For the Class of 2028, Boston College received over 35,000 applications and only admitted 5,632, or . This makes BC a quite selective school with students representing 1,380 high schools, nearly every state, and 55 countries. Most students at BC, about 60%, come from the Northeast and the Mid-Atlantic. 

Boston College practices admissions, which means that applicants don’t need to submit an ACT or SAT score to be considered for admissions. However, it’s important to note that they say that “approximately 2/3 of admitted students submit SAT and/or ACT scores.” So, the Boston College admissions process is test optional — but they aren’t test blind. Most students who successfully apply and gain admission to BC have submitted scores. And those scores are high. This is unsurprising, as students who don’t have high SAT or ACT scores typically choose to not submit. But ACT score for an accepted student is 34, and the average SAT score is over 1480.

BC is kind enough to release their supplement earlier than most schools. While most colleges do not release the supplemental essay questions until late summer, Boston College puts them out early. This helps rising seniors get ahead on their applications, which is our preferred method of working. By starting early, our students get to edit and refine before the time crunch sets in, resulting in better work that is a more authentic representation of themselves, and leading to exceptional application outcomes. In this post, we’re going to break down each question in the BC supplement to help you do exactly that — be your strongest, most compelling, and most authentic self for the BC application.

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The Boston College supplement has only one question, but it comes with options. If you are applying to any program other than the Human Centered Engineering major, you get to pick one of four prompts. For students applying for the Human Centered Engineering major, there is a specific prompt you need to do, and we address it last in this post. Now, let’s dive into it.

We would like to get a better sense of you. Please respond to one of the first four prompts below (400 word limit). Students applying to the Human Centered Engineering major should respond to Prompt #5 instead.

This is just the introduction to the prompts, but it includes one important detail: 400 words. Word limits for supplements are serious. Many applications on the Common Application are set up such that it will not let you go beyond 400 words, cutting off anything that is over. Others will let you put in more, which is another sort of trap. We advise submitting your supplement at 350-400 words.

Next, take your time to read each option, even if one immediately jumps out at you. Sometimes the one that you like the best on it’s face isn’t the best option for representing how awesome you are. So, keep your mind open to options.

Option 1: Strong communities are sustained by traditions. Boston College's annual calendar is marked with both long-standing and newer traditions that help shape our community. Tell us about a meaningful tradition in your family or community. Why is it important to you, and how does it bring people together or strengthen the bonds of those who participate?

First, you can move past the first two sentences. In this supplement, as you will not be writing about Boston College in this supplement for Boston College. They do not want to hear about what BC traditions you like. Instead, they are asking you to share a piece of yourself and the traditions you’ve grown up with.

Start by brainstorming traditions, and define tradition broadly. The tradition you write about can include prominent religious or cultural events, but we actually prefer a zoomed in approach. Maybe it is a specific food you and your mom make at least once every winter, always on a snowy day. Or maybe it is a ritual you have with a grandparent — Shania Twain karaoke after Thanksgiving dinner, anyone? The key is that what makes any essay responding to this supplement prompt impressive is not the flamboyance of the tradition, but rather the connection you build with the reader through your story.

So, start any response by immersing the reader in the tradition before providing context and reflection on how it brings your community together and strengthens bonds. Pick-up basketball on summer Sunday evenings is a tradition if it is important to your community. So, if you spend all week waiting to hear balls slam against the headboard, write about it.

Option 2: The late BC theology professor, Father Michael Himes, argued that a university is not a place to which you go, but instead, a "rigorous and sustained conversation about the great questions of human existence, among the widest possible circle of the best possible conversation partners.” Who has been your most meaningful conversation partner, and what profound questions have you considered together?

The next option that you have is interesting, and can also be a bit of a trap. This prompt asks you to write about someone else, and if you are not careful it is really easy for you, the applicant, to get lost in your story. If you want to tackle this prompt, we encourage you to focus in on one conversation that is emblematic of a type of conversation that you have with this person, and you need to keep yourself as the protagonist.

While we don’t recommend this prompt, we love responses centered on conversations over breakfast with a much younger sibling, navigating friendship struggles, or conversations with that gentleman at the assisted living facility where you volunteer reflecting on mistakes he’s glad he made. Don’t forget to include how the conversations impact you beyond the framework of the conversation itself. How has this shaped you? Tell them.

Option 3: In her July 2009 Ted Talk, “,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background.  Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them?

So, this supplement isn’t bad, but it is risky. You are more than a single story, Adichie is right, but this prompt actually sets you up to potentially becoming a single story for the application readers. By picking this prompt, you say that the aspect of your background that you are sharing is critical to who you are, more so than the traditions or conversations that have shaped you. That’s a risky move in our opinion.

Ultimately, this is one of those prompts that we find sounds super appealing to pick but that can actually serve you less well than number one or two (or four), even if you write about the same thing, you would have here. For example, you could share your nationality or background through a tradition you spotlight without the entire essay becoming about that aspect of your background or identity. That, to us, would be a much better supplement than what tends to result from this prompt.

Option 4:  Boston College’s Jesuit mission highlights “the three Be’s”: be attentive, be reflective, be loving – core to Jesuit education (see ). If you could add a fourth “Be,” what would it be and why? How would this new value support your personal development and enrich the BC community?

This supplement prompt is super interesting, but it isn’t one you should force. If something immediately pops into your mind as a fourth B, go with it — and let story lead. It is easy for an essay responding to this prompt to quickly become more explaining than storytelling. That’s a bad thing. A supplement may be well-written, but if it doesn’t tell a story and connect with the application reader on an emotional level then it does not do what you need a supplement to do to increase your chances of acceptance. Solve this challenge by telling a story that shares the reason behind this fourth B, and what it would mean to you and the BC community.

Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) Applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?

If you are applying for the Human-Centered Engineering program, this is your supplement prompt. It’s the one, the only one, and it’s a fun one.

First, read it twice. Next, made an edit. Change “societal problems” to “societal problem.” With only 400 words, we highly recommend that you only write about one societal issue, perhaps approaching it from a few different angles. This should also be personal. While you may care a lot about issues that are far away from where you live, we highly recommend that what you focus on for this supplement is something that impacts your life on a daily basis.

For example, perhaps you are interested in climate resilience. While you could talk about an issue thousands of miles away, in our experience it is better if you focus on something in your hometown, whether it’s flood mitigation, fire, or any other climate-related issue.

Or maybe you care about access to medical care, and there is an issue with lack of access to primary care physicians in your area.

Or maybe it’s nutrition, and how many children rely on free breakfast and lunch to meet their daily needs.

Whatever it is that you care about in society, you can focus on it here. But, again, make it personal. Tell a story that connects you to the issue on a personal level before digging into the potential solutions a Human-Centered Engineering major could unlock.

And there you have it! That’s the Boston College supplement for the 2025-2026 application cycle. It’s short, the questions are great, and it offers amazing opportunities to share who you are with the admissions officials. Now you just need to start writing.

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Tufts accepted of applicants for the Class of 2029, a slight increase over the most recent previous years. Don’t take this as a sign of an acceptance rate on the rise, though. Rather, it is a recalibration of the scales following the pandemic surges and dips. They received 33,400 applications, and over 7,700 applicants were first in their family to go to college. Tufts paid special attention to accepting students who were first-generation college students, students from small towns and rural areas, and students from Tufts “host community” areas, or those towns surrounding the Tufts campus.

The university is for all undergraduate applicants, meaning that you are not required to submit an ACT or SAT score. However, Tufts emphasizes that SAT and ACT scores can aid them in assessing if a student is ready for college. They students “with scores of 1300 or higher on the SAT, or 28 or higher on the ACT” to submit their scores. If you don’t submit, they say that they do not assume that your scores are below those thresholds, but we advise our students that it doesn’t look great, either. And remember that Tufts does super score, so they take the highest score for each section.             

In this post, we’re going to give you a peek behind the curtain of how we work with our students to write exceptional supplemental essays for their Tufts applications, from picking which prompt to respond to all of the way to how a supplement should end.  

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When students approach supplements on their own, they tend to play it safe. They answer the question, but lack a creative approach. When it comes to Tufts, this is a problem. Tufts doesn’t simply want clear responses to their creative prompts. They want answers that are, well, all you. “Take a risk,” , and go somewhere unexpected. Be serious if the moment calls for it, but feel comfortable being playful if that suits you, too.” 

The questions for the Tufts application are school-specific, so we’ve broken them down below by school as well. Now, let’s get into them.  

Applicants to the School of Arts & Sciences or the School of Engineering:

Please respond to one of the following three prompts in 200-250 words:

It’s cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity and why?

First off, and this applies to all of the prompts, remember the 200-250 words is quite short. For illustration, the first three paragraphs of this post are over 280 words combined — or too long to respond to this supplement. Now to the prompt.

We love this prompt because it invites you to do exactly what Tufts asks for. You must get creative and write in an immersive way to produce a strong response to this prompt.  

This means starting your answer by immersing the reader in a moment. Write a scene, or a highly visual mini-story, that drops the reader right into something that you find intellectually exciting. This is typically an experience outside of the classroom that links to your academic interests. For example, maybe you are on public transit watching the subtle interactions between passengers, or perhaps you are walking your dog, observing the natural world around you. Whatever it is, this should be a strong image with a ‘hook’ story that gives you an opening to share your why. Give your why, but keep this why big picture. There is a prompt at the end of this supplement, and which is required of everyone, where you can focus on your prospective major and what you want to do at Tufts. This supplement isn’t about Tufts, it’s about how you think and what makes you excited about learning.

How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – shaped the person you are today? 

This supplement offers students from minority backgrounds or communities to spotlight that piece of themselves, but those aren’t the only students who should consider picking this prompt.

Like the previous prompt, you need to immerse the reader in your experiences and, for this one in particular, what has shaped you. Focus on one thing, an aspect of your family, like living in a multigenerational household, a facet of your neighborhood, like growing up in a super rural area, or a part of your community, like working at a local amusement park in the summers, and use that as a frame for your story. Remember, though, that you are what makes your experiences and background interesting. Simply writing about an interesting background does not actually make for a strong supplement. The essay will be interesting, for sure, but remember that the point here isn’t simply to entertain. You need to tell Tufts admissions something about you that they wouldn’t know otherwise.   

Using a specific example or two, tell us about a way that you contributed to building a collaborative and/or inclusive community. 

While the prompt allows for two examples, we highly recommend choosing only one to center your supplement on if you select this prompt. And it is a good prompt! Pick something you’ve included in your activity supplement, but not written about elsewhere in your application. Second, make sure that what you pick doesn’t put you at the top of a power pyramid. We want to see you write the story of collaborating in building a collaborative community. Basically, double down on collaboration.

And, like any of these supplements, you need to tell a story. Don’t just describe what you have done to build a collaborative or inclusive community. Instead, tell a specific story that highlights the things you have done through a specific anecdote. For example, if you manage a tutoring network at school, drop the reader into a conversation with your peers planning for an amazing year or navigating a sticky situation. Show how you are working together, and how you, specifically, are making sure that other’s voices are being heard. In this supplement, it is very easy for the writer to end up in a false “hero” position that doesn’t reflect well, even if it sounds fancy. Keep this in mind, and in check, as you are drafting.  

Applicants to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts:

Please respond to the following prompt in 200-250 words:

Art has the power to disrupt our preconceptions, shape public discourse, and imagine new ways of being in the world. What are the ideas you’d like to explore in your work?    

This prompt is BIG. So, we advise our students to zoom in significantly. Students who working with us on an SMFA application start by mapping out what inspires them and what ideas they like to address in their work. Do this by listing them on paper, and then drawing (literally) connections between ideas that are linked. Then, pick a specific piece of art that you’ve created, but that isn’t included in your portfolio, and use that piece as the frame through which to explore the ideas that matter most to you. In this answer, you will want to keep powerful visuals front and center. Your work is what will get you into Tufts, and it’s your most powerful tool in writing this supplement. Showing that you can write the visual and narrativize your work for application readers underlines that you aren’t simply a great artist, but also a thinker ready for the rigor of the Tufts SMFA program.

In addition, we will ask all applicants to complete this sentence in 250 words or less:

“I am applying to Tufts because…” 

This supplement is for all applicants, and it’s a classic “why us.” Remember, though, that Tufts wants to see more than simply a cut-and-dry outline of what you intend on doing at Tufts. So, how do you do this? Start by doing some research. Research to identify your prospective major, a professor you hope to study under, two courses you would like to take, and a potential minor. You should also identify at least one club that you would like to join and one tradition at Tufts that you are particular excited about. Don’t just list these out, though. 

Rather, start by finishing the sentence by focusing on a specific facet of the Tufts community that makes it your perfect fit. Then, expand out from there, going into the academic and social aspects of Tufts that build on this initial community hook.

As you are writing the Tufts application, always remember what they are looking for. They have plenty of applicants who have perfect grades and scores — far more than they can accept, in fact — what breaks through the noise of academic perfect and makes an applicant stand out is having a strong point of view, a deep passion, and enthusiasm for the type of experience that Tufts offers.

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This shows up on campus in . Students work hard — really hard. But they want to be, and that is what makes UChicago truly special. The student body is extremely motivated and excited about learning. They themselves, and each other, inside the classroom, in library study groups, and in clubs and community organizations. There are about undergraduate students, and an impressive 101 Nobel laureates are affiliated with the university.

The university has what they call a “,” which means that applicants are not required to submit an ACT or SAT score. Even more than that, though, they say that withholding scores will not be seen as a mark against any applicant who chooses that route.

Whether or not you submit scores, you need to present an impressive package to the UChicago admissions team. In this post, we’ll be breaking down each of the totally strange supplement prompts to guide you towards your best pick.

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The University of Chicago seeks out students who are deeply passionate about whatever they want to pursue in college, and who express that passion through genuinely novel avenues. The supplements offer an opportunity to show the unique facets of who you are in creative ways. The prompts can also be overwhelming when you first read them, so stay with us as we go through your options.

The university from newly admitted and current students at the College. They also tend to be pretty vague on length. We work with our students to craft single-page answers to each of the two supplements that position them as ideal UChicago candidates who will thrive in the challenging yet collaborative academic environment they treasure.

