The Ten Most Common Types of College Essays and How to Approach Them
8. Interpersonal Essay Questions
These essays often ask students to describe themselves as a roommate and seek to understand how they would fit into the campus life.
Ex: Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – get to know you better (250 words) – Stanford
9. Totally Unique Essays
Some schools like University of Chicago and Georgetown have out-of-the-box and often wacky questions designed to understand how students think.
Ex: What can actually be divided by zero? —Inspired by Mai Vu, Class of 2024 (1 or 2 page response) – University of Chicago
10. Program Specific Essays
If you plan to apply to a specialized college or program within a university like Business, Film, Performing Arts, Music, Engineering, you should be prepared for specific questions, requirements and possibly a portfolio supporting your interest. Double check the admission requirements pages for these additional essays.
Ex: Choose a current event or issue in your community and discuss the business implications. Propose a solution that incorporates business principles or practices. The review panel will look for creativity, drawing connections, and originality. Please limit this response to approximately 500 words. – Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
We hope this early insight into college applications help you and your student plan meaningful and fulfilling experiences that will serve as the foundation for their essays.
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Whether it’s a supplemental essay, personal statement, Common App essay, or diversity essay, the essays below can help you better understand what can result from following a college essay format or applying tips for how to write a college essay to help you get into your dream school.
Learn about the four main types of essay: argumentative, expository, narrative, and descriptive. Find out how to write each type with examples, prompts, and tips.
The College Curators share the Top 10 types of college application essay questions and how to approach them.
From expository to persuasive to political, these are the types of essays students are expected to write well during their academic careers.
THE COLLEGE STUDENT’S GUIDE TO WRITING . FIVE TYPES OF ESSAYS (Information obtained from Successful College Writing 2nd ed. by Kathleen T. McWhorter) Narrative Essay . What is it? A narrative essay achieves a certain purpose through telling a story, which makes it interesting to the reader and also results in getting some point across.
There are 11 common types of college essay prompts you might see with your school applications. Of course, not all schools adhere to these exact topics, so be sure to read over admission requirements for each college before you start writing.