Essay Writing Topics: Getting Started on Your College Essays

Essay Writing Topics

Writing essays is one of the most challenging parts of the college admissions process–and the most important. To write the best college essays possible, you’ll need to explore a variety of essay writing topics. If you’re looking for a great essay topics list from which to start brainstorming, you’re in the right place.

Naturally, you might use different types of essay writing to cover different essay writing topics. As you might have guessed, essay writing topics for college essays are quite personal. They share something unique about who you are, adding character and depth to your overall application. In fact, the most memorable college essays often communicate something about how a student sees themselves or the world.

Given how broad college essay prompts are, college essays truly can be about anything. Just do a search of 100 college essay topics, and you’ll see the possibilities are endless. So, how can you decide the best essay writing topics for your college essays?

In this article, we’ll cover the basics of essay writing for college applications and how to get started. We’ll discuss what the best college essays have in common and how to narrow down potential essay writing topics. Specifically, we’ll look at: 

• How essays factor into the college admissions process
• The basics of how to write a college essay
• Why writing college essays is so challenging
• Tackling college essay prompts
• Common essay writing topics
• 35 Great College Essay Topics list
• Essay writing topics to avoid
• How to choose the best essay writing topics
• Where to find college essay writing samples, and more!

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to pick the right topic for a stand out application essay. To start, let’s get a sense of what exactly is a college admissions essay and how it’s different from other types of essay writing.

Types of essay writing

You’ve likely encountered many different types of essay writing in your high school classes. Common types of essay writing include analytical essays, persuasive essays, and compare and contrast essays. These types of essay writing usually include a thesis statement that is backed up by supporting evidence. However, a college admissions essay is a little different.

College admissions essays are typically categorized as narrative essays. Unlike other types of essays, narrative essays center around a story and are written in the first person. In general, essay writing topics for narrative essays are based on personal experiences.

Since you’re writing an essay about you, from your perspective, you have more freedom to be creative with your writing. However, a strong narrative essay should also provide commentary on some central theme or have a message. Essentially, for a narrative essay to be good, it needs to have a point. You can think of this central message as the “thesis” of a narrative essay.

Qualities of a narrative essay

While a strong analytical essay may be direct and convey an argument, a strong narrative essay relies more heavily on storytelling. Common elements of storytelling include plot, character, theme, and conflict. All of these work together to engage the reader, taking them through a clear beginning, middle, and end.

Another important characteristic of narrative writing is showing, not telling. You’ve likely heard the phrase “show don’t tell” in your English classes. Essentially, this means using descriptive sensory details and moments of action to tell a story, rather than simply describing exactly what is happening. This allows your reader to experience your story in a more engaging way, and it allows you to further personalize your narrative.

If you haven’t written an essay like this before, it may seem intimidating. Especially when you think of who your audience is. So, let’s talk about why this type of writing is part of the college application process.

Why do colleges require essays?

To understand what makes strong essay writing topics, we need to understand the role essays play in the college admissions process.

In the US, most colleges and universities follow a holistic approach to admissions. That means they take your whole application, not just your academic performance and test scores, into consideration when evaluating you as an applicant. Moreover, they are looking for well-rounded individuals who align with their values and mission as an institution.

Essays provide insights not quantifiable in grades and test scores, such as your values, character, and challenges you’ve had to overcome. Colleges can get a sense of your growth, maturity, and ability to contribute to the diversity and depth of their student body.

Therefore, the best college essays showcase an applicant’s best qualities and demonstrate why they’d be a great addition to the school. They give admissions a real chance to get to know the real you. Furthermore, since interviews are often not a requirement of the admissions process, your essays are the only chance admissions gets to hear your unique voice.

Personal Statement vs Supplemental Essays

In general, students can expect to write many essays over the course of the college admissions process. The two most common types of essay writing you’ll do for your college applications are personal statements and supplemental essays.

Personal Statement Essay

A personal statement is a general college application essay. It’s typically a longer essay that is shared with every school you apply to. Your personal statement is an opportunity for you to share your voice, values, and authentic self with the admissions committee.

Different application platforms, like Questbridge, the Coalition Application, and the Common Application, all have their own version of the personal statement essay. This includes specific prompts, like the seven provided by the Common App. It also includes specific word counts. In the case of the Common App, the personal statement is defined as a 650-word essay.

For the Common App personal statement, the prompt you choose will influence your potential essay topics list. For instance, prompt #2 is about a challenge, setback, or failure. On the other hand, prompt #6 is about a topic, idea, or concept that captivates you. Even just from these short descriptions, it’s clear each of these prompts would produce a very different essay topics list.

However, different from the other prompts, prompt #7 invites you to share an essay on any topic you choose. A prompt like this is extremely open-ended. That is, there could be 100 college essay topics that might be a good fit for this prompt. So, while some prompts do provide different paths for you to explore, there are no limits to what kind of essay writing topics you could use for your personal statement.

