How to Write an Interesting Personal College Essay about a Normal Topic
by Michelle P.
From earlier posts on originality to values, students understand why it’s important to write a strong and unique college application essay.
But what if a student still feels stuck? Everything they like, or the main experiences and stories they want to share—all of it feels pretty normal to the student.
How can they write an interesting college application essay about a normal topic?
Connect the ‘what?’ of the topic you are discussing, to the ‘why?’ this matters to you as an individual. What connection does this topic have to who you are as a person? And how can you show it through your writing?
Let’s look at one example below on how students might do that.
A normal, more boring sentence in a personal essay:
“I really like coffee. It’s part of my daily routine and keeps me on top of my busy schedule.”
How can students rewrite this relatively normal topic into a more interesting sentence?
Example 1:
“I look at my watch and tap my foot. T-minus fifteen minutes. The person at the pick-up counter calls my name, and I swoop down on my prize. A grande white mocha, with one pump of extra caramel in a familiar Starbucks cup. I hurry back with it carefully clutched in one hand, ready to face another two hours of marching band practice.”
Example 2:
“It’s a warm morning on Saturday. I wait for water to heat up, before pouring it into the coffeepot with a scoop of ground coffee. I’m not sure what kind it is—it’s from a big silver tin that my family always picks up from Costco. I set out five mugs for my family, including one for myself. Soon, we’ll have to scatter for our own activities, but I look forward to the familiar sips of caffeine and chattering conversation we will share over breakfast before that.”
Example 3:
“I pick up the thermometer measuring the water temperature and squint at the number. What if I gave it another minute to heat up another five degrees? I also look at the beans I’ve just ground—a new bag, fair-trade, for a medium dark Colombian roast. I take up a teaspoon, and slowly stir the mixture in a counterclockwise direction.”
Looking at these examples, even if they are all about a fairly common topic like coffee, what can each example show about a student?
Perhaps the Starbucks student values efficiency and convenience, and is a go-getter. The student writing about the coffee from the family coffeepot might be more unfussy and values consistency.
From coffee to calculus, whatever the topic you choose, as long as you focus on specifics and connections of the details to yourself, your college essay can turn out into an interesting read that also shows something personal about you.
