College Admissions Essay - Continued

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Common College Admission Essay Question Topics:

Significant Experience, Achievement, or Risk | Important Issue
Influential Person | Future Goals

Identify a person, fictional character, or historical figure who has had a significant influence on you. Describe that influence.

Admissions officers will want to know if there is more to you than your SAT scores and GPA. Therefore, it is important for you to find a way to differentiate yourself from the other qualified applicants. You can demonstrate that you are not just another pretty transcript by showing a completely different side of yourself through the role models and influences that shaped the person you are today.

The key here is to personalize: Do not go off on tangents, focusing on someone else instead of the most important element—why your topic is significant to you. Focus on what these influences have meant to you and how you have grown, tying in relevant aspects of your personal or family life when appropriate. Show your strengths in new ways without restating the obvious.

Do not feel that you need to write about famous people or impress admissions officers by noting your family’s ties to an influential member of the government or movie star. Writing about a teacher who sparked your interest in archaeology by taking your third-grade class on a field trip to see a dinosaur exhibit is more effective than name-dropping in the hopes of impressing admissions officers.

For two examples of an Influential Person Essay, click here.