Given its length, and importance in your application, the personal statement might feel like the most difficult essay to start brainstorming for. As you start building out an essay topics list, consider looking at personal statement essay writing samples for inspiration.

Supplemental Essays

In addition to your personal statement, you may also encounter supplemental essays. Supplemental essays can vary by length, with most being around 150-350 words. However, supplemental essays also include short answer questions, which can be anywhere from 5-100 words.

Many supplemental essays are about why you’d be a good fit for a specific school. Therefore, these “Why School” or “Why Major” essays don’t allow much room to explore out of the box essay writing topics. However, other supplemental essays are more about your interests and experiences. So, your essay topics lists for these essays might look more similar to that of your personal statement.

As with the personal statement essay, reading samples can help you get inspired as to what kind of topics you might consider for your essay topics list. We have essay writing samples by school, which include in-depth guides to their supplemental essay questions. We also have a collection of 30+ essay writing samples with tips on how to answer short answer questions. Using these resources will help you create a unique essay topics list for you!

How to write a college essay

Now, let’s discuss the writing process. While your essay topics list is important, it’s certainly not the only part of the process. And, although you’ve certainly heard it before, it’s worth saying again: the best college essays aren’t first drafts. It takes time and effort to write a compelling college admissions essay. Following a writing process can help you organize and focus your ideas, while breaking down the whole process into manageable parts.

Earlier, we discussed various types of essay writing and how they’re different. More specifically, we talked about how the style of a college admissions essay is a little different than your typical homework assignment. However, the process of writing a college admissions essay is actually very similar.

So, before we dive further into essay writing topics, let’s review the four basic steps of the writing process.

The Writing Process in 4 Steps

Brainstorming. This is where the best college essays start: with an idea. When brainstorming, don’t worry about trying to come up with 100 college essay topics. Just start by making an essay topics list of things that are important to you.

If you can’t decide between a selection of prompts, try making an essay topics list for each of them. Then see which ideas you feel most connected to and do some more brainstorming around those.

Writing a first draft. Once you’ve narrowed down your essay topics list to the right idea, you’re ready to start writing. The first draft can often be the hardest, especially if you’re worried about getting it right the first time.

Instead of trying to make it perfect, stay within the word count, or come up with an amazing hook, just start writing! Once you have a first draft, you’ll actually have something to work with, and it’s a lot easier to then cut out what’s not important and build out what is.

Rewriting. This is where your essay will really start taking shape. Now that you’ve gotten your essay writing topics down on paper, it’s time to start developing them further. In many cases, this means exploring the why. Why was this moment in time so important to you? Why should an admissions team care?

This is how you can take an essay from good to great. Play around with your structure and explore different ways to introduce your topic. You might even find yourself rewriting entire sections of your essay. If you have a limited word count, this is where you’ll have to decide what is most important, and how to communicate your point as clearly and succinctly as possible.

Editing and proofreading. This is the polishing stage of the writing process. At this point, you’ve already done the hard part of transforming your essay topics list into a well-written essay. But, to make it a final draft, you’ll need to do one more edit, ensuring you’ve caught any small spelling or grammatical errors. 

While a double period or a misspelled word might seem like minor errors, remember your essay is a reflection of who you are and what you value. Professionalism and attention to detail showcase maturity and dedication. And, a clearly polished essay shows you’re ready to take on college-level writing courses.

Remember, the most memorable college essays are more than just polished. They are also honest and authentic. And, they center around a compelling topic. So, it’s no surprise that strong essay writing topics are key to writing focused and meaningful essays.

Next, we’ll review the basics of essay writing and the role these elements play in a strong college essay.

The basics of essay writing

While there are many different types of essay writing, the best college essays all have some things in common. Let’s review the fundamentals of crafting a strong essay.

When learning how to write an essay in school, you’ve likely discussed the importance of structure and clarity. These two components often go hand in hand. Having a structure to your essay allows a reader to follow your thought process, making your ideas more clear. Additionally, your sentences themselves should be constructed in a way that clearly communicates your ideas.

In addition to these elements, you might have also discussed the importance of voice. In essay writing, your voice is essentially the unique style in which you express yourself. It is created by your word choice, punctuation, point of view, and tone. Voice is at the heart of narrative writing, and it is often what gives college essays their authenticity.

Reading essay writing samples can help you understand how these elements work together in a great college essay. For more essay writing tips, check out our guide to writing better essays.

College Essay Format

There is no set format for how to write a college essay, so long as you meet the requirements of the prompt. Therefore, you can feel free to explore different formats and find the best one to tell your story. However, as previously mentioned, a narrative should have some kind of plot. That is, it needs to have a sort of forward momentum.

Let’s go back to one of the basics of essay writing: structure. Often, narrative essays are structured in chronological order. There is a beginning, middle, and end, and the story moves forward from the past to the present. In some cases, it may end looking towards the future.

However, that doesn’t mean the best college essays are only written chronologically. You can certainly jump around in time and make the order of your story your own. However, your reader should still have a sense of a clear beginning, middle, and end. Most importantly, they should feel like something has changed and that they’ve learned something by the end.

Additionally, keep in mind that the most memorable college essays have a strong hook and compelling conclusion. The very first sentence of your essay needs to draw your reader in and set them up for the rest of your essay. On the other hand, your final sentence should leave a lasting impression, driving home the main message of your essay.

In the next section, we’ll address the specific challenges of writing college essays.

The challenges of college essays

Certain types of essay writing come with their own challenges, and college admissions essays are no different. So, let’s talk about it!

Many students come to our team of college counselors looking for essay help. Even though most students are familiar with the basics of essay writing, they know college admissions essays are a different type of challenge.

Memorable college essays are engaging, even inspiring, without being braggy or overly personal. Indeed, striking the right tone is one of the most challenging parts of writing college essays. While you do need to highlight your strengths and best qualities, it’s important you’re mindful of how you’re doing it. Remember, your reader has no personal connection to you, so your essay needs to be able to stand alone.

Additionally, students may find it challenging to showcase their best qualities in the form of a story. It can be easy to simply list your accomplishments and achievements, but doing so lacks depth and nuance. The more specific the better, but make sure you’re keeping your essay focused rather than haphazardly throwing in details from every topic on your essay topics list.

Another big challenge is time management. Many students have to write countless essays over the course of an application season, which can be extremely time consuming. On top of that, students still have to manage their coursework, extracurriculars, and additional responsibilities. Starting early and giving yourself plenty of time to go through a complete writing process is crucial to writing the best college essays you possibly can.

How do you start a college essay?

Before you can write a great college essay, you’ll need to first settle on a topic. As we mentioned earlier, brainstorming is the first step in the writing process. You can use our guides or webinars for some inspiration to start brainstorming. While you may want to jump straight into writing, don’t rush the process. In fact, taking the time to brainstorm and plan your essay can save you hours of frustration when you finally sit down to write. 

But, you may be wondering, where do essay topics lists come from? In most cases, they come from a specific prompt. Indeed, your prompt will provide you with a starting point and a word count, so you’ll know what kind of topics might work best. So, let’s talk a little more about prompts.

Finding college essay prompts

Your college essay prompts will depend on the specific colleges you’re applying to. You can find your personal statement prompts on the application platform you’re applying through. The Common App should provide the most up-to-date supplemental prompts for each school on your list. For schools that have their own school-specific application, you can find information on their writing supplements online. 

We recommend always checking the school’s official admissions website for the most current prompts. Prompts can change year to year, and you don’t want to be brainstorming an essay topics list for an out-of-date prompt.

Once you have your prompts, it’s important you understand them fully. This will ensure your essay is focused, and that you complete the basic requirement of addressing and answering the prompt. Failure to do so might indicate a lack of attention on your part, and ultimately does a disservice to your application.

Interpreting unusual or creative college essay prompts

While some prompts are more straightforward, such as the “Why School” or “Why Major” prompts we mentioned earlier, some are more open-ended. The University of Chicago is a great example of a school that takes pride in their unpredictable essay questions.

For example, here are two prompts from the 2024-2025 UChicago Supplement:

• Essay Option 1: We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents.
• Essay Option 4: “Daddy-o”, “Far Out”, “Gnarly”: the list of slang terms goes on and on. Sadly, most of these aren’t so “fly” anymore – “as if!” Name an outdated slang from any decade or language that you’d bring back and explain why you totally “dig it.”

So, how should you approach these types of prompts? To start, you’ll need to find a topic for your essay that directly answers the question of the prompt. Then, as you continue to develop your ideas, you’ll need to find a way to somehow relate your topic back to you. Remember, the best college essays reveal something about who you are. In the case of unconventional or abstract prompts, they also showcase your creativity.

Even if your prompt is unusual or requires you to explore offbeat essay writing topics, don’t forget the basics of essay writing. Your writing needs to be clear and organized and your ideas fully developed, no matter the topic.

Now that we’ve discussed the basics of essay writing and how to approach different college essay prompts, let’s start talking about specific essay writing topics.

College Essay Topics

With so many essay topics lists out there, it’s clear there’s a lot to consider when choosing the right essay writing topics. If you’ve already started making your own essay topics lists, great! We’ve got more tips coming up about what kind of essay writing topics make the best essays. On the other hand, if you have no idea how to start thinking of essay writing topics, we’ve got plenty of inspiration coming your way.

