Starting from last year, the coalition application process was open to applicants applying for college. Many prestigious institutions around the country, such as the University of Chicago and many Ivy League universities, have come on board with the coalition application process.
The coalition process challenges the stranglehold the ‘Common App’ has over the process of applying to college. Along with a new method of applying for college comes new essay prompt that you have to get to grips with.
The essay prompt you choose is vital in ensuring that you give a good representation of yourself to the colleges you are applying for. In this article, we will discuss the best approach to take for the essay prompt that asks you to tell a story from your life that demonstrates or helped to change your character.
The good aspect of this essay prompt is the fact that your options are left wide open; you are able to talk about any event that you feel greatly influenced your character from your life. In fact, for any personal statement that you submit in your college application, you should be able to demonstrate your character and what makes you unique as a person.
For this particular prompt, have a think about yourself, and what you feel are your main character strengths. If you are unsure about it yourself, then you can also ask your family members and friends on what they feel are the main characteristics related to you.
For example, do you find yourself donating to charity or helping other people in need? Then you would be considered charitable. Are you always the life of the party and make other people laugh? Then one of your main characteristics would be that you are funny and thought provoking.
Once you have noted down the main characteristic that you feel you possess, it is time to think about some of the most memorable times of your life. Since you have noted the main characteristics about yourself that stand out to you, most of the memories you have about the important parts of your life should incorporate the use of some, if not most, of these characteristics.
For example, if you feel that you are gutsy or brave, and then you can describe the time when you stepped up to give a presentation in front of people you had never met before that was met with resounding applause. The problem that many applicants will run into when completing this prompt is the fact that they will list out their main characteristics as opposed to telling an experience from their life relating to it.
As you can see, there has been an overhaul in the college admissions system, with the Coalition application process coming in to compete with the traditional Common Application. These have created new prompts, and for this prompt, you need to ensure that you expand on your main characteristics through describing in clear words an experience from your life that demonstrates your character.