How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

First, there is only one way that you absolutely do not start this supplement. Do not start with something like, “I want to go to UChicago because…” We never recommend that type of cookie cutter approach, but it is especially important to avoid it for the University of Chicago. They want to see you from the moment that this first supplement starts. So, start strong. Drop the reader into a moment from your life – not related to UChicago directly — that connects to your academic passion and, even more specifically, links as well to the way that you want to learn.

This may sound pretty loose, so let’s dig into a few examples. One of our students who got into UChicago early started this supplement by telling the story of his failing Quiz Bowl team. Another led with a business simulation. That isn’t where the supplement ended, obviously, but the start wasn’t at the University of Chicago, or even about UChicago, but about the types of learning environments that they thrive in.  

After that scene has been set — literally, it should be written as a scene or vignette — you want to draw clear lines between the type of environment you are looking for in college and how the University of Chicago delivers that. This means clearly stating your intended major, a professor or two that you’d like to study under (and why) and a class or two that you are especially excited about. If you hope to pair a major and a minor to create a unique learning opportunity, explain that here.

Remember, though, that showing is more powerful than telling. You definitely want to finish this supplement by going back into story, setting the scene for your future at the university.

If the first question made you think, “Wait, you said this is weird! Where is the weird?” This is where the weird is. There are seven prompts to pick from, and we’ll break down each option.

In an ideal world where inter-species telepathic communication exists, which species would you choose to have a conversation with, and what would you want to learn from them? Would you ask beavers for architectural advice? Octopuses about cognition? Pigeons about navigation? Ants about governance? Make your case — both for the species and the question. (Inspired by Yvan Sugira, Class of 2029)

This prompt is awesome, but only if you commit. You will see that this directive holds true throughout the prompt options, but let’s discuss what ‘commit’ means for this prompt in particular. Basically, don’t tell them what animal you’d talk to and why. Instead, have the conversation. Truly. Write dialog, set the scene, and maybe even reveal the animal slowly, dropping breadcrumbs through the supplement. First, perhaps, the size of the animal. Does it have to sit on your shoulder? Or are you craning your head up to look it in the eye? Then, maybe, something it eats. Maybe you are sharing a snack while talking about problem solving with a raven.  

You need to make this your own, so you should absolutely not use any of the examples that they gave in the prompt itself. With that off the table, run with it. And don’t worry about whether your prospective major has anything to do with science or animals. That should not be part of your decision making on whether to tackle this prompt.

If you could uninvent one thing, what would it be — and what would unravel as a result? (Inspired by Eitan Fischer, Class of 2027)

If you pick this prompt, we recommend starting with the end. What does the world look like without that one thing? You don’t need to take a global view, though. Instead, it may work better to zoom in close. How would an ecosystem look if trawling nets were never invented? Or how would a kid’s brain look if touch screens were never invented? Don’t solely focus on potential positives. What unexpected things may actually not be all that great as a result? For example, if touch screens were never invented, how would people who benefit from accessibility functions potentially not have access to a meaningful resource…and would that matter if the technology had truly never existed?

If you pick this prompt, we highly recommend spending meaningful time researching the invention that you’ll be advocating for un-inventing. If you are incorrect about something integral to, or easily fact-checked, about the invention, that will be a major red flag for UChicago as they work to assess whether you are a strong fit for the College.  

“Left” can mean remaining or departed. “Dust” can mean to add fine particles or to remove them. “Fast” can mean moving quickly or fixed firmly in place. These contronyms — words that are their own antonyms — somehow hold opposing meanings in perfect tension. Explore a contronym: a role, identity, or experience in your life that has contained its own opposite. (Inspired by Kristin Yi, Class of 2029)

Ok, this prompt is awesome — but don’t let yourself be pulled in without seriously considering the potential drawbacks of tackling this one.

Many students will pick this prompt because it offers an opportunity to talk about challenges they have faced. We expect thousands of applicants to write about how a role, identity, or experience posed a challenge up front but a benefit over the long-haul. Their essays may be fabulous, but that is also a super simplistic approach to the prompt. Students who do this risk having their essays blend into a mass of students picking the same prompt and taking the same approach, even if the individual stories are personal.

For this reason, we really only recommend this prompt if there is something that only you can write about (or close enough, at least). For example, there is a phenomenon called vanishing twin syndrome. Sometimes, one baby absorbs the other. Someone could, then, be both a twin and an only child. That’s definitely not a common experience, and could make for a fascinating supplement.

The penny is on its way out — too small to matter, too costly to keep. But not everything small should disappear. What’s one object the world is phasing out that you think we ������’t afford to lose, and why? (Ella Somaiya, Class of 2028) 

This prompt is conceptually interesting, and it works best for students who read it and immediately know what they want to write about. If this describes you, run with it. If it doesn’t, look elsewhere for your perfect fit prompt.  

If you decide to go with this one, remember that story comes first and foremost. Even more, in fact, than what object you focus on. They aren’t judging you on the object that you pick. Instead, they are judging you on the way you tell the story of the object. So, tell a compelling and immersive story to make an essay responding to this prompt hit.

From Michelin Tires creating the Michelin Guide, to the audio equipment company Audio-Technica becoming one of the world’s largest manufacturers of sushi robots, brand identity can turn out to be a lot more flexible than we think. Choose an existing brand, company, or institution and propose an unexpected but strangely logical new product or service for them to launch. Why is this unlikely extension exactly what the world (or the brand) needs right now? (Inspired by Julia Nieberg, Class of 2029)

If you are a business-minded student hoping to flex that muscle in your application, or an aspiring entrepreneur, this prompt may be your perfect fit. Be careful, though, to not sound like a know-it-all. In offering a new direction to what is probably a massive company, there is a risk of hubris. Don’t approach this prompt as an opportunity to show how bright you are. Instead, show how good you are at asking questions, at investigating opportunities, and at seeing potential where other people may not.

Statistically speaking, ice cream doesn’t cause shark attacks, pet spending doesn’t drive the number of lawyers in California, and margarine consumption isn’t responsible for Maine’s divorce rate — at least, not according to conventional wisdom. But what if the statisticians got it wrong? Choose your favorite spurious correlation and make the case for why it might actually reveal a deeper, causative truth.  (Inspired by Adam DiMascio, Class of 2025) 

This prompt is fun, but we don’t really love it all that much. A student can write a super strong response to this prompt, and yet get totally lost in the answer. By that, we mean that they fade into the background, revealing little of themselves beyond a knowledge of “spurious correlations.”  

Remember, the University of Chicago likes students with a unique point of view, but they need to know who the student is, not solely that they are a little off beat. For this reason, we will be coaching our students to go with one of the earlier supplement prompts instead of picking this one.

And now, on to the ‘last’ one — and we put last in quotes on purpose.

And, as always…the classic choose your own adventure …

This is where the university lets you write anything…and we don’t like it. If you know us, you know that we only ever pick one prompt for the Common App essay with our students — the choose your own adventure. Given that we take that route for the core college essay, we do not advise doubling down here. They give you a bunch of awesome prompts, and there are so many ways to explore and to take the application readers on an adventure alongside you. Take advantage of this, and have fun!

Applying to the University of Chicago is an adventure. We have to admit that it is not always a fun one. But it is an adventure. If you are feeling stumped before you have even started, we can help.  

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The university has been test-optional . This means that first-year applicants are not required to submit SAT or ACT test scores, and they don’t even include average scores, nor a score range, in their class profile reports. If you are going to submit scores, which historically do, you want a composite SAT score of at least 1500 or an ACT score of at least 33.

To stand out as an applicant, you need to do more than have strong grades and scores, though. Northwestern looks for students who are independently motivated and who excel in novel and challenging environments. Northwestern doesn’t look for any particular type of interests, as graduates have gone on to every type of future and range from Stephen Colbert to George R.R. Martin, but they do look for particular types of students. Northwestern wants to see creativity and passion paired with a “go get it” attitude.

In this post, we’ll break down exactly how to show these characteristics through your application supplements.

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When we work with students on a Northwestern application, we create a personalized approach to the supplement prompts that delivers exactly what the college is looking for “imagine what kind of Northwestern student you may become.” When you are going it alone, though, there are some rules that we highly recommend following.

Now, you also need to remember that Northwestern does not require the Common App/Coalition App personal essay, and so you can technically repurpose your essay for a supplement if it makes a lot of sense. Do not, however, simply reuse your Common App essay because it is fast and easy. We coach our students to still submit the Common Application personal essay to Northwestern, which they will consider as part of your application, and to write wholly new work for the supplemental essays.

This is because each application must be your best work for each school, and shortcuts don’t lead to acceptances. So don’t look for a way to use what you’ve already done as you read through these prompts. Rather, look for how to best amplify your strengths. Now let’s get into the questions.

The following question is required of all Common Application and Coalition with Scoir applicants (optional for QuestBridge applicants). Please respond in 300 words or fewer):

We want to be sure we’re considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background (your identity, your school setting, your community, your household, etc.) have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?

This is Northwestern’s way of opening the door to you providing answers to questions they aren’t legally allowed to ask. They know and expect many applicants to write about race or ethnicity here, but that isn’t the only thing that can go here — and it isn’t the most impactful for all applicants, even if they are a minority in some way. This question also comes in two parts. First, your background.

In order to write about an aspect of your background in a way that hooks the reader, you need to tell a story that illustrates the pieces of yourself that you want to highlight but that is, first and foremost, a story.

What do we mean by that? Well, we spend a lot of time working with our students not simply on completing their college essays, but on learning how to write creative personal essays that are truly impactful whether or not the context they are being read in is for a college application. Very few high school students are assigned personal essay writing in school, and so this is a wholly new format with its own challenges and stumbling blocks. It’s not a journal entry, but it needs to be personal. It’s not a dry autobiography, but it needs to be packed full of facts. Finding that balance is crucial. And, for us, it all starts with pinpointing a specific story that can used as an entry point into explaining a piece of who you are because of where you’ve come from. Oh, and you have to be concise because you only have 200 words, max, of the 300 word limit.

The second part of this supplement is tying that piece of yourself to Northwestern. While you can write about any part of Northwestern, we encourage students to keep in mind that this is a college application, not an application for a social club. You want to go to school there to study, so we recommend making an academic link a centerpiece of your reasoning. It can then have spokes that hit on related extracurricular opportunities, social opportunities, or anything else about Northwestern that draws you in that is, in some way, linked to your academic aspirations.

Next, you have options.

We encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two of the following questions. Please respond in fewer than 200 words per question.

Now, while this prompt is optional, we hope we are not the first to tell you that when it comes to college applications optional is not, in fact, optional. If you want to go to Northwestern, you absolutely musts rise to this opportunity. We work with our students to do the maximum two responses. Below, we’ll break down each option, why it might be right for you, and how to approach it.

Painting “The Rock” is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call “Purple Pride”), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?

We don’t love this prompt. While “The Rock” is a key Northwestern tradition, you only have 200 words, and we want you to be more than a social issue or activist cause. The only way we like this prompt is when what you are really writing about is an extracurricular that relates to something you are already doing, and what is put on The Rock connects to that extracurricular. That makes the paint job a piece of the supplement, but not the whole point of the supplement. So, basically, this isn’t our first choice. There is a way to make it work, but there are other better options.

Northwestern fosters a distinctively interdisciplinary culture. We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of diverse ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?

This is a super fun prompt. First, absorb that they are not asking you to teach the course, lead the project, or take on a creative effort on your own. In fact, what they want to see is actually the opposite of that. The admissions officials want to see collaboration and teamwork, so what you dream up for this supplement should put both of those things front and center. But how do you actually write about this? We recommend taking a creative approach.

If you are writing about a course, structure is as a course description with a course name and description, including the types of students who should consider taking the class. If you are dreaming up a research project, write your supplement like the content of a poster recruiting peers to your project as collaborators.

Another approach is to write this supplement as a scene in the midst of the activity you’re proposing. Maybe you drop the reader into the first day of the course, or put them in the lab with you testing out an experiment.

The commonality between these approaches is that they are collaborative. They pull the reader in and show off your writing chops alongside your imagination, enthusiasm, and passion for what Northwestern offers.

Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.

We like the previous prompt more than this one, but the approach is really quite similar if you want to ace this. Instead of telling them about a community, network, or student group, you need to show them how you would connect with it by dropping them in on the action. Maybe a student group has an annual tradition that you would love to be part of. Write yourself into it, before giving a “why.” Note that this prompt is similar to the first one (“The Rock”), but we like it a lot more because of the opportunities it poses for immersive storytelling that links what you want to do to what you are already doing.

Northwestern’s location is special: on the shore of Lake Michigan, steps from downtown Evanston, just a few miles from Chicago. What aspects of our location are most compelling to you, and why?

This prompt is, for most applicants, a dud. You have so much more to write about than geography. The only students we would support in selecting this prompt is probably counter-intuitive: Chicagoans. Yes, people from Chicago and the surrounding area. As a local, you can write about the impact of going to university in your hometown, and how you can build the skills to improve your community from within your community. As a school that really emphasizes the importance of giving back, this can resonate strongly, but you should already be doing stuff in the area related to giving back — and in a big way. For example, you could focus on work you are already doing for a nonprofit and how Northwestern would help you amplify your impact on the community you love while in school, not only after you graduate.

Northwestern is a place where people with diverse backgrounds from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to this diversity of perspectives in Northwestern’s classrooms and around our campus?

This prompt is very similar to the required supplement that all applicants have to answer. So, if you want to do this one, what’s different? You absolutely must write about something totally different from what you did for the first supplement.

The same rules as the first supplement apply. You need to tell a story. You need to make your background personal, pulling them into your narrative through, well, narrative. You absolutely must connect to the reader through that narrative, making them feel invested in your life today and your future at Northwestern.

Best sure not to skip or rush the last piece of the prompt, either. How are you going to contribute? If you pick this prompt, do not repeat anything from any other prompts. This must be new information.

