What do Chicken Tenders, Curly Hair and Jazz have in common? These are all topics used successfully in college application essays.

What is the best topic for your essay?

That’s a trick question. As the above illustrates, any topic – no matter how ordinary -- can result in a winning essay. The key is to use an experience, anecdote, person, place or thing to convey your important qualities (e.g. passion, talent, growth, goals) to the admissions committee.

So stop searching for the “perfect” or “most amazing topic” and instead focus on how best to communicate your qualities through your essay writing.