When it comes to generating strong essay writing topics, there are many ways you can go. In general, you want to explore topics that demonstrate your personal strengths. No matter what essay writing topics you choose to write about, they should always connect back to you. More importantly, they should communicate the qualities and experiences you’d bring to a college campus.

Though essay writing topics determine what your essay is about, they don’t determine what your essay says. For instance, after brainstorming potential essay writing topics, you and a friend might both decide you want to write about your family’s respective traditions. However, that doesn’t mean these essays are going to be the same.

You might want to celebrate your family’s traditions and discuss how they’ve influenced your values. On the other hand, your friend might talk about growing out of their family’s traditions and carving a path of their own. Although these essay writing topics are generally the same, they would actually result in two essays that are vastly different.

Now, let’s look at some more specific essay writing topics.

What are some good college essay topics?

As we’ve said, the best essay writing topics come from your personal experiences. However, it’s important they have specific meaning to you. Additionally, they need to be relevant to your college application. They need to provide context for you to share something about who you are, rather than just summarizing something that happened to you.

For instance, we wouldn’t include “that time you met a celebrity on vacation” amongst good essay writing topics. It’s likely this interaction did not fundamentally change your character or your interests, and is just a fun anecdote to tell your friends.

However, maybe you got to serendipitously meet your favorite author, and they inspired you to write a short story you had been thinking about. In this case, the anecdote is an important moment on your path to becoming a writer. But that doesn’t mean this interaction should be your entire essay. The focus of your essay would more likely be on your passion for writing and how it’s impacted your life (one of the essay writing topics you’ll find below).

With all that in mind, here is a short essay topics list that includes some great essay writing topics.

Some of the most memorable college essays are about these essay writing topics. In fact, you’ll likely see these essay writing topics featured on our essay topics list.

The reason why these are good essay topics is because they all contain an element of conflict or change, which are crucial for crafting an interesting narrative. Furthermore, they show how you became who you are. And, they help admissions imagine the person you might one day become.

What are the most common college essay topics?

Before we give you our essay topics list, let’s look at some of the most common essay writing topics. If you’re looking for overdone topics or themes to avoid, keep reading. We’ll give you our essay topics list of topics to avoid later on in our guide. For now, we want to focus on common essay writing topics, and how you can use them to your advantage.

Here are three of the most common essay topics:

• Extracurriculars (clubs, volunteering, leadership roles, work experience) 
• Family (shared traditions, loss of a family member, change in your family situation)
• Passions/interests (both related to and outside of academic pursuits)

As you look at this essay topics list, you may struggle to think of anything to write about that doesn’t fall into these categories. But, guess what? The best college essays will fall into one or multiple of these categories.

How to write about common essay writing topics

Since everyone is using these general essay writing topics, the danger is writing an essay that sounds generic. You may be worried that your story about trying out for the varsity soccer team sounds similar to someone else’s, and therefore wouldn’t be a good topic. Indeed, a generic essay won’t help your overall application. This is why the details of your essay are so important.

However, rather than discounting a topic you saw on an essay topics list for fear of being too common, think about why you’re drawn to the topic. It probably matters deeply to you, and has in some way helped you become the person you are today. The best essay writing topics are ultimately the ones you are most passionate about and require some level of self-reflection.

If you decide to use common essay writing topics in your essays, the basics of essay writing become even more important. You need the quality of yours to stand out amongst the crowd, and you don’t want incorrect spelling, grammar, or too much repetition to be the reason your essay writing topics don’t shine.

35 Essay Topics List

Of course, no guide to essay writing topics would be complete without a comprehensive essay topics list! Instead of giving you a random list of 100 college essay topics, here are 35 great essay writing topics to help you start brainstorming for a memorable personal essay.  

35 Essay Topics

1. A significant challenge you’ve overcome. First on our list of essay writing topics is overcoming challenges. Writing about a significant challenge you’ve moved past, and hopefully learned from, shows that you can reflect objectively on your life. And, it shows you can speak intelligently and honestly about your flaws and strengths. 

2. An experience that changed your perspective on life. Next on our list of essay writing topics is describing a moment that changed the way you see the world. Highlighting an experience like this shows that you are open-minded and introspective—both positive traits in a college student.

3. A passion project that showcases your creativity. When brainstorming essay writing topics, you can never go wrong writing about something you truly care about. Colleges like students who care deeply about things, especially when they have shown that they can create something based on that passion.

4. A time you stood up for something you believed in. This is one of our essay writing topics that often inspires some of the best college essays. But be careful, you don’t want to come off as performative. To avoid this, make sure you are humble about your successes and honest about your actions.

