college essay about self improvement

Essay on Self Improvement

Students are often asked to write an essay on Self Improvement in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Self Improvement

What is self improvement.

Self-improvement is when you make yourself better. You can do this in many different ways. It could be learning a new thing, changing a bad habit, or becoming kinder. It’s about making positive changes to yourself.

Why is Self Improvement Important?

Self-improvement is important because it helps us grow. It helps us become better people. When we improve ourselves, we feel happier and more confident. We can do more things and achieve our goals.

How to Start Self Improvement?

To start self-improvement, you need to think about what you want to change. You might want to learn a new skill or stop a bad habit. Then, you make a plan and start working on it.

Tips for Self Improvement

Here are some tips for self-improvement: set clear goals, be patient, and keep going even when it’s hard. Also, remember to reward yourself when you achieve your goals. This will keep you motivated.

Also check:

250 Words Essay on Self Improvement

Self Improvement is the act of making yourself better. It’s about learning new things and getting rid of bad habits. It’s like planting a seed and taking care of it until it grows into a big, strong tree.

Self Improvement is important because it helps us grow and become better people. It’s like climbing a ladder. Each step we take brings us closer to the top. We learn new things, become better at what we do, and feel happier. It’s a journey that never ends.

Starting Self Improvement is easy. First, think about what you want to improve. It could be anything. Maybe you want to read more books, or learn a new skill, or be kinder to people. Then, make a plan. Write down what you want to do and how you will do it. And then, start doing it. It’s as simple as that.

Challenges in Self Improvement

Self Improvement can be hard. Sometimes, we might feel like giving up. But remember, every step counts. Even small changes can make a big difference. And if you keep going, you will get better. It’s like a journey. There might be bumps along the way, but in the end, you will reach your destination.

500 Words Essay on Self Improvement

Understanding self-improvement.

Self-improvement is the process of making yourself a better person. It is about learning new things, developing new skills, and becoming a better version of yourself. It can include many things like learning a new language, improving your physical health, or becoming a better listener.

The Importance of Self-Improvement

Self-improvement is important for many reasons. It can help you achieve your goals, make you feel good about yourself, and improve your life in general. For example, if you want to become a better student, you might focus on improving your study habits. This could include things like setting aside more time for studying, learning new study techniques, or finding a study group to join.

Ways to Improve Yourself

Another way to improve yourself is to learn new skills. This could be anything from learning how to cook a new recipe, to learning how to play a musical instrument, to learning how to code. Learning new skills can be fun and rewarding, and it can also help you become a more well-rounded person.

Challenges in Self-Improvement

While self-improvement can be rewarding, it can also be challenging. Sometimes, it can be hard to stick to your goals, especially if they are big and take a long time to achieve. It can also be hard to find the time to work on self-improvement, especially if you have a busy schedule.

The Role of Patience in Self-Improvement

Patience plays a key role in self-improvement. It’s important to remember that change takes time. You won’t become a better person overnight. It takes time, effort, and patience. But with persistence, you can make progress and see improvements in yourself.

In conclusion, self-improvement is a lifelong journey. It’s about setting goals, learning new skills, and overcoming challenges. It’s about becoming a better version of yourself, one step at a time. So, keep moving forward, keep learning, and keep improving. The journey of self-improvement is a rewarding one, and it’s a journey that’s worth taking.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

Happy studying!

Essays About Personal Growth: Top 5 Examples and 8 Prompts

If you’re writing essays about personal growth , our guide’s article examples and prompts will help stimulate your creative thinking .

Personal growth is looking at ways to improve yourself mentally, socially, spiritually, emotionally or physically. It is a process where we envision a better version of ourselves and strive to realize that ideal self. Personal growth demands the setting of personal goals and ensuring routine progress. The work toward personal development involves a great deal of hard work and discipline as we push our existing skills and strengths to a higher boundary while reducing our underlying weaknesses.

Read our essay examples and prompts below to help you produce a rich and creative essay about personal growth.

