The Common App announced in January that their essay prompts for the 2022-23 application season would remain the same as last year. The seven topics are broad. Students can share nearly anything meaningful from their lives and make it fit into one or more of the prompts. The Common App limits the narrative to 650 words. While that may seem like a decent length, even the most concise writers will be faced with the arduous task of paring their work down without losing the essence of the piece.
But what about essays that ask applicants for much shorter responses? My students encountered many this past fall. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill asked applicants for 25 word responses to questions like “This I Believe” and “One Family Tradition I Cherish.” Princeton University had a whopping seven supplemental essays; three of them had a 50 word limit. My favorite was: “what brings you joy?"
So what are admissions officers looking for in such a short answer?
Raw, instinctual honesty. An answer that elicits an uninhibited truth from the applicant. An additional tidbit of information that lends a new perspective to the 3D person behind the words on the screen. The hardest part of answering this question is accepting the vulnerability and sincerity for which it asks. Students may think their answer doesn’t support their individualism and search for something they believe the admissions team wants to see. But with six other opportunities in addition to the Common App essay for Princeton to examine its potential admits, clearly the university just wants another nugget to weigh before making the ultimate decision.
So what does 50 words look like? I mentally traveled back in time to 17 years old and asked myself what brought me joy. First instinct: playing cards for hours with my grandmother. And then I shaped my language.
Playing gin rummy for hours with my grandmother while her soap opera softly plays brings me joy. She keeps a napkin wrapped around her glass of diet coke. We play methodically, the moves coming fast and natural like speed chess, with a little trash talk and a lot of laughter.
Fifty words on the nose that took me about 10 minutes. While an anxious applicant may overanalyze this answer as uninteresting, I think an admissions officer sees that I value family relationships. I have a games mind. I have a sense of humor. I notice details.
Do not shy away from certain aspects of yourself to focus on other traits you're convinced have added value. When you tour colleges, you will see the most modern amenities the school offers as well as facilities that could use a renovation. The university isn’t hiding anything and neither should you. Essay prompts like this clearly indicate that the institution wants to know even more about who you are over and above the Common App’s 650 words. Seize the opportunity and tell them.
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