2025 COMMON APP ESSAY PROMPTS BREAKDOWN!
Summary
TLDRIn this informative video, Nick the Tutor guides students through the 2025 Common Application essay prompts, emphasizing the importance of choosing the right prompt that aligns with their personal story. He provides insights on each prompt, advising students to prioritize their content before selecting a prompt. Nick highlights the value of positivity and personal growth in essays, ultimately favoring the open-ended prompt for its creativity and authenticity, and offers to personally review essays for free to assist students in their college application journey.
Takeaways
- 📝 Nick the Tudor, a college application expert, discusses the 2025 Common Application essay prompts.
- 🔄 The prompts for 2025 have not changed from the previous year, but the process has evolved, requiring a fresh perspective.
- 🤔 Nick advises students to first consider their personal identity, experiences, and what they want to convey to the admissions committee before choosing a prompt.
- 📖 Prompt one is ideal for students who want to share a significant personal identity, characteristic, or talent that defines them.
- 🏆 Prompt two encourages students to recount a challenge, setback, or failure and the lessons learned from it, with a focus on personal growth.
- 🤨 Prompt three is suitable for students passionate about a social issue, but caution is advised to avoid sensitive topics that might offend readers.
- 🙏 Prompt four is about reflecting on a time when someone's actions made the student feel grateful, and how that gratitude influenced them.
- 🚀 Prompt five is about discussing an accomplishment or realization that led to personal growth and a new understanding of oneself or others.
- 🌟 Prompt six invites students to write about a topic, idea, or concept that captivates them and makes them lose track of time.
- 🎨 Prompt seven is an open-ended prompt that allows students to write on any topic of their choice, including creative and unique ideas.
- 💡 The key to a successful essay is to choose content that reflects the student's personality and growth, rather than forcing a fit with a specific prompt.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the video?
-The main topic of the video is discussing the 2025 common application essay prompts for college applications.
What is Nick's advice for students before choosing an essay prompt?
-Nick advises students to first think about who they are as a person and what they want to tell the admissions committee before committing to a prompt.
What should students avoid when writing their college essays according to Nick?
-Students should avoid writing about things that are heavily touched on in the rest of their application to prevent redundancy.
What is the first essay prompt about?
-The first essay prompt is for students who have a background, identity, interest, or talent that they believe their application would be incomplete without.
What is the second essay prompt focused on?
-The second essay prompt is about recounting a time when a student faced a challenge, setback, or failure and what they learned from that experience.
What kind of essay does the third prompt suggest writing?
-The third prompt suggests writing an essay about a time when a student questioned or challenged a belief or idea and the outcome of that thinking.
What is the fourth essay prompt asking students to reflect on?
-The fourth essay prompt asks students to reflect on a time when someone has done something for them that made them happy or thankful, and how that gratitude affected or motivated them.
What does the fifth essay prompt focus on?
-The fifth essay prompt focuses on discussing an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked personal growth and a new understanding of oneself or others.
What is the sixth essay prompt about?
-The sixth essay prompt is about describing a topic, idea, or concept that is so engaging it makes the student lose all track of time and why it captivates them.
What does the seventh and final essay prompt allow students to do?
-The seventh essay prompt allows students to share an essay on any topic of their choice, including one they've already written or one of their own design.
Which essay prompt does Nick, the tutor, prefer the most and why?
-Nick prefers the seventh, open-ended prompt the most because it lends itself to massive creativity and allows students to express their personality and interests authentically.
What does Nick suggest for students who want to write about a social issue?
-Nick suggests that students who are passionate about a social issue and want to write about it should choose the third prompt, but they should be careful not to offend anyone and ensure their essay is specific to them.
What is the importance of maintaining a positive tone in a college application essay according to the video?
-Maintaining a positive tone in a college application essay is important because it helps to present the student in an uplifting light, showcasing their ability to overcome challenges and grow personally.
What advice does Nick give regarding the length of the challenge or obstacle section in an essay about overcoming adversity?
-Nick advises to keep the obstacle or challenge part of the essay shorter and spend more time discussing personal growth and improvement, ensuring the essay maintains a positive tone.
What is the purpose of the video in terms of helping students with their college application essays?
