Use these tips to finding college essay topics for teens[/caption]By the time you reach your senior year of high school, you have most likely written quite a few stories. Between the research papers, creative pieces, and argumentative essays, you may think you’ve done it all. But as you compile your college application, one of the most important pieces is yet another story, and this time it’s the story of yourself. When it comes to your college essay, schools are looking to get to know you aside from those bullet points on your resume. So how do you show that to a college admissions officer? The first step is to choose a topic that allows you to speak to who you are.  

Here are some of our best tips to college essay topics for teens:

1. Play to your strengths

College Essay Topics Tip: In order to write about yourself you need to really know about yourself.

This may seem obvious, but the first thing you need to do in order to write about yourself is to really know about yourself. To do this, start by brainstorming a list of questions. What are your passions? What keeps you going when things are rough? What are you really, really good at? The answers to these questions can help you set a clear direction for your essay. Once you compile these answers, you can start to form a direction that your story will take.

2. Don’t be afraid to outsource

College Essay Topics Tip: Speak to the people in your life who know you best.

Although it is important that you know yourself, you may find it helpful to speak to the people in your life who know you best. Your friends and family see the best in you, which is exactly what you want the college admissions officer to do. Consider talking to the people you are especially close with and asking them about times they have seen you at your best. You might be surprised to find the trends in the stories you are told, and you may discover even more about yourself.

3. Use meaningful events to tell your story

College Essay Topics Tip: Tell a truly personal story about yourself.

When you’re writing your essay, you want your admissions officer to see your authentic self. What better way to make your essay authentic than to tell a truly personal story about yourself? To help choose a topic for your essay, begin by thinking about meaningful events that have happened in your life and the stories that came from them. Remember, you don’t have pages upon pages to write the story, so once you have determined a few major events, narrow your topic down to the most important or interesting bits. These stories should speak to the characteristics or passions that you discovered through self-reflection and speaking with others.

4. Avoid writing a second resume

College Essay Topics Tip: Your college essay should not be blunt self-promotion.

The goal is to impress the admissions officer, but you don’t want to simply reiterate what was on your resume. Your college essay should not be a blunt self-promotion, so avoid topics that rely on you bragging about your accomplishments. Of course, you should include success stories, but with the purpose of helping the reader get to know you. Instead, focus on how you reached those accomplishments, what challenges you overcame, and/or what you learned from the events.

5. Fully embrace your brand

College Essay Topics Tip: Consider yourself as a brand—your college essay is your brand story.

Consider yourself as a brand—your college essay is your brand story. To impress your college admissions officer, and to be as authentic as possible, make sure you are portraying yourself as you did in your essay in all ways. College admissions officers may choose to look at your social media pages or any other public information you have put out there about yourself. Are these adequate representations of the person you wrote about in your essay? If not, consider reevaluating and revamping them.

While a story of self may seem like one of the easier stories to write (after all, it is a topic you are an expert on!), it takes serious self-reflection to narrow all of your talents, passions, and experiences into a succinct piece. Taking the time to plan and choose your college essay topic is just as important as writing the essay itself, so choose wisely.

About our guest blogger

Brittany Phillips is a contributing writer for Varsity Tutors, a live learning platform that connects students with personalized instruction to accelerate academic achievement.

Do you have any tips to finding college essay topics? Let us know below!