5 Essay Examples About Personal Growth

1. is it really too late to learn new skills by margaret talbot, 2. i’ve completed hundreds of 30-day challenges. here’s what i’ve learned by tara nicholle-nelson, 3. i was a self-help guru. here’s why you shouldn’t listen to people like me by michelle goodman, 4. how to craft a personal development plan that inspires meaningful results by scott jeffrey, 5. personal development and the power of feedback by emily marsh, 10 prompts on essays about personal growth, 1. why is personal growth important, 2. take up a personal growth challenge, 3. your personal growth journey, 4. personal growth among successful people, 5. personal growth for leaders , 6. personal growth at work, 7. best personal growth books, 8. strong motivation for achieving personal growth.

IMAGE	PRODUCT
	Grammarly
	ProWritingAid

“… [H]e decides to throw himself into acquiring five new skills . (That’s his term, though I started to think of these skills as “accomplishments” in the way that marriageable Jane Austen heroines have them, talents that make a long evening pass more agreeably, that can turn a person into more engaging company, for herself as much as for others.)

Learning new things may not be a cup of tea for those in their middle ages. To get out of established expertise, be looked down on as a novice, and push the brain to work double time may even be a dreary and intimidating process. , But Journalist Tom Vanderbilt, award-winning writers, and Nobel Prize recipients prove that satisfaction is worth it for personal growth and fulfillment.

“I think of Challenges as self-directed projects to change my behavior or spark some personal growth or development I’m clear that I’d like to have. Sometimes I want a mindset shift or want to make (or break) a habit, or I just have a sort of big project I want to sprint to finish…”

Why are we so drawn to self-imposed challenges? For one, it’s a competition only between you and yourself, giving room for flexibility in the rules you set. It provides structure to your goals , chunks your bigger long-term self-growth goals into gradual and doable daily tasks, provokes a sense of self-accountability, and helps you focus your energy on what matters most.

“Apparently, I learned, gurus are people too, even gurus lining the self-help shelves of friendly neighborhood bookstores. They aren’t infallible, all-knowing oracles above worrying about their generous muffin top or widening backside. They are businesspeople — businesspeople with books, keynotes, and openings in their consulting practice to peddle”

From abhorring gurus to becoming one and then hating the industry much more — this is the story of a self-help book author who realizes it was herself who needed the most advice for personal growth. But, as she creates a facade of a well-balanced life to establish her credibility, things turn dark, almost costing her life.

“When entertainment, distraction, and workaholism consume our attention, something doesn’t feel right within us… To have a full and meaningful life requires us to open to more dimensions of ourselves. And a Personal Development Plan can help us do just that.”

Everyone strives for personal growth. But once we jump at it, some wrong ingredients may spoil the sense of fulfillment we expect. The right process involves navigating your potential, creating a larger vision, selecting areas to focus on, setting your schedule, and monitoring your progress. You might also be interested in these essays about motivation .

“Without feedback, we would learn very little about ourselves, in or out of work. The feedback process is like holding a mirror up to yourself; that’s why it can be uncomfortable at times. You have to be prepared to listen to and acknowledge whatever reveals itself.”

Hearing feedback is critical to personal growth. Negative feedback is constructive in losing our bad habits. However, purely positive feedback is non-progressive and dangerous if we only seek to affirm how we regard ourselves.

We can never be perfect. But we can always progress. In your essay, explain why nurturing a growth mindset in life is essential. What long-term benefits can you reap daily from wanting to be a better person? How does it affect the mind, body, and overall wellness? Answer these while citing studies that outline the essence of personal growth.

Essays About Personal Growth: Take up a personal growth challenge

Take up any challenge you find exciting and feel up to. Then, write about your experience . If successful, offer tips to your readers on how one can prepare their body, mind, and discipline to stick to the goals . If you did not complete the challenge , don’t worry! Your failure can still be a learning experience that contributes to personal growth and is worth writing about. In addition, you can add what areas of yourself you would like to improve on if you ever take up the challenge again.

