What are the Common App essay prompts for this year and how do I pick one?

Seven broad prompts exist so almost any honest story can find a home.

The Common App offers seven prompts — covering background, a challenge, growth, and a wide-open "topic of your choice" — and you pick the one that fits the story you already want to tell. Scenario: A student with a great story about quitting competitive swimming realizes prompt 2, on a setback, frames it perfectly. The current list is on the Common App site. EssayCompass helps you match your real experiences to the prompt that showcases them best.

Start with your story, then choose the prompt — the options are broad enough that almost any meaningful essay fits one, especially prompt 7. Scenario: A girl unsure which prompt to use writes freely about her love of repairing bikes, then finds it slots neatly into the "topic of your choice" option. College Board's BigFuture walks beginners through choosing. EssayCompass asks about your life first, drafts a sample, then shows which prompt it naturally answers.

Read all seven prompts once, then forget them and brainstorm — the best pick is the one that lets your most honest story breathe. Scenario: A student chooses the "gratitude" prompt only after realizing his best material is about a coach who believed in him. Georgia Tech's admission blog advises story-first prompt selection. EssayCompass, trained on thousands of real essays, coaches you from brainstorm to a prompt-matched sample you can rewrite in your own voice.

Ready to see it on your own prompt? Start writing your essay → or explore why EssayCompass is different.