How to Write for Common App Prompt #3 – Challenging a Belief
by Molly R.
Previous Essay Narwhal blogs have shared tips and tricks for Common App Prompts #1 and #2. This week, we’re pleased to share some insights for lucky #3:
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
As with other Common App questions, it’s best to be specific and share positive growth. Admission officers want to understand how you think and how much you are willing to explore complex topics, just as you will during college.
Below are some do’s and don’t when it comes to Common App Prompt #3:
Don’t:
- Be too negative in your essay. It’s fine and encouraged to share challenges, but focus on how you overcame them. Show that you’re a growth-minded individual, and not an eeyore who just sees the difficulties around them.
- Be too vague. Use your essay to be specific. Details are what stands out. Discuss specific examples from your life. Record conversations that you remember. Share the specifics of how something looked, felt, or tasted. It’s these little memories that will really help your essay.
Do:
- Be vulnerable and authentic. As we have said before, the Common App essay isn’t a school assignment of analyzing a text or filling in multiple choice answers. Instead, you’re writing about yourself. Make sure that the essay is written in your own voice, and not the voice you think you should be writing in. Show your readers who you are and what makes you tick. Maybe you have a fear of heights. Or maybe you keep a pet turtle. Share these things about your unique self in your essay.
- Focus on the change. For this prompt, don’t spend too much time writing about the initial idea that you questioned. Resist the urge to focus on explaining your beliefs or why you held a certain opinion. That matters less than sharing how you grew and changed. Most of your essay will be about the change itself.
- Choose a topic that means a lot to you. This is a time to share something that you care about, for that care needs to be displayed in the writing.
Some topics you may want to write about include:
- When have you changed your mind about an important topic? Did mental health not seem too important to you until the pandemic? Did you not care about math until you worked in an office over vacation and needed to create invoices?
- What made you decide to change? The outcome is really what is important to share in this prompt as well as show how you changed positively as a result of challenging a belief or an idea.
Remember, IvyBoost is here to help Essay Narwhals along your journey of creating a meaningful essay!
