Good college essay topics are typically those that:


The real topic is him. And through the essay, you get a clear sense of who he is and what he values through the moments, details, and insights he shares.


Ready to get writing now that you’ve seen this list of the top college essay ideas and topics? Each one of these ideas could turn into a strong story to complete your overall application. Hopefully a few of these subjects resonate with you and inspire an ! By diversifying your approach to each essay prompt and making your responses as personal and specific as possible, you can create a compelling narrative that stands out to admissions officers.

Really common one I've heard of include: Sports injuries, death of a grandparent (while it's still sad, it's a commonly used essay topic), and mission trips. If you really want to stand out, I'd use something completely original. I know a girl who did one about this pen pal she's had for over ten years and how their relationship has grown without ever seeing each other's faces. If you think about it, there's a ton of things that's happened in your life that are unique to YOU, you just have to figure out how to express it in an essay correctly.

Looking for more college admissions essay examples about yourself? .

There are other ways you can improve your chances of admission by strengthening your writing. If you want to read examples of successful college essays, or have an expert review your final drafts, consider working with a college essay coach like Empowerly. When it comes to college admission, your story has never mattered more. Put your story in the right hands.

Each year we email newly admitted and current College students and ask them for essay topics. We receive several hundred responses, many of which are eloquent, intriguing, or downright wacky.

Spend time reflecting on and writing out answers to the following questions. After doing this exercise, you should be able to identify a few strong topics for your college essay.

You can also work with a guidance counselor, teacher, or other mentor to discuss which ideas are most promising. If you , you can even workshop multiple draft essays to see which topic works best.


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Personal interaction with objects, images and spaces can be so powerful as to change the way one thinks about particular issues or topics. For your intended area of study, describe an experience where instruction in that area or your personal interaction with an object, image or space effected this type of change in your thinking. What did you do to act upon your new thinking and what have you done to prepare yourself for further study in this area?

21 College Essay Topics & Ideas That Worked

Because of the points above (you can write about anything + colleges don’t care too much), looking at the prompts is only useful if you’re totally, completely stumped* as to how to brainstorm possible topics for your college essay. (In which case, see below.)

Top 40 College Essay Ideas and Topics | Empowerly

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don't feel obligated to do so. (The application won't accept a response shorter than 250 words.)

Top 40 College Essay Ideas and Topics · 1

The danger of looking at the prompts before you do some brainstorming is that you may box yourself in by thinking you have to write about something that fits, say, prompt 2, and thereby prevent yourself from thinking about options for topics that allow you to show who you are and what you value more effectively.

Popular College Application Essay Topics (and How to Answer Them)

Most are acceptable for if you can use them to or a lesson learned. However, there are a few difficult topics for college essays that should be avoided. Avoid topics that are: