Masuk Free Press

If you’re a senior and applying to colleges, you’ve grown quite aware of the CommonApp essay. As a crucial part of the admissions process, the CommonApp essay’s reputation has begun to take root in students’ minds, causing hours of stress, anxiety and procrastination. 

The CommonApp, an online college application platform, is used by students and schools as a catalyst to apply to colleges with ease. By filling out the required fields only once, CommonApp then sends the application to the schools of a student’s choice, saving time and energy by eliminating the need to apply to each school separately. The CommonApp itself consists of three components: Background information, such as family history, heritage and education; Activities, descriptive of students’ extracurriculars and occupations; and lastly, the CommonApp essay. 

Every year, the CommonApp generates seven diverse essay prompts for students to respond to in the personal statement section of their application. Questions ask for things such as passions, challenges, backgrounds and experiences of personal growth to give applicants the ability to share who they are with the schools they are looking to attend.

“The personal essay gives you a chance to share more about yourself, apart from your courses, grades, and test scores,” shares Emma Steele, CommonApp Director of Media and External Affairs, who broke down the prompts in detail in a 2024 video on the website. “Whatever prompt you choose, we recommend writing what you truly want to share about yourself, not what you think colleges want to read.” 

With no outline, no outstanding requirements, and various topics to choose from, the essay appears to be a wide opportunity for thoughts and ideas, enabling students to write a compelling piece. However, as students begin the essay-writing process, the true character of the personal statement begins to reveal itself. 

We know ourselves better than anyone. So, in a world where it is so easy to talk about yourself, why is the CommonApp essay so difficult to write?

The simplest answer is this: picking the right topic.

After years of hearing about college applications, students have heard about essay topics ranging from childhood shoelaces to losing family members. For many applicants, finding the right topic for such a personal essay has proven to be a strenuous task. 

“I think it can be difficult to find something because you don’t want to trauma dump, but you also want to give admissions boards a way into your perspectives and life,” says senior Charlotte Pinto. “It’s hard to balance being real while also being mindful in what you write.” 

Well, if you’ve taken a rougher path of life so far, the CommonApp should be a slam dunk, right? 

Wrong. As seniors approach the application season, they are told how admissions officers don’t want to read another essay about how a torn ACL ruined your junior soccer season, or how moving states changed you as a person. 

But what if nothing major has occurred in your life? Now, you are left to twist the average parts of your life in attempts to impress a group of people who have never met you before. It feels impossible to fit your life’s story, character and who you are as a person into 650 words. 

Having experienced years of essay debate, topic struggle and content editing, World Literature teacher Stephen Casinelli has found that lack of self-knowledge is the root of most students’ difficulty. 


”The biggest struggle is that people don’t reflect enough on their personal experience,” says Casinelli, who spends most of his free time during the fall editing seniors’ personal essays. “How have you changed even since last year? How have you changed since last month? How did this adjust your perspective on life?” 

Furthermore, in a digital age, students have begun to turn to social media in the wake of their insecurity and uncertainty, and the CommonApp is no exception. Thousands of videos are posted every week of students sharing the essays that got them into their top choice schools, programs and jobs. However, the turn to social media only creates unease. 

In a search for “inspiration”, many students stumble into a trap of unoriginality and comparison, leading them to either procrastinate for fear of failure or fall short in attempts to replicate another person’s success. The shadow of the essay is more terrifying than the essay itself, and in a placebo-effect of anticipation, the CommonApp has accumulated a track record that some believe isn’t truly accurate of its substance. 

“It definitely has been stressful, but I think that a lot of the time we bring that on ourselves,” expresses senior Aidan Cammarano, who started his college application process back in the summer. “We could push past the procrastination, but we don’t. And when that manifests into a problem, we try to blame the essay for it”. 

As college applications land at the same time as students shifting back into school routines, as well as the overwhelming emotions that come with senior year, college admissions have snowballed to be more anxiety than they are worth. As the excitement of college and bitterness of a final year at home fall upon seniors across the country, the CommonApp remains a stressful part of senior year. However, if approached with time-management and deliberation, the essay can become more than just a stressful requirement, but an opportunity to share your story.