There are seven prompts provided by the Common Application. Over the next few days, we’ll examine each one in depth to help you come up with essay topics of your own. If you need more help, Register for the “Brainstorm Your College Essay” workshop on Wednesday, June 27, 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. in Westford, Mass. You’ll leave with a solid topic and the opening paragraph. Your first draft will be edited if submitted by a mutually agreed upon deadline.
Prompt #5 examined
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. [Revised]
Have you traveled to a foreign country and seen something that inspired you to get involved? One of my students took a trip to China to visit relatives. While there, the student noticed what she described as “incredible waste strewn throughout its streets.” She wondered where it could go besides a landfill. That trip motivated her to get involved in her own community by joining her school’s environmental club and raising money to fund the construction of composting bins.
The student’s experience with the club inspired her to aim for an environmental policy major in college. She deftly began her essay with advice from her grandmother who had told her to look at the green colors produced by nature as a way of improving her nearsightedness. She ended her essay with this line: “My grandmother was right: by looking at the green, I found my life vision.”