5. How a piece of art, music, or literature has inspired you. Again, some of the best essay writing topics touch upon things that you’re passionate about. Plus, engaging deeply in and being able to analyze art and culture are great qualities in a student. 

6. An invention or innovation that excites you. Essay writing topics about new discoveries can be a smart way to tie in your future major or career. Imagine writing about AI before it was popularized from the point of view of a computer scientist, or even better, someone more unexpected like an anthropologist. 

7. A moment when you discovered a new passion. Essay writing topics like this one give you a chance to really put the reader inside your mind. And, with this prompt, you can explore your interests, your values, and even your future goals.

8. The impact of a cultural or family heritage on your identity. Culture and heritage, broadly, are popular essay writing topics, so make sure that you can be specific. Add details and use anecdotes to showcase parts of who you are or what you value.

9. A time you took a risk and what it taught you. Generally, essay writing topics where you learned something or changed perspectives are always a safe bet. But remember, the point of the exercise is introspection, not recounting events as they happened. 

10. A challenge you faced in a leadership role. Essay writing topics like this offer the same benefits as #1 in our essay topics list. However, in this case, you also get to highlight who you are as a leader. 

11. A cause you are passionate about and why. Again, essay writing topics about social justice can be great, but emphasize curiosity and humility rather than righteousness. Plus—the essay needs to ultimately be about you, not the cause. 

12. An ethical dilemma you’ve faced and how you handled it. This could be a more exciting version of essay writing topics about a cause. What if, while you were advocating for something, you encountered an ethical dilemma in the process? How did it change your perspective?

13. An achievement that means more to you than accolades. This topic on our essay topics list is another great opportunity to highlight something that genuinely excites you. And, you can go deeper by exploring how this achievement strengthened your values or changed your perspective.

14. How you balance multiple responsibilities or interests. This one of our essay writing topics is interesting because it tells a lot about you. It demonstrates your values, your priorities, and your ability to handle a busy college schedule. But if your answer is just “Google calendar,” maybe look elsewhere on the essay topics list. 

15. A unique hobby or interest that defines you. This can be a great option amongst essay writing topics, but make sure that you’re incorporating self-reflection and engrossing storytelling. Everyone has hobbies that they like, and you need to go a little deeper than that to make your essay truly unique.

16. The impact of a loss or failure on your growth. Odds are, just about any essay topics list will include topics of loss and failure. These popular topics are simple facts of life, but discussing how you handle them is a great opportunity to showcase your strength of character.

17. An aspect of your personality that surprises people. This is also a great addition to any collection of essay writing topics, because it asks you to find qualities that make you stand out. If it surprises people, chances are it will surprise college admissions as well.

18. A personal tradition that brings you comfort or joy. This one of the essay writing topics depends a lot on the unspoken why. You’ll need to go beyond simply describing the tradition itself and reflect on why it brings you comfort and joy and what it means to you. 

19. How you’ve contributed to your community. One of the essay writing topics classically found on supplemental essay topics lists, this question is pretty straightforward. Again, just make sure to bring you and what you learned from the process to the forefront of your essay.

20. A moment when you had to balance competing priorities and what you learned from it. Very similar to #14 on the essay topics list, this prompt emphasizes what you learned. Everyone has to make hard choices in their life, and this topic demonstrates your maturity and self-determination.

21. An unexpected mentor in your life. “Unexpected” is a key word here–don’t hesitate to think big and weird. A mentor could be a TV character, a teacher you never took a class from, the aunt your mom hates but you begrudgingly admire, really anyone! Just make sure the focus of your essay is still on you, not them.

22. A problem you’ve solved or want to solve. For this topic, we recommend thinking small. Instead of trying to solve world peace, think of something more specific. What’s something that affects you or your loved ones that you genuinely think you could fix if given the resources?

23. An experience where you had to step out of your comfort zone. Like all of our essay writing topics, this topic also pushes you to self-reflect. But make sure you’re being specific and thinking about what you discovered in the process. Bonus points if it’s an unusual experience (e.g., not singing a solo, public speaking, or playing a new sport).

24. A challenge you’ve faced in pursuing your academic goals. Next on our essay topics list is a topic directly related to your academics. Consider writing this essay if you think you have faced hardships or challenges that other students might not have in their education. On the flip side, if your challenge is just being busy from too many extracurriculars, that’s fantastic, but focus on essay writing topics that center the skills built rather than the adversity. 

25. How you’ve handled a difficult conversation or conflict. The next prompt on our essay topics list encourages students to think about hard conversations. In doing so, you have the opportunity to emphasize traits like open mindedness and the ability to communicate and compromise. (Again: make sure that you learned something, and mention what it was!) 

26. Your approach to learning and intellectual curiosity. If you love learning and think you have a unique approach to it, go for #26 one on our essay topics list! Here you can talk about what kind of student you are, both in and out of the classroom. And, you’ll likely have the added benefit of sharing a bit about your passions and what inspires you.

