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College Application Essay Prompts: Preparing for the Unexpected and Extra-Human Powers, Slides of Literature

Journal writing prompts for college application essays, focusing on preparing for unexpected situations and the hypothetical acceptance of extra-human powers. Students are encouraged to reflect on their flexibility, coping mechanisms, and desired professions. Each prompt includes an associated audio file for inspiration.

What you will learn

  • What official title and profession have you always desired?
  • If you could have two superpowers, which would you choose and why?
  • Where have your feet taken you and what have you learned from those experiences?
  • What is your backup plan when 'plan A' falls through?
  • Describe an experience at a party or social gathering that taught you a life lesson.

Typology: Slides

2021/2022

Uploaded on 09/12/2022

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Journal Writing Topics for Getting Started on your College
Application Essay
Instructions for summer: Choose one of the following prompts, listen to the audio that is associated with
the prompt, and then write a two-page (typed, 12-point font) response.
1. As you prepare for college and discuss your future with your parents, school counsellors, and friends,
you have most likely developed a plan. But what about a backup plan? Few things in life go as
planned--you know the line, "the best laid plans of mice and men..." So, where do you see yourself in the
future when “plan A” falls through? Have you thought about a "plan B" yet? What might that plan look like?
"As way leads on to way," can you foresee yourself ten years from now working on plan B, plan C, or plan
D? Are you willing to accept a deviation from your original course? Just how flexible are you? How will
you cope, emotionally or otherwise, with having to accept an alternative course, if necessary? What's the
strangest scenario you can see for your future? Is it possible to see the unforeseen? Listen to Plan B,
from the This American Life podcast before writing. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom
Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the
College Resources section below.)
2. All literature is about living life on Earth as a human. Even superhero stories--what, with their
protagonists flaunting extra-human powers and their other-worldly origins (think Superman)--are about us
mere mortals and our all-too-human flaws. But if the cosmic powers could grant YOU extra-human powers,
would you accept them? If so, what powers would they be, and for what purpose(s) would you use them?
If we narrowed the choice down to two superpowers--flight or invisibility--which would you choose and
why? Reflect on any of these decisions. The link below will direct you to some stories that examine this
question. Before writing, listen to Invisible Man vs. Hawkman. (You can find a link to the audio under
“Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check
the links in the College Resources section below.)
3. “Your Majesty, the Queen.” “The Honorable Ms. So-and-so.” “Sergeant Jane Doe.” “Dr. Jones.” Mrs.
Washington.” Official titles. How do they sound to you? Would you like one? Which official title, when
paired with your name, has a nice ring to it? Is there a title--and the profession that goes with it--that you
have always desired? If you received a PhD, would you want to be called Doctor so-and-so, or would you
like your status to be invisible? Is the title worth the grief and aggravation, the years of school and training
necessary to obtain it? Does it come with fame? If so, would you crave attention and importance, or
despise it? Reflect on these questions while you listen to and/or read The Learning Curve, from David
Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day for inspiration. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom
Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the
College Resources section below.)
4. As you prepare to step out of your high school doors and step onto the graduation stage, I want you to
reflect on the places your feet have taken you. A Fitbit may count the number of steps you take, but it
doesn't record all you have learned on those pedestrian (or not!) voyages. Where have your feet taken
you? Reflect on that question through the point-of-view of your feet, your sneakers, your heels, your skis,
etc. Or, consider the point-of-view of a Fitbit, (or other step tracker), or the roads, the treadmill, the school
hallways, or the dance floor on which so many of your steps have been taken. Where will your steps
continue to take you? How many steps ahead have you planned? What kind of steps do you normally
take; small tentative steps, bold definitive strides? What occasions might account for your different strides?
Do you count your steps? Like David Sedaris, does your attention to your steps (literal or figurative) ever
verge on obsession? Read Stepping Out from by David Sedaris’s Calypso for inspiration. (You can find a
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Journal Writing Topics for Getting Started on your College

Application Essay

Instructions for summer: Choose one of the following prompts, listen to the audio that is associated with the prompt, and then write a two-page (typed, 12-point font) response.

