The Super Essay Brainstorm: 15 Questions to Unlock Your Story

Staring at a blank page is the hardest part of writing your college application essay. You know you've done incredible things over the past four years, but how do you distill a lifetime of experiences into a single, cohesive narrative?

Before you start writing, you need to start digging. Here are the essential brainstorming questions you should ask yourself to unlock the content for your "Super Essay."

What I Did (Day-to-Day)

When we write our resumes, we often summarize our experiences into broad strokes. But the magic of a great essay lies in the details.

• Did I list all my tasks, or just a few? What did I forget? Go back and check.
• Did I list things I did that may have been outside the scope of my responsibilities? (Sometimes the most impressive work you did was the work you weren't asked to do.)
• Did I leave off any awards? Any uncommon achievements?

Problems I Solved

Conflict is the heart of any good story. Admissions officers don't just want to know what you did; they want to know why it mattered and what obstacles stood in your way.

• Did I consider the internal problems I solved? Were there any personal challenges or mental hurdles I had to overcome?
• Did I name the external problems I solved? Did I solve problems for my friends or family? My school? My community?
• Was I tackling a much larger (perhaps global) problem?

Lessons I Learned & Values/Skills I Developed

An experience is only as valuable as what you take away from it. This is where you demonstrate maturity, self-awareness, and a willingness to grow.

• What were some of the soft skills I learned? (e.g., patience, communication, empathy, leadership).
• Did I learn any specific hard skills? Software like Photoshop or Final Cut Pro? Languages like Spanish or C++? Survival skills like how to start a fire or clean a fish?
• What am I better at now than I was before?
• What would I have done differently? (Admitting imperfection is a superpower in essays).

Impact I Had (On Self, School, Community and/or Society)

Colleges are trying to predict what kind of impact you'll have on their campus. The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

• Did I consider the impact this had on my family? Friends? School? Who else benefited from my work?
• What impact did this have on me personally? Did this change my life or my perspective? How?

Applications to Other Parts of School/Life

The best essays connect the dots. They show how a lesson learned on a soccer field translates to a debate podium, or how learning to bake bread made you a better chemist.

• What skills did I develop and lessons did I learn that will make me a better [X]? (e.g., tutor, debater, advocate, volunteer, programmer, etc.) How so?
• What did I do to build on and take what I learned to the next level?
• What surprised me about this experience?

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Take a few hours, sit down with a notebook, and answer these honestly. You might just find your Super Essay waiting for you in the answers.