Cliché essay topics to avoid (Common App)

How I Suffered Hardship, But Prevailed.

But some are very difficult to use without coming across either as cliche, or as simply a description of a bad time in the applicant’s life. There are also some topics for which “show, don’t tell” is impossible except for an especially skilled writer.

A great writer can do something with any topic, but the vast majority of applicants, including the ones with the best stats and ECs, are only so-so writers.