Talk about your goals and your daily efforts to reach this goal. It could relate to acing a test, your sports team winning or professional success. Of course, there will be a handful of challenges in any journey toward a goal. What were the obstacles and distractions that tried to keep you off track? Share these with your readers and how you strived or are striving to conquer them.

When you see people already at the height of their careers, you’ll find some continuing to walk out of their comfort zones and reach for the next higher mountain. For this essay, explain the connection between striving for personal growth and success. Then, provide a list of everyday habits among successful people that others could consider adopting.

Leaders must adapt and address problems efficiently and decisively as they move through a fast-changing landscape. Elaborate on how the pursuit of personal growth helps leaders deliver in their enormous role in organizations, companies, and communities.

If you firmly believe that growth at work translates to personal growth, it would be less hard for you to get by at work. But this gets a bit more complex if your feel that your work is no longer satisfying your self-actualization needs and even limiting you. For this prompt, help your readers determine if it’s time to quit their job and continue their journey for personal growth elsewhere. If you want to address companies, offer recommendations enabling their employees to grow and have a vision for themselves. You may also suggest how managers can keep an open line of communication so that personnel can relay their self-development needs.

Essays About Personal Growth: Best personal growth books

We all have that book that has given us a new kind of energy that made us feel and believe we can do anything if we put our heart into it. We keep these books close to our hearts, serving as a reminder of other bigger goals ahead of us when the going gets tough. Create a numbered list of the books that have captivated you and helped you realize your potential. Talk about the best quotes that struck the chord and the thought racing in your mind while reading them.

When you tap onto your inherent and external motivation for a much-needed push, it may be easier to turn bad moments into something that helps advance personal development plans. For your essay, explain how motivation can be a bridge to get you to your growth goals .

If you’re still stuck, check out our general resource of essay writing topics .

For help with this topic, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing ?

Have a language expert improve your writing

Check your paper for plagiarism in 10 minutes, generate your apa citations for free.

Knowledge Base
College essay

How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples

Published on September 21, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on May 31, 2023.

An insightful college admissions essay requires deep self-reflection, authenticity, and a balance between confidence and vulnerability. Your essay shouldn’t just be a resume of your experiences; colleges are looking for a story that demonstrates your most important values and qualities.

To write about your achievements and qualities without sounding arrogant, use specific stories to illustrate them. You can also write about challenges you’ve faced or mistakes you’ve made to show vulnerability and personal growth.

Start with self-reflection, how to write about challenges and mistakes, how to write about your achievements and qualities, how to write about a cliché experience, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Before you start writing, spend some time reflecting to identify your values and qualities. You should do a comprehensive brainstorming session, but here are a few questions to get you started:

What are three words your friends or family would use to describe you, and why would they choose them?
Whom do you admire most and why?
What are the top five things you are thankful for?
What has inspired your hobbies or future goals?
What are you most proud of? Ashamed of?

As you self-reflect, consider how your values and goals reflect your prospective university’s program and culture, and brainstorm stories that demonstrate the fit between the two.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Writing about difficult experiences can be an effective way to show authenticity and create an emotional connection to the reader, but choose carefully which details to share, and aim to demonstrate how the experience helped you learn and grow.

Be vulnerable

It’s not necessary to have a tragic story or a huge confession. But you should openly share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences to evoke an emotional response from the reader. Even a cliché or mundane topic can be made interesting with honest reflection. This honesty is a preface to self-reflection and insight in the essay’s conclusion.

Don’t overshare

With difficult topics, you shouldn’t focus too much on negative aspects. Instead, use your challenging circumstances as a brief introduction to how you responded positively.

Share what you have learned

It’s okay to include your failure or mistakes in your essay if you include a lesson learned. After telling a descriptive, honest story, you should explain what you learned and how you applied it to your life.

While it’s good to sell your strengths, you also don’t want to come across as arrogant. Instead of just stating your extracurricular activities, achievements, or personal qualities, aim to discreetly incorporate them into your story.

Brag indirectly

Mention your extracurricular activities or awards in passing, not outright, to avoid sounding like you’re bragging from a resume.

