Answers to the Main Questions / Answer a college or scholarship essay
How do you answer a college essay on a topic of your choice?
InsightGuidanceAI amplification
Insight
This prompt is for a story the other six do not fit. It is still one scene and one change. Choose it because the best true story would be bent out of shape by the other prompts, not because you want to avoid a structure.
When to use this. Common App prompt 7 (2026–2027): “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.” 250–650 words.
Guidance
- Check the other six prompts first. If one fits, use it.
- Write a one-sentence question your essay answers.
- Keep one scene and one change. A tour of your activities belongs on the activities list.
- If you reuse an essay from somewhere else, cut anything that answers a different reader’s question.
AI amplification
Optional. Copy this into ChatGPT or a similar tool if you want a first draft. Replace the [PASTE] sections with your own material. The work stays in that tool; we do not save it here.
Prompt to copy
Rules: Do not invent employers, job titles, dates, metrics, team sizes, or outcomes. If something is missing, ask me or write [unknown]. Keep hedges such as "approximately" and "more than" exactly as I stated them. Never turn a qualitative result into a number. Reshape one real incident into an essay draft. Use only the notes I paste. If a fact is missing, write [unknown] or ask me. Do not add a school, activity, metric, or outcome I did not state. One scene. First person. Keep my part visible. This is an open-topic college essay. First tell me, in one sentence, what question the draft answers. Then write one scene and one change. Stay inside the word limit. Word limit: [PASTE] Incident or parable (situation, what I was responsible for, what I did, the result, what I learned, what I did differently later): [PASTE] School, sponsor, or program, only if this answer must name one: [PASTE OR LEAVE BLANK]