-The purpose of the video is to guide students through the common application essay prompts, discuss what makes a successful essay for each prompt, and provide advice on choosing the right prompt that aligns with the student's story and personality.
Outlines
📚 College Application Essay Prompts Overview
Nick the Tutor introduces the 2025 common application essay prompts, emphasizing the importance of understanding one's identity and story before choosing a prompt. He advises against selecting a prompt first and then writing the essay, instead recommending that students think about their experiences and what they want to convey to the admissions committee. The video promises an analysis of each prompt and a final recommendation for the best prompt to use.
🏅 Discussing the First Prompt: Personal Identity and Talents
The first prompt is explored for students who wish to share a significant personal identity, characteristic, or talent. Nick advises against writing about aspects already covered in the application, such as sports achievements, and instead encourages highlighting unique or lesser-known talents. This prompt is ideal for those with a strong sense of self and a desire to share an integral part of their identity with the admissions committee.
🚧 Overcoming Obstacles: The Second Prompt
The second prompt focuses on recounting a challenge, setback, or failure and the lessons learned from it. Nick suggests keeping the negative aspects brief and concentrating on personal growth and improvement. He notes that while this prompt can be powerful, it might lead to a negative tone if not handled carefully, making it less favorable compared to others.
🤔 Challenging Beliefs: The Third Prompt
The third prompt is suitable for students passionate about a social issue and who have questioned or challenged a belief or idea. Nick warns about the potential sensitivity of such topics and advises caution to avoid offending readers. This prompt is best for those with a strong conviction and a unique perspective to share.
🙏 Gratitude and Motivation: The Fourth Prompt
The fourth prompt invites students to reflect on an act of kindness that left them feeling grateful and how it influenced their actions. Nick appreciates the positive tone of this prompt and its potential for discussing altruism. However, he notes the challenge of keeping the focus on oneself rather than the person who performed the act of kindness.
🌱 Personal Growth and Self-Understanding: The Fifth Prompt
Nick's favorite prompt, the fifth one, encourages students to discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that led to personal growth and self-understanding. He believes this prompt is excellent for showcasing maturity and readiness for college, allowing students to highlight their development and aspirations.
🎓 Engaging Interests and Learning: The Sixth Prompt
The sixth prompt is ideal for students who wish to write about an academic or core interest that captivates them. Nick sees this as an opportunity to convey a deep love for learning and knowledge, which can be particularly beneficial for those applying for specific majors or fields of study.
✍️ Open-Ended Creativity: The Seventh Prompt
The final prompt offers complete freedom for students to write on any topic of their choice. Nick appreciates the potential for creativity and personal expression, citing examples of successful essays that were unique and engaging. He encourages students to use this prompt to showcase their personality and interests authentically.
🌟 Choosing the Best Prompt for Your Essay
In conclusion, Nick emphasizes that the choice of prompt is less important than the content of the essay itself. He advises students to reflect on what matters to them and how they can express their personality and interests. Nick offers to read and provide feedback on submitted essays, aiming to help students present their best selves in their college application essays.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Common Application Essay Prompts
💡Personal Identity
💡Challenges and Growth
💡Social Issues
💡Gratitude and Motivation
💡Personal Growth
💡Academic Interests
💡Open-Ended Prompt
💡College Admissions
💡Creativity in Essays
Highlights
Nick the Tudor provides guidance on the 2025 common application essay prompts.
The process for the common application has changed, but the prompts remain the same as the previous year.
Students are advised to consider their personal identity and story before choosing an essay prompt.
Prompt one is suitable for students with a strong personal identity or talent they wish to share.
A caution against writing about topics already covered in the application, to avoid redundancy.
Prompt two invites students to recount a challenge, setback, or failure and the lessons learned.
The importance of maintaining a positive tone and focusing on personal growth in essays about obstacles.
Prompt three is ideal for students passionate about a social issue and their personal beliefs.
A warning about the potential sensitivity of topics and the need for careful handling in essays.
Prompt four encourages reflection on acts of kindness that inspired gratitude and personal motivation.
The preference for essays that are uplifting and focus on positivity, rather than negativity.
Prompt five is about discussing personal growth, a realization, or an accomplishment that led to self-understanding.
