How to answer all your college essay prompts in less time:


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.
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?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
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?
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.
Essay
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer.
1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful? Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):
– What inspires you?
– If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
– Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?
– What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application? Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received. Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
Submit an essay on a topic of your choice Short Answer Questions
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application will respond to the following short answer questions:
– Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.
– Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
– What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)

I love this essay. Notice how it answers all the prompts above.

1. Each of the Ut Prosim Profile questions are required with a limit of 120 words in length per answer. Once you submit your application, your responses to the questions are final and cannot be updated.
Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?

Find your college’s application essay prompts for 2024-25

Prompt Three:
In the Villanova community, we learn from one another. What is a lesson in life that you have learned that you would want to share with others?

Copyright College Essay Guy 2015-2024

Essay Topic (500-700 words)
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?

Copyright College Essay Guy 2015-2024

Option #1) What contribution have you made to your current school and/or local community that best exemplifies your awareness of and commitment to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable community? Here at USD, we believe that our campus community and the communities we engage with are integral parts of who we are as a university. Our newly launched Horizon Project is a call to action, ensuring that we are dedicating the time, energy and resources necessary to build an ever more diverse and inclusive campus community. We value the fact that our students come from all walks of life, have experienced different realities and bring with them an array of unique perspectives, including some that have often been underrepresented and underserved by higher education.

How to Answer the Common App Prompts

– Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world’s complexity. This can include a work you’ve read, a project you’ve completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved (limit 150 words).