27. Your role in a group or team and what you learned from it. If you pick this topic from our essay topics list, think about words like “compromise,” “teamwork,” and “communication.” Additionally, be sure to include anecdotes and specific examples that demonstrate whichever characteristics or skills you want to highlight.

28. An experience that sparked your interest in a particular field or career. This topic is more often than not at the heart of any great “Why Major” essay. Focus on the journey, looking back on how you got to where you are today–and even where you hope to go in the future.

29. A moment of serendipity that led to a significant personal discovery. Sometimes, the most rewarding experiences in life come unexpectedly, and adding a touch of serendipity can bring an extra spark to your essay! Like our other essay writing topics, just be sure you learned something significant from the experience.

30. An object or artifact that has personal significance. Next on our essay topics list, we’re focusing on an object rather than an experience. Be as detailed as you can describing the object, and always remember to explore the why, considering what this object symbolizes for you. 

31. How a particular failure influenced your long-term goals or dreams. Another instance of failure showing up on our essay topics list, this is an opportunity to emphasize your future. You’ll want to connect failure to your ambition, connecting the two in a meaningful way. 

32. An instance where you were let down, but ultimately learned something. As you may have noticed exploring our essay topics list, many great topics turn negative experiences into positive ones. More specifically, how you made the most of a bad experience by learning something from it.

33. A moment when you had to advocate for yourself or others. This entry on our essay topics list speaks to a time when you had to advocate for yourself. But remember, this isn’t always an easy thing to do. Don’t be afraid to explore why this was challenging, and why it was ultimately important for you to act.

34. An experience where you had to adapt to a new environment or situation quickly. Like many of the other topics on our essay topics list, this one directly relates to how prepared you are to attend college. After all, you’re certain to find yourself in new environments where you’ll have to adapt and learn on the go. As always, be sure to describe what you learned and how you have grown. 

35. How you’ve navigated and embraced change in a particular aspect of your life. Last but not least, the final prompt on our essay topics list foregrounds change. As you consider this topic, be sure to go internal and reflect on how you may have changed in order to accommodate new circumstances in your life. 

That was a lot of essay writing topics to take in at once. Keep this essay topics list handy as you start brainstorming for your college essays–you never know what ideas it might uncover!

Choosing the best college essay topics for you

As you saw on our essay topics list, there are countless topics that could one day become amazing college essays. So, how do you choose which are the best essay writing topics for you?

Choosing essay writing topics can feel difficult because there’s a lot of pressure to choose the best topic so you can write the best college essays. But remember, the best college essays come from stories that feel personal, reflective, and speak to your character. These kinds of stories can absolutely come from a variety of essay writing topics. 

If you’re stumped, try a free-writing exercise. It doesn’t have to take long. To start, give yourself 15 minutes to write down anything that comes to mind for each of the Common App essay topics. You can also pick from a larger list, but you don’t need to try 100 college essay topics to know which ones work. Pick the ones that spark your interest and do some further brainstorming to see which ones you actually have something to say about. 

Keep in mind, essay writing topics fill an important hole in your college application. They should help add a puzzle piece to admissions officers’ ideas of who you are. If you’re still unsure which essay writing topics will work best for you, think about what the college won’t learn about you from the rest of your application. Specifically, consider what you want them to know about your character. Then, write about that. 

What makes a good college essay topic?

Good essay writing topics have a few key qualities. First and foremost, they are about you. This means that topics that ask you to talk about something other than yourself—a cause, a mentor, a passion—need to be refocused. Why do you care about the cause, and what would you want to do about it? How did your mentor help you at a specific moment in your life, and how have you changed positively because of them? What has pursuing your passion done for your personal growth? The college admissions process can feel a lot simpler if you remember that it’s all about expressing who you are. 

The best essay writing topics also ideally touch upon something original about you and your story. It can be hard to think of what’s unique, but just ask yourself: could these essays have come from anyone? Or could they only be written by you? If you answered “yes” to the second question (or at least, “probably”), then you’ve likely already written memorable college essays.

You can also find essay writing topics that speak to a key part of your application. This could be your intended major, or even your favorite extracurricular. Just don’t forget the basics of essay writing, like good grammar and spelling, and to offer new information and details that enhance rather than repeat. If you do these things, then those essay writing topics can also be great choices.

What should you not write your college essay on?

If you’re smart about it, there are no essay writing topics you should truly never write about. However, there are some that you might want to steer clear of. 

Essay writing topics where you just summarize your accomplishments or mention a cool thing that you did without reflection, like traveling to a new place, aren’t going to make for memorable college essays. As mentioned earlier, essay writing topics that focus more on someone or something else rather than yourself do not make for the best college essays.

