<p>I cant seem to decide on one topic. The moment I start writing on a topic, suddenly a new idea pops up! Sheesh… :(</p>
<p>Any suggestions for the poor soul?</p>
<p>what a dilemna</p>
<p>Well that has been happening for the past month. I write about something and the next its in trash… :D</p>
<p>Write about how you were thinking what to write for an essay :D</p>
<p>haha I will consider that too ;)</p>
<p>what are you most passionate about?</p>
<p>I wrote about bill nye the science guy. Yeah!</p>
<p>I would’ve written something else if I had the time…</p>
<p>I have a few ideas of my mind but I am confused about what to write on…</p>
<p>What I do is write an essay for every idea I get. Right now I have about six. It gives you options since you can look at the finished products and see which worked better.</p>
<p>I attend Dartmouth.
Here’s what I wrote for someone else when they asked essay topic advice…</p>
<p>(I blotted out some personal details for privacy.)</p>
<p>"All the colleges I applied to used the Common App., and then most schools required you to write a supplemental essay. For the Common App., I wrote two long essays.</p>
<p>Essay #1 was related to Arabic and I sent that to schools that had good Arabic programs. Essay #2 was related to [-------] dance and I sent that to schools that didn’t have good Arabic programs. Where I sent essay #1, I got into. Essay #2, however, did not fair as well, even though the writing was a lot better (in my opinion…more fun to read…it was a comedy).</p>
<p>Why?</p>
<p>Essay #1 was about how I got into Arabic—some of my family are a certain cultural minority, they visited my city/I saw them for first time, interested about their culture, learned some [-----------] dialect (written with Arabic script), when they left, wanted to continue, Arabic closest thing I could get to, got a newfound love for this new culture.</p>
<p>WHAM! That essay was genius because it 1) showed my passion and interest in Arabic, 2) gave solid explanation as to how I got interested in it, 3) showed how open I am to other cultures, 4) showed academic curiosity, 5) I’m multi-cultural, 6) I know in-demand/critical languages, and 7) it was just so damn good. Nailed it. Seven birds hit by one stone.</p>
<p>Essay #2 was similar, but it lacked a few key components. It was about how I went on a trip with my [------] dance crew, got food poisoning, and had to dance with food poisoning.</p>
<p>mini-wham. In that essay, I showed my 1) passion for my heritage and [------] culture, 2) showed how I could overcome obstacles, and 3) showed how responsible I was.</p>
<p>Seven > three.</p>
<p>So, hit as many birds as you can."</p>
<p>Obviously, I used the essay about Arabic for my Dartmouth essay.</p>
<p>Write about something that you’re really passionate about. You’ll know you’re passionate when the writing comes easily and naturally.</p>
<p>Even though I ended up with two official essays to send out, I must’ve written about seven different, complete essays about a range of different topics.</p>
<p>Also, know that you don’t need to mention everything you do in the essay (I actually recommend you don’t). I was the head of a lot of organizations/clubs/activities (editor, captain, president, etc.), but didn’t mention any of it in my essay or short question for the Common App. When you’re applying to top schools, it’s pretty much guaranteed that being an editor of X school newspaper and captain of what-sits isn’t going to make you stand out. If you’re accomplished in other things, they’ll recognize it on your activities sheet.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice Yanarchy.</p>
<p>Yanarchy - nice illustration. </p>
<p>One other reason your Arabic essay may have been so well received, and this is just speculation based on comments I have seen, is that it was NOT yet another variation on a common theme. By your brief description, the theme of dance essay is one that has been done, a lot (overcoming an obstacle, perservering…especially in an athletic pursuit). Not a bad essay at all, just common. Your first essay seems to have revealed so much more about you. Even a school with no Arabic program may have been favorably impressed by the person you revealed with that essay.</p>
<p>Ajayc, Yanarchy’s essay isn’t necessarily a template for success, but an illustration of how to let your real self shine forth in an essay. Your essay should reveal something positive about the unique person you are - reading your posts you have a lot to offer, so good luck.</p>
<p>Ohmadre - I completely agree with you.</p>
<p>Good luck Ajayc!</p>
<p>Just wanted to say–I had this exact same problem! What I did was the same as Christopher546… start an essay for all the (semi-decent) ideas you have. Write as much as you feel for each of them. Wait a few days for more ideas to filter through. Once you feel done, look back at all the essays you wrote. One or two will leap out at you. If you’re unsure, have someone you trust read them all… ask them which they were most interested in. When you find one that you feel really great about, that isn’t just a good idea but can actually be a good essay for you, then focus all your energies on that one. Edit it, rewrite it, cross out half of it and start anew. Eventually it will be perfect.</p>
<p>This comes from about two weeks ago, in my case. I am pretty much overjoyed with my essay right now, although I do still have ideas like every day that I say, “Hey, that would be a great essay!”. But then I compare them against what I have, and it still wins. So I hope this helps you as well!</p>
<p>Thanks for the tip whirlybird. I have already started writing on a topic. I think it should work out this time! ;)</p>
<p>Great! Hope it fares well!</p>