Use stories to prove your qualities

Even if you don’t have any impressive academic achievements or extracurriculars, you can still demonstrate your academic or personal character. But you should use personal examples to provide proof. In other words, show evidence of your character instead of just telling.

Many high school students write about common topics such as sports, volunteer work, or their family. Your essay topic doesn’t have to be groundbreaking, but do try to include unexpected personal details and your authentic voice to make your essay stand out .

To find an original angle, try these techniques:

Focus on a specific moment, and describe the scene using your five senses.
Mention objects that have special significance to you.
Instead of following a common story arc, include a surprising twist or insight.

Your unique voice can shed new perspective on a common human experience while also revealing your personality. When read out loud, the essay should sound like you are talking.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

Writing process
Transition words
Passive voice
Paraphrasing

Communication

How to end an email
Ms, mrs, miss
How to start an email
I hope this email finds you well
Hope you are doing well

Parts of speech

Personal pronouns
Conjunctions

First, spend time reflecting on your core values and character . You can start with these questions:

However, you should do a comprehensive brainstorming session to fully understand your values. Also consider how your values and goals match your prospective university’s program and culture. Then, brainstorm stories that illustrate the fit between the two.

When writing about yourself , including difficult experiences or failures can be a great way to show vulnerability and authenticity, but be careful not to overshare, and focus on showing how you matured from the experience.

Through specific stories, you can weave your achievements and qualities into your essay so that it doesn’t seem like you’re bragging from a resume.

Include specific, personal details and use your authentic voice to shed a new perspective on a common human experience.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Courault, K. (2023, May 31). How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved June 11, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/college-essay/write-about-yourself/

Is this article helpful?

Kirsten Courault

Other students also liked, style and tone tips for your college essay | examples, what do colleges look for in an essay | examples & tips, how to make your college essay stand out | tips & examples, "i thought ai proofreading was useless but..".

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

Self-improvement
Personal Development
Mindfulness

The Importance of Self-Improvement

Top Self Improvement Essay Topics for Personal Growth

Self-improvement is a concept that holds immense value in our lives. It is an ongoing process of enhancing oneself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. The importance of self-improvement lies in its ability to help us become the best version of ourselves, unlocking our true potential and achieving personal growth. Engaging in self-improvement activities allows us to identify our weaknesses and work towards overcoming them. By undertaking self-reflection and actively seeking ways to enhance our skills, knowledge, and mindset, we can strive for self-improvement. This journey enables us to become more resilient, adaptable, and capable individuals, equipped to face the challenges that life presents. With self-improvement, we can continuously learn, develop new skills, and evolve into better versions of ourselves, leading to a more fulfilling and purposeful life.

How To Manifest Money Easily Just Like The Elite Do!

Choosing the Right Self Improvement Essay Topics

Choosing the right self-improvement essay topic is crucial in ensuring that you are able to effectively convey your thoughts and ideas. With a vast array of self-improvement topics to choose from, it can sometimes be overwhelming to narrow down your options. However, by considering your personal interests, areas of growth, and current challenges, you can select a topic that resonates with you and allows for meaningful reflection and exploration. When selecting a self-improvement essay topic, it is important to choose something that genuinely interests you. This will help you stay motivated and engaged throughout the writing process. Think about the aspects of your life that you are most passionate about and consider how you can incorporate them into your essay. Whether it’s personal relationships, health, and wellness, career advancement, or personal finance, choosing a self-improvement topic that aligns with your interests will make the writing process more enjoyable and authentic.

Personal Development and Growth in Essays

In the realm of personal development and growth, essays serve as powerful tools for self-reflection and exploration. These written pieces provide individuals with an opportunity to delve into their own experiences, beliefs, and values, fostering personal growth and transformation. By putting pen to paper and examining their thoughts and feelings, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of themselves and their place in the world. Through the process of crafting an essay, individuals engage in a form of self-discovery. They are encouraged to examine their thoughts and emotions, explore their strengths and weaknesses, and reflect on their personal experiences. This introspective journey leads to personal development, as individuals gain a clearer sense of their values, goals, and aspirations. By articulating their thoughts and feelings through the written word, individuals are able to make sense of their experiences and make meaning out of their lives.

