How to Choose the Right Story for Your College Essay

Every year, we hear the same thing from students when it comes to college essays:

“I don’t know what to write about.”

Most students assume the hardest part of the essay is the writing itself.

In reality, the hardest part is usually choosing the right story.

Once a student has a clear story in mind, the writing process becomes much easier.

The challenge is figuring out which experiences actually make for a strong essay.

What Colleges Are Actually Looking For

One of the biggest misconceptions about college essays is that they need to describe something extraordinary.

Students sometimes think they need to write about:

• winning a national competition
• overcoming a dramatic life event
• starting a nonprofit organization

In reality, admissions officers are usually looking for something much simpler:

insight into how a student thinks, grows, and learns.

That means the story itself does not have to be dramatic.

What matters more is what the experience reveals about the student.

Some of the strongest essays we’ve seen have come from moments like:

• learning from a difficult class
• navigating a challenging team dynamic
• discovering a new interest or passion
• realizing something important about themselves

Often, it’s not the event itself that matters — it’s the reflection afterward.

A Helpful Way to Think About Essay Stories

One of the easiest ways to approach essay brainstorming is to think in terms of moments, not life summaries.

Students sometimes try to explain everything about themselves in one essay.

That almost never works.

A stronger approach is to focus on one specific moment that reveals something meaningful.

Think of it like a scene in a movie.

Instead of telling the entire story of the film, you show the audience one moment that captures something important about the character.

College essays work much the same way.

If your family is still figuring out when students should start college essays, we covered that in a separate guide as well.

Questions That Can Help Students Find a Good Story

If a student is struggling to identify a topic, a few simple questions can help spark ideas.

For example:

• When was a time you changed your mind about something important?
• When did you struggle with something at first but eventually figure it out?
• What experience has shaped how you see the world?
• When did you discover something about yourself that surprised you?

These questions often lead to more meaningful essay ideas than simply asking:

“What should I write about?”

Avoid the “Resume Essay”

Another common mistake is writing what we sometimes call a resume essay.

This happens when a student tries to list accomplishments that are already visible elsewhere in the application.

Admissions officers can already see:

• activities
• awards
• leadership roles
• volunteer work

The essay is an opportunity to show the person behind those experiences.

Instead of listing achievements, a strong essay helps the reader understand:

• What motivates the student
• How they think
• How they respond to challenges
• What matters to them

Be Careful With Common Essay Topics

Another challenge we often see is students choosing topics that are extremely common among applicants.

That doesn’t automatically make them bad topics — but it does mean the essay has to work much harder to stand out.

Two examples we see frequently are COVID-19 and divorce.

COVID-19

Many students understandably feel that the pandemic had a major impact on their lives.

However, admissions offices have been very clear that every student experienced COVID in some way.

For example, the University of California system has specifically cautioned students against focusing their essays on the general disruptions caused by the pandemic unless there was something truly unique or transformative about their experience.

Simply explaining that school went online, activities were canceled, or life felt uncertain will likely sound very similar to thousands of other applications.

Divorce

Another topic we see fairly often is a student writing about their parents’ divorce.

Divorce can absolutely be a meaningful and difficult experience.

However, it is also something many students applying to college have experienced. Because of that, essays focused primarily on the divorce itself sometimes struggle to stand out.

What tends to work better is focusing on how the experience shaped the student, rather than simply describing the event.

The Key Question to Ask

A helpful way to evaluate a potential essay topic is to ask:

“What does this story reveal about me that the rest of my application doesn’t?”

If the essay provides new insight into the student’s character, growth, or perspective, it can be a strong choice.

If it simply describes an event without much reflection, it may be worth exploring other ideas.

This is another reason brainstorming matters so much before students begin writing.

We also broke down several college essay topics to avoid in a related article.

Why Brainstorming Matters More Than Most Students Realize

Because essays are relatively short, every word matters.

A strong story makes the entire essay easier to write.

But when students pick the wrong topic, they often struggle to make the essay feel personal or meaningful.

That’s why we encourage students to spend time brainstorming before they start writing.

It’s much easier to write a great essay when the foundation is strong.

If your student is feeling stuck between a few possible topics — or has no idea where to begin — our Essay Brainstorm & Writing Workbook was designed for exactly that stage of the process.

It walks students through a structured process to help them:

• identify meaningful story ideas
• organize their thoughts before writing
• turn those ideas into a clear narrative
• refine and polish the final essay

It also includes examples and guided worksheets designed to make the process far less intimidating.

👉 Explore the Essay Brainstorm & Writing Workbook

One Final Thought

The goal of a college essay is not to impress admissions officers with a perfect story.

It’s to help them understand who the student really is.

Often, the best essays start with a simple moment — one that reveals something meaningful about how the student thinks, grows, or sees the world.

Finding that moment is the first step.

And for many students, that step is the hardest one.

If your student could use a little structure, a little direction, and a lot fewer blank-page meltdowns, our Essay Brainstorm & Writing Workbook is a practical place to start.

👉 Take a look here →