The Common App and Coalition App Essay prompts will remain the same for the 2020-21 application season. See https://appsupport.commonapp.org/applicantsupport/s/article/What-are-the-2020-2021-Common-Application-essay-prompts / http://www.coalitionforcollegeaccess.org/essays.html

We’ve provided them below for your convenience.

If you’re a junior, take some time to read through them and begin thinking about which prompt might be a good fit for you. Keep in mind that your essay should highlight something of importance about yourself that you wish to share with the admission committee.

Normally, we advise juniors to postpone their essay drafting until the summer before senior year. But given the pandemic and the fact many high school programs are temporarily suspended, students may benefit from not only beginning the thinking process early but starting their drafting process earlier as well.

Need some help? Application-to-offer offers both individual and group remote tutoring. If interested in learning more, please contact us through the “Contact” tab.

2020-2021 ESSAY PROMPTS

The 2020-2021 Common Application Essay Prompts:

1. 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.

2. 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?

3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

4. 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.

5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

6. 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?

7. 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.

2020-2021 Coalition Application Essay Prompts (recommended length: 500 words):

1.Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

2.Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.

3.Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?

4.What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

5.Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.