Self-Reflection and Self-Improvement Essays

Self-reflection and Self-Improvement Essays allow individuals to delve deep into their thoughts and experiences, providing an opportunity for personal growth and development. Through introspection and self-analysis, these essays encourage individuals to examine their beliefs, values, and behaviors, ultimately leading to self-awareness and improvement. In Self-Reflection and Self-Improvement Essays, individuals have the chance to explore their strengths and weaknesses and gain a better understanding of themselves. By reflecting on past experiences and analyzing their impact, individuals can identify areas where they have excelled and areas where they have room for growth. This self-reflection allows individuals to set realistic goals and develop strategies to enhance their personal development and overall well-being. Whether it’s examining their interpersonal skills, exploring their emotional intelligence, or evaluating their decision-making abilities, self-reflection serves as a catalyst for self-improvement. Writing a Self-Reflection and Self-Improvement Essay also enables individuals to assess their progress and track their growth over time. The process of documenting personal experiences and lessons learned enhances self-awareness and provides a roadmap for future development. By articulating their thoughts and feelings in written form, individuals can gain clarity and perspective, allowing them to make intentional choices and take deliberate actions toward their self-improvement journey.

How to Write an Effective Self-Improvement Essay

Writing an effective self-improvement essay can be a rewarding experience that allows you to reflect on your personal growth and inspire others to embark on their own journeys of self-improvement. However, it requires careful planning and execution to effectively convey your message and engage your readers. Firstly, it is important to choose a relevant and compelling topic for your self-improvement essay. Consider areas of your life where you have experienced significant growth or where you have overcome challenges. This will not only make your essay more relatable but also allow you to share valuable insights that can inspire and resonate with your readers. To make your self-improvement essay more impactful, incorporate personal anecdotes and real-life examples. By sharing your own experiences, you can create a connection with your audience and make your essay more relatable. Additionally, including specific details and examples will make your essay more interesting and persuasive, as it will demonstrate the practical application of your self-improvement journey.

Real-Life Examples of Self-Improvement Essays

When it comes to writing self-improvement essays, real-life examples can serve as powerful tools to inspire and guide readers on their own personal growth journeys. These examples can come from various areas of life, such as relationships, careers, health, and even spirituality. For instance, one could write an essay about their journey towards improving their communication skills, sharing specific experiences where they faced challenges in expressing themselves effectively and how they overcame those obstacles.

By showcasing tangible examples, readers can relate to the writer’s struggles and successes, drawing valuable insights and motivation for their own self-improvement endeavors. Another example could be an essay on health and fitness, where the writer shares their personal transformation journey. They could reflect on their initial struggles with unhealthy habits, the turning point that prompted them to prioritize their well-being, and the steps they took to adopt a healthier lifestyle. By narrating their experiences in a relatable manner, the writer can inspire readers who may be facing similar struggles to take action and make positive changes in their own lives.

Real-life examples not only make self-improvement essays more engaging and authentic but also highlight that personal growth is a continuous process that everyone can embark on.

Self-Improvement Essay Topics for Different Areas of Life

Self-improvement is a lifelong journey that encompasses various aspects of our lives. Whether it’s in our personal relationships, career, physical health, or emotional well-being, there are numerous essay topics that can help us delve into the different areas of life and explore ways to enhance and grow.

Self-Improvement Through Personal Relationships

One of the most common areas for self-improvement is personal relationships. Topics revolving around communication skills, conflict resolution, and building trust can be great starting points. For instance, you could write an essay exploring effective communication techniques for couples, discussing strategies to improve listening skills or empathetic responses. Another topic could focus on enhancing empathy in friendships and the impact it can have on our overall well-being.

Self-Improvement Through Careers

Another key area for self-improvement is our careers. Here, essay topics can revolve around professional development, goal setting, and strategies for success. For example, you could write an essay on setting achievable career goals, outlining steps to create a clear roadmap for professional growth. Alternatively, you could explore strategies for work-life balance and the importance of avoiding burnout in the workplace.