The appeal of essays that demonstrate maturity and readiness for college through personal growth stories.
Prompt six allows students to write about a topic, idea, or concept that deeply engages them.
The opportunity for students to express their passion for learning and intellectual curiosity.
Prompt seven offers complete freedom to choose any topic, including previously written essays.
The value of creativity and personal expression in college application essays, as exemplified by successful examples.
Nick's personal preference for the open-ended prompt due to its potential for creativity and authenticity.
The final advice to focus on the content of the essay, ensuring it reveals the student's personality and values.
Transcripts
what's going on YouTube I'm Nick the
Tudor and I've helped thousands of
students through the college process
from the SAT act all the way to college
essays and college applications and in
today's video we're going to go over the
2025 common application essay prompts
we're going to go through each prompt
we're going to talk about what essays
would be successful with that prompt and
at the end of the video I'm going to
give you my vote for the number one
prompt for you guys so let's get into it
all right so I want to get straight into
the prompts the prompts for this year
year 2025 have not changed so we have
the same prompts as last year but the
process has changed so much we want to
look at this with a fresh eye go through
each prompt and figure out which one is
the prompt for us before I get into the
prompts guys I want to talk about one
thing my recommended course of action
for any student writing their college
essic is that they think about who they
are as a person and what they want to
tell the admissions committee before
committing to a prompt as you'll see by
the end of this video guys you can fit
any essay into a college application we
want to think about what we want to tell
the person do we want to tell them
something about our heritage do we want
to tell them about an experience we had
something we did positively for someone
else we want to think about our content
first before we look at the prompts the
prompts can be inspiring they can be
helpful if you're really struggling you
might want to look at them but don't
choose the prompt first and then write
the essay second write the essay think
about what you want to write about and
then fit it into the prompt at the end
that's my advice and let's get into
prompt one prompt number one says 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 so
this prompt prompt one guys this is a
great prompt for someone who has a
personal identity that they want to
share with the admissions committee you
feel really strongly about your heritage
you have a certain personality
characteristic or certain personal
characteristic that's really defining
for you and you want to tell them about
that this is a great prompt for them
that they also mentioned talents if
you're just incredibly talented in some
area you might want to write about it
this is the prompt that you would fit
that in now I want to be careful for a
second and here's a quick tip from Nick
the tutor don't write your college essay
about things that are heavily touched on
in the rest of your application so if
you spent a lot of your extracurricular
activity doing sports and you're really
great at soccer but you're not being
recruited for soccer you don't want to
then write your essay about your soccer
talent because that's just redundant of
what they've already seen in your
application so we want to make sure
we're giving them new content new
information maybe a hidden talent that
no one knows about you know you're
really great at origami or something
like that like whatever the case may be
if you have a hidden talent you have a
certain personality characteristic
you're part of a certain community that
you want to tell them about this is the
prompt for you so I can see a lot of
good essays coming for this prompt I
really like this prompt for the right
person so if you feel like this prompt
is for you I would definitely pick it
now let's get into prompt two all right
prompt number two the lessons we take
from obstacles we encounter can be
fundamental to later success recount a
time when you fac a challenge setback or
failure how did it affect you and what
did you learn from that experience so
let's talk about this prompt I think
this is a great prompt for people that
have faced a challenge in life that they
want to talk about how they overcame it
now if you're writing that kind of essay
about a challenge or about an obstacle
that you overcame you want to make sure
that you keep the obstacle challenge
part the shorter part of the essay and
spend more of the essay talking about
your growth and how you became better
because of this how you improved you
want to make sure to keep the tone
positive uh I feel like this prompt is
not necessarily my favorite because I
think it leads you towards spending a
lot of the essay talking about something
negative that impacted you or something
that went wrong and then it doesn't
leave you enough room to talk about the
positive if you can flip that
organization you could really spend most
of the essay talking about something
positive I think that would be extremely
powerful essay but you just have to be
careful that you don't get a negative
tone where you're you know spending the
first three paragraphs of your essay
talking about a failure or about
something bad that happened to you think
for the right person this is a good
prompt but I would say this is
definitely lower on my list of the
prompts that I really like students to
write about so let's get into prompt
three reflect on a time when you
questioned or challenged a belief or