The Northwestern supplement is genuinely fun. It asks you to explore yourself and tell your story in a concise format. But while the supplements aren’t long that doesn’t mean that they should be rushed. We begin working with our students on supplements the summer before their senior year to ensure time for drafting and editing before senior fall stress kicks in.

We help strong students get into exceptional colleges. Learn more.

Quick reminder: your Common App essay is the only part of your application that shows who you are as a person, not just a collection of grades and activities. This is why it’s so important to get it right. We’re not saying this to stress you out, but to encourage you to give this essay the time, care, and multiple rounds of editing it deserves. We want you to write the best Common App essay you can.

Let’s take a closer look at Prompt #5:

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Just like Prompt #3, we think this prompt is also a trap. Which is why we’re reusing the “It’s a Trap!” image. We do not love this prompt, but that doesn’t mean you ������’t write a good essay with the prompt.

This prompt often tempts students to write about something incredibly cliché, like scoring the game-winning goal, moving schools, or achieving some academic milestone. Here’s the deal, kids: a lot of the stories you think you want to write here will already be covered in your activities section or could be better suited for a supplemental essay. And while we get that you might want to show off a bit, the Common App essay is not the place for that. This essay is where you get to add some personality and humanity to your application, not just list another accomplishment or humblebrag.

Prompt #5 can also push students to feel like they need to write about their traumas. We want to be crystal clear about this: you are not your traumas, and you don’t have to write about them to get into college. Consider this explicit permission to not write about your traumas if you don’t want to. If you’ve experienced something during high school that affected your transcript or academic progress, the Additional Information section is the place to share that context, not your personal statement.

Okay, now that we’ve slandered Prompt #5 enough, let’s talk about what you could successfully write about here. This prompt is really about growth and personal change, and there are plenty of ways to explore those themes without falling into that cliché territory. Let’s dive into how you can tackle this prompt in a way that feels fresh, personal, and truly you.

Common App Essay Prompt #5 Example Topics

The best way to tackle this prompt? Tell a story. In fact, �ٳ󲹳�’s good advice for all of your college essays. Stories naturally give your essay structure (beginning, middle, end) and are way more engaging for admissions officers to read. Trust us, essays that open with “The event that sparked personal growth in my life was…” are not fun to read and automatically cause eyes everywhere to glaze over.

Your story should be small. It should reveal something about who you are, not just what you’ve done. Maybe you decided to train for a 5k with your family and discovered a heretofore unknown love of running. Maybe your grandma roped you into learning how to crochet with her friends, and it led to you starting a weekly crochet group with your own friends. Maybe you watched a documentary or read a book that totally changed your worldview, and now you are committed to that movement in your personal life. Notice how these moments aren’t huge, dramatic life events! They’re smaller, relatable stories that show curiosity, growth, and personality.

If you’re stuck coming up with your story, ask your friends and family for the five words they’d use to describe you. Look for patterns. If four out of five people say you’re funny and ambitious, maybe you write a lighthearted story about that time you went above and beyond to meet a goal you set for yourself. However, we don’t encourage using words like hardworking or dedicated to frame your essay, because if you are those things, that will show up in your activities section.

Common App Essay Prompt #5 Essay Guide

You’ve got your idea, but now you have to make it appear on the paper. Crafting a great Common App essay takes time and effort, but it’s worth it – and it doesn’t have to be stressful. You have 650 words to tell a compelling story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, so let’s break down how to do it.

You need a catchy introduction – maybe a piece of dialogue or a descriptive scene. It should drop us into the “accomplishment, event, or realization” you’re writing about. Using our crochet example, maybe you ended up at your grandma’s crochet group because you were her ride, and you weren’t exactly thrilled about it. Describe what that moment felt like. What did the room look like? What could you hear, smell, or feel? These vivid details will pull your reader into the story immediately. If you’re stuck on your opening, here’s a tip: write it last. It’s often easier to figure out how to start your story once you know where it’s going.

In the middle of your essay, show us how this moment impacted you in the short term. Maybe you went home and fell down a YouTube rabbit hole of crochet tutorials until your fingers hurt, or maybe you started calling your friends one by one, trying to convince them to give crocheting a try. This section is where we see your curiosity, energy, and how the moment started to shape your actions.

When you wrap up your essay, we want to see what came out of this growth. It’s not enough to simply say you changed – show us how. You can always successfully end by mirroring your intro: now it’s your friends crowding into the same cozy living room as you lead a group crochet lesson, the way your grandma did. We want to see the follow-through, not just the realization.

Once your draft is complete (and yes, it will probably be over 650 words at first), it’s time to edit. Read your essay out loud to catch any awkward phrasing or areas that don’t sound like you. Consider retyping your entire essay word by word to help you see it with fresh eyes and tighten it further. Go through the editing process three to four times before seeking feedback, and keep your feedback circle small! One or two trusted people (could be a friend, parent, or teacher) is plenty. Too many voices will leave you overwhelmed and confused, and in turn, the admissions officers overwhelmed and confused.

Once you’ve polished your essay until it feels clear, personal, and truly you, you’re ready to hit submit.

Prompt #5 might not be our absolute favorite, but it can still be a great vehicle for telling a meaningful story. The key is avoiding rehashing what’s already in your Common App and steering clear of overly cliché topics. If you can do that, you’ll be in a great spot to write an essay that feels personal, engaging, and truly you.

We are experts in writing creative and unique college essays. If you need help brainstorming or writing your Common App essay, reach out to us today.

If you’re a regular around here, you know we’re big Prompt #7 people. We love how open-ended and unstructured it is. The endless possibilities! However, if you’re someone who prefers a bit more structure, Prompt #4 is actually a fantastic option. It’s one of the best prompts for telling a clear, personal story – and as we always say, a great Common App essay is always a story.

A quick reminder: your Common App essay is the one part of your application every school will read. It’s also the only piece that shows who you are beyond your grades, test scores, and activities list. In other words, it’s your best shot at being seen as a person, not just a set of numbers. This is why your essay needs to be well-written, intentional, and as close to perfect as you can make it. If there’s one part of your Common App to pour your energy into, it’s this.

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

This prompt is all about warm fuzzies — and we’re here for it. We love happy, upbeat Common App essays, and guess what? Admissions counselors do too. Picture this: it’s 4:56 p.m. on a Thursday. A tired, overworked 25-year-old admissions counselor is counting down the minutes until they can go home, reheat leftover pasta, and zone out to Friends while doomscrolling TikTok. They’ve already read a ton of essays today, most of them about grandparents, winning goals, or, more often, students’ worst moments and traumas. They’re exhausted. They open up one last essay before logging off, bracing for another heavy read… but instead, it’s a sweet, thoughtful story about a moment of kindness that made a real impact. Suddenly, they get to end their day on a high note. That’s a win for them, and a win for you. 

Prompt #4 was to balance out some of the heaviness of Covid, and we think it’s a great addition. But, like with a lot of the pre-determined Common App prompts, there are a few common traps to avoid with this essay.

First, the prompt asks about something someone else did for you, which makes it easy to accidentally turn your essay into their story. Your Common App essay should still be about you. Second, students often go too big with this prompt. Grand gestures are tough to capture effectively in 650 words, and you risk losing the personal, reflective element that makes for a great essay. Finally, many students forget to answer the last part of the prompt: How has this gratitude affected or motivated you? If you skip this, you’re missing the entire point.

Keep these potential pitfalls in mind, and Prompt #4 can be a fantastic choice for your essay. Now, let’s dive into brainstorming ideas that will help you avoid the clichés and stand out in a sea of “thank you” essays.

Common App Essay Prompt #4 Example Topics

Before you jump into brainstorming specific stories, remember: the most effective way to tackle this prompt (or any Common App prompt, really) is by telling a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. It also helps to reframe the question a bit.

Yes, this prompt asks about something someone else did for you, but your essay should still be about you. Your traits, your growth, your perspective. You’ll need a secondary character in this story, but they’re the supporting role – you’re the lead. You want main character syndrome for this one. If you’re feeling stuck, try asking your friends or family for the five words they’d use to describe you. Look for overlaps. If everyone says you’re “thoughtful” or “resilient,” �ٳ󲹳�’s a clue for what you might want to highlight. 

Now, try reframing the prompt as: “When did someone do something small (!!!) for me that reminded me I am [insert trait here]?” We’re not just looking for a story about someone being nice to you. We want something deeper – a moment that was meaningful, personal, and reflective. Something “an inch wide and a mile deep,” as we like to say. It doesn’t need to be a grand, dramatic gesture; in fact, it’s often better if it isn’t.

Another way to think about this prompt is through the lens of love languages. If your love language is acts of service and you love cooking for your family, maybe your sister quietly cleaned the kitchen so you could do your thing, and it made you feel seen. If words of affirmation are your thing, maybe you were struggling with a new sport or hobby, and a thoughtful pep talk from a friend pushed you to keep going. Maybe you’re the person who’s always dropping everything to help others, and someone did the same for you, making you feel valued in a way you didn’t expect.

Let’s talk about how to actually write this essay.

Common App Essay Prompt #4 Example Guide

Got your idea? Fantastic. Now comes the hard part: getting it down on paper.

Writing your Common App essay can feel overwhelming, but don’t worry! We’re here to help. You’ve got 650 words to tell a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end, and luckily, this prompt is practically begging you to tell a story.

We’ll stick with our cooking example. You love cooking for your family, and one day, your sister quietly steps in to help. To start your essay, bring us into the moment. Maybe you’re driving home from practice, realizing you forgot a key ingredient. Maybe you’re standing in your bedroom, dreading the messy kitchen you’ll have to clean before and after cooking. You could open with something like: “Oh my gosh, we’re out of cheese.” This immediately sets the scene and gives us a sense of your voice. Use descriptive details here. Let us hear the hum of the fridge, smell the garlic in the air, and feel the pre-dinner rush.

The middle of your essay is where the act of kindness comes in. Maybe you’ve resigned yourself to making a different dish, but when you open the fridge, there’s a fresh block of Vermont cheddar waiting for you. You shout, “Oh my god! The cheese!” and your sister calls back from the couch, “Yeah, I saw we didn’t have any, and I knew you’d need some.” See? It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture. Small kindnesses often make for the best stories.

As you close out your essay, focus on what this moment allowed you to do. Your sister’s small act of thoughtfulness let you pursue your passion without interruption. The kindness should clear the way for you to keep doing what you love, motivate you to start something you’ve been putting off, or remind you that you’re supported in ways you hadn’t noticed before. And remember, end on a high note. This isn’t the place for a burned dinner or a gloomy ending. Let your reader leave your essay with a smile.

A few practical writing tips: If you’re stuck on your opening, write it last. It’s often easier to craft a strong intro once you know how your story ends. And if the perfect first line isn’t coming to you, skip it for now and circle back later.

When you finish your draft (and it will probably be over 650 words), it’s time to edit. Read your essay out loud to catch awkward phrasing or areas that don’t sound like you. Retyping the entire essay can help you see it with fresh eyes and tighten it further. Go through your edits three or four times before asking a friend, parent, or teacher for feedback, but keep your feedback circle small. One or two trusted readers is enough to avoid conflicting advice that muddies your voice.

Prompt #4 is a great choice if you’re looking for a structured way to share a kind, joyful story. Just remember to avoid the common pitfalls: don’t let the essay become a story about someone else, and don’t forget to reflect on how someone’s kindness truly impacted you. If you can keep the focus on your growth and perspective, Prompt #4 can help you craft a personal, memorable essay.

We are experts in writing creative and unique college essays. If you need help brainstorming or writing your Common App essay, reach out to us today.

As colleges, and employers, assess computer programmers these days, they are looking for more than whether you know how to code. Yes, you need the foundation, but you also need to be able to manage others, lead a team, and think big picture, guiding strategy and implementing innovation. So, building an impressive app on your own isn’t the ticket to a top computer science program anymore — although you’re welcome to do that. In this post, we’ll share what we are working on outside of the classroom with our students to create application profiles that lead to exceptional admissions outcomes. If you want to be at MIT, Cal Tech, UT Austin, Mich, Harvard, or another top computer science program, this is the advice you need to take your amazing grades and strong scores, and raise the bar to be truly exceptional.

Getting into an amazing school requires an exceptional strategy. Get yours. 

We are taking for granted here that you have super strong grades and that your standardized test scores will be wildly impressive. With that assumption in place, what comes next is how you spend your time outside of the classroom. So, what are you up to? Yes, you are only a sophomore, but this is actually the perfect time to be building up your extracurriculars. The only way to get leadership positions is to do the work before they pick or vote, so let’s do the work.

CLUB or TEAM

First, you need to be on at least one computer science-related club or team at your school. This could be a computer science club, a robotics team, a STEM mentorship group, a STEM tutoring program, or another group where you are able to use computer science while also building team management and leadership skills that will serve you once you become captain or club head senior year — or, if possible, junior year.  

This doesn’t just magically happen, though. You need to be working towards it bit-by-bit, beginning now. Schedule a time to meet with the current captain(s) or club head(s), but instead of asking how to become them, ask how you can support them. What can you do to help them accomplish their goals as leaders? This will open opportunities in the moment for you to challenge yourself and make meaningful contributions, but also launch you on a trajectory towards leadership. 

SUMMER PROGRAMS

The summer before or after sophomore year is a great time to do a summer program like an on-campus intensive or immersive coding camp. Picking the right program for you, though, is the key to making it worth it.

Often, we see students jump from “right program for you” to “most prestigious or selective.” This is a misunderstanding of what we mean by “right,” though. The most important thing isn’t getting into a supposedly prestigious program hosted at a fancy school. Instead, if you are going to do a summer program it needs to be the one that offers opportunities in the area of computer science that most excites you. This will educate you, yes, but also empower you to tackle independent projects after the program that go way beyond what you were previously capable of as a coder.

If you are struggling to pick a program, get in touch. We can help guide you towards the program that is the perfect fit for you based on your location, goals, and availability.

RESEARCH

The least common thing we see on a sophomore’s activities agenda that has the biggest impact when it comes time to apply is research. Taking part in ongoing research, or conducting independent research of your own, sets you apart from your peers because you are engaging with computer science as a field far beyond the level of most high school students. It’s normal for high school students to be in clubs or on teams, and it’s fairly common to do summer programs, but research? That is not normal — but in a good way.

