Prompt library
Understand the question.
Let your child tell the story.
Explore the questions colleges ask so you can be a thoughtful sounding board. Your child chooses the prompt, writes the draft, and decides how to revise.
Before your child starts writing
Use summer to explore personal statement ideas, then confirm the current cycle's prompts as applications open. In fall, list each college's supplements and work backward from its deadline. Check official application instructions for exact wording and word limits; this library is a starting point, not a college's final requirements.
Parent conversation starter: Which experience helps someone understand who you are beyond your grades and activities? Let your child decide which question makes room for that story.
- 1Review a draft
Background, identity, interest, or talent
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.
650 words max
- 2Review a draft
Challenge, setback, or failure
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?
650 words max
- 3Review a draft
Questioning a belief or idea
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
650 words max
- 4Review a draft
Gratitude
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
650 words max
- 5Review a draft
Personal growth
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
650 words max
- 6Review a draft
Losing track of time
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?
650 words max
- 7Review a draft
Topic of your choice
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.
650 words max
Supplemental prompts vary by college; these are the most common question types. You can paste any college's exact prompt when you submit.
Parent FAQs