idea what prompted your thinking what
was the outcome so this is a great
prompt for a student who feels really
strongly about a social issue if you
want to go down that route I think this
is a great prompt for you once again
that has to be specific to you I don't
think you can force for yourself into
this prompt if you are really that
passionate about something that you want
to talk about it in this way then I
think this is a perfect prompt for you I
think that you know you have to be
careful though right because talking
about anything that's very sensitive
like politics or you know sensitive
issues you don't know who's reading your
application you don't know how they feel
about it so you have to be careful if
you're using this prompt that you're not
offending anybody or anything like that
I think once again this prompt for the
right person with the right essay could
be an amazing prompt and could be very
powerful I don't think that I would go
down this prompt for most people I think
it's very specific you know what you
want to write about it fits in this
prompt then go for it otherwise I would
not do it and this is exactly why going
back to my earlier Point guys this is
why I don't like students picking the
prompt first and then forcing them into
it if you felt so passionate about some
social issue that you wanted to write
this prompt it's perfect for you so
that's using the issue first the content
first and then fitting it into the
prompt so don't Jam yourself into this
prompt because you think it's what a
college wants to hear here it's a good
prompt it's not a great prompt I would
put it on the bottom of my list probably
somewhere in the bottom but if it works
for you then it's going to be amazing so
if you do like this prompt go for it all
right guys prompt number four 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 all right guys
I do like this prompt um I think this
could be a good uplifting prompt now one
of the things you'll see that I always
focus on is positivity you don't want to
bring negativity into your college essay
right you want it to be positive
uplifting and really tell them something
about yourself I like this prompt the
one thing I don't like about this prompt
is that you have to reference someone
else right now at the same time that's
not a problem of course if you can keep
the part about the someone else to a
minimum and just say okay they did this
for me they said this to me this
affected me in this way and then you
could talk mostly about yourself at the
end then it's going to be fine so I do
like this prompt I feel like it leans in
the positive someone did something good
for you right let's talk about that
that's amazing like how are you going to
do something good for someone else we
want to keep that positive tone so I
think this prompt strikes that so this
is a good prompt I think it fits a lot
of interesting essays where you can talk
about altruism which is a great thing to
talk about on a college application
essay so I do like this prompt if you
feel like you want to go down that route
this can be a really good prompt for you
all right let's get into prompt five
discuss an accomplishment event or
realization that sparked a period of
personal growth and a new understanding
of yourself or others this is one of my
favorite prompts guys I really like
personal growth I think colleges are
looking for people that are mature and
ready for college they know what they
want they have a path carved out for
themselves now look I didn't have a path
carved out for myself when I was 16 17
years old so if you don't that's totally
fine but for someone who does know what
they want to study they do know where
they want to be they feel strongly about
certain issues and they really feel like
they can help others and uplift others I
think this is a good prompt to do
something like that I love the idea of
accomplishments I love the idea of
personal growth becoming a better person
becoming more mature becoming more
organized becoming better in school
becoming a better human I think there's
a lot of really positive things you can
do with this prompt this is one of my
favorite prompts by far guys and I think
if you want that uplifting essay about
personal growth where you're really
rounding out into college say you had a
little bit of trouble in high school say
you have a few bad grades in there not
the greatest test score but you found
growth in other areas right you feel
like you're a really good person you're
a good team member a good Community
member I think this is a great prompt to
really balance some of those mistakes
that you made out and I think everybody
might have one or two of those and this
is a great prompt to show that you're a
mature uplifting positive person that
really has grown over the course of high
school and will continue to grow in
college I think it's a great message to
send I love this prompt definitely check
it out all right let's get into prompt
six describe a topic idea or concept you
find so engaging that it makes you lose
all track of time why does it Captivate
you what or who do you turn to when you
want to learn more I think this is also
a very good prompt guys I think if you
want to write your essay about an
academic interest or some core interest
that you have where you really want to
learn just dive into this subject I
think this is a great prompt I think you
could really talk about a deep love for
Learning and knowledge if you want to go
down that slightly educational route for
your college application essay you feel
like that's going to benefit you maybe
you're applying for engineering or a
very specific major think you could f
fit something really cool into this
prompt that talks about your passions
your interests things you love to do
