The Pilgrim College Guidance Blog
News, trends, insights, and the occasional self-indulgent fluff piece
Photo credit: Jen Jordan Photography
My Favorite Supplemental College Essay Topics This Year
I’ve read so many college essays and supplements over the years, and occasionally I like to look at things from the college’s perspective. You can often learn about a college’s values through their supplements. And since we’re at the end of the calendar year, I figured I would have some fun reflecting on what colleges have asked students to write about. Below are my top ten favorite supplemental college essay topics for this application cycle. Some of these prompts have been used for years and others are brand new, but collectively, they give insight into what matters to a college.
Shouldn’t All Colleges Change Lives? Creating Your College List
I’m a huge fan of the Colleges That Change Lives (CTCL). If you aren’t familiar, these colleges are usually non-household names, but their smaller environments allow for a more intimate college experience. Their relatively higher admit rates belie the quality of education students receive. So why aren’t they more popular? I suppose there are just so many options out there that considering colleges with more of a regional appeal might be a stretch. I bring this up because all colleges change lives to some degree. The college experience coincides with a formative time in a young adult’s life and of course, there’s the value of the college degree itself. However, the significance of college seems to have been overlooked or at least underdiscussed over the last few years as the admissions landscape has become what it is. The life-changing aspect of college has been overshadowed by application numbers and the strategic element of the application process.
My Favorite College Essay Ever
There’s a pretty well-known book called “50 Successful Harvard Application Essays” that’s made the rounds over the years. Given the title, I can only assume that sales are doing just fine. I’ve always had mixed feelings about the book. On the one hand, I actually had a student featured in the third edition (for the record, I take no credit for his inclusion in the book or his admission/matriculation to Harvard). But on the other hand, the idea of sample essays has never sat well with me, even with a wide variety of examples. To the credit of the arrangers, they also explained why each essay was compelling in its own way. In all my years of college admissions and college counseling, there are only a handful of essays that I still remember to this day. And in the spirit of essay writing season, I’d like to share my impressions of one essay from a former student and why it worked so well.