1. Common App Essay Starter pt. 1- I’m going to use examples from my life (from college and on)
to see if it can be helpful to you. Then I’m going to try to use you in an example. The idea here is
to soul search and find your story. You have one, heck you’ll have several that can be adaptive
to each question.
1) Some students have a background or story that isso central to theiridentitythat theybelieve
theirapplication wouldbe incomplete withoutit. Ifthis sounds like you, thenplease share
your story.
Ex. 1- I’m a contradictionanywayI look,frommy cultural backgroundstomy religious
tendencies. There are somany placesto start but the mostcentral story wouldhave tobe my
spiritual journeythatItooktwoyears ago. It startedwithtakinga hardlookat myJewish
upbringing,andanemotional breakdowninacatholicchurch. I grew upwhat I referredtoas
“culturallyJewish” whichmeantwe celebrated onlyHanukkahandpesachandindulgedin
Jewishclassicssuchasmatzohball soupas well ashad a bat mitzvahbut didlittle else…
Ex. 2- Beinga childof < whateverbackground>hasbothhelpedme andhas onoccasion
appearedtosetme back. We’re youborn inthe US or didyouimmigrate here? If youweren’t
born here,talkaboutyourindividual journeyof how youcame toUS and how it’shelpedyou.
Are you proudof your genealogy,ordidthathave to be achieved?
2) Recount an incidentor time whenyou experiencedfailure.Howdidit affect you, and what
lessonsdidyou learn
Me- A time of failure forme came withinthe yearafterI graduatedfromcollege.Ifell upona
time inwhichI couldn’tstopcomparinghow far alongor not faralong I wason my pathto
‘adulthood’asmypeers.ThisperiodreactivatedmydormantdepressionandIseriouslybegan
to lose hope thatI wouldhave a successful future thatwouldensuremyfinancial independence
frommy parents. I feltthiswaybecause Ihaven’tlovedmycourse of studyfora while and
didn’tcare to pursue a path inthat field.Ifilledmytime withbusywork,andhaphazard
employment.Itwasn’tuntil Icavedandmet witha careercounselorthatI foundwhere Iwas
meantto be…
You- A failure foryouwouldbe a time youfeltdefeated,butstill hadaspark inyouto change
your situationandbecause of thatyoucame outstrongerand laida foundationforcollege and
beyond.A failure inthisinstance issomethingof generalsignificance. The spellingbee example
yougave unfortunatelydoesn’tholdthatmuchweightinthe eyesof the admissionsboard. So
youhave to pull fromwithintofindanotherexample.Have apointthat youfeltat yourlowest.
Thisis a hard question,butit’ll show essentiallyhow youdeal withthingsandhow youcome
back fromthem
3) Reflecton a time whenyou challengeda belieforidea. Whatprompted you to act? Would
you make the same decisionagain?
Me- Thistime came whenI wason the cusp of my spiritual journey-aratherbrass womencame
to an eventandstartedto questionmyJudaismandreiteratedsomething I’ve heardtomany
timesbefore,thatIwas‘Jewish’enoughtobe inmyrole. Thiscommentopenedmyeyestoa
double standardof sorts among the varioussectsof Judaism.Each branchhad theirstandards
and I didn’tmeetanyof them.SoI startedto ask around,justwhat itmeantto be Jewish. Until
thismomentIthoughtthat if one wasJewishthenthatwasit- theyjustliveditindifferentways.

2. I wouldif I couldmake the decisiontonotagree withthisstatementandgoon to educate
people andcorrecttheirmisconceptions. ..
You- For thisquestionyouagainhave to digdeepandID your personal truths- determinewhat
dyouholdtrue no matterthe circumstances.Alsowhatdoyoubelieve?Take the age-old
philosophical dilemmaorwhetherornotpeople are inherentlygoodandbecome evil orvice
versa. Dependingonwhatyouchoose issaidto determine how youinteractandperceive
others.Somethinginthisquestionhadtosetyouoff and change the wayyouthoughtabout
something.The questionalsowantstoknow if itwas a goodor baddecisionthatyoumade at
the time and whetherornotyou woulddothe same if confrontedbythe same situation.
4) Describe a place or environmentwhere youare perfectlycontent.What do you do or
experience there,and why is it meaningful toyou?
Me- My place of contentmentisCape Sunionand the PoseidonTemple that resideson it. My
first and last visit to this place was in the spring of2008 whenI went for break with a teacher
and classmates of mine. I’ve always beena fan of Greekmythologyand personallythink we
all got along betterin the days of polytheismbutthat’s beside the point.I was very enamored
by this particular ruin, mostly because of the void it was in. There was literallynothingelse
around but sea and thisonce grand grouping of columns. While I was there I did nothing but
appreciate the feel ofhistory and the silence.Notthe pressing- “gonna- go-crazy” silence,but
the deeplyrestoringkind.…
You- Where do you go to escape the world? What’sboth presentand absent?
5) Discuss an accomplishmentor event,formal or informal, that marked your transition from
childhoodto adulthood withinyour culture, community,or family.