general idea, it is time for choosing from common app essay topics. You might get several prompts suggested for you in the assignment. They can be helpful for a topic selection.

It is better to choose something relatable for your personal statement. Something you are ready to stand for. Your topic should be well familiar to you. At the same time it should look original for the commissions in universities you are applying to. Choosing a strong topic is a key step towards success of your application.  

Build your Common App college essay ‘around’ your topic. It should highlight your main idea best. Of course, a traditional 5 paragraph essay system can be used here. But feel free to adjust it to the situation. For example, start with questions, then answer them one by one in your text.

Does your essay focus on your background? Put some basic facts into an introduction and explain your scholarly progress below. Does it tell about challenges you’ve overcome or confrontations you participated in? Start with some tension, some culminating scenes to make it engaging for readers.  

After you’ve composed your plan or outline, proceed with writing the full text. Students’ Common App essays should deliver strong messages that highlight their authors’ strengths and capabilities, as well as demonstrate their writing skills. This is why you should make yours interesting to read.

Spend some time composing a concise and logical text. Make sure its conclusion matches its introduction. Proofread it at least once before submission. You wouldn’t want some obvious mistakes to ruin its success.  

We’ve picked some tips for Common App essay, which could help compose a winning one to apply for colleges. They are based on the fundamental rule of writing such essays. Developing a strong personal statement while keeping it concise. Keep these tips in mind when writing and reviewing your text:

In this article we’ve summarized general information about writing common app essays. A strong essay should be concise, original, focused on your own experience as an author, and make a good impression on readers at the end. Keep in mind the tips we’ve given you and good luck with your application! Order essays online at StudyCrumb whenever you need any type of help – informational and practical alike.