Common App 2026–2027
The seven essay prompts
Unchanged from last year. Pick one and write up to 650 words.
- Prompt 1: Background, identity, interest or talentSome students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
- Prompt 2: A challenge, setback or failureThe lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Prompt 3: Questioning a belief or ideaReflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
- Prompt 4: GratitudeReflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
- Prompt 5: Personal growthDiscuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
- Prompt 6: A topic you lose track of time inDescribe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
- Prompt 7: Topic of your choiceShare an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Full feedback, every draft
- US$49Your Common App personal essay
- US$129Plus every supplemental essay, for any college
- US$179Plus the UC questions, your activities list and a check for stories you repeat
Common App Essay Feedback
US$49 once. No sales tax is added.
Introductory price US$49 until 31 December, then US$79.
Feedback on your Common App personal essay, every draft, for 12 months.
- Each draft read against your prompt and what readers look for
- Your own sentences quoted: what works, what to cut, what is missing
- Questions that help you find your own story
- Up to 10 reads a day, each compared with your last
- We never write a word of it for you
Access for 12 months, until 6 November 2027. If the feedback is not useful to you, ask for a full refund within 14 days of paying, for any reason. It does not promise any offer or admission.
By paying you agree to our Terms and get access straight away, which ends your 14-day cancellation right. Your full refund within 14 days, for any reason, still applies.All Your College Essays
US$129 once. No sales tax is added.
Introductory price US$129 until 31 December, then US$199.
Your personal essay and every supplemental essay, for any college, for 12 months.
- Everything in Common App Essay Feedback
- Any college's supplemental prompt: paste it with its word limit
- Why-us answers checked for specifics only you could write
- We never write a word of it for you
Access for 12 months, until 6 November 2027. If the feedback is not useful to you, ask for a full refund within 14 days of paying, for any reason. It does not promise any offer or admission.
By paying you agree to our Terms and get access straight away, which ends your 14-day cancellation right. Your full refund within 14 days, for any reason, still applies.College Application Suite
US$179 once. No sales tax is added.
Introductory price US$179 until 31 December, then US$299.
Every essay in your application, plus the UC questions and your activities list, for 12 months.
- Everything in All Your College Essays: the personal essay and every supplement
- The University of California personal insight questions, all four answers
- Your activities list: each description read for what you did and what came of it
- A check across all your essays for stories and lines you repeat
- Every draft compared with your last
- We never write a word of it for you
Access for 12 months, until 6 November 2027. If the feedback is not useful to you, ask for a full refund within 14 days of paying, for any reason. It does not promise any offer or admission.
By paying you agree to our Terms and get access straight away, which ends your 14-day cancellation right. Your full refund within 14 days, for any reason, still applies.