It’s that time of year again; seniors anxiously submit their college applications along with their oddly prompted essays that could decide the fate of their academic future.
A multitude of colleges, big or small, use strange essay prompts to determine who, out of the many applicants, are accepted. WS seniors have just now dipped their toes in the foreign world of college and no one knows what to expect.
Students can use the outrageous prompts to their advantage by being completely obscure from other applicants. Schools like Virginia Tech exercised their freedom to ask the most thought provoking questions including, “If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?”
“My super power is being able to refill anything because you can manipulate it to get anything you want, I think Tech wants to see you rely on your knowledge not something you can research,” said senior Begad Elharazi
Another school in Virginia, The University of Richmond, asked about a broader topic this year. Connected to their school mascot they encouraged the applicants to “Tell [them] more about spiders.”
Students are trained throughout their high school career to expect college to treat them with maturity, when faced with these prompts that standard is not upheld. This gives students a refreshing, fun look on their applications.
“It’s kind of fun writing about fun things in your applications because it’s different from just stating my GPA and SAT score,” said senior Abby Snyder.
Instead of giving straight facts to colleges where there is no personality required, students can ramp up their chance of acceptance with these fun essay topics. Along with showing your writing skills, students can illustrate their personality through their writing and stand out against the applicant crowd.
The University of Virginia told students to “Explain your favorite word and why?”
“They want to see people think critically and a favorite word can definitely tell a lot about a person,” said senior Collin Farquhar.
Students can also show the skills they’ve learned through life lessons. They use broad topics to their advantage by letting the college know what they are good at and why.
“I wrote about growing up with my older sister with autism and how it made me mature faster and have a better understanding of people with disabilities,” said Snyder.
Weird college essay prompts can be a scary turn for the worse or students can use it to their advantage. A lot of students take extra time with past and present teachers to address their essays because it’s very essential to the application process.
“It’s all about the way you think about it and use it to show why you’re a good pick for a certain school,” said senior Jacob Levine.