How do I pick a topic for my college essay?
I've been thinking a lot about what I should write my college essay on, but I'm honestly stuck. Should I write about something major that changed my life, like moving to a new city, or is it better to choose something really small and meaningful? People keep telling me it should "stand out" but I don't even know what that means anymore.
Has anybody had success with a simple story or should I try to go big with some huge accomplishment? I don’t have anything super dramatic to write about, so I’m a little stressed that my essay won’t be impressive enough. If anyone has advice or could share how they came up with their topic, that would really help a lot.
Right now, I’m considering writing about my weekend volunteering at the animal shelter, but I’m worried it’s too cliché. How do you know if a topic is too boring?
Has anybody had success with a simple story or should I try to go big with some huge accomplishment? I don’t have anything super dramatic to write about, so I’m a little stressed that my essay won’t be impressive enough. If anyone has advice or could share how they came up with their topic, that would really help a lot.
Right now, I’m considering writing about my weekend volunteering at the animal shelter, but I’m worried it’s too cliché. How do you know if a topic is too boring?
6 months ago
•
23 views
Caroline Benson
• 6 months ago
Advisor
Your situation is super common—lots of students wonder whether they need a big, dramatic story for their college essay. The good news: you absolutely do not! Some of the most memorable and effective essays focus on small, personal moments that reveal something unique or meaningful about you.
While moving to a new city might have been a significant event, college admissions readers see a lot of essays on major life changes. What makes an essay "stand out" isn’t the size of the story, but the depth of your reflection and the specificity of your voice. For example, instead of writing generally about moving, you could zoom in on a single interaction or moment that captures how you navigated that change—maybe a memory from your first day at a new school where something unexpected happened, and how you responded.
Simple stories definitely work. A friend of mine wrote about making dumplings with her grandmother every Sunday. On the surface, it wasn’t dramatic, but she used the story to reflect on family, tradition, and her personal growth. She got into her top choice. Your essay’s impact comes from your perspective, how you process experiences, and what you learned—not the scope of the story. Readers want to learn about how you think, what matters to you, and how you approach life’s challenges, big or small.
If you feel drawn to writing about volunteering at the animal shelter, focus on a particular moment: maybe a time you connected with a nervous dog and realized something about empathy or patience, or how mucking out cages helped you develop perseverance. If you can highlight a detail or insight that feels genuinely personal, you avoid the cliché trap. For example, instead of saying "I learned to care for animals," you might describe the moment you sat quietly beside a scared dog and what you thought or felt in that instant.
To test if a topic is "boring," ask yourself: does this reveal something about who I am that people can’t learn from my transcript or activity list? Is there a small story or detail only I could tell? If yes, you’re on the right track. Instead of aiming for impressive, aim for honest, insightful, and authentic.
If you’re still unsure, try brainstorming short anecdotes or moments that made you feel, think, or act differently, and jot down what made them meaningful. The right topic is one where your unique perspective shines through, no matter how simple the story might seem at first glance.
While moving to a new city might have been a significant event, college admissions readers see a lot of essays on major life changes. What makes an essay "stand out" isn’t the size of the story, but the depth of your reflection and the specificity of your voice. For example, instead of writing generally about moving, you could zoom in on a single interaction or moment that captures how you navigated that change—maybe a memory from your first day at a new school where something unexpected happened, and how you responded.
Simple stories definitely work. A friend of mine wrote about making dumplings with her grandmother every Sunday. On the surface, it wasn’t dramatic, but she used the story to reflect on family, tradition, and her personal growth. She got into her top choice. Your essay’s impact comes from your perspective, how you process experiences, and what you learned—not the scope of the story. Readers want to learn about how you think, what matters to you, and how you approach life’s challenges, big or small.
If you feel drawn to writing about volunteering at the animal shelter, focus on a particular moment: maybe a time you connected with a nervous dog and realized something about empathy or patience, or how mucking out cages helped you develop perseverance. If you can highlight a detail or insight that feels genuinely personal, you avoid the cliché trap. For example, instead of saying "I learned to care for animals," you might describe the moment you sat quietly beside a scared dog and what you thought or felt in that instant.
To test if a topic is "boring," ask yourself: does this reveal something about who I am that people can’t learn from my transcript or activity list? Is there a small story or detail only I could tell? If yes, you’re on the right track. Instead of aiming for impressive, aim for honest, insightful, and authentic.
If you’re still unsure, try brainstorming short anecdotes or moments that made you feel, think, or act differently, and jot down what made them meaningful. The right topic is one where your unique perspective shines through, no matter how simple the story might seem at first glance.
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Caroline Benson
Upstate New York
Columbia University (BA); American University in Cairo (MA); Middlebury College (MA)
Experience
9 years