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How To Answer the 2024-25 Common App Essay Prompts

How To Answer the 2023-24 Common App Essay Prompts

How To Answer the 2022-23 Common App Essay Prompts

How To Answer the 2021-22 Common App Essay Prompts

How To Answer the 2020-21 Common App Essay Prompts

How To Answer the 2019-20 Common App Essay Prompts

2018-19 Common Application Essay Prompts: A Guide

2017-18 Common Application Essay Prompts: A Guide

2016-17 Common Application Essay Prompts: A Guide

Looking for help with the 2016-17 Common Application Essay? Below CEA’s Founder, Stacey Brook, breaks down all you need to know about this year’s prompts. Hello parents and students! The time has come. The 2016-2017 college application season has officially begun. The 2016-17 Common Application essay topics have been confirmed and students all over the world are […]

2015-16 Common Application Essay Prompts: A Guide

The 2015-2016 college application season has begun with some truly excellent news. The application gods have blessed students with some new and (mostly) improved prompts for this year’s Common Application essay. But where should students begin their brainstorming? What are the prompts really asking? College Essay Advisors provides the answers in this handy guide.

Why Is The College Essay Important?

By the time admissions officers reach the essay reading phase of your application review, they already know your GPA. They have memorized your test scores. They know you were the captain of the basketball team, that you won the 10th grade state science fair, and that your sister is an alumni at the institution to which you are applying. They know how much your parents make and where you live, and the name of the summer camp at which you were a counselor for the last three summers. What they don’t know when they pick up those double-spaced, perfectly spellchecked pages, is what you’re like in person.

Top 6 Common Application Essay Tips

Parents and students often ask us for our top tips on how to write a great college essay, so CEA’s advisors complied a list of their favorite essay writing tips just for you. Try to use them for good, not evil.

The College Essay Advisors Process

College Essay Advisors and its staff of experts has been honing the essay advising process for years, and while much of our consulting process is steeped in field knowledge and instincts that are hard to describe, there is a distinct method to our madness.

Proofreading your College Admissions Essays

Proofreading is an important often undervalued step in the college application process. Whether you are wrapping up the last details for your Early Admissions application, or prepping for a Regular Decision submission, performing one last thorough scour of what you have down on the page is a crucial step before pressing that submit button.

How to Approach the Supplemental Essays

When our students dig into the college application process, they are often surprised to encounter, not just the Common App’s personal statement, but a host of additional, school-specific writing prompts for which they must also craft thoughtful replies. What are these wicked questions? What is the best way to approach them? How are they different from the Common Application’s main essay?

Brainstorming Topics For The College Admissions Essay: Quick Tips

The brainstorming process for a college admissions essay can be intimidating. Where do you start? Here are five helpful tips for brainstorming any college admissions essay submission: