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Discussing the fifth, sixth and seventh prompts for the Common App Essay.
By Rohan Ganeriwala7 min read
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If you have read the previous blogs, your mind must be swirling with ideas and thoughts and you may be slightly overwhelmed. Take a deep breath-read on.
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
There are two distinct facets to this essay:
The first which asks to you identify an accomplishment, event or realisation–the relevance of these instances leads to the 2nd facet of the essay prompt that asks for personal growth and a new understanding of self or others.
This essay calls for introspection and analysis of a meaningful situation which results in an enhanced awareness of ‘yourself’ or maybe ‘somebody else’. Do not delve very far back into your childhood-your level of insights at age ten may not be strong enough to take this essay through. Avoid events like birthday parties; meeting somebody you admired or detested, or eating a particularly meaningful meal can make for a better essay.
Keep in mind that the "accomplishment, event, or realization" doesn't have to be a triumphant moment in your life. An accomplishment can be learning to deal with setbacks or failure, and the event could be one in which you forgot your lines on stage. Part of maturing is learning to accept our own shortcomings, and recognizing that failure is both inevitable and an opportunity to learn.
Most Important of All: "Discuss"
When you "discuss" your event or accomplishment, make sure you push yourself to think analytically. It has to go beyond a narration, a description or a summary. The essay needs to project your ability to explore the impact of the ‘event’ on your life
It can be interpreted as a ‘rite of passage’ essay where adding a learning experience is mandatory. The current pandemic and its impact on the ever-changing interpretation of the ‘normal’ should give you fodder for this topic.
Accomplishments and Events
Realization
The most important thing to keep in mind when searching for these moments is the element of growth, understanding, and transformation. The event, accomplishment, or realization you discuss should be something that helped you understand the world around you through a different, more mature lens.
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?
Describe—Describing your "topic, idea, or concept" is necessary to orient your reader. While responding to the question "why" should be at the heart of your answer, answering the ‘What’ part of the essay requires insights into how you fulfil your quest to learn more.
This essay is about the things you are curious about; ideas that you are passionate about and ultimately what is the fuel that propels your enthusiasm; its much more than an interest-it is a quest. You need to demonstrate your compulsion, fascination and infatuation keeping in mind the following parameters -
Why, When, What, Where and How.
At the end, like all the other topics, you need to be able to show your growth as an individual as well as progress in your stated interest. You also need to demonstrate your balancing act as you navigate between school work, home and your stated quest.
Keep in mind that option #6 can overlap a bit with other options, especially option #4, a problem you'd like to solve-so this essay has to be presented differently.
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.
This topic seems the simplest-in reality, it could be the one that proves to be the most complex. Before attempting this essay, be mindful that it does not fit into any of the OTHER 6 PROMPTS. Do discuss with your teacher, mentor, peers and family that the content is truly unique ad does not mimic the expectations from the other prompts.
This is your chance to add to your application-your essay is the ‘differential’ that can successfully convert your application into an admission. Start strong and fast to grab the reader
Have a POINT
How will you know which prompt best expresses ‘you’?
Evaluate the essay topics under the following guidelines:
1. Does this topic speak to me?
2. Does it convey something about me which is not in the application?
3. Does my essay show me in a humane light?
4. Do I leave a ‘would love to meet this person’ impact?
The Actionable
Tips
Stay calm and stay safe. And start writing the essay.
If you havent read the previous blogs of this series yet, follow the links below:
College Application Essays: Getting Started
The Common Application Prompts: 1 & 2