Maintaining Physical Health

Physical health is also a crucial aspect of self-improvement. Topics related to exercise, nutrition, and mental well-being can provide valuable insights and guidance. You could write an essay discussing the benefits of regular physical activity on mental health or explore the relationship between nutrition and energy levels. Additionally, topics such as mindfulness and stress management techniques can help readers find effective ways to improve their overall well-being.

Tips for Crafting a Compelling Self-Improvement Essay

Crafting a compelling self-improvement essay can be a challenging task, but with the right tips and techniques, you can create a piece that captivates readers and inspires personal growth. Here are some valuable insights to consider when writing your essay. 1. Start with a captivating introduction: Begin your essay with a compelling hook that grabs the reader’s attention. This could be a personal anecdote, a thought-provoking question, or a striking statistic related to self-improvement. By starting on an engaging note, you set the tone for the rest of your essay, making readers eager to explore your ideas further. 2. Reflect on personal experiences: A self-improvement essay is most effective when it discusses genuine personal experiences and the lessons learned from them. Share stories of challenges you faced and how you overcame them, providing insights into the growth and development you experienced. This adds authenticity to your essay and allows readers to connect with your journey. Remember to weave your experiences throughout the essay, relating them to the broader theme of self-improvement.

What is self-improvement?

Self-improvement refers to the process of making positive changes in oneself, both mentally and physically, to achieve personal growth and development.

How can I choose the right self-improvement essay topic?

To choose the right self-improvement essay topic, consider your personal interests, goals, and areas of improvement. Think about what aspects of your life you want to focus on and what message you want to convey through your essay.

How can personal development and growth be reflected in essays?

Personal development and growth can be reflected in essays by sharing personal experiences, discussing lessons learned, and showcasing the progress made toward self-improvement goals.

How can self-reflection be incorporated into self-improvement essays?

Self-reflection can be incorporated into self-improvement essays by analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Reflect on past experiences, evaluate your progress, and consider future goals.

Can you provide some real-life examples of self-improvement essays?

Real-life examples of self-improvement essays may include stories of overcoming personal challenges, learning new skills, improving relationships, achieving career success, or adopting healthier habits.

What are some self-improvement essay topics for different areas of life?

Self-improvement essay topics for different areas of life may include personal growth, career development, relationships, health and wellness, time management, mindfulness, financial management, and goal setting.

In the pursuit of self-improvement, individuals embark on a transformative journey filled with self-discovery, growth, and empowerment. This journey is not bound by age, circumstance, or limitations; it is a lifelong expedition where each step brings us closer to becoming the best version of ourselves.

Self-improvement essay topics serve as the compass guiding us through the vast landscape of personal development. They encourage introspection, self-reflection, and the sharing of invaluable insights gained along the way. As we navigate the realm of self-improvement, it becomes evident that the importance of this journey lies not only in the destination but in the continuous process of self-discovery and growth.

Mastering Your Mindset: Best Men’s Self-Improvement Blogs Worth Following
Must Read Self-Improvement Blogs: Effective strategies to improve your mindfulness
How Can I Identify My Dream Goals?

Tips for Writing an Essay on an Event That Led to Personal Growth

Tips and Strategies for an Essay on an Event that Led to Personal Growth

Jay Reilly/Getty Images

Essay Samples & Tips
College Admissions Process
College Profiles
College Rankings
Choosing A College
Application Tips
Testing Graphs
College Financial Aid
Advanced Placement
Homework Help
Private School
College Life
Graduate School
Business School
Distance Learning
Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania
M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania
B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT

For the 2019-20 admissions cycle, the fifth essay option on the Common Application focuses on "personal growth":

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

We all have all had experiences that bring about growth and maturity, so essay option five will be a viable choice for all applicants. The big challenges with this essay prompt will be identifying the correct "accomplishment, event, or realization" and then making sure the discussion of your growth has enough depth and self-analysis to show that you are a strong and thoughtful college applicant. The tips below can help guide you as you tackle essay option five:

What Defines a "Period of Personal Growth"?

