Writing Your Main Personal Statement
The main personal statement for the Common Application essay can be daunting at first glance. It’s long, the prompts are complex, and the resulting essay goes to all the colleges on your Dashboard. Eek!
The good news? Other than the fact that you don’t have to polish and perfect a bunch of similar statements for individual colleges like some of us did back in the day (aka millennials), this statement will be fun to write -- you get to be creative, you get to be personal, and you get to speak in your own voice. How can you make the most of this space? Read on for Comet’s best advice.
What are Common App readers looking for?
There are many different colleges on the Common Application, so unfortunately there isn’t a simple answer to this question. However, since the majority of colleges using the Common Application platform are private institutions (including small liberal arts colleges, Ivy League colleges, and big name private colleges), the readers are much more likely to read, re-read, and fully digest your essays rather than skimming for key points.
Most admissions officers engage in a holistic process when reading applications, meaning they are reviewing every piece of information you provide to find your strengths. At the end, they get an overall impression of you and assign you a number on an internal scale, which translates to a recommendation for admissions...or not. A second reader (and in some cases an additional reader) will also take a look to make sure the initial review was complete and in line with the college’s policies and preferences.
Readers want to go beyond data points to figure out who you are and whether you will be a positive addition to their campus environment. While strong scores and grades will get your reader’s attention, the subjective pieces of your application -- your activities resume, letters of recommendation, and essays -- will hold it.
What are the Common App prompts, and what are they actually asking?
We’ve copied the prompts from the Common Application website below, along with a Comet translation! You only have to choose one of these prompts, and your answer must be between 250 and 650 words.
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.
Translation: Tell us a story about yourself that doesn’t fit into the other prompts, but is super important to understanding who you are. Key word here is story. You’re not answering a particular question, so make sure your story has structure (aka a beginning, middle, end and moral).
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?
Translation: It’s okay to mess up! Mistakes make us human. We want to see that you are resilient and you can recover from setbacks you will undoubtedly experience here on our campus.
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Translation: Are there causes, ideas, or values that are important to you? Are you willing to stand up for what you believe in? We want to picture how you will advocate for yourself and others on our campus.
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 that is 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.
Translation: Similar to the previous question, tell us about something important for you to fix or improve. What have you done to fix it? What do you want to do to fix it? What skills or knowledge can you demonstrate here that shows us you have some awareness of the world and your potential place in it?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Translation: Think of a moment where your life changed. Tell us who you were before and who you are now. Again, it’s okay your realization shows something negative about who you were before. We need mature and self-aware students on campus who seek to become better.
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?
Translation: Take us down the rabbit hole with you! What is it like to be inside your brain? Show us that you are an intellectually curious and interesting person who will pursue your interest to the bitter end.
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.
Translation: We get that we can’t cover everything with our prompts, so feel free to say whatever you think is important for us to know. This is your space; use it well.
Hang on a second. I’m planning to use the Coalition Application. Will I be able to use this main statement on both platforms?
Like the Common App, the Coalition has a main personal statement that goes to most of the colleges you apply to on the platform. The Coalition prompts are different from the Common App prompts, but you’ll still choose one prompt to address in a maximum of 650 words. The aim of requiring this statement is the same: application readers want to learn about you on a personal level to discover who you are and whether you will be a positive addition to their campus environment. Therefore, although the advice in this article will focus on the Common Application, the same principles apply as you compose your Coalition statement.
Comet tip: If you plan ahead, you should be able to copy and paste your Common App main personal statement into the Coalition app’s open-ended prompt:
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
How do I decide what to write about?
Looking over those prompts, it becomes clear that the average Common App reader doesn’t want a narrated resume--they want to get to know the person behind all of the accolades and accomplishments. That means getting a good look at your most human moments: moments of vulnerability, self-reflection, failure, authenticity, and resilience.
Think about the moments you felt most connected to someone else. It was likely when they admitted something, realized something difficult, or shared something raw and honest. You felt connected because that person was letting you into a vulnerable space, and they were saying to you, “I trust you and here’s the real me.” While that might be a bit tough to do, that’s the effect we’d like to leave at the end of these essays.
Use these three key points to guide you as you select a topic:
Be honest
Be personal
Be introspective
Okay, I kind of get it. Can you tell me a little more?
Of course!
Since the point of this essay is honest, human connection, the best place to be personal is to start small with a Core Memory. A Core Memory is a moment that shaped your personality, passion, values, or future ambitions. The best way to explain a core memory is to think of it as a flashback in a movie. We may not understand why a main character is the way she is, or why she is so driven to accomplish something until we see that key moment in her life and it suddenly becomes clear.
Why do you think there are all those blockbuster superhero origin story movies out there? People are interested not just in what a superhero is capable of, but what motivates them to persevere despite their pain and their own personal needs. That way, we can root for them!
Help the admissions officers understand why they should root for YOU by sharing your core memory. We invite you to list out and explore:
Moments that stand out vividly in your mind
Moments with people who have impacted you
Moments that changed your perspective about something
Moments where you learned about yourself or the world around you
Once you have a list, start experimenting with those ideas in essay form. Keep in mind that because this essay is so personal and nuanced you should expect to start writing about one idea, only to scrap it and write about something else completely different. Multiple “false starts” are a normal part of the college essay writing process--so expect to have to return to your brainstorm multiple times.
I guess I’m still confused. Can you give me some examples of Core Memories?
Okay, sure!
Over the past few years, we have helped students develop their Core Memories about:
Getting lost in a foreign country
Camping trips with dad
Riding the train to and from school everyday
Walking around their neighborhood after dinner
What? Those all sound super boring.
Right! You don’t have to have a glamorous life story to have a great Core Memory. It’s not really the specific memory that matters here, but what it meant to you.
