Make a (Personal) Statement
Whether you need a college application essay or not, it’s still a big deal to know who you are and how to convey
those ideas to other people. When you get to college, I bet that you’ll spend some time considering and refiguring how
you’ll explain yourself to all of the new people you’ll meet. You’ll finally have a chance to explain it the way you think it
ought to be explained, or, even better maybe, you can reinvent yourself any way you want.
You’ll finally be finished with being a [insert high-school label name here]. Now, you can be all of them or none of
them. Clean slate’s all yours.
Your task: Write a clean, thoughtful essay answering one of the college essay prompts.
Choose and complete ONE of the following:
Option 1 *suggested
2015-2016 Common Application essay prompt
250-650 words
The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself
in your own voice.
Option 2
Research the essay requirement OR scholarships available at the school you’ll be attending or plan attending.
Provide us with the prompt, and write the essay.
Option 3
Answer one of these “prompts less traveled” to stretch your imaginations and have it on file.
1. Please complete a one-page personal statement and submit it with your application." (James Madison
University)
2. "How would you describe yourself as a human being? What quality do you like best in yourself and what do you
like least? What quality would you most like to see flourish and which would you like to see wither?" (Bates
College)
3. Discuss how a particular work of music, literature, or art has inspired your life. (William and Mary)
4. What do you think people who know you would be surprised to learn about you? Limit your response to one
page.(Rice University)
5. Pose a question of your own, the answer to which you believe will display your best qualities as a writer, thinker,
visionary, social critic, sage, sensible woman or man, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of
Chicago. (University of Chicago)
6. The Committee on Undergraduate Admissions is interested in learning more about you. Please use this essay to
relay information about you that cannot be found elsewhere on your application. You may choose to write
about your future ambitions and goals, a special talent or unusual interest that sets you apart from your peers,
or a significant event or relationship that has influenced you during your life. (George Mason University/Virginia
Tech)
7. Tell us about the biggest mistake you¹ve ever made, or heard of. (University of Virginia)
8. If you were to write a book, on what theme or subject matter would it be based, and why? (Stanford)
9. What is your favorite word, and why? (University of Virginia)
10. Imagine you have written a short story, film, or play about your last four years. Briefly describe the moment or
scene that you think your audience will most remember after they have finished this autobiographical piece.
What will they learn about you from that moment? (Northwestern)
11. Tell us about a conversation you've had that changed your perspective or was otherwise meaningful to you.
(Stanford)
12. You are about to write your future college roommate a letter. Please provide the roommate with a personal
story that will give him/her some insight into your personality. (St. Mary¹s College, MD)
13. Tell one story about yourself that would best provide us, either directly or indirectly, with an insight into the
kind of person you are. For example, the story can simply relate a personal experience, or a humorous anecdote;
it can tell about an especially significant academic encounter or about an unusual test of character. The
possibilities are unlimited (well, almost so). You choose. Just relax and write it. (Princeton)
14. Please provide information that you feel will give a more complete and accurate picture of yourself, e.g.,
background, personal philosophy or traits, goals, etc. Be sure to describe the influence of these factors. Please
be concise and limit your response to one or two pages. (Pomona College)
15. What single adjective do you think would be most frequently used to describe you by those who know you best?
Briefly explain. (Stanford)
16. If you had a day to spend as you wish, how would you use your time? (Carleton College)
17. If you could spend a year with any real or fictional person in the past, present, or future, whom would you
choose? Why? (Kalamazoo College)
18. If you could become another person, real or fictional, for one day, who would you become and why?
19. Please write a personal journal entry as if the date were Sept. 20, 2030. (St. Mary’s College, MD.)
20. It has been said [by Andy Warhol] that in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. Describe your
fifteen minutes. (New York University)
21. Attach a small photograph of something important to you and explain its significance. (Stanford)
22. Ask and answer the one important question which you wish we had asked. (Carleton College)