Top 3 Tips for Common App Prompt 2
Top 3 Tips for Common App Prompt 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?”
Sometimes your best story comes from setbacks. The resilience, determination, and knowledge you gain from overcoming a challenge or failure is often more instructive of your character than your successes. For many students, writing your personal statement about an obstacle you’ve faced can be both cathartic and persuasive. If you have such a story, we encourage you to think about using this prompt to steer the direction of your Common App personal statement.
However, there are some pitfalls you must avoid if you select this prompt, otherwise you run the risk of leaving your reader with more questions than answers about your fit for their school. Read on for our top 3 tips to help you sort through Common App prompt 2.
Make Sure You’ve Overcome Your Setback
Successfully answering a question like this requires the ability to reflect on lessons you’ve learned and applied into your life. If the obstacle you want to write about is too fresh or painful, it will be very difficult to write about it in a way that persuades an admissions officer positively.
Are you confident that you’ve overcome your setback? Do you feel up for the challenge of writing about it and revising over many drafts, potentially reliving your hardship over again in search of the strongest story? Can you separate the emotion of your obstacle from the substance?
It’s ok if the answer to these questions is “no.” Everyone processes at their own speed. However, if so, we strongly suggest choosing a different topic to write about.
Make Sure Your Obstacle Doesn’t Set Off Red Flags
While explaining your circumstance, be careful to not inadvertently make your reader question your fit or readiness for college. Often stories about battles with mental health issues, eating disorders, and similar topics run the risk of raising red flags about how you might cope with the pressures of college life.
It is certainly possible to write about these issues in effective, moving ways. But, in our experience, it is more difficult to turn these topics into essays that positively impact your admissions decisions.
Remember, your reader will not have the benefit of knowing you or spending time with you in your regular element. Their impression will be formed by what they read in your essay and what your supporters write about you. If your obstacle requires significant explanation or backstory, it might not make for the strongest choice for your Common App personal statement.
Make Sure You Learned a Memorable Lesson
The obstacle you’ve overcome should point to clear evidence of your growth and enhanced perspective. Your reader should walk away with a clearer sense of who you are and what motivates you.
But remember, you are competing against a surplus of qualified, self-reflective students like yourself. Make sure the lesson you learned is memorable by digging deeper than the superficial layers of reflection.
What broader conclusions can you draw (or questions can you raise) about how your obstacle has influenced your intellectual curiosity? How has facing this issue changed the way you think about or operate in the world? What new insights did you gain about yourself and the areas where you have a lot of growing left to do?
It will take time and likely multiple drafts to uncover and articulate these lessons. But if you have already put in the work reflecting on what you learned and, most importantly, acting based on that growth, you are well on your way to having the substance you need to make this topic shine.
The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.
Ready to get started? Schedule a complimentary 20-minute conversation today!
Want to stay informed? Subscribe to our newsletter.