Been on here before asking about essay topics (and thankfully learned to dump a bad essay topic). After having to get rid of my original idea, I’ve been stuck in sort of a “limbo” where I had no earthly idea what to write about. Well, I’m not totally out of this black hole of writer’s block, but I did have a small idea lightbulb faintly flicker.
So, I’m an only child, and because of my only child-ness, the way I grew up and grew to look at the world has been vastly different from the majority of my peers. Basically, my idea is to explain how my “background” of being an only child has shaped who I am today/if I wasn’t an only child, I would be completely different. Though that may not touch on the specifics of what I might write about, you get the general gist.
Is this a good idea for my Common App essay? Or is it too stereotypical? If it is a somewhat decent idea, I’d appreciate some feedback on how to make the essay stand out. I’ll take all kinds of constructive criticism. Thanks!
Choose something else. You have plenty of time to think about a stronger topic.
I don’t think simply being an only child gives you a “vastly different” outlook from the majority of your peers. Lots of people are only children. Lots of people have circumstances that actually give them a vastly different outlook from the majority of their peers. This is coming from another only child, myself; I suggest you think of something else.
Don’t write about being an only child unless you can inject a lot of humor in it to rescue an otherwise extremely lame-o topic.
Colleges want to learn about you - what makes you unique. My son is an only child and many of his friends are. There is nothing unique about that.
You don’t have to write about something amazing - just look on the essay as your chance to show the schools who you are and what makes your unique. When my son applied to UCLA and Berkeley, the application required two personal statements (they have changed since). Formerly prompt 1 was “Describe your world and how it has shaped you”. My son wrote about his interest in math and science and how his school only had one science related extracurricular, First Robotics. He was hesitant to join because it involved things like power tools, welding and other tech skills he had no aptitude for. He wrote about how he went from only knowing how to hold a wrench to leading the electrical team.
The second prompt was “Tell us about an accomplishment that made you proud and relates to the person you are” (I’m paraphrasing, the actual prompt is not that important and he reconstructed both essays to fit the common application essay). He wrote about how he had played trombone in jazz band for 6 years and how his favorite part was the intellectual and technical challenge. However, this approach became a problem as the more advanced jazz bands expected the players to be able to extemporize and play original solos on the spot. His struggle to translate his proficiency in music theory and technique into emotional and creative musical expression and how he finally achieved this goal was both humorous and a great insight into the person he is.
He was accepted to USC and was awarded the Presidential Scholarship (half-tuition). When he met the scholarship interview committee they said, “Oh, you’re the kid who wrote the great essay about playing trombone”.
Just for practice, pick one unique memory about something simple like food and write an essay about it. You will be surprised how the ideas can start flowing. If you don’t think food can be a great essay topic, my son’s girlfriend got into Stanford (she was a fantastic student in all ways) and her essay was about her memories of making tamales at Xmas with her grandmother, a woman who worked in the fields picking strawberries. I actually cried when I read the essay, it was so thoughtful about her Hispanic background and how it shaped who she is.
I’m going to differ on this. I think it’s fine to write about being an only child IF you can explain how it’s influenced who you are. In other words, you’re not different because you’re an only child, but it may have influenced some part of your world view. If, for example, as a result of being an only child, you ended up doing something with or for your family and had to approach it without there being a “children’s option”, how did that affect you? (Were you “required” to accompany a parent to the symphony, for example, and what did that mean to you? ) Did you “choose” siblings and what was that alternative family like and what did you learn from it? Have you been given opportunities because your parents didn’t have to share their time or resources with other children? @Yomama12 's example is a great one – there are lots of Hispanic students so that wasn’t necessarily what differentiated the writer, but her ability to incorporate that element of her upbringing into her story gave a more complete picture of who she was.
If you’re struggling, have you given thought to a comment someone made to you that changed the way you thought about something? A person who challenged a stereotype you held? For the number of words you have, it is sometimes easier to start with something small.
I come from a family of only children, and maybe you can parlay the circumstances as to why you are an only child and how they shaped who you are. For example, my father is an only child because his mother died in childbirth. He was raised by my grandfather and it was just the two of them. My daughter is an only child because her father and I divorced when she was quite young. Even though she lives with me, her father is still an important part of her life. I am an only child because my parents could never carry another child to term (I’m literally a miracle baby). I grew up with both parents at home. While we’re all onlies, our worlds as children are vastly different, and the aforementioned circumstances have affected the people we have become.
@tutumom2001 @Yomama12 @gardenstategal thank you all for you constructive criticism. To clarify, I do NOT think simply being an only child makes me “unique.” I have a number of friends who are only children. Like @gardenstategal wrote, if I were to take the “only child” approach, I would write about how it has shaped who I am and relay anecdotes and such. Still not highly developed, but it’s still an idea I may toy with. However, I also like what @Yomama12 said about writing about something that’s simple but also a good look into who I am as a person. Still trying to figure out what that would be though. I don’t know, I know I’m a good writer, but I don’t have much guidance for this whole thing outside of CC. I really appreciate everyone’s help.
@thefloridavegan Can I suggest that you ask your English teacher for help with the essay? My son was fortunate to have a retired English teacher neighbor who gave very constructive help, since my son is not a good writer. For instance, he suggested my son write his Robotics essay “in media res”, so it opened with my son helping to build a robot in two days and nights at a state competition. Another team did not have their robot for the competition, it was lost in the delivery. All the other teams came together with materials and skills to help this one team and my son spent hours soldering and wiring. How he found himself with the skills to be able to do this became the subject of the rest of the essay.
I also think that only child is a poor choice. This is not to say it has not been a big factor. Nor does it mean you would not write a great essay. But there is a risk – a big risk – that the only readers who matter, admissions committees, might quickly question the premise. This conscious or unconscious reaction would hurt your chances, which is the point of the essay. I would defer to this possibility and shift gears.
But the shift might not be big. Put the focus on a personal quality, rather than an environmental factor. Describe the evolution of that quality. Use situations to show what and how you learned. Being an only child can be one of those situations. Come up with two more and you will have an awesome essay that will be impossible to ignore.
Hope this is helpful.
@Chris63 interesting ideas and perspective. Thank you!