How to Choose a College Essay Topic

Short answer: Tell the story or stories that best highlight the takeaways you want the admissions officers to associate with you.

Longer answer: You don’t want to start with the topic or the story you think you want to tell. These essays are designed to help an AO make an informed decision — preferably the one that leads to your offer of admission.

What story or stories show who you are, how you think, how you’d naturally contribute to the incoming class? Those are the topics you write about. Or about which you write, if you prefer that I not dangle a preposition this close to your SAT.

Fun fact: You are the world’s leading expert on you.