What are some unique college essay topics for an Indian guy applying to US schools?

You've already made a smart move by thinking about how to go beyond the typical themes! Being an Indian applicant with interests in tech, cooking with your grandmother, and debate definitely gives you plenty of material for an original essay—I promise your background has unique elements if you dig just a bit below the surface.

Here are some essay topic ideas (with examples) that could help you stand out:

1. Cooking with Your Grandmother: Instead of telling a generic 'connection to heritage' story, focus on a specific incident—maybe the first time you helped her make a favorite Hyderabadi dish, and something unexpected happened. For example, maybe you tried fusing her recipe with a new technique you learned from YouTube or coding a small app that digitized family recipes. Use this as a lens for talking about creativity, family, and how you balance tradition and innovation.

2. Debate Team Moments: Rather than a generic description of how debate improved your public speaking, pick a debate where you had to argue for something culturally relevant to your identity, or a time your perspective as an Indian-American was challenged. How did you navigate competing worldviews or stereotypes? Did you use your experience to surprise your team, sway a judge, or change someone's opinion?

3. Bridging Cultures: Write about a single day (or moment) when your life in NJ collided with your family's Hyderabadi roots—maybe prepping for Diwali while also getting pulled into tech project deadlines. Capture the chaos, humor, or introspection of living in two worlds, focusing on the details that only you could know.

4. Tech with a Personal Purpose: Instead of stating generic ambitions, write about a specific tech project that was inspired by your Indian heritage. For example, maybe you tried to automate a part of the cooking or festival planning process, or created a debate club algorithm to analyze speech patterns of international competitors and noticed unexpected cultural differences.

What to avoid: General stories about working hard in STEM, generic struggles of immigrant parents, or simply writing about how you balance two cultures without a fresh perspective or personal anecdote. These can still work, but only if you focus on a precise, personally meaningful moment rather than a sweeping narrative.

In summary, start with an unusual intersection or a single, vivid moment—maybe the humor in a kitchen disaster with your grandmother, or the tension of a difficult debate topic where your Indian and American sides clashed. Zoom in on what only you can say. Admissions officers see lots of essays, but what they remember is how you see the world: your curiosity, your quirks, the specific way Hyderabad and New Jersey come together for you. If you stay authentic and specific, your essay will stand out for all the right reasons.