Think about it. Let’s say that in my house, the little teapot my grandma gave me is the most beautiful and important thing I own. My grandma would always pour me a cup of tea from it to make me feel better when I was upset, and tell me I’d be fine because I’m strong like her. When I didn’t feel strong, she’d remind me that, just like the tea, I needed time to develop my full strength. Now, even though my grandmother has passed away, that teapot brings me warm memories and reminds me that I have to be patient and believe in myself when things are difficult.
I know, sweet story right? But despite all that, if you came to my house you would just see an ugly old teapot on the shelf -- or you might not notice it at all.
In order for you to see why my teapot (or my camping trip, or my walk) is important, I have to give it meaning.
So back to those Core Memories from up above:
Getting lost in a foreign country...taught this student to trust himself and gain the courage to go after what he wants.
Camping trips with dad...imbued this student with confidence and the grace to recover from missteps and mistakes.
Riding the train to and from school everyday..showed this student that he can create community wherever he goes.
Walking around their neighborhood after dinner...gave this student an opportunity to see beauty in the mundane.
Core Memories give you a chance to show colleges who you are at heart, and allow readers to envision who you will be on campus.
That student who got lost will push himself to take advantage of all the opportunities we offer.
The girl who went camping won’t panic when her project isn’t going well.
The train guy will make our campus more inclusive and comfortable.
The walking gentleman will help his classmates appreciate even the most boring of lectures.
I think I have an idea I can go with. How should I start writing?
The general structure of the Common App essay reads more like a memoir, with literary elements you might see in a novel. So, when it comes to illustrating your Core Memory, we encourage students to take a creative approach. This helps draw readers in and makes the essay more grounded, interesting, and entertaining.
Remember that readers are going through hundreds of apps. If they all start off the same, “My most significant moment of leadership was…” they all start to blend together. But then they get to yours, and it starts off with, “The steam from the tea fogged up my glasses as I bent my head to take a sip at my grandmother’s insistence.” The reader is hooked and is instantly more invested in what you have to share.
As you begin translating your core memory into an essay, narrate the most vivid moment of your memory using sensory details and stream-of-consciousness writing. Maybe drop the reader into the essay at the key moment right before you scored the winning goal. Or before you performed. Or before you failed. But slow it down and allow the reader to experience the moment with you.
Should the whole essay be that creative?
Not necessarily.
However, remember my grandma’s teapot? If I just explain the significance of my teapot -- my grandma gave it to me -- you’ll say “cool” and move on with your day. Therefore, it’s important that I tell you the story of my Core Memory in an entertaining way...or you’ll stop listening to me and start humming a Bieber song.
There are so many ways to be creative, and they don’t all have to do with sensory details and dialogue. We want you to express your personality. Remember, this essay doesn’t have to be anything you don’t want it to be. It should represent you on the page. So if creative writing is not your thing that’s okay. Use your authentic voice to describe your authentic experience in a way that is relatable, likeable, and memorable.
Regardless of which prompt you choose, the Common App essay will consist of three key parts: your core memory, the story your core memory sparked, and your reflection on the significance of it all. We recommend focusing the bulk of the creativity on the memory itself, then shifting into narrative to tell the story of what happened before and after that moment. Later, you’ll use more expository writing to share your reflection and connect to the prompt.
You mentioned a reflection?
Yup! In this reflection--you really want to hit home with WHY and HOW the experience you illustrated in your core memory changed you. Remember that student who got lost in a foreign country? His reflection explained that this was an important Core Memory not because he learned to read a map, but because it helped him learn to trust himself. Before this moment, he held himself back; after this moment, he was able to take risks and achieve more.
Your turn: WHY is this experience meaningful or important to you? Usually because of what it taught you about yourself or the world. What was the key realization or takeaway? What was the “moment of truth”, and what truth did it reveal? What central quality, value, skill, passion or characteristic did you gain from your core memory?
But don’t just stop there. Readers want to see: are you still living by those new rules today?
How did you or your perspective change after the event?
How do you behave differently now?
How do you see yourself today? Less afraid to take risks? More open minded? More extroverted?
How has this new trait, ability, value, skill or passion you gained in your core memory shaped your actions ever since?
Remember you’ll need to answer these questions in the context of your prompt. Sometimes it helps to choose a prompt first, and sometimes it’s easier to write the essay and then figure out where it fits in.
Are there other things I should keep in mind?
Definitely.
While you are brainstorming:
Look into the supplemental essays for the colleges where you will be applying. Colleges on the Common App will get the main personal statement along with answers to their own set of supplemental questions. Often, the supplements will ask about your motivation for pursuing your major, or the activity that is most important to you. You won’t want to repeat yourself in your main statement and your supplement, so plan ahead.
Think about how your essay can tie together your application as a whole. What is a backstory that would explain your motivations, values, ideals and goals? The main personal statement should help the readers make sense of the choices you made in high school and the passions you have today.
Try multiple ideas before settling on one!
While you are drafting:
Don’t worry so much about the prompt; focus on getting your ideas across in a way that makes sense to you. As you edit, you will refine the message.
Don’t try to make your essay sound like something you read on the internet.
Don’t try to make this essay perfect for one specific college -- remember it will go to all the colleges on your list.
As you edit and revise:
Push yourself as a writer to be more creative than you would be on an English paper.
Ask other people to read your essay -- it might not make sense to them the way it does in your head!
Read your essay out loud to yourself to check for authentic voice.
Don’t worry about hitting 650. If you’re done talking, wrap it up.
We hope this helps you feel more confident as you begin writing your main personal statement. If you walk away with one idea from this article, we hope it’s the idea that being vulnerable, honest and authentic in your essay is the best way to stand out.
