60 College Application Prompts

1. What can you do that no one else can do? 
2. List your top 10 favorite places. 
3. Name a family tradition and explain why it is significant to you. 
4. If you could have a dinner date with anyone, who would it be, why would you choose that person, and where would you go? 
5. Tell your favorite joke and explain why you think it’s funny. 
6. In what novel would you like to be a character?  Why? 
7. What sets your heart on fire? 
8. What makes you really angry? 
9. Would you rather go to an orchestra concert or an art museum?  Why? 
10. Give your name as an acronym so that it reflects who you are. 
11. Your assignment:  give away $1,000.  Where would you give it?  Why? 
12. Describe in complete sensory details your favorite meal. 
13. Your house is on fire, and you can only grab 3 items.  What would they be?  Why? 
14. You are a brilliant and forward thinking inventor.  What would you invent? 
15. How is your family different from any other family? 
16. Describe your favorite childhood memory. 
17. If you could re-live any day, what day would that be? 
18. What have you learned from your grandparents? 
19. You are suddenly invisible.  What would you do?  Where would you go? 
20. List 20 things that you don’t do well. 
21. What do you NEVER want to do again?  Why? 
22. Describe a day without technology. 
23. Tell about a time when you were disappointed by an adult.  What happened?  What did it feel like? 
24. Why did you come to school at Arcadia?  Was it a good decision? 
25. You’ve been given a 10- day, all expenses paid trip.  Where would you go?  Why? 
26. What holiday is most meaningful to you?  Why? 
27. What is your favorite school subject?  Why? 
28. Describe something you do really well. 
29. What is the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do?  What made it hard?  
30. Describe yourself in 140 characters – the length of a tweet. 
31. Write 20 adjectives that describe you. 
32. Do you make decisions quickly or slowly?  Describe the process of making decisions. 
33. Describe what is boring to you. 
34. Describe what is exciting to you. 
35. Describe how you are “quirky.”  What makes you just a little odd? 
36. List your top 10 weaknesses. 
37. You’ve been grounded for 10 days.  What did you do and how will you spend your time at home? 
38. When you are a parent, what will you do the same as your parents and what will you do differently? 
39. A group is hotly discussing a political issue.  Will you join in, quietly listen, or walk away?  Why? 
40. If you were a door to door salesperson, what would you be able to sell?   
41. What place have you been to that you could go back to over and over again? 
42. What is your least favorite school subject?  Why? 
43. Create for yourself a personal motto.  Explain it. 
44. Describe a time in the last 3 years when you change your mind.  What prompted the change? 
45. You can travel back in time.  When and where would you go? 
46. Write a radio ad to “sell” yourself.   
47. Tell about a time when you volunteered for an organization. 
48. What causes are you passionate about?  Why? 
49. How would you like to change the world? 
50. What is wrong with our world today? 
51. What is best about your life? 
52. What is worst about your life? 
53. What is right about our world today? 
54. Would you rather wash the dishes, mow the lawn, or babysit a toddler?  Why? 
55. Would you rather write a paper, take a math test, or give a speech?  Why? 
56. Would you rather go to church or go to a political rally?  Why? 
57. Would you rather help at a homeless shelter, clean up garbage in a park, or work a political phone bank? 
58. Describe yourself as a learner.   
59. You’ve inherited a library.  How do you feel?  What will you do? 
60. If you could be 2 people, what would the other “you” be like?   

Common Application 2019/2020 Prompts

The Common Application Announces 2019-2020 Essay Prompts 

The Common Application has announced that the 2019 - 2020 personal essay writing prompts will be the same as the seven 2018 - 2019 essay prompts. By conducting a review process every other year, rather than annually, we can hear from admissions officers, as well as applicants, parents, and counselors, about the effectiveness of the essay prompts.   

2019 - 2020 Common Application Essay Prompts 

 1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.   2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?   3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?   4. Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.   5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.   6. 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?  

7. 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.