Finding a research opportunity starts close to home. We recommend that sophomores try to get involved with an ongoing project before launching on your own. Talk to your favorite computer science teacher, your parents, your parents’ friends, and basically anyone you run into about what it is that interests you most within the field of computer science. If this doesn’t cue up any leads, just the process of having conversations will help you come up with a research question of your own.

If you are embarking on an independent research project, you need to have a goal in mind. Maybe it’s developing an app to address a need that you have identified, or you’re aiming for presenting or publishing your work. Regardless, there must be a final outcome that you can point to and say, “I did that.” Remember, though, that getting to this point may take more than sophomore year. Don’t be surprised if this project stretches.

INTERNSHIP

The last thing that we really need on your list is finding an internship. This doesn’t need to be a dream internship. It most certainly won’t be, in fact, but we do want to see you shadowing or working alongside someone who uses computer science in the day-to-day execution of their job. This could be as part of a tech company, but that isn’t mandatory.

An ideal internship for a sophomore is one or two weeks, and has the opportunity to build towards a longer internship opportunity as a junior.

It may seem early to be talking about college, but sophomore year is actually a perfect time to kick into high gear and begin (or continue) working towards an impressive array of extracurricular activities that all help to tell your story as a STEM-minded student passionate about computer science. If you’re at a loss on where to start, though, we can help.

We help strong students pull of outstanding college admissions outcomes. Learn more.

We love students who are confident, passionate, and who have had to forge something for themselves. This offers an amazing foundation to build from and, as a junior, you are at the prime time to make bold moves that have meaningful impacts on your college applications.

In this post, we’ll break down what top students passionate about the classics need to be doing outside of the classroom to position themselves for admission to a highly-selective college. Every top college has a top classics program — it is literally the foundation of the entire concept of a liberal arts education — and if you want to get in to one of those programs you need to do more than college strong grades and scores.

This is what else needs to be on your checklist for junior year.  

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Below, we’ve broken down the broad strokes of the guidance that we give to our juniors interested in the classics. You don’t have to do all of these things, but it would be awesome if you could. So, take them piece-by-piece. Some you may already be doing, some may be easy to add, and some may be a bigger lift, but all are worth the effort.

QUIZ BOWL

We love it if our students interested in the classics are competing as part of a Quiz Bowl team. Quiz Bowl is collaborative, challenging, and competitive. It allows you to specialize, while also offering opportunities to explore and discover new things. If you are already part of a team, �ٳ󲹳�’s awesome. The next step is aiming for leadership if you don’t have it already. Meet with the current club leaders and ask how you can best support them in reaching their goals.

If you are not part of the Quiz Bowl team at your school, join. It is probably too late to achieve a “club head” title for senior year, but it is not too late to make an impact.  

And if your school doesn’t have a Quiz Bowl team, consider starting one. It’s a big time commitment, but if you are in the first half of your junior year it is still possible to start and build a club before senior year. It’s an added bonus that you are the de facto head of any club you start.

CLASSICS CLUB

Does your school have a classics club? If there is a classics club, we hope you are in it and on a route towards leadership. If you aren’t a member of the club, join today — literally. It’ll be an experience that broadens and deepens your interests.

If your school doesn’t have a classics club, the same rules apply as for Quiz Bowl. You have a chance, in this moment, to start something. Find a faculty advisor, recruit some friends, and have fun. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with this one. Read fun stuff, debate cool things, and explore a subject that you love alongside peers who share your interests. That sounds pretty good, right?

LANGUAGE

If you study the classics, you study ancient Greek, Latin, or both. Understanding these languages is foundational to engaging with classical texts. Colleges know that most high school students have limited access to ancient languages, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t have access to other avenues for learning. In this day and age, there are a multitude of ways that you can begin studying ancient Greek or Latin, from phone-based apps to online courses.

We highly recommend that students interested in studying the classics pursue at least one classical language, ancient Greek, or Latin, before applying to colleges senior year. This isn’t required for admission to a college as a prospective classics major, but it certainly strengthens an application and helps it stand out, underlining genuine interest and a passion for scholarship.

RESEARCH

When we work with juniors, there is one thing that we are the most passionate about adding to their roster of extracurriculars if at all possible: research. Yes, research. We love when our students zoom in on a subject that they love, exploring a particular corner with the goal of an outcome that they can point to with pride. Sometimes this means publication, and other times it is presentation. Having that end goal in mind is a powerful motivating factor, as is the opportunity to dedicate time to a subject that you absolutely adore.

Deciding where to start with research can be overwhelming, so it helps to have help. We support our students through a research experience, but your favorite classics-minded teacher at school is also a great place to start.

SUMMER PROGRAMS

Summer programs can be a contentious subject for juniors. Most structured high school summer programs are geared towards younger students, and juniors in them risk looking like they are not pushing hard enough. Classics, though, is one of the few areas of study where there are, often, summer programs that can be hugely impactful.  

The most meaningful summer programs for juniors interested in classics are proper college courses with college credit available. Learning from graduate students and college professors, and having access to texts that you probably haven’t encountered yet, is a fantastic experience that can also be capitalized into something truly meaningful for your college applications.

And this is truly the whole point, right? You want to have the best next chapter possible, and getting into a dream school with a killer classics program is a key part of this. So, you need to be getting the grades, you need to achieve the scores, and you need to build a list of extracurriculars that ������’t be ignored. That’s where we can help.

As a junior, you have a window of opportunity to seriously amplify your applications. We can help. Learn more.

MIT Sloan doesn’t just want students who say they’re “interested in business.” They want people who treat business like a puzzle to be solved, a system to optimize, or a vehicle for real-world change. If you’re dreaming of joining Sloan, you need more than strong grades – you need a focused strategy. Let’s talk about what that looks like.

Is Sloan your top choice? We’ve helped countless students gain admission to Sloan and other top undergrad business schools. Our counselors are ready to provide expert, personalized guidance to help you meet your goals – reach out to us today. 

Get the Grades

This shouldn’t be shocking, but it still needs to be said: MIT expects near-perfect academic records. A single A-minus won’t tank you, but B grades absolutely might, especially in math and science courses. The strongest Sloan applicants challenge themselves with the most rigorous options available: APs, IB, or anything else their school offers in every class you can.

MIT is not test-optional, so standardized scores matter. You’ll want to hit at least a 1550+ on the SAT or 35+ on the ACT to stay competitive.

Build a Niche

Vague statements like “I want to study business” won’t get you very far at Sloan. Instead, show how your interest has evolved into something focused and technical. MIT’s strengths lie in analytics, finance, operations research, and entrepreneurship grounded in science and data. Your story should reflect that.

Say you start out interested in finance. That’s great. But where does it go from there? Maybe you discover an interest in sustainable investing or the mechanics behind algorithmic trading. Maybe you’re curious about how behavioral economics affects consumer decisions, or how machine learning can be used for market prediction. Those are the kinds of intellectual through-lines Sloan loves.

Courses and Reading

MIT wants to see curiosity and initiative. That means you should be learning well beyond what’s taught at school. Online platforms like Open Yale Courses, Coursera, and edX offer great entry points into business analytics, data science, financial modeling, and supply chain management.

Reading matters, too. Sloan is big on the intersection of technology and business, so pick up books that reflect that and stay plugged into current developments through sources like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and Harvard Business Review. The goal is to show depth, and you won’t get there if you don’t put the work in.

School Extracurriculars

A key part of the process is getting involved at school. If your school has a DECA chapter, investment club, or competes in finance competitions, join early and take on leadership. But don’t stop there. Start something if nothing fits. Maybe it’s a FinTech club, a social impact accelerator, or a student-run data consultancy.

You can also demonstrate business acumen through nontraditional paths. Maybe you manage fundraising for the robotics team, run the e-commerce site for the school shop, or write about local businesses for the school paper. What matters is that you’re applying business thinking in real-world contexts, especially those that show analytical or technical chops.

Out of School Extracurriculars

Working – yes, even scooping ice cream or organizing shelves at Target – is a green flag for Sloan. It shows reliability, maturity, and real-world engagement. Bonus points if your job ties into your business interests, but it’s not a requirement.

Summer programs are another excellent option. Good bets include the LBW program at Wharton, the Berkeley Business Academy, or any competitive program with a data or tech-business slant. You can also pursue pre-college programs at almost any college you can think of – you can take a course or two on business and get a feel for college campuses and what your life will be like in a few short years.

As for internships? Yes, please. Just make sure they fit your narrative. A mismatched resume, like saying you’re obsessed with sustainability but interning in private equity, can raise red flags. You want to make sure your story is consistent.

Start a Company

Sloan has a reputation for innovation, but don’t think that labeling yourself as “an entrepreneur” is enough, or even a smart move. If anything, it might make admissions officers suspicious – self-proclaimed entrepreneurs are often at a high risk of dropping out.

The best way to show entrepreneurial spirit? Actually build something. Create a budgeting app, launch a tutoring network, start a neighborhood service business. Real work speaks louder than startup buzzwords. Then, when you go to apply, instead of talking about wanting to build a business, you can talk about the skills you need to gain to grow your business, like marketing or management.

If you want to emphasize entrepreneurship, also highlight the skills that support it: strategic thinking, operations, branding, pricing, and data analysis. Those are what turn passion into substance.

Apply Early

MIT doesn’t have an Early Decision option, but it does offer Early Action, and it’s non-restrictive. It won’t actually double your chances, but it does show that you’re proactive and serious about MIT. Applying EA is a no-brainer, but do keep in mind that if you apply Restricted Early Action to somewhere like Notre Dame, Georgetown, Harvard, or Yale, you cannot apply EA to MIT, and .

Sloan is only one part of MIT – but if it’s the one you’re aiming for, your application should reflect that alignment from top to bottom. Getting into Sloan isn’t about having the flashiest resume; it’s about clarity, consistency, and evidence of potential. You don’t need to be perfect, but you do need to be intentional. Sloan wants smart, driven students who love problem-solving and see business as a way to build a better future. If �ٳ󲹳�’s you, start showing it now.

Need help building your path to Sloan? We’ve helped students shape standout applications to MIT and other top business programs. Reach out – we’d love to help you get there.

Need help strategizing for Sloan? Contact us now.

As a high school sophomore interested in psychology, chances are that you have a vision of where you want to end up career-wise but not necessarily a handle on the journey you’ll have to take to get there. That’s where expert advice can be crucial. We help our students all along their path, often from helping them pick out high school courses to, years later, helping them pull together graduate school applications. We have seen so much through these multi-year journeys with students and their families and, while we are not psychologists ourselves, we’ve learned what it takes to pull off not simply an outstanding college application experience — but an outstanding start at adult life.

Obviously, it takes a high level of commitment to your academics to get into a top-tier school, which means strong grades and scores, but �ٳ󲹳�’s actually not the secret sauce. Tons of students have exceptional grades, far more than top schools can accept. So, ultimately, the key to this process is actually what you are doing outside of the classroom in your activities and extracurriculars.

In this post, we give you a peek into how we work with our students to refine and develop their activities as early as sophomore year to set them on a path towards exceptional outcomes when they apply to college. 

Getting into a top school requires top strategy. That’s where we come in.

Below, we’ve broken the types of activities that you need to be doing as a sophomore interested in psychology down into a few big buckets, or types. You don’t need to be doing all of these things, but you should try your best to pull off at least three of the four. Beginning to develop a diverse list of activities that emphasizes the character traits that will be crucial to successfully pursuing psychology, like patience, empathy, intellectuality, and curiosity, will show that you are truly committed to this path. Starting now, or building what you are already doing, will also hopefully lead to at least one leadership role, such as club head, by senior fall.  

AN ACADEMIC TEAM

First, you need to be part of an academic team. This is most likely not directly related to psychology, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t pull on core areas of academic focus for students of psychology. A Quiz Bowl or Science Olympiad competition may not have a section specifically called “psychology” at all competitions, but areas like “Anatomy and Physiology,” “Disease Detectives,” and “Crime Busters,” are an amazing way to develop your interest in the human mind while also participating as part of a team, building leadership, and learning from upper classmen. Ideally, you would become a team captain or head by senior year, so that means doing more than simply showing up to meetings and performing well at competitions. You really need to throw yourself into the team, and you need to prioritize communicating with leadership, as well as the faculty advisor(s) to make sure that you are on track for becoming a leader yourself in time for college applications. Obviously, this is a good thing to do regardless of college applications. You’ll learn to lead and support younger students, which is valuable regardless, but we’re here to tell you what you need to do to get into a dream school. So, join the team or double down if you are already on it.

MENTORSHIP-FOCUSED SERVICE

The next thing that we want to see you do is to participate in a long-term service project or volunteer opportunity within your local or school community that is focused on mentorship and guiding others. This could include a Big Brother-type program, a reading buddies program, a tutoring partnership with an under-served community, or coaching a junior or Special Olympics sports team. It could also include something that works with individuals older than you, like volunteering at a local nursing home playing games with residents. What matters most is that this experience is long-term. You should start now, and continue this work through until at least you press submit on your applications (ideally through high school graduation in case of a deferral or waitlist). This is important even if you don’t have an opportunity for a named leadership position in this activity like captain or club head.

We work with our students to identify and obtain these types of volunteer positions separate from what is available at school, which further differentiates them from classmates who didn’t take the initiative to find something independent of the school structure. 

RESEARCH

Something else that we highly prioritize for students interested in psychology is research. Opportunities for participating in research as a high school sophomore may not be immediately obvious, but �ٳ󲹳�’s sort of the whole point. Most high school students don’t conduct or participate in research. This isn’t because they aren’t capable, but because they don’t know how to find opportunities. We work with our students to identify and secure opportunities with local researchers and graduate students, and to develop independent research projects that result in work that can be published by an academic journal focused on work by high schoolers.

Taking on a research project isn’t a small ask of you, and we get that, but it is truly a gamechanger on your application. And don’t be surprised if you search for “Psychology Research High School Student” and not much comes up. These opportunities aren’t just plastered across the internet. Finding an opportunity typically requires taping into the networks around you, and �ٳ󲹳�’s where we can help.  

