I feel completely lost trying to write my personal statement is there anyone I could dm for help?

I’m thinking of writing about my relationship with achievement and how I tied my happiness and identity to my accomplishments.

I’ve always been driven, but over time I started viewing achievements almost like a collection. Each grade, leadership position, internship, or extracurricular became something I needed to add in order to feel successful. They gave me temporary happiness and reassurance, but that feeling never lasted, so I felt like I constantly needed to achieve more to maintain that sense of validation.
I want to connect this to my OCD and how it contributed to my need for perfection, comparison, and certainty. The focus wouldn’t just be on being a high achiever, but on how I developed an unhealthy relationship with achievement where accomplishments became a measure of my identity and self-worth.

The main message would be about learning that achievements can reflect my growth, effort, and passions, but they shouldn’t be the foundation of my happiness or determine my value.

Is this too common of a UC PIQ topic, or does the focus on my internal relationship with achievement make it unique enough?

Preferably someone who grades essays it got into a good school. If not it’s fine too, I just want some other options.

Can anyone maybe explain the prompt in simpler terms? Am I being asked why writing, reading, and critical thinking is important? Why schools should TEACH reading, writing, and critical thinking? Something else? What does it mean by 'the ROLE one's education should play'?

I feel like I'm going crazy, and I don't want to use ai to simplify it.

I’m trying to decide which essay to use as my QuestBridge National College Match personal statement and which (if either) to use for the writing exercise.

**The Night Desk:** A reflective essay about sharing a bedroom with my mom and how a small night desk became a symbol of our relationship, independence, and growing up. This essay was my personal statement for **QuestBridge College Prep Scholars**, and it helped me become a CPS recipient.

**Birthday Cake:** A narrative about making my own birthday cake with friends that begins with me spending 45 minutes researching the perfect recipe and ends with a cake that tastes nothing like I’d imagined. As the story unfolds, it becomes less about the cake itself and more about the way I hold onto experiences. First through anticipation, then through the unexpected moments my memory chooses to keep.

Which do you think is stronger as the personal statement, and would the other work well as the writing exercise, or should I write something completely different?

I was curious if anyone would give some feedback on my personal statement for colleges.

I’ve been writing my personal statement for a while and this is a theme that’s come up but I’m wondering if it’s too common and I should do something else.

So I'm a rising Junior and I'm starting to work on my college essay. I originally applied to college last year because I was going to graduate from my small rural high school but didn't get into any colleges I wanted to and am now transferring to a college prep boarding school because I was being limited by my old school. My essays also weren't very good because I kept procrastinating, so I'm trying to not let that happen again...

Basically I like to trade futures and my idea is that I open with a hook along the lines of "I love losing money" and then go into detail about what it takes to be a profitable day trader and then talk about how life is kindof like the stock market. It doesn't always follow the trends, sometimes it will fake you out, you have to have discipline to get the best result possible, both when you're in the red, and when you're in the green, and then tie that back into how I felt when I first realized I wasn't going to college (I wanted to get out of my hometown so bad) and then how even though I was 'in the red' because I decided to hold out for a college I wanted to go to I was able to become my state's BPA president, attend a boarding school from where I used to live, go back to the place I consider home, place at BPA nationals in payroll accounting, continue my mental health work, start a BPA chapter at my new school, and be in a social environment that I thrived in.

Thoughts?

Soo, umm, in my Common App essay, I have used one hook that stitches two main stories of my life that have shaped me, but I use a lot of anecdotes, something like.. I mean, it has like 5 references... like Harry Potter (one liner), Phineas and Ferb ( just one word), and some more, is ti too risky to use pop culture references? At least that's what AI says; I use a lot of references

I just recently started thinking about my college essay and what I would write about but I came up with something about my annotations in the book, The Bell Jar, as I’ve read it several times over the past 3 years and I’ve always closely resonated with that book so a lot of my annotations connect my life at that moment with the book and because I’ve read it so many times over multiple years sometimes my annotations talk to each other. The only reason I think this could be a good subject for a college essay is because it would show my academic and emotional growth while also providing insight into my mindset, regarding academia, and my ability to reflect and build off of experiences. Obviously, this idea is still a work in progress but I want to know if it even seems like a good subject to begin with.

like plz, Claude told me it was good, but I want a real human to read it🙏🙏

hi! i'm trying to start my common app essay draft now but im conflicted with which ideas to do since i feel like i could write about so many things but idk which topic is the perfect one for the personal statement specifically since i feel like these things could transfer for supplemental questions as well, but please let me know your thoughts and advice on these ideas!

- how every month of the year i pick up a new hobby/interest and i become really passionate in it ex: i love kpop and for the past 2 years around december and january i almost always become super into it like how i used to and i basically feel so nostalgic; another exam is ive always found space fascinating and with the recent artemis ii mission it brought up my curiousity for space again and i would start researching about and watching clips on social media, another example is michael jackson in light of the movie coming out, collecting world cup stickers, recognizing flags (i have a bunch of random interests for this topic so i can go further into detail about this one specifically)

- i was thinking about using chinese proverbs and applying them to my everyday life (i am chinese so idk if this would be cliche or not) or just phrases in general like carpe diem

- notes app

- my genuine love and joy for christmas ( im applying for premed so i was thinking i could tie that someway but idrk)

- hoarding (its honestly a poor habit of mine but i see sentimental value in so many things)

- edit: i also don't believe in embarassment

i lowk have more but these are just my top ideas for now and this is a super long post so if you're reading this thank u sm for ur time!