The heart of this essay prompt is the idea of "personal growth." It's a remarkably broad concept, and as a result this essay prompt gives you the freedom to talk about almost anything meaningful that has ever happened to you. Your job with this essay prompt is to identify a moment that is meaningful and that provides the admissions folks with a window into your interests and personality.

As you work to define an appropriate "period of personal growth," reflect on the last several years of your life. You shouldn't go back more than a few years since the admissions folks are trying to learn about who you are now and how you process and grow from the experiences in your life. A story from your early childhood won't accomplish this goal as well as a more recent event. As you reflect, try to identify moments that made you rethink your assumptions and worldview. Identify an event that has made you a more mature person who is now better prepared for the responsibilities and independence of college. These are the moments that can lead to an effective essay.

What Type of "Accomplishment, Event, or Realization" Is Best?

As you brainstorm ideas for this essay prompt, think broadly as you try to come up with a good choice for the "accomplishment, event, or realization." The best choices, of course, will be significant moments in your life. You want to introduce the admissions folks to something you value highly. Also keep in mind that these three words—accomplishment, event, realization—are interconnected. Both accomplishments and realizations stem from something that happened in your life; in other words, without some kind of event, you're unlikely to accomplish something meaningful or have a realization that leads to personal growth.

We can still break down the three terms as we explore options for the essay, but keep in mind that your options include, but are not limited to:

You reach a goal that you have set for yourself such as earning a certain GPA or performing a difficult piece of music.
You do something independently for the first time such as preparing a meal for the family, flying across the country, or house-sitting for a neighbor.
You overcome or learn to appreciate a disability or handicap.
Working alone or with a team, you win an award or recognition (a gold medal in a music competition, a strong showing in Odyssey of the Mind, a successful fundraising campaign, etc.)
You successfully launch your own business (a lawn-mowing service, babysitting business, web company, etc.)
You successfully navigate or extricate yourself from a dangerous or challenging situation (an abusive family, a problematic peer group, etc.)
You do something challenging like winter camping, white-water kayaking, or running a marathon.
You complete a meaningful service project such as creating a public garden or helping build a house with Habitat for Humanity.
You pass a milestone in your life such as the first day of high school or your first time driving by yourself.
You have an interaction with someone (whether that be a friend, family member or stranger) that opens your awareness in a profound way.
You perform at an event such as a concert or competition in which your hard work and perseverance finally pay off.
You experience a traumatic event such as an accident or sudden loss that makes you reevaluate your behavior or beliefs.
You experience a moment of failure (much like option #2 ) that causes you to grapple with and grow from the experience.
You are moved by a world event that makes you reflect upon what you most value and what your role in the world might be.
You realize that you can accomplish something you hadn't thought possible.
You realize your limitations.
You realize that failure is as valuable as success.
You realize that your understanding of people who are different than you had been limited or faulty.
You experience something that makes you realize that you need to redefine your priorities.
You realize that relying on the help of others isn't a failure.
You come to understand how much a parent or mentor has to teach you.

Personal Growth Can Stem From Failure

Keep in mind that the "accomplishment, event, or realization" doesn't have to be a triumphant moment in your life. An accomplishment can be learning to deal with setbacks or failure, and the event could be a losing game or an embarrassing solo in which you missed that high C. Part of maturing is learning to accept our own shortcomings, and recognizing that failure is both inevitable and an opportunity to learn.

Most Important of All: "Discuss"

When you "discuss" your event or accomplishment, make sure you push yourself to think analytically. Don't spend too much time merely describing and summarizing the event or accomplishment. A strong essay needs to show off your ability to explore the significance of the event you have chosen. You need to look inward and analyze how and why the event caused you to grow and mature. When the prompt mentions "a new understanding," it is telling you that this is an exercise in self-reflection. If the essay doesn't reveal some solid self-analysis, then you haven't fully succeeded in responding to the prompt.