SUMMER PROGRAM OR ADDITIONAL COURSEWORK

We also highly recommend that our sophomores interested in psychology invest time in pursuing additional coursework through a local community college or accredited online school. Summer programs, while often expensive, can also be an outstanding way of digging more deeply into the field of psychology than you are able to through courses at school. Whether it’s choosing a summer program or an additional course, the most important things are to pick opportunities that truly resonate with your interests, to give it your all every step of the way, and to not give these programs too much power. Taking a course or doing a summer program at a dream school is not, by itself, going to help you get into that school. Exceling in a well-respected program, no matter the school, however, will.  

As a sophomore college feels far away. This moment is an amazing opportunity, though, to take control of your future by focusing in and pushing yourself in a sustainable way that deepens your passions, grows your interests, and builds your character. Whether you are going it alone, or have help developing your path, what you do today will set the tone for your college essays a few years down the road.

If you have a dream school but aren’t sure how to get there, we can help.

At TKG, we’re longtime fans of Prompt #7 (the open-ended “write whatever you want” option) because it gives students the most creative freedom. But, we also know that kind of blank page energy can be intimidating. If you’re someone who prefers a little structure, Prompt #3 might be a good fit. That said, there are definitely a few things to consider before committing to this question.

Quick refresher: the Common App essay is sent to every school you apply to through the platform. It’s the only part of your application that gives admissions officers a real sense of who you are as a person, beyond your GPA, course load, and test scores. That means it should be thoughtful, polished, and say something meaningful about you. If you’re going to obsess over one part of your Common App, this is the one to lose a little sleep over.

So, without further ado, Prompt #3:

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Let’s be totally honest with you: we’re not huge fans of Prompt #3. Yes, it has the potential to tell a solid story (which is the backbone of any great Common App essay), but it’s also kind of a trap.

Okay, not a full-on trap, but definitely a prompt with some pitfalls that you need to carefully consider before you tackle it. First off, this exact question, about a belief or idea you challenged or changed, shows up in tons of school-specific supplements. Probably at least a few on your list. If you use your best material here, you ������’t reuse it later. Every part of your Common App should show a different side of you, so repeating stories or themes is wasted space.

Now for the second trap: writing about the issue at hand instead of yourself. The biggest mistake we see with Prompt #3 is students launching into an essay about a social or political topic and forgetting to mention their own personal growth. A great Common App essay is always, always about you, not about big issues you cannot solve like homelessness, racism, or climate change. 

A piece of advice? From us to you? Please, avoid hot-button topics altogether. Even if your views now align with what you believe is the “mainstream” opinion, things like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, guns, and religion are landmines. Admissions readers are real people with real beliefs, and you have no idea what their individual beliefs are, even if the schools you’re applying to have personalities you think are distinct. No matter how thoughtful your argument, you risk alienating your audience, coming across as ignorant, or at worst, bigoted or biased in a significant way.

Now, with all of that said, you can absolutely write a great essay for Prompt #3. We’ve seen it done. But we’ve also seen a lot of students fall into these exact traps and end up with essays that miss the mark. So with that in mind, let’s walk through how to brainstorm this prompt in a way �ٳ󲹳�’s strategic, self-aware, creative, personal, and unique.

Common App Essay Prompt #3 Example Topics

The best way to approach Prompt #3 (and honestly, any Common App essay) is to tell a story with a clear beginning, middle, and end. But with this one in particular, students often get stuck in the beginning. They spend way too much time lingering on their “bad take” era, over-apologizing, or painting themselves as clueless, without ever getting to the actual point of the prompt: what changed and what came out of it. Don’t fall into that trap. We don’t need 600 words of self-flagellation followed by a one-sentence “but now I see things differently.” That won’t work. 

It helps to break this prompt down into a simple outline. Just seeing it as a clean, three-part structure can make it way easier to figure out what kind of story you might want to tell.

1. What you used to believe.

2. What challenged that belief?

3. What did you do with that realization?

As you start thinking about what story you want to tell, it helps to work backwards from you. What traits do you want this essay to highlight? Are you adaptable? Curious? Reflective? Maybe even a little funny? Ask a few people who know you well (friends, siblings, parents, teachers) to describe you in five words. See what repeats. Then think: what stories in your life actually show those traits?

As with most Common App prompts, small is better – especially when it comes to this one. You might feel drawn to big topics like climate change or education reform, and �ٳ󲹳�’s totally fine, but the story you tell should be grounded in something personal and specific. Think global, act local, right? Are we still saying that?

For example, maybe you saw a documentary about ocean pollution and realized you had no idea how wasteful your own habits were. So you went home and launched a full-blown sustainability campaign, but in your own house. You banned single-use plastics and guilt-tripped your dad into composting. You’re not going to solve climate change at 17, we’re sorry, but you can make an impact in your community in a smaller way. That’s a story. It’s small, it’s personal, and it shows initiative, reflection, and change.

You can even go smaller than that, and maybe even a little silly. Maybe you used to be a card-carrying picky eater until you were ambushed by an Indian buffet and realized you actually really like lamb vindaloo. Now you’re an expert on all the best spots in town and even learned how to make tandoori. Maybe your personal style went from “just rolled out of bed” to “I actually care how I show up,” or you ditched your iPhone after years of brand loyalty and became a devout Android user. While not the essay you probably conceptualized while reading the prompt, these are still stories of self-awareness, openness, and evolution. When they’re written well, they’re way more effective (and way more you) than a generic “I realized injustice exists” essay.

Let’s talk about how to actually write this thing.

Common App Essay Prompt #3 Example Guide

Translating your story to the page can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. You’ve got 650 words to work with, which is somehow both too much and never quite enough. Structure is your friend here, and thankfully, Prompt #3 lends itself to a pretty straightforward arc: what you used to believe, what challenged that belief, and what came out of that change.

Let’s go back to our picky-eater-turned-Indian-food-convert. The beginning of your essay should drop us straight into the before. What was your original mindset? Maybe you’d always turned your nose up at anything outside your comfort zone (burgers, pizza, chicken tenders, repeat). So when you showed up and realized dinner was an entire Indian buffet, your brain short-circuited. That’s a great opening. You could start with something simple, like: “The wait at Olive Garden is like an hour. We’re going to Tandoori Palace instead.” and then launch into the internal panic spiral that sentence triggered. Use specifics. We want to smell the cardamom in the air, hear the sounds of Bollywood coming from the TVs, and feel the rising heat from the buffet containers, spicy curry, and social pressure.

The middle of your essay is where the shift happens, the actual challenge to your belief. This is dinner. You’re staring at unfamiliar food, politely dying inside, but you sit down anyway. And then something weird happens: it’s… good? Like, really good. Maybe tikka masala becomes a revelation. Maybe the mango lassi saves your life. Whatever it is, this section is your turning point, your belief getting shattered and changed for good.

And finally, the ending. This is where you show us the change. And spoiler alert: this essay only works if you do change your mind. The prompt technically says “question or challenge” a belief, but an essay where you wrestle with something and ultimately decide “nah, I was right all along” isn’t exactly a showstopper. So give us growth. Maybe you went home from that dinner and decided to start trying a new dish every week. Maybe you dragged your family to your favorite Indian place or started learning to cook your own. Whatever it is, end on a high note. You want your essay to feel complete, memorable, and not bum the reader out.

As for the logistics of writing: if the intro is stressing you out, skip it and come back later. It’s way easier to write a strong opening once you know where the story’s headed. And if you ������’t think of the perfect first line? Just write the second one.

Once you’ve got your draft down (and yes, it’ll probably be too long at first), it’s editing time. Read it out loud – it’ll help you catch awkward phrasing or clunky transitions. Some students (and counselors who write blog posts) find it helpful to retype the whole thing into a new doc to see it with fresh eyes. Go through three or four rounds of revision before sharing it with a trusted reader or two. Emphasis on two. Any more than that and you’ll end up with ten different opinions that all contradict each other and you’ll be staring at your words in endless self-doubt. Don’t do that!

Once your essay feels clear, personal, and actually like your voice, congrats! You’re ready to hit submit. You’ve got this.

While Prompt #3 is not our favorite, mostly because it overlaps with so many common supplement questions and has a penchant for dragging you into its trap, there’s still plenty of room to make it work. The key is to keep your story small, personal, and focused. Don’t go too broad with your topic, and definitely don’t let the issue overshadow you. This prompt isn’t about proving you understand the world’s problems, its about showing how you think, reflect, and grow. If you can do that in a way that feels honest and specific, Prompt #3 might be exactly the right fit.

Need help with your Common App essay? Reach out to us today.

Before we dive in, let’s remind you of something important: almost every school on your list is going to require a Common App essay. This means you need to get it right. Not perfect in a robotic, polished-to-death way, but right in the sense that it shows who you are, how you think, and what matters to you.

Here’s the prompt:

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

This is a classic “growth” prompt, which many schools will ask you in their supplements. We don’t hate it as a Common App prompt, but it might be something you want to bank for school-specific essays. We do like that this prompt is asking you to tell a story! However, a word of warning before you go writing an emotional deep-dive: this essay is not about failure alone. It’s about what happened after the failure. That’s the key. A ton of students spend the entire essay rehashing something that went wrong and forget the second part of the question – the learning.

Also, you do not have to share your biggest trauma here. You do not need to write about the worst things that have happened to you to get into college, and consider this us giving you permission to not write about it if you don’t want to. Heavy experiences like mental health struggles, chronic illness, learning differences, or family issues might feel like an obvious fit for this prompt. Still, there’s a better place for those: the Additional Information section. You are allowed to protect your story. You’re also allowed to be strategic. And this is one of those moments.

Instead, think of your Common App essay as a space to show personality, reflection, and values. Let the essay breathe. Let it be you.

Common App Essay Prompt #2 Example Topics

This prompt is begging you to tell a story. And thankfully for you, the outline for this story has basically been spelled out for you. To tell a good, compelling, not depressing failure story you need:

• The Failure itself

• Humility

• Growth

When it comes to this prompt, smaller is smarter. You don’t need to write about a massive, life-altering failure to impress admissions officers. In fact, trying to force a “serious” story into this prompt often backfires, especially if it’s something better suited for the Additional Information section.

Instead, think about the smaller stumbles – the kind of thing that was frustrating or embarrassing at the time but, in hindsight, actually taught you something valuable.

Maybe you botched your first attempt at baking something fancy and turned croissants into bricks. Maybe you tanked your first mock trial because you forgot your closing argument. Maybe you signed up to lead a hike and had absolutely no idea what you were doing. Maybe you thought you could wing your talent show performance and completely bungled it. We encourage you to stay away from an academic failure or an extracurricular �ٳ󲹳�’s already present in your application.

These may seem like minor moments, but they’re real. And �ٳ󲹳�’s the point! Most admissions officers are barely a decade out of high school themselves. They still remember what it felt like to mess up, get flustered, or overestimate their own abilities. When you write about something that feels honest and personal (especially if you can laugh at yourself a little), you’re more likely to connect with them.

The crux of your essay shouldn’t be the failure. That should be the first act – open with it. If you bombed your first debate round and immediately decided debate wasn’t for you, �ٳ󲹳�’s not much of a story. But if you froze mid-argument, realized you were wildly underprepared, and then spent the next month rebuilding your confidence and figuring out how to improve? Now �ٳ󲹳�’s what we call an essay. The mistake is just the setup. What matters is what you did next.

Common App Essay Prompt #2 Example Guide

So you’ve got your story idea – now it should just magically appear on the page, right? Right???

Writing the Common App essay is hard. Even when you’ve got a clear prompt and a solid idea, getting that story down in a way that feels natural, compelling, and true to you takes time. But like we said, prompt #2 actually makes things a little easier by giving you a clear path to follow: a beginning, middle, and end. And if your story is something like bombing your first debate or turning croissants into charcoal, the structure almost builds itself.

Let’s start at the beginning. You want to open your essay by dropping us straight into the scene. Think about what it looked like, sounded like, even smelled like. Help us feel what you felt in that moment. Were you staring at a half-empty room, realizing your slideshow wouldn’t load? Listening to awkward silence after forgetting your mock trial script? Picking frosting out of your hair after an overly ambitious baking experiment? These kinds of details make the story come alive and create a strong sense of voice. And don’t worry if you don’t have the perfect opening line right away. You can always come back and write the intro last – and usually it’s easier to write the attention-grabbing intro once the rest of the essay has fallen into place.

Once you’ve set the scene and introduced the challenge or failure, you move into the heart of your story – the middle. This is where you show what happened next. It’s not just about the mistake; it’s about what you realized, what you did, and how you responded. Maybe you learned that winging it in debate doesn’t cut it, or that being the most enthusiastic person in the room doesn’t guarantee people will show up. This section is where your self-awareness kicks in. You’re showing the reader that you’re capable of growth, that you can reflect and adapt, which is exactly what colleges are looking for.

And now, the ending. This is where you bring everything full circle. You don’t need a Hollywood-style comeback story, but the ending should offer some sense of resolution or forward movement. If you started with a baking disaster, maybe you end with a story of hosting a small, successful brunch for your friends or taking a bite of your perfect 2nd attempt. If your debate team journey started with stage fright, maybe you end with the quiet confidence of knowing how to prep and handle pressure. You also do not need to spend a paragraph waxing poetic on the concept of growth. Just tell the story, let your words show the growth or adaptability.

Above all, try to end on a high note. Not in a fake or overly sweet way, because admissions officers can see through that, but something �ٳ󲹳�’s not an overt downer. Remember, admissions officers are reading a lot of essays, and many of them are heavy. If yours can be honest, human, hopeful, and maybe even humorous, it’ll stick with them in a positive way.

As you move into the editing phase, read your essay out loud. This is one of the best ways to catch awkward phrasing or overly formal language. Then, if you really want to sharpen it, try retyping the whole thing into a new document. It helps you see the essay with fresh eyes and tighten up your voice. And when it’s time for feedback, don’t invite everyone you know into the process. Two trusted readers are usually the sweet spot. Any more than that, and you risk turning your essay into a confusing patchwork of other people’s opinions.

