The breakdown of the 2014-15 Common Application essay prompts continues! Below I cover the best ways to answer the second of students' five essay choices, which focuses on overcoming failure.
PROMPT #2: Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what lessons did you learn?
This prompt always reminds me of the classic interview question: “What are your greatest weaknesses?” While the prompt is asking about failure, what admissions really wants to know is, when have you experienced failure and turned it into a personal success? How do you deal with hardship? Are you the kind of person who can rebound – who turns every experience, good or bad, into one from which you can learn something? That said this question can be a tough one to answer on many levels. Students should be careful not to choose failures that might seem trite (failure to get an A on an exam), or that illustrate a lapse in good judgment (that time you crashed your car). Still, if you can isolate an incident of trial in your life and how you learned from it without stretching too much, this can be a rewarding prompt to explore. Did breaking a bone before a much-anticipated competition show you the value of relying on your teammates? Maybe your failed attempts at becoming a child actor introduced you to the world of screenwriting, your new professional goal and biggest passion. Try to keep these stories as positive as possible. Remember, these essays are not really about losing the election, missing the big game and failing to meet your own academic expectations; they are about overcoming obstacles, and refusing to submit to life’s greatest challenges.
Did you miss my explanation of Prompt #1? Fear not! Find it on the CEA website, and stay tuned for my breakdowns of the remaining three prompts!
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