Choosing an essay topic for your college admission paper can be tricky and daunting, but it is actually much easier than you think. Many people freeze when it comes to writing their admission essay – mainly because they don’t know what to write about. But if you just close your eyes and hold out your hand, you will find numerous sources of inspiration. Ideally, you want to stick with a topic that you are familiar with and you want the essay to explain who you are as a person and why you belong in a certain collegiate environment. Here is how to choose a winning college application essay topic.
First and foremost, you want to write about what you know. Any four year university or reputable tech school will detect right away that you don’t know what you are talking about in your essay, especially if it’s a topic that you are completely unfamiliar with. Not only do you want to come off as knowledgeable in your essay, but you also want to come off as authentic. If you are inauthentic, you will have a much harder time writing the essay.
Also, it is important to find a topic that hits close to home. This can be a personal story, family history or a traumatic event in your life or a family member’s life. You don’t want to use any sources of struggle as a clutch, but you do want to explain how those struggles have made you a stronger person – one who is thirsty for knowledge and a more satisfying and enriching life. When a college admissions officer reads your essay, he or she doesn’t want a sob story or a story about vented frustrations. This is why your essay needs to be powerful and uplifting – not begging for sympathy.
Next, you want to find a topic that you believe in. If you have a passion for something, you want to explain where that passion comes from and why you want to take it to the next level. For instance, if you want to be a doctor and save people’s lives, you need explain your love of medicine. If you have any mentors or family members that have supported you in this decision, you want to talk about why and how those people have inspired you. Your college admission essay is a great platform to talk about how you became so passionate about a certain subject or career goal. ??
Lastly, when you are trying to come up with a topic for your essay, you want to spend a lot of time brainstorming. You don’t want to come up with something on the fly and then blast through the essay. Your five hundred word essay could determine your entire future. So, you want to close your eyes and meditate on a subject that actually means something to you. In the end, the essay shouldn’t only be well written – it should also look like you put a lot of forethought into it, which is something you can’t fake.