Once your essay feels clear, authentic, and finished, you’re ready. Hit submit.

You've got this.

Prompt #2 gives you a solid, structured way to tell a story that reveals who you are, not just what you’ve done. If you choose a moment �ٳ󲹳�’s meaningful without being life-or-death, bring in a little humility, maybe some humor, and reflect honestly on how you’ve grown, this prompt can absolutely work in your favor. At its best, it’s less about the failure itself and more about the version of you that came out the other side. If that sounds like the kind of story you’re ready to tell, Prompt #2 might be the perfect fit.

Need help with your Common App essay? Reach out to us today.

Here’s what you need to know: getting into UVA is already competitive, especially for out-of-state students. But gaining admission to McIntire adds another layer of selectivity. Since students don’t enter McIntire until their third year, you’re technically applying to UVA first – but if McIntire is your goal, you need to be planning for that from the start. This means bringing a high level of focus to both your application to UVA and your academic and extracurricular choices once you're on campus.

So, what can you do now to give yourself the best shot at McIntire later? That’s exactly what this guide is here to unpack.

Is McIntire your top choice? We’ve helped countless students gain admission to McIntire and other top undergrad business schools. Our counselors are ready to provide expert, personalized guidance to help you meet your goals – reach out to us today. 

Get the Grades

Let’s cut to the chase: your grades need to be exceptional. McIntire expects academic excellence, and the students who ultimately transfer in as third-years have strong transcripts filled with rigorous coursework. You should be aiming for top grades across the board, particularly in quantitative classes like calculus and economics, which McIntire requires for admission.

UVA doesn’t take GPAs lightly, and neither should you. This isn’t a “do your best and see what happens” scenario. It's a “bring your A-game every semester” kind of deal. Honors, AP, IB – whatever rigor your school offers, take it, and do well. A high GPA will get you in the door, but it’s the combination of academics and initiative that will carry you through.

Build a Niche

A vague “I want to study business” doesn’t make you stand out. McIntire is looking for applicants who’ve already begun to narrow their focus and explore where business meets real-world impact. Start by identifying areas of interest within business, because it’s a huge topic – whether �ٳ󲹳�’s marketing, finance, analytics, or global strategy, and then take steps to deepen your understanding.

Maybe you think you’re into finance. Great. But what kind of finance? Is it investment strategy? Social impact investing? Fintech? The more specific you get, the more you’ll be able to build experiences and insights that make your application compelling. McIntire wants students who build niche interests and execute ideas on those passions.

Now, let’s break down exactly how to build that niche.

Courses and Reading

If you're aiming for a top-tier business program like McIntire, you need to be learning far beyond the classroom. Online platforms like Coursera, edX, or Open Yale Courses can be goldmines. Look for classes in data analytics, global business, economics, or financial modeling – whatever aligns with your growing interests. Once you find something you like, go even deeper.

Don’t stop at courses, though. Read. Widely. Whether it’s books by industry leaders, articles on ethical leadership, or deep dives into global supply chains, the goal is to build context and critical thinking. And yes, you should be following current events. The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and the Harvard Business Review should be part of your regular rotation. While reading might not have a spot on the Common App, this is for you to figure out what you’re interested in.

School Extracurriculars

Business clubs matter, but not as much as what you actually do in them. If your school offers DECA, FBLA, or an investment club, dive in. Don't just sit in the meetings – run for office, organize events, mentor new members, spear head fundraising. Show that you know how to create value and lead others. No business clubs at your school? That’s your opening. Launch a finance club, build a school-wide business competition, or start a publication focused on the intersection of business and technology.

And don’t overlook interdisciplinary options. If you’re leading a STEM outreach club or running the school paper, think about how those roles connect to strategic thinking, team management, or communications. It’s not about padding your resume – it’s about showing how you already think like a leader.

Out of School Extracurriculars

Jobs are underrated in the college admissions world – but not by us, and not by schools like McIntire. Whether you’re working retail, tutoring younger students, or managing a shift at a local restaurant, you’re gaining practical experience that speaks to your maturity, work ethic, and time management. That matters.

If you’re lucky enough to snag a business-related internship, even better – but make sure it actually aligns with the story you’re telling. Don’t say you want to go into international consulting if your resume is heavy on real estate and retail with no international exposure. Find the throughline! Make your experience count by showing how it fits into your future goals.

You can also explore pre-college summer programs in business or leadership – UVA offers various academic programs, and there are dozens of strong business-focused options nationwide. They’re great because you get to meet ~like-minded peers~, feel what a college campus really feels like, and gain some knowledge on your topic of interest.

Start a Company

“Entrepreneurship” is one of those overused buzzwords that sounds great… until you realize it doesn’t say much on its own. If you’re serious about building something, prove it. Don’t just declare an interest – demonstrate it through your actions. Plus, saying you want to be an entrepreneur is basically like announcing you will drop out of college. Not a great strategy move for college!

Thhis might mean launching a service-based business in your neighborhood, flipping thrifted clothes online, or starting a small nonprofit focused on a cause you care about. Real-world experience is infinitely more impressive than vague ambition. It shows you’re willing to take initiative, solve problems, and take risks – all traits McIntire values deeply. And then, when you go to apply, instead of talking about your dream to build a business, you can talk about the hard skills McIntire will give you to grow that bsuiness.

Apply Early

Unlike many top business schools, McIntire doesn’t admit students directly out of high school. You apply during your second year at UVA, so your initial application is for general admission to the university. But don’t let that fool you into thinking your first two years don’t matter – in fact, they matter immensely.

UVA offers both Early Decision and Early Action. If you’re an out of state student, applying ED will be your smartest strategic move. If you’re applying ED or REA somewhere else, however, you can safely throw an EA application out to UVA.

If McIntire is the dream, don’t wait to start living like you’re already on your way there. We’ve worked with dozens of students who are now thriving at McIntire, and they all have one thing in common: they started with a clear plan. The earlier you build yours, the more options you’ll have when it counts. Reach out to us today if you’re ready to get started.

Need help strategizing for McIntire? Contact us now.

We also like to keep in mind that there is a lot of time between sophomore year and moving into your freshman year dorm room for college. Your interests may deepen, or they may shift. So, we want to make sure that the strategy you are pursuing as a sophomore allows for flexibility without undermining the core aspects of a strong economics-minded student. Namely, teamwork and collaboration, critical thinking, mathematics, and a hunger for knowledge.

In this post, we break down what you need to be doing outside of the classroom as a sophomore to set you up for success with a particular focus on economics. This is a look behind the curtain of what we take into consideration when we work with students, but we aren’t able to get into the full process of what it takes to create an application activity strategy in a blog post. If you are curious about what your best route would be given your particular interests and experiences, get in touch.

As a sophomore, college can feel like a far distant future. It’s going to come quicker than you think, and we can help you be in the best possible position when it’s time to press submit. Learn more.

When we are working with sophomores on an activity strategy, it’s all about balance. You’re young, and you should be having fun — but if there are ways to have fun while also pursuing a strong strategy for college admissions �ٳ󲹳�’s the best possible scenario. So, this is what you need to do: 

CLUBS & TEAMS

First, if your school has a Model UN or Quiz Bowl team, you need to join at least one of them, but preferably both. If you have already joined, awesome. If not, join today. And if your school doesn’t have either, it’s time to start something. We recommend starting a Quiz Bowl team, as it is much easier to get going than a Model UN club. Starting a Quiz Bowl team begins with two things: first, a group of friends and, next, a faculty advisor. This is one key and very self-serving reason for why to cultivate strong relationships with your teachers above and beyond your transcript.

INTERNSHIPS & RESEARCH

There aren’t many ‘obvious’ internships for students interested in econ, but having at least one internship experience on your college application is important — so how do you thread that needle? There are two main routes.

First, we encourage sophomores to reach out to academics and professors at local colleges or universities asking if there are ways that you can support them in their research. This type of work is often objectively boring, especially at the beginning. You may be sorting through files, organizing books, or arranging notes, but all of this is good and meaningful. Not only are you learning from an expert simply by being in their vicinity, but you’re also laying a foundation for future opportunities during junior or senior year. By accepting a menial role early, you crack open a door that can be hard for other students to even find.

The other route that we advise students to pursue is securing an internship with a local company you are excited about, even if it isn’t obviously economics related. Ideally, this internship would be with a small business and give you a peek into how a business runs and pursues growth. These insights will help you to understanding microeconomics concepts, in particular.

As you pursue either of these routes, it’s important to mine your community for opportunities. This means brainstorming connections you may have that could prove useful. In the end, you have to deliver by doing a great job, but if a friend of your parents or family member can help you access an opportunity that is all not just fair game, but critical. 

EMPLOYMENT

Parents are often confused when we advocate for getting a job. School and academic pursuits should be the sole focus, no? Well, while we understand their perspective, we also have to insist that getting a job as a sophomore, or as soon as you are able to by state law, is critically important to your college chances. This is true for all students, but especially students at private or privileged schools. At top high schools, top students can be indistinguishable from each other beyond transcript. It becomes an arms race for the best grades, and �ٳ󲹳�’s a bad game to play when you’re already towards the top. Just like pursuing an internship, getting a job is a crucial way of differentiating from the pack.

But what does this have to do with economics? Good question. Microeconomics is all about households and individuals and, yes, business. So, getting a job, especially with a small business, is like jumping into the microeconomics pool and teaching yourself to swim. Look for a part-time or summer job that requires you to work with other humans, especially in a customer service capacity. Working for a family business is fair game, as long as your supervisor isn’t one of your parents, and aim for opportunities with collaborative or team-based experiences.

SUMMER PROGRAMS

One of the most popular summer activities for economics-minded students are academic summer programs, either virtual/online or in-residence on the campus on a college or university. These are often a great experience, like focused academics with a side of summer camp, but don’t assume that they are all the same. When we work with students who are interested in doing a summer program after sophomore year, we help them identify a program that will serve as a launch pad to future opportunities and outstanding outcomes.

The combination of clubs and teams, internships and research, a part-time job, and a summer program or two, when done right, are a powerful tool for pursuing an impressive future in economics at a top college. As a sophomore this can feel far, far away. But it isn’t. High school goes by quickly, and making the most of the first half truly is the difference between an exceptional sprint to the finish line and falling behind your lofty goals. To ensure that you’re on a trajectory that will take you towards your dreams, get in touch.

We help driven students achieve their wildest dreams. Learn more.

While Georgetown’s overall acceptance rate is around 12%, the admit rate for McDonough is significantly lower – we estimate it lands in the high single digits. As more students apply directly into business, the program’s selectivity continues to climb. This is not a fallback option, it’s a top-tier, direct-entry program with serious competition.

That said, it’s absolutely within reach, if you plan ahead. With strong academics, a focused interest in business, and a narrative that reflects both ambition and intentionality, you can build an application that stands out. Let’s walk through how to make that happen

Is McDonough your top choice? We’ve helped countless students gain admission to McDonough and other top undergrad business schools. Our counselors are ready to provide expert, personalized guidance to help you meet your goals – reach out to us today. 

Get the Grades

If Georgetown McDonough is your goal, strong academics aren’t just helpful – they’re essential. Successful applicants aren’t just taking tough classes; they’re excelling in them. You should be enrolled in the most rigorous courses your school offers, whether �ٳ󲹳�’s AP, IB, or honots, and especially in subjects like economics, statistics, and calculus. A transcript with mostly As in advanced coursework is the expectation, not the exception.

And unlike many peer institutions, Georgetown requires standardized test scores. Submitting the SAT or ACT is not optional, and if you’re applying to McDonough, those scores need to be strong. We recommend aiming for a 1550+ on the SAT or a 35+ on the ACT to remain competitive in a pool filled with top-tier students.

The bottom line? McDonough is looking for students who can thrive in a rigorous, fast-paced environment. Your transcript should reflect the preparation and discipline that kind of environment demands.

Build a Niche

At a school like McDonough, saying “I’m interested in business” doesn’t mean much on its own. The admissions team is looking for students who have gone beyond the basics – applicants who have already started exploring specific areas of business in meaningful ways. If your application reads like a general introduction, it’s going to blend in.

Let’s say finance catches your attention. That’s a good starting point, but what have you done with it? Maybe you’ve started following global market shifts or studying how central banks influence investment behavior. Perhaps you've explored how microfinance models work in emerging economies, or how to best utilize impact investing to make a difference. These aren’t just impressive talking points – they’re signs that you’ve moved from passive interest to active investigation.

Georgetown values precision, global awareness, and intellectual initiative. The students who stand out are the ones who connect their curiosity to action and show how their interests have evolved over time. If you want your McDonough application to rise to the top, you’ll need to build a story that reflects that kind of focus. We’ll show you how.

Courses and Reading

If you’re genuinely interested in business, you need to start exploring these interests outside of class. The most compelling applicants are the ones who take initiative on their own, seeking out ways to deepen their understanding of the field. That could mean enrolling in online courses through platforms like edX, Coursera, or Open Yale Courses to get exposure to subjects like international finance, strategic management, or business and public policy.

You also need to read. Yes, you do! Look for biographies of influential global business leaders, books on regulatory frameworks, or case studies on innovation and ethics in complex markets. And make it a habit to follow current events. Track stories from Bloomberg, Financial Times, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review to stay connected to real-world developments – this can help you figure out what it is you’re truly interested in.

What matters most isn’t how many topics you touch, but how far you’re willing to go with the ones that truly interest you. McDonough values students who approach business with curiosity, depth, and perspective. The more time and thought you invest now, the clearer your direction will be when it’s time to apply.

School Extracurriculars

If your school offers business-focused clubs, sign up, and even better, become a leader. Organizations like DECA, FBLA, or a general business or investment club can help you gain early exposure to business fundamentals and give you a space to apply what you’re learning. If your school lacks options, �ٳ󲹳�’s an opportunity. Start something that aligns with your specific interests – maybe it’s a global economics club, a women in leadership group, or a microfinance initiative that partners with local entrepreneurs.

