You’re looking for a giant list of college essay topics to choose from.
And that’s exactly what you’ll find at the bottom of this page.
But first:
Wouldn’t it be nice if I gave you two great brainstorming exercises to help you find your own college essay topics?
I’ll answer that rhetorical question: Yes.
And that’s what you’ll find before we get to that giant list.
How do I know these exercises work? Because over the years I’ve worked with thousands of students, many of whom (like you)...
Have decent grades and a pretty good but not perfect SAT score
Are afraid they don’t have outstanding extracurricular activities to write about
Feel like their essay could make a difference in their college application but aren’t sure where to start.
Sound familiar?
My hope is that, by going through these step-by-step brainstorming exercises, you’ll find a topic that’s elastic, meaning that it’s stretchy enough to talk about lots of different parts of you, which is a characteristic you’ll find in most outstanding personal statements.
Great brainstorming is key to a great application. Want to see an example of a student’s brainstorming exercises, and the essays and application that brainstorming led to? Go here.
Pro Tip: Download your own blank template of that list and fill it in here.
All right, let’s do this.
The Values exercise
This exercise is useful for identifying both your core values and your aspirations by answering this question: WHAT DO I VALUE?
The Essence Objects Exercise
This is one of my favorite brainstorming activities for generating college essay ideas. Why?
It’s one of the most efficient ways I know to help create a TON of content for your personal statement and also add texture to bring your essay to life.
Also, it’s just fun to do and a great way to reflect.
Ready to do it?
Click here for a list of questions to help you with the exercise. Then, watch the video below.
What’s one of your essence objects?
The ‘Everything I Want Colleges to Know About me’ Exercise
Make a list of all the things you want colleges to know about you.
How? You can do this either:
in a bulletpoint format (organized, easy to read)
on a blank sheet of paper (with drawings, get creative)
on a timeline
For more detailed instructions, head here.
College Essay Topic Samples
Here’s a list of essay topics and ideas that worked for my one-on-one students:
Essay Topic: My Allergies Inspired Me
After nearly dying from anaphylactic shock at five years old, I began a journey healing my anxiety and understanding the PTSD around my allergies. This created a passion for medicine and immunology, and now I want to become an allergist so no other child will have to feel the same.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: My Foreign Exchange Experience
My 28 months in America living with five families helped me develop five values: open mindedness, spending quality time with family, understanding, discipline, and genuine appreciation.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: Why Did the Chicken Cross the Road?
I’ve created my own essay prompt: why did the chicken cross the road? In short, the chicken discovers that her idyllic world is not all it seems, and she must cross the road to discover her true purpose in life. She may come to realize that the world is more terrible and beautiful than she’s ever known.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: A Palestinian Hunger Strike Turns Into a Purpose
My experience supporting a hunger strike in my native land, and watching my fellow students slowly lose interest in the strike and my protest, taught me to be passionate about social justice and inspired the creation of my own ethical clothing company.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: Lessons From My Pilgrimage to Mecca
My pilgrimage to Mecca taught me that I am valuable and family is centrally important. Now, I'm proud of my heritage, passionate about languages, and excited to bring all of it to college.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: From Homeschool to the Football Field
Instead of my original plan of playing football in high school, I freed myself of my fear of social interactions and my age gap by discovering a love for coaching.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: My First Flight Failed, But My Love Was Born
While my attempt at flight when I was five years old ended in disaster, my passion only grew as I became older. My love of engineering has taught me collaboration, social justice, curiosity, and diligence.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: Poop, Animals, and the Environment
I don’t mind being pooped on, bitten or scratched because my passion for animals is bigger than all of that. I know the world is rife with environmental problems, and I’m ready to spend my life making a difference.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: A Word a Day, A Life of Imagination
The NYT word of the day reminds me of something: my own imagination. My curiosity has taught me to love playing basketball, the violin, and inventing new words.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: Where I’m Home
I find myself feeling at “home” wherever I am, whether it’s spending quality time eating chicken with my family, diligently working on my chemistry research in the lab, or expanding my world through my college electives at Governor's School East.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: Easter, Travel, and Dad
Despite my abusive father’s wishes, I took a trip abroad and discovered my independence. Now, I want to pursue international relations and women’s studies to help women around the world discover who they are.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: My Cosmetic Journey
Although I initially saw my interest in cosmetics as a superficial obsession, through research and advocacy I’m now a community leader and online advocate for ethical cosmetics testing and labeling.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: Transformers Are Not Just for Boys
Being punished for playing with transformers because they “aren’t for girls” didn’t stop me from becoming passionate about robotics, where I created and fought for an open source platform that educates children about robotics around the world.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: The Instagram Post
Being publicly shamed for my pro-choice stance taught me to be passionate about my point of view, and now I understand that, while dissent and social justice are sometimes painful, they are sometimes necessary.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: My Grandmother Passing
My grandmother is my source of inspiration. When she passed away I couldn’t help but reflect on my love of family, passion for education, and my volunteering experiences at a cancer treatment center.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: My Self-Proclaimed Identity
I love writing, philosophy, speech and debate... and punk rock music. But I am not any one of these things, because I am all of them. I call myself a “punk-rock philosopher.”
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: My Grandma’s Kimchi
I’ll always remember the passion and attention to detail my grandmother put into making kimchi. Watching my grandmother eventually lose her ability to make this important dish made me reflect on memory, death, and the importance of family. Now I’m the one who makes the kimchi.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: How Traveling Led to My Love of Language
My experiences traveling around the world influenced my interest in language and human connection. That interest is what I want to bring into my dual majors of foreign language and linguistics.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: A Girl Muses on a Dead Bird
One day, my cat attacked a bird in the front yard. In my vain attempt at saving its life, I was forced to reconcile with losing one of my best friends in a tragic accident years ago.
To read the full essay, click here.
Essay Topic: I Shot My Brother
My lifelong jealousy towards my little brother erupted when I shot him with a bb gun. Haunted with guilt, I sought to treat my brother with newfound respect and love, and learned the importance of family.
To read the full essay, click here.