Basically the title how do I find information about a specific college/professor/programs? I searched it up for Georgia Tech and I can’t find anything 😔😭

As a upcoming senior I need to start on my collage essay. However the hardest part is going to be choosing a topic. What is the best to focus on, health issues, mental health, family-? I don't have a good support system to guide me and im just curious what colleges are most looking for. I'm going into forensic biology if that helps.

I’ve always wanted to go into the legal field because I liked the idea of being able to help people like me and my family. I always thought of this in a criminal law kind of way but now I’m not too sure. I’ve been interested in immigration law lately too for largely the same reason. I don’t know which path to write about or how to make my reasons stand out because most people who want a career in law want to help people. Please help.

i’m a rising senior and i feel like people are just glazing me atp😣 can someone just give me their honest opinion and what i should or shouldn’t add plus what to keep

As a upcoming senior I need to start on my collage essay. However the hardest part is going to be choosing a topic. What is the best to focus on, health issues, mental health, family-? I don't have a good support system to guide me and im just curious what collages are most looking for. I'm going into forensic biology if that helps.

It’s for WFU “top 10 list” essay. If anyone can, I’ll DM them a photo of it!! Thank yall so much

Also I don’t have common app essay yet I’m trying to find a good idea can you lmk if any of my ideas are good
Interpreter-Across tutoring, hospital volunteering, and chemistry research, I realized my true role isn’t just learning information it’s translating complex ideas into something others can understand, revealing that my passion lies in making knowledge accessible.
Crumbl’s Weekly Lineup-
Crumbl’s ever-changing weekly menu became a metaphor for my own life, teaching me that every new week offers a fresh opportunity to learn, grow, and bounce back from the setbacks that defined my sophomore year.
Reinventing Recipes-
Determined to improve my health without giving up baking, I transformed my favorite recipes into healthier versions through trial and error, discovering that every ingredient swap was a chemistry experiment that sparked my passion for science.

Im trying do find an idea for my Common App essay and I’m struggling to figure out my main theme. I have a few connected ideas but I’m not sure which direction is strongest.
One idea is about a canoeing experience at summer camp. I know people say not to write about camp but I have been going for 10 years and worked there this summer. I used to be super quiet and didn’t say I word my first year and i feel like it is a huge part of my life. I whitewater canoed for three years and loved it but the first time I canoed, my partner and I didn’t get along because I felt out of control and we argued the whole time. The next years I chose to canoe again, and eventually I had a partner where we worked really well together, never flipped, and were one of the best teams. I think this represents learning to let go of control, trust others, and not feel like I have to manage everything.
I want the essay to be about perseverance and gratitude for the life I have, but I’m not sure how to connect those ideas naturally. The lesson I’m thinking about is that when I stopped trying to control every outcome and focused more on enjoying the process, I became happier and that’s also when I eventually made state in swimming after struggling for years. I used to get so anxious about racing and it really affected my performance and self worth. I started to do really well in school in high school and kind of became hyper fixated on how my effort in swimming didn’t reflect my progress. I want my resilience, reflectiveness, and gratitude to show. Any feedback would be super helpful!!

If anyone is happy to give me some advice for my transfer statement of purpose for UT please dm me

Hi! I’m a rising high school senior looking to connect with current students at highly selective universities who would be willing to share advice about the college application process.

I would especially love to ask about:

• How you chose the main story or theme of your application
• How you decided which extracurriculars to emphasize
• What made your personal statement and supplemental essays successful
• What you wish you had known before applying
• How you balanced being impressive with sounding genuine

I’m hoping to have a more detailed conversation over Discord or another platform rather than discussing everything publicly. Please comment or DM me if you would be open to connecting. Thank you!

3 paragraphs, 480 words

P1: how my negative environment growing up led me to develop a shell and isolate myself in fear of the same negative relationships i witnessed

P2: comparing my isolation to the earth, "alone not lonely", the earth is kind and giving despite human intervention and allows living beings to thrive, i learned from the earth and changed my perspective of life

P3: bc the earth is so kind i've developed a passion for environmental engineering and that's my calling

notes: ap student, 3.8 weighted gpa, good test scores, stem club president, technical theatre (if that matters haha)

Hello, I just finished my common app essay draft,would anyone be willing to take a look?

I wrote my personal essay about being a no sabo kid and how it affected my relationship with my grandmother and my mom. I talk about how I was ashamed by the language barrier, but now I see the unconditional love my grandmother has shown me, regardless of the language barrier.

I wrote it without a prompt in mind, so should I make up my own with prompt #7, or should I use prompt #1 (Some 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.) or prompt #2 (The 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?)