Try your best to avoid clichés, overly general topics, and anything that doesn’t sound like you. Remember, you want your essays to be personal, impactful, and appropriate. That means not writing about drugs, romantic experiences, or anything that you wouldn’t feel comfortable with your teacher or boss reading.

10 College essay writing topics to avoid

Now that we’ve covered some of the best essay writing topics, here are some college essay topics that you might want to avoid.

Essay Writing Topics to Avoid

A recounting of a single, isolated achievement without context or personal reflection.

If the college finishes reading your essay and doesn’t learn anything about you except that you’re a soccer player who scored a big goal one time, that is not a good essay. Add some reflection: What did you overcome? What did you learn? How has this changed your perspective or goals (pun intended) going forward?

A description of a personal relationship or breakup.

Essay writing topics about romantic relationships are a bit inappropriate for this setting. However, if the relationship is a very small sidebar to a really fun and compelling story, you might be able to sprinkle it in. (For example, if your heartbreak led you to go on a 1940s movie binge and now you’re convinced that though love is fleeting, cinema is forever, and therefore you are going to major in film.)

A vacation or travel experience without personal growth.

Unless travel has changed you in a way you can articulate, save the beach pics for Instagram. Of course, if a trip inspired you to change your major, showed you what kind of career you want to have, or illuminated what kind of person you want to be, then it’s worth exploring.

A story about a famous person or celebrity.

Unless this person is an “unusual mentor” in a way you can communicate compellingly, this topic is unlikely to impress admissions. 

An essay focused solely on someone else’s achievements.

Essay writing topics about someone else’s achievements do not tell the college anything about you. There are lots of types of essay writing, but this one does not belong in a college admissions essay.

A discussion about a personal skill or talent without connecting it to how it has shaped your goals or identity.

Talking about your talents in a college essay without any self-reflection or analysis feels braggy. For instance, if you want to talk about your skiing or bowling skills, you better have a good reason for why an admissions team needs to know about it.

A story with excessive graphic details or trauma.

Some people will say you have to trot out trauma to get into college. That is not true. You are welcome and encouraged to write about significant experiences, including challenging ones. However, do not at all feel like you must recount the hardest moments of your life just so a college will let you in. Take care of yourself, and remember that there is a real person reading your essay on the other end. 

A narrative solely about how you were misunderstood or misjudged.

Looking down your nose or focusing on other peoples’ perceptions of you isn’t the way to win an admissions team over. In your essays, you want to focus on what’s true and authentic about who you are, not what other people think they know about you.  

A superficial discussion of a major historical event or current issue without personal connection.

Again, essay writing topics need to be about you. No matter what you choose to write about, relate it to you and make sure it says something about who you are.

A generic essay about wanting to “make a difference in the world” without specific examples or personal motivation.

Essay writing topics about changing the world are admirable, but you need to make sure these are grounded essays about how you personally relate to these issues, and how you plan on enacting change.

Remember, there are always exceptions to the rule, so long as your essays are focused on you. 

How to write a college essay about yourself

As we said at the beginning of this guide, there are many types of essay writing. Some types of essay writing are persuasive, some types of essay writing are argumentative, some types of essay writing are analytical, and some types of essay writing are narrative. The best college essays are always narrative, and personal, which means you can put your own spin on things. 

When you’re doing types of essay writing you haven’t done as much of, like narrative essay writing, it can seem daunting. That’s totally fair: though you get a lot of training in school to do types of essay writing like argumentative essays, narrative essay writing isn’t as common. 

To write the best college essays, you’ll need to do some serious self-reflection. The point of your essays is to go deeper than a surface level experience, getting into the “how” and the “why.” This looks like focusing on how you achieved something rather than the achievement itself. It might also mean being open about flaws and how you’ve worked to overcome them. Going back to personal growth, it’s about what you have learned from all of the cool things you’ve done. 

As you explore potential essay topics, there are two things you can do to help set yourself up for success: brainstorming and writing a strong thesis. So, let’s talk about what these look like for narrative writing.

Brainstorming for college essays

Learning how to write a college essay begins with learning how to brainstorm. The best college essays are creative and embody your personal voice. So, you’ll want to choose college essay topics that allow you to do that.

One way to brainstorm is to “free write” to different essay topics. Just set a timer, and write whatever comes out—don’t worry about editing, or about cohesive structure. If you get to the end of the time and you’re inspired and want to keep writing, that could be the start of a great college essay.

Brainstorming is part of the basics of essay writing, and is therefore present in all types of essay writing. However, since this is a personal essay, your brainstorming has to be introspective. Ask yourself: What experiences in your life have been impactful? What do you value? What are you interested in? How has your background influenced you? Remember, no matter the topic, you should always try and focus on what is truly meaningful to you.

