Module Content:

College admission readers are only somewhat interested in the challenges you've faced. But that's just the setup for your story.

What they want to know is this: Based on the challenges and effects you faced ... what actions did you take?

Go to the "Narrative Outline Pt. 2: What I Did About It" page in your workbook.

[action_item]

Action Item: Bullet point the actions you took, like this:

What I Did About It:

• Took care of my youngest brother

• Became my own teacher

• Learned how to fix a bike, swim, socialize

• Found a job to help pay bills

• Improved my grades

• Shattered a school swimming record

• Taught myself how to play instruments

• Won the honor of being the first student in my school to pass the AP Physics 1 exam

• Took on several leadership roles in clubs

• Tutored and counseled friends and peers

Don't worry about how it sounds right now; just name the things you did.

Important: Notice these actions are described in terms of active verbs (which I've bolded above).

Why are active verbs so important for this part of your essay? They show you engaged, making specific efforts to make the best of your situation. Think of the films you love. The main characters we root for do really cool things. They make choices that impact their lives and the lives of others. To this end, here are ...

A bunch of questions to help you write your bullet points for the "What I Did" part of your essay:

1. Did you accomplish anything? If so, what evidence do you have?

   Ex: We grew club membership by 50%.

2. Did you gain any management or leadership skills?

   Ex: I campaigned for class treasurer and won!

3. What people skills or communication skills did you gain?

   Ex: I addressed my concerns with my father directly.

4. Did you learn any financial skills?

   Ex: I analyzed the money my family was spending and formulated a new budget.

5. How did you put your creative or design skills to use?

   Ex: I devised a way for my grandmother to remember her medication.

6. Whom did you help, and how?

   Ex: I advocated for a club devoted specifically to supporting women in STEM, my proposal was accepted, and I was chosen as the club's leader. Over the next year, I mentored more than 30 sophomores and juniors.

7. Did you learn any technical skills, or how to build stuff?

   Ex: I maintained the club website and social media accounts.

8. Did you develop any analytical or research skills?

   Ex: I analyzed the work that last year's leaders had done and drafted a list of recommendations.

9. Did you organize anything or put your detail-oriented nature to use?

   Ex: I monitored my little brother's behavior for several weeks and found that the regular meals and bedtimes helped—he was throwing fewer tantrums and seemed happier throughout the day.

10. Did you develop or demonstrate any teaching abilities?

    Ex: I integrated the skills I was learning from my online research into my tutoring sessions (or into my conversations with my family).

Remember: As you're thinking of what to put here, it can be useful to think about the feelings you felt as a result of your challenges/effects and what needs you were working to meet.

Example: To meet your need for stability ... you created a detailed plan for yourself, (or) to meet your need for contribution ... you volunteered to teach math to middle schoolers.

Here's a list of feelings and needs.

[action_item]

Action Item: Spend at least 7 minutes making a list of all the things you've done to overcome—or in spite of—your challenge. Feel free to take a bit more time, if you need it.

Three things you can do if you get stuck:

1. If you're having trouble thinking of things to write for this section, make a list of your extracurricular activities, and for each one, ask, "What deeper need does this activity fulfill for me?" (Example: Maybe sports meets your need for community.)

2. If you want more ideas of strong verbs that can help you either remember what you did or express yourself in a more powerful way, check out this list (which is also good for creating your Common App Activities List, btw).

3. To see what this looks like in an essay, check out the bolded verb phrases in the "What Had to Be Done" essay here. You'll find some other essays on this doc that might inspire you. Careful not to fall down a rabbit hole, though. Spend 10 minutes max reading these sample essays (set a timer if you need to), then come back to the Action Item.