Start your college essay journey with journaling – a simple step towards crafting a powerful personal statement.
It’s time to start writing! Preparing for your college essay begins with keeping a writer’s notebook. If journaling is new to you, it might feel challenging at first—but don’t worry. With practice, it becomes easier, more natural, and even more enjoyable. Before long, you’ll find yourself crafting a personal statement for your college essay with confidence and ease.
To get started, grab a fresh notebook. If you’re feeling inspired today, the prompts below are designed to spark your creativity. Many are fun, and all will encourage you to think deeply and explore ideas beyond your daily routine.
Remember, this is your space to write freely. No one will see what you’ve written unless you choose to share it. Don’t aim for perfection—just focus on letting your thoughts flow. Writing will feel more natural with time, and that’s when the magic happens!
Using the definition of community below, define community as it relates to you. To do this, describe a community that you belong to that is central to your identity. Explain why it’s important to you, the influence the community has had on you, and the influence you’ve had on the community.
Community: a feeling of fellowship with others as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.
Have you ever had your perspective changed or challenged? Explain.
Diversity can be interpreted in many ways. How do you embrace diversity in your life? OR Do you think your school is diverse? In what way? How would you define diversity?
Our backgrounds and experiences shape how we navigate the world and see ourselves. Tell us about when, where, or with whom you feel your most authentic, powerful self.
How do you define “success”?
Have you ever met someone who reminded you of you?
Are you the kind of person who likes to look ahead or back? Why?
What makes someone an adult? Is it a milestone? A way of thinking? A growth?
If you had 72 hours to yourself, what would you do with your time?
Write about a time that you felt understood.
Write about a time that you felt misunderstood.
Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged.
Think of an experience unique to you. Narrate it.
Write a letter to your Great-Great-Grandkids.
Write a letter to your 12-year-old self.
Teens are often described as hyphenates: director-playwright-sound designer, environmentalist-photographer, journalist-linguist, economist-poet. What seemingly disparate interests do you bring together or hope to bring together in your future?
Students are often asked to design their own research questions and answer them during semester-long projects. Thoughtfully respond to a prompt of your own creation.
Communities place strong value on inclusion and diversity. What do you value in a community, and how do your perspective, lived experiences, or beliefs contribute to your future in college or your future beyond college?
Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?
If you were able to go anywhere in the world outside of the country where you currently reside, where would you go and why?
Write about a book or other media that has made you think about something in a new way.
In her 2019 commencement address, journalist Maggie Haberman '96 told the graduating class of SLU: "My time at Sarah Lawrence helped me understand the importance of patience, of assuming good faith in others, and of finding truth." Write about a time you spoke your own truth or found the importance in one of the values Maggie describes.
Pick a topic/problem in current events (big or small) and “solve” it. How does your solution help others? How does this affect you or your community? What was your thinking process to construct your solution?
Reflect on a time when you felt accomplished. Write the story of that time.
Reflect on a lesson you learned. Write the story of the lesson.
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