  1. As you prepare for college and discuss your future with your parents, school counsellors, and friends, you have most likely developed a plan. But what about a backup plan? Few things in life go as planned--you know the line, "the best laid plans of mice and men..." So, where do you see yourself in the future when “plan A” falls through? Have you thought about a "plan B" yet? What might that plan look like? "As way leads on to way," can you foresee yourself ten years from now working on plan B, plan C, or plan D? Are you willing to accept a deviation from your original course? Just how flexible are you? How will you cope, emotionally or otherwise, with having to accept an alternative course, if necessary? What's the strangest scenario you can see for your future? Is it possible to see the unforeseen? Listen to Plan B , from the This American Life podcast before writing. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.)
  2. All literature is about living life on Earth as a human. Even superhero stories--what, with their protagonists flaunting extra-human powers and their other-worldly origins (think Superman)--are about us mere mortals and our all-too-human flaws. But if the cosmic powers could grant YOU extra-human powers, would you accept them? If so, what powers would they be, and for what purpose(s) would you use them? If we narrowed the choice down to two superpowers--flight or invisibility--which would you choose and why? Reflect on any of these decisions. The link below will direct you to some stories that examine this question. Before writing, listen to Invisible Man vs. Hawkman. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.)
  3. “Your Majesty, the Queen.” “The Honorable Ms. So-and-so.” “Sergeant Jane Doe.” “Dr. Jones.” Mrs. Washington.” Official titles. How do they sound to you? Would you like one? Which official title, when paired with your name, has a nice ring to it? Is there a title--and the profession that goes with it--that you have always desired? If you received a PhD, would you want to be called Doctor so-and-so, or would you like your status to be invisible? Is the title worth the grief and aggravation, the years of school and training necessary to obtain it? Does it come with fame? If so, would you crave attention and importance, or despise it? Reflect on these questions while you listen to and/or read The Learning Curve, from David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day for inspiration. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.)
  4. As you prepare to step out of your high school doors and step onto the graduation stage, I want you to reflect on the places your feet have taken you. A Fitbit may count the number of steps you take, but it doesn't record all you have learned on those pedestrian (or not!) voyages. Where have your feet taken you? Reflect on that question through the point-of-view of your feet, your sneakers, your heels, your skis, etc. Or, consider the point-of-view of a Fitbit, (or other step tracker), or the roads, the treadmill, the school hallways, or the dance floor on which so many of your steps have been taken. Where will your steps continue to take you? How many steps ahead have you planned? What kind of steps do you normally take; small tentative steps, bold definitive strides? What occasions might account for your different strides? Do you count your steps? Like David Sedaris, does your attention to your steps (literal or figurative) ever verge on obsession? Read Stepping Out from by David Sedaris’s Calypso for inspiration. (You can find a

link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.) 5 You've done so much to prepare for college: homework, extra-curriculars, applications, standardized tests, and the list goes on. But what about parties, dances, sloughing off and unwinding? Believe it or not, those non-academic activities have probably prepared you for life after high school in more ways than you think. Describe an experience at a party or social-gathering with your friends that has taught you a life lesson. Give some attention to setting, conflict, irony, symbolism, and theme. Note: No stories primarily about sex, drug or alcohol use/abuse please, but don't ignore their presence if it is integral to your life-learning experience. Your readers (including college application officers) will expect you to treat taboo topics discreetly, delicately. Read A Trip to Grand Rapids from Garrison Keillor’s Leaving Home for inspiration, or listen to the audio. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.)

  1. What is the scariest part of getting older? What makes adolescence so darn frightening? Did you experience anxiety during that time? If so, about what? Do you experience anxiety now? If so, what triggers it? What about entering adulthood seems most foreign and daunting? What about becoming an adult seems most thrilling and suspenseful? What about becoming an adult seems most miserable and regretful? What are your fears and phobias surrounding aging, fledging from the nest, and your looming college experience? and adulthood? One page minimum. For inspiration, listen to "The Hitcher" from the This American Life podcast. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.)
  2. Thoreau once said, “Love your life, poor as it is. You may perhaps have some pleasant, thrilling, glorious hours, even in a poorhouse. The setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's abode; the snow melts before its doors as early in the spring.” Was he wrong? How does being poor affect one's chances of escaping a dead-end neighborhood or fulfilling other dreams? Does being poor provide advantages that maybe go unnoticed or under appreciated? Is poverty hereditary in sense? If so, why? Have you or your family ever experienced poverty? Is poverty even recognizable? Are there different kinds of poverty? Reflect on the influence of poverty on your future, or react to the subject matter in the podcast episode “three miles” from This American Life. (You can find a link to the audio under “Classroom Resources” and then “Essays, Stories, and Topics…” on the Arboretum website. Also check the links in the College Resources section below.)

College Essay Resources

Best College Essays about Money Trash, the Library and a Worn, Brown Table: The 2019 College Essays on Money (Published 2019) Best College Essays about Memories and Hope Memories and Hopes: The Top Essays “Stepping Out,” from David Sedaris’s Calypso The New Yorker June 7, 2021 “The Learning Curve” from David Sedaris’s Me Talk Pretty One Day TPAudiobook | Me Talk Pretty One Day AUDIO BOOK By David Sedaris (begin at the 1 hr, 40 min mark.)