You can also consider how business can connect to other disciplines or issues that matter to you. That might look like launching a project that blends entrepreneurship with environmental impact, starting a speaker series on business and social justice, or developing a financial literacy program for younger students or underserved communities. And don’t forget: leadership experience isn’t limited to formal clubs. Managing your school’s budget as student body treasurer, coordinating the financial side of a large fundraiser, or running operations for a student-led event all show initiative and strategic thinking.

Out of School Extracurriculars

We strongly encourage students to gain work experience – whether it’s during the summer, weekends, or any available break. For future business majors, especially those applying to McDonough, having a job shows maturity, discipline, and the ability to take ownership. The role doesn’t need to be flashy. Working retail, assisting in a local office, managing a family-run operation, or even tutoring younger students, these are all ways to show that you understand what it means to be reliable in a professional setting.

It’s also smart to look into pre-college summer programs that focus on business, economics, or leadership development. Some are hosted on college campuses, including Georgetown, and offer a valuable opportunity to engage with real-world business challenges, connect with peers, and experience the college environment firsthand.

Internships can add value, too, but only when they fit your narrative. If your application emphasizes international finance, but your experience is centered around sports marketing or retail strategy, admissions officers may struggle to connect the dots. McDonough values applicants who have a clear direction. Your resume should reinforce the interests you claim in your application, creating a cohesive story about who you are and where you’re headed.

Start a Company

Let’s have a quick word with those of you planning to major in “entrepreneurship.” At McDonough, that word alone isn’t going to carry much weight. It’s a mindset, not a major – and without action to back it up, it just sounds vague and it’s a bit of a red flag (dropout to CEO pipeline, anyone?). Georgetown isn’t looking for students chasing the next headline-worthy startup idea. They’re looking for grounded, strategic thinkers who are serious about building sustainable ventures with real impact.

If entrepreneurship is something you genuinely care about, show it through action and skill development. Learn how to manage a budget, build a product, lead a team, and navigate risk. Better yet, apply those skills. Maybe you organized a student-run consulting group, launched an online business, or built a program to serve your community. It doesn’t need to be flashy, it just needs to be real.

McDonough values thoughtful execution over big talk. It’s not the word “entrepreneur” that impresses them – it’s your ability to show that you know how to solve problems, follow through, and build something that lasts. That’s what tells them you’re ready for business school.

Apply Early

Georgetown offers a Restrictive Early Action (REA) option, and if McDonough is high on your list, applying early is a smart move. While REA doesn’t come with a guaranteed statistical boost, it does signal that you’re serious about Georgetown, and when you’re applying to one of the university’s most competitive programs, that kind of demonstrated interest can matter. Additionally, submitting your application early gives you the advantage of being reviewed before the regular decision pool is filled.

Georgetown’s REA is non-binding, which means even if you’re admitted, you’re not obligated to attend. However, you may not apply to any binding Early Decision programs at other schools. You can, however, apply Early Action to any other schools, like Michigan, UNC, or UT, all of which also happen to have top business schools.

Strong McDonough applicants don’t just check academic boxes – they take the most rigorous courses available, build resumes that show initiative, and take on leadership roles that reflect real direction and drive. If you’re serious about getting in, it’s important to start early and build intentionally.

We can help you put together an application that aligns with your strengths and tells a clear, compelling story. Reach out to us today if you want to get started.

Need help strategizing for McDonough? Contact us now.

Our students apply — and get into — the best schools for physics in the country. MIT, Stanford, the California Institute of Technology, Princeton, and Harvard, are all physics heavy hitters in our regular roster, but there are so many other exceptional places to study physics in the country that we support students in applying to. And for the strongest outcomes, we start early. In this post, we’re going to give you a peek at how we guide sophomores through crafting an extracurricular strategy that sets them up for success, leadership, and outstanding admissions outcomes.  

The activities and extracurriculars you do, especially as a sophomore, are often overlooked as a crucial piece of strong application. STEM students, and especially physics kids, tend to focus on what they are doing academically, potentially to the point of ignoring the activities section of their application. This is not the way to win. Instead, you need to be even more intentional about how you spend your time outside of class to bolster your applications. This is how to do it.

College may seem like a far-distant future, but it’s going to come up quickly. We help students make the most of the time they have to achieve exceptional admissions results. Learn more.

Below, we’ve broken the types of activities you should be doing down into four big ‘buckets’ that absolutely must be addressed. As a sophomore interested in physics, you need to be doing something for each of these categories. You’ll be investing different amounts of time into each, but they are all important to put some time into.  

A PHYSICS-FOCUSED CLUB

The first thing on this list shouldn’t surprise you: you need to be part of a physics-focused club at school. Ideally, this would be focused in even further on a specific area of physics you are interested in, such as astronomy or astrophysics. If such a club exists at your school, join it immediately if you haven’t already. It’s critical that you be on a leadership trajectory for this club, too. We don’t expect you to attain this leadership role until junior or senior year, but your path towards it should start now.

If there is not a physics-focused club at your school, or the only physics club is focused on an area that you aren’t particularly interested in, this is an amazing opportunity to put your foot on the gas pedal and start something. Starting a club is possible — every club started somewhere and was started by someone — but it can also take time. If you begin the process of starting a club now, expect it to take six months to get to school approval. This may mean starting informally before getting school recognition, or it may mean waiting for a first meeting until you have all your ducks in a line. Either is totally fine, and we wouldn’t be shocked if the club isn’t official until your junior fall. The whole point is that you are not only the club founder, but also the club leader.  

A GENERAL STEM CLUB

In addition to being part of a physics-focused club, we need you to be building a strong track record with a broader STEM club, with the goal of moving towards a leadership role. This may be a robotics club, a rocketry club, a Science Olympiad team, a Quiz Bowl, a STEM tutoring group, or anything else that puts you in the room with classmates from different fields and with different focuses. This provides a depth and a breadth of experience, and builds relationships that can support you through your other endeavors in high school.  

As we’ve mentioned already, a goal for this club also needs to be leadership. You could become the club co-head or captain, or lead a group within the club, like the code squad on a robotics team. Don’t just be a member coasting along until senior year, though. Claim some space and work towards a big goal!

RESEARCH TOWARDS INTERNSHIP

As a sophomore, we know that you are young for an internship, but we also know that you are capable of a lot. To kick things off and put you in a position for an amazing internship junior or senior year, we recommend that you take on an independent research project with the goal of publication or presentation at a science fair or through a science competition. To do this, you want to treat yourself as a professional. You are capable of so much, and pushing yourself this early in high school will launch you towards a wildly successful high school experience and equally successful college application outcomes.

And if you do have an opportunity for an internship already, take it. Ideally, any internship as a sophomore would be at least two weeks long and include at least twenty in-person hours working as part of a small team on something relevant to your physics interests.

SOMETHING OUT OF LEFT FIELD BUT LONG-TERM

Okay, that title is a mouthful, but we wanted to be super specific. As a physics person, it’s really easy to get so focused on the subject that you risk becoming one-note. We want to see our students, especially as sophomores, developing a side of themselves that has nothing to do with physics but that informs your worldview and builds your character. The key is that you have to be doing it at a high level, even as only a sophomore. This could be a starting position on a varsity team, a penchant for winning county-wide baking competitions, a part-time job running a local tutoring business, or a passion for photography (with real film cameras, not only your phone). The point isn’t what you are doing here, except that it is not directly related to physics. The point is that you are excelling at something that you love that integrates another aspect of who you are into your application. By applying this lens on top of your physics passion, your application will have nuance that a straight physics application simply ������’t. Also, it’s fun to do something fun.

As a sophomore, you have the opportunity to take bold actions leading to exciting impacts that roll out between now and the end of your senior year. We hope you will jump at this opportunity to make the most of the time that you have to deepen your passions while building your resume for the future. And, if you want an added boost, get in touch.

You are a strong, passionate, and driven student. We know college admissions. Let's work together.

One of the perks of the Common App is the Common App essay. It’s one essay that gets sent to every school on your list, and while most colleges will also ask for supplemental essays, this one is the non-negotiable. Since every school sees it, yes, it does need to be perfect. Not to apply undue pressure, or anything, but it is very important.

Over the next few posts, we’re breaking down all seven Common App prompts. We’ll tell you which ones we love (prompt #7), which ones we avoid, and how to brainstorm, write, and revise an essay that actually sounds like you, not what you think colleges want to hear. And heads up: we don’t subscribe to the usual essay advice you’ll find on the internet. In fact, we often do the opposite. But our strategy works, and we’ve got the results to back it up.

Let’s start with Prompt #1.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

We’re just gonna say it: this is not our favorite Common App prompt.

Why? Because you’re going to get asked this question (or some version of it) a lot. Most schools have a supplemental essay that asks about your background, identity, or community. If you use up your best material here, you’re going to be stuck trying to answer the same question ten more times with increasingly recycled answers. Not fun, not strategic. Also, if you’re filling out the Common App the right way, pieces of your identity or background should already show up in your activities list or through your supplemental essays. You don’t need to cram it all into this one space.

Beyond that, this question can make some students deeply uncomfortable, and for good reason! It subtly nudges you to “other” yourself, as if you need to prove how different or disadvantaged you are to be interesting. You absolutely do not. You don’t have to mine your trauma, explain your identity, or write a personal statement that sounds like it belongs in a hardship memoir just to get into college. This is us giving you permission to not write about something traumatic – and in fact, there’s a whole part of the Common App meant for that.

Another downside to this prompt is that it has a tendency to accidentally turn into an essay about someone else. We know your grandma has lived a remarkable life and makes the best soup on the planet, but your personal statement needs to center you. Not that you ������’t mention someone else, but you need to be the focus.

Now that being said, if you’re committed to prompt #1, you can still write a killer essay within its confines. Let’s talk about exactly how you can do that.

Common App Essay Prompt #1 Example Topics

If your first instinct is to write about something big, think race, religion, trauma, or even your extracurriculars, pause. Step away from the keyboard. Take a beat. Let’s think about this.

It’s not that those topics aren’t important. They are. They just show up in every applicant pool, every year. Admissions officers have read hundreds (probably thousands) of essays about being the team captain, surviving adversity, or discovering a passion for your major through band/robotics/model UN. These essays start to blend together. And there are other places to write these very same things within school supplements.

And look, we’re not saying these experiences doesn’t matter. We’re saying that if your identity is shaped by something heavy, that might be better suited for the additional information section. You don’t need to write about the worst thing �ٳ󲹳�’s ever happened to you to prove you're worthy of college admission. (Hot take, we know.) And if your entire essay is you saying you changed your worldview by being soccer captain? Save it for your supplements, or better yet, skip it.

We want your Common App essay to reveal something new, personal, and unexpected. So, when you brainstorm this prompt, think smaller. Zoom in. What’s something unique, weird, or just quietly meaningful about you? Maybe you’re a savant when it comes to the banjo. Maybe you’ve got a party trick so bizarre your friends beg you to do it at every gathering. On the other hand, perhaps what makes you you isn’t rare; it’s just deeply sincere. That works too. Maybe you’ve mastered the art of making risotto and channel your inner Hell’s Kitchen contestant every Sunday. This prompt doesn’t have to be dramatic to be effective.

The key here is focus. This prompt has a bad habit of making people ramble. That’s why we love the small stuff, because it naturally lends itself to storytelling. It’s much easier to write a tight, memorable essay about a single night you cooked a five-course meal than to sum up your entire cultural identity in 650 words.

Now that you’ve got a sense of how to approach this prompt, let’s talk about how to actually write it.

Common App Essay Prompt #1 Example Guide

Alright, time to turn your idea into an actual essay. Easier said than done, we know. But here’s our strongest advice: tell a story. Yes, we’ve said that already, but we’re saying it again because �ٳ󲹳�’s how important it is. If you spend 650 words philosophizing about your personality or narrating your resume, you're going to end up with a vague blob of words instead of a compelling Common App essay. A story gives your essay structure, focus, and most importantly, life.

Start at the beginning. Literally. Set the scene and drop us into the moment. Think of it like the opening shot of a movie. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Touch? Taste? The more specific and sensory your details, the more grounded and engaging your story will feel. Bonus points if you use something universal to reel the reader in: the crunch of gravel under your sneakers, the scent of garlic sizzling in a pan, the low rattle of a late-night car ride.

If you’re stuck on your first line, you don’t have to start with it. Skip to the second line. Or the last. Write the middle first. Write the ending. Come back to the beginning once you know where you’re going. Some of the best intros are written last!

As you get into the meat of your story, remember: you don’t need some massive conflict or dramatic turning point. Think of your essay like a mini-movie about your life. What are the beats that move it forward? Maybe you misread a recipe (salt instead of sugar mishaps, anyone??). Maybe you missed an exit. Maybe your little cousin asked a question that threw you into an existential spiral while you were making waffles. Small, honest moments often reveal more than dramatic ones, especially when told with care and detail.

And now, the ending. Please, please end on a high note. That doesn’t mean your essay has to be sappy or overly optimistic, but give your reader something that feels complete and satisfying. Ending on a bummer is not going to resonate with admissions officers. Call back to where you started. Show us what changed. If you opened with your journey to perfect a specific dish, maybe close with how you finally nailed it, and what that small success taught you.

Pro tip: admissions officers are human. They’re reading hundreds of essays, many of which are deeply heavy. If your story allows for it, leave them smiling. Be the essay that lifts their spirits at 4:52 PM before they log off for the day.

Once you’ve got a draft, it’s time to revise. Read it out loud, you’ll catch weird phrasing and awkward pacing that way. Then, try retyping the whole thing into a fresh doc. It helps you notice what’s working and what’s not. After a few rounds of edits, ask one or two people you trust for feedback. Just one or two. The more people you bring in, the more conflicting advice you’ll get, and then your essay stops sounding like you. Too many cooks spoil the broth!

Look, is this our favorite Common App prompt? Nope. Prompt #7 stans all the way. But if you approach it with creativity, originality, and a clear personal story, you can absolutely write something memorable.

Need help with your Common App essay? Reach out to us today.

Maybe your school made you write a Common App essay in your junior year English class, or they had a bootcamp, or you have to come back for a few days this summer to write it with your classmates. We won’t say you should completely throw that writing out or disregard the advice you got, but we have our own, creative approach to the Common App essay that some schools might find unconventional, but we find that it works.