You can also ask yourself questions about specific moments in your life. Think back to times when you met a good friend, failed a test even though you studied hard, or changed your mind about something. Does anything stand out? 

Once you’ve brainstormed a topic you’re interested in, you’ll want to turn again to the basics of essay writing. That is, you’ll need to further refine your topic by coming up with a strong thesis.

Crafting a strong thesis statement

In the basics of essay writing, there’s usually a thesis statement involved. However, a thesis for a college admissions essay isn’t the same compared to the types of essay writing you do at school. 

A narrative essay needs a driving theme, or a “why.” Unlike in the basics of essay writing for argumentative essays, this thesis doesn’t need to be stated outright. Still, you should be able to tell someone in one sentence what your essay is about, and your reader should be able to understand that as well.

Essentially, your thesis is: what is your essay saying, and why is it important? You can think of the thesis as having a “because” in it, and even a “so what?” at the end. Like “I came in first place in the swim meet because swimming provided a healthy coping mechanism for stress. So what? So now I’m pursuing a major in Clinical Psychology to do research on the brain-body connection!” 

Balancing multiple essay topics

When you’re applying to multiple schools, as most students do, you’ll likely be balancing different college essay topics across multiple college admissions essays. That can feel like a ton of work, but there are always ways to repurpose different essays for different applications. 

When you’re thinking about the basics of essay writing, think about a prevailing personal brand or story about yourself that you want your college admissions essays to reinforce. What makes you, you, and what makes you a great fit for this college? You will have to answer that question for every single school you apply to—so if you get the first half (or even the first three quarters) of that ironed out, it will be easier to translate that story into different formats.

The best college essays still need to be specific to the school you’re applying to, but it’s the same you applying to each school. If you’re a funny STEM major, you don’t have to pretend to be something you’re not just because a school is more competitive or prestigious. And you can certainly reuse your best anecdotes at different schools–just make sure your supplemental essays work well with one another, and that you don’t leave out anything important.

Memorable college essays

Of course, the best college essays are memorable. Since the point of a college essay is to leave a good impression on your reader, the best college essays and the most memorable college essays are one and the same.

You can make a good impression on college admissions officers through your essays by remembering the basics of essay writing. Tell a well-structured story, use great grammar, and write in a way that conveys your voice. And, by the end, be sure they know more about you than they did when they started reading. 

How do I make my college essay stand out?

Here are five tips for how to write a college essay that stands out:

Asking for help on your college essays

Your essays are important, so don’t be afraid to ask for help reviewing them. But be cautious of ending up with a product that doesn’t feel or sound like you. Your mom’s college essay isn’t the same as yours, and it shouldn’t be! 

It’s good to ask for help with your essays when you’re brainstorming and deciding between what feels like 100 college essay topics. You can also ask a teacher, parent, or college counselor for help after you have written a draft. After all, when it comes to the basics of essay writing, revising is one of the most crucial steps towards making your essays the best they can be.

Where to turn for essay writing samples?

A great way to learn what makes for memorable college essays is to read essay writing samples. To find more essay writing samples, take some time to explore CollegeAdvisor’s essay resources. We have plenty of successful Common App essays and supplemental essays for you to explore.

Essay writing samples are a great way to see examples of what worked so you can conceptualize how to apply the advice in guides like this to your actual writing process. When you finish reading any essay writing samples, ask yourself if you can pinpoint why it’s good, or try and explain it to a friend. If you can do that, that means you really understand what makes a good essay. 

Essay Writing Topics – Final Thoughts

Essay writing can be one of the most stressful parts of the college admissions process, but it doesn’t have to be. Colleges use essays to gain insight into who you are in your own words, rather than just relying on grades or SAT scores. You’ll likely have to write many types of essays for your college applications, some shorter, some longer, and some more straightforward than others. Personal essays are longer and can be more focused on who you are outside of school, whereas many supplemental essays are more school or major-focused. 

Tell your story!

No matter the essay, the basics of essay writing requires good storytelling, good grammar, and a good idea. Coming up with an essay topic can feel impossible, so we’ve provided a huge list of potential personal essay topics to brainstorm from. These are also topics you might encounter as supplemental essay prompts. Whether the prompts are to the point or creative, what matters most is what you write. 

Above all, don’t be afraid to be yourself in your writing, because that’s what admissions officers are looking for. In fact, it’s the whole point of the college admissions process!

If you’re looking for personalized guidance and revisions throughout the college admissions process, CollegeAdvisor is here to help. Our advisors offer in-depth feedback and brainstorming support to help you craft outstanding essays, with a dedicated team focused on perfecting your work.

This article was written by Stefanie Tedards and Rachel Kahn. Looking for more admissions support? Click here to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how CollegeAdvisor.com can support you in the college application process.