The Common Application announced their college application essay prompts for next year. The big news is that the essay prompts and word length will remain the same! You will select one prompt for your essay and you have up to 650 words (usually equals one page). Plan on writing your Common Application essay over the summer, ideally in June and July, so you can dedicate August to college essay supplements, which are the additional essays each individual college may require you to write. Writing essays over the summer will absolutely make for a less stressful senior year. Trust me, ask any current high school senior who applied to colleges this year. They will tell you to WRITE ESSAYS OVER THE SUMMER. 

Check out the college essay prompts below. I receive this information directly from the Common Application. 

1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, 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 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 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.