What are the most common college essay prompts for the 2024-2025 application cycle?

The majority of colleges that use the Common Application have kept their main essay prompts the same for the 2024-2025 cycle. Here are the seven prompts currently available on the Common App (you choose one):

1. "Background or identity" — Share a story about your background, identity, interest, or talent, and why it’s meaningful to you.
2. "Overcoming obstacles" — Write about a challenge you've faced, what you learned from it, and how it affected you.
3. "Questioning or challenging a belief" — Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea.
4. "Personal growth" — Describe a problem you've solved or would like to solve and its significance to you.
5. "Accomplishment or event" — Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked personal growth.
6. "Passion or topic" — Write about a topic, idea, or concept so engaging that you lose track of time thinking about it.
7. "Open topic" — Share an essay on any topic of your choice.

The Coalition Application has similar prompts, and some colleges (including many state schools and selective privates) use their own supplemental essays. For example, University of California schools have their Personal Insight Questions, and highly selective schools like Stanford, MIT, or University of Chicago have unique supplemental questions on top of the Common App essay.

To decide which prompt is best for you, jot down stories or experiences you’ve had that shaped you. Then match your stories to the prompts. For example, if you’ve had a transformative moment outside the classroom, the background/identity or accomplishment/event prompts give you room to explore that.

If writing isn’t your favorite, sometimes the open-ended prompts (like the Common App’s “topic of your choice”) let you write more authentically. Pick the one that excites you, instead of what you think colleges want to hear. For example, if you care deeply about a hobby that isn’t obviously "impressive" (like baking bread or streaming games), the "passion or topic" prompt can help you shine in a unique way.

It can also help to outline your ideas for two or three prompts, then see which comes more naturally. Avoid overused angles unless your personal take is unique or specific. For instance, rather than a generic challenge story, focus on a quirky or unexpected moment that reveals something deeper about you.

Don’t stress too much about picking the "easiest" prompt—often, your best essay will be about what you care about most, even if the topic feels simple. If you feel stuck, start with a short freewrite about your favorite high school memory or something you love to learn about outside class, and see how it grows.

If you plan ahead and stick to a writing schedule, the process becomes much more manageable. Good luck getting started! If you’d like feedback on a specific idea for a prompt, feel free to share.