love to learn about that's a great
message sent to a college you're ready
to learn you're ready to take on
challenging material and you're really
ready to do what you need to do when you
get to college so I do like this prompt
I think that is good I want to go back
and say I don't dislike any of these
prompts I think a few of them are more
Niche and some of them are more you know
widely uh usable for most students I
think this is one that anybody could use
you could talk about your greatest
interest
but I do like this prompt I think it
lends towards the positive and you
should definitely check it out all right
let's get into prompt number seven guys
share an essay on any topic of your
choice it can be one you've already
written one that responds to a different
prompt or one of your own design so
basically at the end guys here we have
the catchall prompt a lot of people say
you shouldn't do this one I don't know
if I necessarily agree with that at all
I think you know like I said earlier we
want the essay to be entertaining we
want it to be fun we want it to be
uplifting if it needs to be serious if
that's what your essay is going to be
about then also it can be serious but I
think a lot of the best essays if you
review really great college essays
they're creative they're fun and they
talk about specific interesting things
that teens do and go through that people
want to hear that makes it sound very
realistic and it gives a great
connection to the reader I'll give you
one perfect example on the Johns Hopkins
essays that worked website which we'll
link below this is a great website it
basically gives some of the top essays
that they read every year they're all
very unique they're all very different
right one of them that they put up
recently was about the student Spotify
playlist and how the songs give the
student an Asal it remember specific
moments and then going to college
they'll have new song so on and so forth
I thought that was a creative one I'm
sure probably people are copying that
now maybe it's not that creative but I
think that prompt really shows what a
teen would actually write about if you
ask them right they're not putting on a
show because it's a college application
and talking about something they don't
really care about that's what they
wanted to write that tells the college
about their personality tells them the
value Community to togetherness time
spent with other people that's what a
lot of this is about now yes there's a
lot of different routes you can go with
a college application essay that's only
one of them but if you're going to go
that creative and fun route I think
that's the kind of essay that I would
love to see um I think a lot of people
would love to see so this prompt allows
you to basically do whatever you want so
if you have something wildly creative
you have something really fun this is
where a lot of times you can do that and
that's why this is an exciting prompt
for me guys if you like the content of
this video hit that like button hit that
subscribe button that's how I continue
to make this content for you guys I'm
going to drop more videos on college
application essays as we get closer to
that submit deadline so take a look out
for that and make sure to tell a friend
to tell a friend that Nick the tutor is
here for you guys and is helping you
with the college process but let's get
into what I promise you guys which is my
last Point what prompt do I like the
best what would I pick now you guys can
probably already tell a little bit from
this video I love creative positive
uplifting essays that are from 18 teen
voice so my favorite prompt is the last
prompt is the open-ended prompt that
just lends itself to massive creativity
you can do whatever you want with that
prompt so that's going to be my personal
favorite I think if I had to pick other
two prompts I would really like prompt
five personal growth prompt and I also
really like prompt six if you're going
down more of an educational formal essay
I think that's a really good one I'm not
a huge fan of the prompts that take you
towards something negative or towards
other people I also think for the right
person prompt number one can be very
powerful if you want to tell that
personal story so at the end of the day
it doesn't matter what prompt you pick
really is irrelevant what matters is the
content of your essay is good the
writing is good but realistically you
want to make sure to tell them about
yourself open up for a second look
around your room look at your life and
say what matters to me what do I love to
do and how can I express that to others
as long as of course it's appropriate
and how can I tell them who I really am
let them see my personality they can't
read personality from GPA from test
scores or really from college
applications very well they can read
personality and who you are as a person
for your college application essay once
again guys thanks for watching this
video you made it to the end you are a
true college application ESS prompt
expert if you need any help with your
college application check the links
below I'll link all of our college
application essay Services if any of you
want me to read your essay I will read
it for free I don't care as long as this
doesn't blow up and turn into thousands
and thousands of people hopefully it
does we'll see what happens then but at
the same time you want to send me your
essay I'll check it out I'll tell you
what I think I always love to do that
help people out um so definitely shoot
that over to me we'll put a link below
or you can send me your college
application essay but at the same time
thanks for watching this video and I'll
see you guys in the next one peace
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