Brainstorming the Common App essay can feel like a daunting task, but it doesn’t need to be. Let’s walk you through how we help our clients come up with creative, innovative essays that grab the attention of admissions officers and get them into top colleges.

Need help with your Common App essay? Stuck on what to write about or need someone to help you edit your essay to perfection? We’ve helped countless students gain admission to top universities with our creative and unique essays. Reach out to us today if you need help.

What Is The Common App Essay?

The Common App essay is the essay that every single school on your list will (or can) see. It’s 650 words, and you can choose from one of seven prompts:

A good Common App essay always tells a story – and even though we are Question #7 fans (share an essay of your own design), you can use any of these prompts to tell a story. You want to use this space to share something about yourself that is not quantifiable, a quality, trait, interest, or value you have that you otherwise wouldn’t have the space to share. That doesn’t mean something like “hardworking” or “good at science,” since they can see that in your transcript or resume; instead, it means something like “empathetic” or “creative.”

What Should You Write About?

A good exercise to start this process is asking your friends and family to send you five words they would use to describe you. Not things like tall or blonde, but personality words! You will find that there’s a lot of overlap in how these people describe you, and it’s a good way to find out how other people see you. If four of your five friends text you some version of “nice, caring, empathetic, thoughtful,” then �ٳ󲹳�’s a good indication that your essay could talk about the way you show up for people. Once you have your words, you have a framework to think about stories.

The words people send you might evoke memories of things you’ve done together. Write these down and think of the ways you’ve exemplified these traits with your friends and family. You can also ask your friends why they put those words down, because they might have a memory or example that you didn’t even realize resonated with them. While a story that ends up in your Common App essay may not be born of this exact exercise, it will give you a good roadmap of what you might want to talk about.

Find a Story

Something smart to do before you start actually writing your Common App essay is to fill out your activities section. This doesn’t need to be perfectly done, but you should know what 10 activities you’re going to list for the Common App. Once you’ve done that, you should eliminate these items from your potential Common App essay tank of ideas. We don’t want to tell them something they already know about you! If they already know it, then you’ve wasted 650 words instead of using that space to reveal something new about yourself. They already know you play soccer. They don’t need to hear about the big game-wining goal.

Instead, think back to those words. If “adventerous” came up a lot, stories of your nature escapades or spontaneous road trips can work well. For “thoughtful,” maybe you threw the greatest surprise party of all time for your best friend or always have the perfect plan for cheering someone up. The story doesn’t need to be big or grand, and it doesn’t have to connect to some larger lesson about how you’ve grown as a person. It can be about a commute, hotdogs, cooking eggs, or even a hedgehog.

Putting it Together

Once you have your idea, it’s time to put it on paper. Easier said than done, we know, but a good story is chock-full of details. We want to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the things you’re talking about. Vivid language helps set you apart from the crowd, and we know you’ve heard “show, don’t tell,” a million times throughout school, but if there’s any essay where showing is important, it’s this one. You want to place your reader smack-dab in the middle of your story, grab their attention! We’ve got guides and examples on our blog on how to actually get into the nitty gritty of essay writing, but hopefully this gave you an idea of how to come up with the idea, or at least get the juices flowing.

Brainstorming is not easy, and if it was, they’d probably use a word less ominous than “storm” to describe it. It’s also not something you should rush. You need to take your time on your Common App essay, don’t wait until a few weeks ahead of your deadline and think that’ll be enough time to get it done. Start now, think a lot of thoughts, and hopefully you’ll have a solid idea in place (and drafted!) before school even starts.

Need help with your Common App essay? Reach out to us today.

Here’s what you need to know: Kenan-Flagler is one of the most competitive programs at UNC. While Carolina’s overall acceptance rate hovers around 17% for out-of-state applicants, admission into the business school, especially for those applying directly as first-year students, is significantly more selective. Out-of-state acceptance is around 8% (eight!!), which means if you don’t hail from the Tarheel state, you need to do everything you can to build a strong profile.

If you’re serious about Kenan-Flagler, you’ll need a smart, focused strategy to match that ambition. This guide is here to help you build the kind of application that can stand out in one of the most competitive business applicant pools out there.

Is Kenan-Flagler your top choice? We’ve helped countless students gain admission to Kenan-Flagler and other top undergrad business schools. Our counselors are ready to provide expert, personalized guidance to help you meet your goals – reach out to us today. 

Get the Grades

Getting into Kenan-Flagler isn’t just about being a strong UNC applicant; it’s about being a standout. Students who are admitted to the direct-entry business program typically fall at the top of UNC’s already competitive applicant pool. That means your academic performance needs to be exceptional.

Straight As are the baseline. The average unweighted GPA for admitted business students is around a 3.9, and those grades are coming from students who are taking the most rigorous classes available to them. AP, IB, honors – whatever your school offers, you should be challenging yourself across the board. If you’re aiming for Kenan-Flagler, strong academics aren’t optional. They’re expected.

Build a Niche

Saying you're “interested in business” isn't enough, especially if you're aiming for a direct admit spot at Kenan-Flagler. UNC is looking for students who’ve started thinking critically about what they want to explore and why. One of the best ways to sharpen that focus is to dig into the kinds of business areas Kenan-Flagler is known for – think corporate finance, consulting, entrepreneurship, or business and sustainability.

Maybe finance is where you begin. That’s a solid starting point, but it shouldn't be the end. As you explore, you might find yourself more interested in financial planning for underserved communities, or how capital markets can support long-term social impact. That evolution, from a general interest to a clear and intentional direction, is what makes a strong application stand out. You’re not just listing a major. You’re showing that you’ve already started down a path.

So how do you actually make that visible in your application? Let’s break it down.

Courses and Reading

If you want to define your business interests with clarity and depth, you have to start learning beyond the classroom. We recommend exploring free or low-cost online courses through platforms like Coursera, edX, or Open Yale Courses. These can introduce you to everything from core business principles to more focused topics, like financial modeling, operations strategy, or ethical leadership.

Reading widely is just as valuable. Whether it’s memoirs by respected business leaders, in-depth looks at economic policy, or books on innovation and organizational behavior, a thoughtful reading list can help you shape your perspective. And don’t underestimate the importance of staying current. Following business news through Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, or industry-specific podcasts gives you insight into real-world challenges and opportunities.

School Extracurriculars

If your school offers business clubs, get involved! And don’t just be a member, take on a leadership role when you can. Whether it’s DECA, FBLA, an investment club, or a group focused on entrepreneurship, these activities are a great way to start building experience. If your school doesn’t have anything that fits your interests, �ٳ󲹳�’s an opportunity. Start something of your own, whether it’s a consulting club, a nonprofit accelerator, or a group focused on business and sustainability.

Your extracurriculars don’t have to be strictly business-related to be relevant. Kenan-Flagler values well-rounded students who know how to lead, solve problems, and think critically. Maybe you’re interviewing local small business owners for the school newspaper, running the logistics for a large service project, or managing fundraising for a student organization. These experiences all show initiative and strategic thinking –  and they help admissions officers understand how your interests align with Kenan-Flagler’s values. The key is to make sure everything you do ties into a larger story about who you are and where you're headed.

Out of School Extracurriculars

We encourage all of our students to work – during the summer, on weekends, or whenever it fits into their schedule. For future business majors, having a job is one of the best ways to show that you’re dependable, motivated, and willing to take on real-world responsibility. Whether you’re stocking shelves, managing the front desk at a gym, or working as a camp counselor, the role itself matters less than the fact that you’re showing up and learning how businesses operate from the inside.

You should also consider applying to summer programs that focus on business, leadership, or economics. There are many highly regarded options around the country (and even abroad!) that allow you to explore core business concepts, see what a college campus feels like, collaborate with peers, and build confidence before college.

And if you’re able to secure an internship, �ٳ󲹳�’s great – as long as it aligns with your broader goals. If your application highlights an interest in corporate finance or consulting, but your experience is in retail or unrelated admin work, it might muddy the narrative. Strong applicants to Kenan-Flagler tell a consistent story through their experiences. Your resume should reflect where you're headed, not just what was available.

Start a Company

Saying you're interested in "entrepreneurship" is a bit like saying you're interested in "drive." It's a great quality – but not a clear plan. On its own, it doesn’t tell admissions officers much about what you’ve done or what you’re hoping to study. And while the media loves to spotlight the college-dropout-turned-billionaire founder, �ٳ󲹳�’s not the story schools like Kenan-Flagler are looking to invest in.

If building businesses is something you're genuinely passionate about, �ٳ󲹳�’s a great starting point, but now it’s time to get specific. Focus on learning practical skills like marketing, finance, or operations. Better yet, put those skills into practice. Maybe you organized a community-based service, launched a small business, or turned a hobby into a source of income. That kind of real-world initiative carries weight!

Kenan-Flagler wants to see students who are builders – not just in theory, but in action. You don’t need to label yourself an entrepreneur. Just show that you know how to take an idea and make it happen.

Apply Early

UNC Chapel Hill offers Early Action, and if Kenan-Flagler is on your radar, applying early is a smart move. While EA at UNC doesn’t guarantee a much higher acceptance rate, it does give your application an early read – which can help, especially for competitive programs like Kenan-Flagler’s direct admit track. Plus, applying early shows that you’ve done your research and are serious about the university.

A strong Kenan-Flagler applicant isn’t just a good student. They’ve taken on academic rigor, earned top grades, and already started demonstrating leadership and initiative outside the classroom. If this is your goal, the time to build your application is now. The earlier you get focused, the more compelling your story will be by senior year.

If you’re aiming for Kenan-Flagler and want to put your best foot forward, we’re here to help you make it happen. Don’t wait to start building your path, reach out today.

Need help strategizing for Kenan-Flagler? Contact us now.

We guide students through high school to impressive college application outcomes. Because strong grades are crucial, and exceptional scores matter, but that isn’t enough to get into a top mechanical engineering program like MIT, California Institute of Technology, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the University of Michigan, or the Ivy League. Ultimately, you need to present more to colleges than a strong transcript and score report. You need to show that you are a strong person — and that is where activities come in.

Below, we break down the key types of activities you need to be doing as a sophomore interested in mechanical engineering. These activities are chosen based on key characteristics you need to emphasize about yourself, including leadership, teamwork, creativity, and curiosity.

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We totally understand if this is overwhelming. There is so much that you can be doing right now, and trying to tackle it all can feel like a massive weight. We encourage our students to prioritize depth over breadth. You want to be building toward greater future success, not burning yourself out. So, pick a few things from the buckets below to and lean into them — hard. Make them key passions that fuel you, not drain you. This, with the time you have between sophomore year and your college application season, will amplify your application, and emphasize what a strong candidate you are. So, let’s dig in.

CLUBS & TEAMS

The first place to start is with clubs and teams offered through your school. They may have something explicitly related to mechanical engineering, but it’s likely that they don’t. That is okay, because there is almost certainly something adjacent, like a robotics club. If you can join a robotics club, and haven’t already, do so immediately and become involved with the build team. Ideally, you can work towards becoming build team leader. Towards that goal, mentor younger students and emphasize the type of kindness and teamwork that makes other people want to work with you. This is good regardless, but is additionally helpful as you work towards a leadership role.

This same framework applies to any other team or club that you have access to, especially those related to engineering. Maybe it is a Science Olympiad team or a STEM club, whatever it is called, the same general rules apply. Act kindly, encourage others, push yourself, and build towards leadership.

INDEPENDENT PROJECTS

A great thing about being a sophomore is that you have time to do something big on your own, or with a small team, before submitting your applications. We highly recommend that our sophomores interested in mechanical engineering tackle independent projects with the goal of submitting to the Regeneron Science Talent Search, the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (), a similarly prestigious competition, or for publication by a science journal for high school students. As we help our students brainstorm a direction for this project, we like to keep a particular competition, event, or publication as our North Star. Ideally, we’ll end up there, but, even if we don’t, having it as the goal will lead our students to greater success than they could have previously imagined.

Taking on an independent project in engineering can be overwhelming, so remember that you should start small. You don’t need to do something wild; you just need to do something. Maybe this is a project for a fair, or maybe it is designing a household gadget simply for the improvement of your home. Both are impressive, and the later actually may be a more impactful story in the end.

INTERNSHIPS

We also recommend that sophomores work towards a summer internship with a mechanical engineering firm or company, ideally a small one that would be willing to take you on to help with small office tasks. You most likely won’t be doing mechanical engineering as a high school sophomore, but you will be proximate to mechanical engineering being done. Even a small role doing ‘boring’ work is a huge learning opportunity, and illustrates to colleges that you are willing to work hard.

If you can secure an internship in the summer after sophomore year, you even have the potential of being asked back for junior or senior year, building upon your previous experience, illustrating longevity of commitment on your resume, and developing relationships that can lead to supplementary recommendations. 

SUMMER PROGRAMS

There are many summer programs available for driven high school students, especially related to STEM. If you live in a major city or college town, there is almost certainly something that you can do in-person to develop your interest in mechanical engineering, whether it’s a camp, an immersive intensive, or an in-person course.

If there aren’t any programs immediately available to you geographically, you are facing two options (assuming you want to do a summer program). The easiest to do logistically, but harder to make impactful, are virtual programs. These are very easy to schedule into your life and don’t require you to travel somewhere. That’s good, but you also aren’t building relationships or participating in team-based learning, two of the things that truly make these programs have an impact on yourself as a student, but also on your college applications. The other option is to travel to do an in-person summer program at a college or university, often living in a dorm environment. These programs can be a great learning opportunity, and a ton of fun, but they are also often prohibitively expensive for many applicants and their families.

So, how do you pick? We guide our sophomore clients along their best path, but if you are going it without guidance, it can be overwhelming. Ultimately, you need to follow your gut. Remember that doing a single thing, especially a summer program, will not guarantee you admission to a dream school. Instead, it’s about the big picture that your activities and academics create, and making that big picture as strong, and as specific, as possible. You are you, and you are enough, and showing how exceptional you are is easy if you pick the right activities and pursue them with enthusiasm and commitment.

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