Undergraduate admissions / Common App personal statement
Common App Personal Statement Help
We help applicants choose a topic, draft, and revise the Common App personal statement, so the essay is specific, honest, and in their own voice.
What the personal statement is
The Common App personal statement is a single essay of 250 to 650 words that goes to every college an applicant applies to through the Common App. The applicant chooses one of seven prompts, and the prompts are unchanged for the 2026-27 cycle. Supplemental essays are separate, and each college sets its own.
Choosing a prompt
The prompt matters less than the story. The seven prompts cover background and identity, a setback, questioning a belief, gratitude, personal growth, a captivating idea, and a topic of the applicant’s choice. Most strong essays could fit more than one of them, so we usually start with the experience and choose the prompt afterward.
What makes an essay work
Admissions readers see thousands of essays. The ones that hold attention tend to share a few traits:
A specific experience instead of a summary of achievements
Detail and reflection, not only a sequence of events
A voice that sounds like a real person, not a template
A clear sense of what changed and what the applicant took from it
Length
The Common App editor enforces the limits: 250 words at the minimum and 650 at the maximum. Most essays land between 500 and 650 words.
How we work with applicants on it
We start with a conversation about the applicant’s experiences and interests, then work through an outline, a draft, and revisions with written feedback at each stage. Applicants write the essay themselves. We help them decide what it should say and keep it specific and in their own voice.
The personal statement works alongside the supplemental essays each college requires and the activities list. Common questions are answered in the FAQ.
What to Expect
In a free consultation, we review the applicant’s profile, goals, and school list. Personal statement work then follows three steps.
Topic & Outline
We talk through the applicant’s experiences and interests, choose the one the essay will center on, and build an outline.
Drafting & Feedback
The applicant writes the draft. We return written feedback on specificity, structure, and voice, and repeat as needed.
Final Review
We check length, clarity, and consistency with the rest of the application before it is submitted.
A near-peer advisor on every application
Every applicant works closely with a near-peer advisor, a recent graduate of a top university who has been through the process. Before anything is submitted, it goes through review by our senior team. Meet our advisors, see where our students have been admitted on the results page, or read the FAQ.