The Common App releases essay prompts for 2016-17 application season

Essay writing tutors are excited, and college applicants are more stressed than ever: the Common Application announced the prompts for the personal statement that accompanies the college application. The essay prompts have remained the same as the 2015-16 prompts. If you checked them out last year, you probably have an idea what you can write about.

Scott Anderson, the current Senior Director for Programs and Partnerships for The Common Application, stated that the prompts were meant to enable all applicants to write distinguishing and authentic essays, which strengthen all other components of the application. The prompts for the Common Application are being revisited every other year, but they remain the same if they work well enough for the applicants.

The disappointing fact for many applicants is that there is no “Essay of your choice” prompt, which has been the favorite option for thousands of applicants throughout previous years. It enabled students to get inspired by their own experiences and prove how well they would fit into the environment of the colleges they applied to. Nevertheless, the current prompts still enable the applicants to write essays that express their personality.

Last fall, the Common Application announced that the students who created their accounts during 2015-16 application season will be able to rollover to 2016-17. Such flexibility enables the counselors to introduce future college applicants to the Common App and start working on the process long before college application dates. The early release of essay prompts and the rollover feature put the Common App ahead of its competition.

A student, who gets the chance to open the Common Application account early and think about the essay prompts, is more likely to use that form when applying to different colleges. If he doesn’t know how to handle the essay writing process, he can hire services like EssayOnTime.com and collaborate with a professional writer, who will explain the writing process through all stages.

In addition, counselors who use the Common App when they introduce high-school junior students to the college application process will most likely keep relying on the same product for years to come.

The Coalition Application, which is a serious competition for the Common App, is also engaging its customers early through a consistent marketing campaign. The initial iteration of the platform will be open to high-school freshmen, sophomore, and junior students in April 2016.

Nevertheless, the Common App is still more attractive than the Coalition, mostly because of brand recognition and early accessibility. During the 2015-16 application cycle, over 800,000 unique applicants used the Common App. 47% of them chose the prompt that asked them to write about their background, identity, interest, or talent. Only 4% of the applicants opted for the prompt that asked them to reflect on a time when they challenged a belief or idea.

Clearly, college admissions representatives prefer to read essays on the prompts that aren’t so popular among the applicants. The second prompt, which asks you to talk about a lesson you learned from failure, was also popular among last-year applicants: 17% chose to write about it. However, this prompt can lead students in the wrong direction, so they should be careful not to write inappropriate confessionals.

The 5 prompts, which should inspire college application essays for 2016-17, are available at the website of the Common Application.