A Final Note for Common Application Option #5

Try to step back from your essay and ask yourself exactly what information it conveys to your reader. What will your reader learn about you? Does the essay succeed in revealing something that you care about deeply? Does it get at a central aspect of your personality? Remember, the application is asking for an essay because the college has holistic admissions —the school is evaluating you as a whole person, not as a bunch of test scores and grades. They essay, then, needs to paint a portrait of an applicant the school will want to invite to join the campus community. In your essay, do you come across as an intelligent, thoughtful person who will contribute to the community in a meaningful and positive way?

No matter which essay prompt you choose, pay attention to style , tone, and mechanics. The essay is first and foremost about you, but it also needs to demonstrate a strong writing ability. These 5 tips for a winning essay can also help guide you.

Finally, realize that many topics fit under multiple options on the Common Application. For example, option #3 asks about questioning or challenging a belief or idea. This can certainly connect with the idea of a "realization" in option #5. Also, option #2 on encountering obstacles could also overlap with some of the possibilities for option #5. Don't worry too much about which option is best if your topic fits in multiple places. Most important is that you write an effective and engaging essay. Be sure to check out this article for tips and samples for each of the Common Application essay options .

The 2021-22 Common Application Essay Prompts
4 Teaching Philosophy Statement Examples
Common Application Essay Option 2 Tips: Learning from Failure
Common Application Essay Option 4—Gratitude
Common Application Essay on a Meaningful Place
Sample Common Application Essay for Option #5
Tips for an Application Essay on a Significant Experience
Common Application Essay Option 3 Tips: Challenging a Belief
2020-21 Common Application Essay Option 4—Solving a Problem
"Gym Class Hero" - a Common Application Essay Sample for Option #3
A Sample Essay for Common Application Option #7: Topic of Your Choice
Tips for the Pre-2013 Personal Essay Options on the Common Application
Sample College Admissions Essay - Student Teacher
Common Application Essay, Option 1: Share Your Story
Topic of Your Choice: Common Application Essay Tips
"Handiwork" - Sample Common Application Essay for Option #1

“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

In the chapter titled Self-Examination , the author discusses how to assess one’s strengths to facilitate self-improvement. According to Orlick (2016), it is essential to stay committed to one’s goals. Without a high level of commitment, achieving the set goals is difficult. In the chapter, Orlick (2016) proposes a six-step plan to help individuals accomplish their objectives by improving their mental focus. The method also includes experimenting with various strategies that can help improve in the desired areas of life. Furthermore, the author recommends careful self-assessment to establish the exact areas that need improvement. Only by knowing their strengths, knowing their weaknesses can a person develop an efficient improvement plan.

I believe the chapter proposes a thoroughly thought-through argument. It is impossible to improve at an activity without knowing one’s weaknesses. The author provides very structured reasoning, stating the need to assess various aspects, including commitment. In addition, the questions the author affords for self-assessment are highly effective. Answering them can give a person an understanding of what they need to improve to achieve their goals. Overall, the chapter is efficient in showing the importance of self-assessment, including evaluating one’s mental focus.

I have experience in assessing my weaknesses to try to improve my performance. Despite always studying thoroughly for various tests, I tend to find academic assessments stressful. I believe that the anxiety I experience during them influences my scores. In high school, I tried to establish the precise circumstances that add to this nervousness. The questions I asked myself during that assessment overlap with those offered by Orlick in the chapter. Specifically, I attempted to determine when my focus during tests was at its lowest. I found that I tend to lose focus at the end of the allotted time due to poor time management. Thus, the self-assessment showed the area I should improve to perform better in exams.

Orlick, T. (2016). In pursuit of excellence: How to win in sport and in life through mental training (5th ed.). Human Kinetics.

Computer Usage Evolution Through Years
Harryette Mullen's Self-Examination and Worldviews
Importance of Metrics
Self-Care Progress Plan: Personal Experience
There Are Two Ways To Judge People — Both Are Useless
What Makes Me Feel Alive? Personal Experience
Individual Development Plan Evaluation
Discussion of Crisis in Aspects of Life
Chicago (A-D)
Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2022, September 17). “In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement. https://ivypanda.com/essays/in-pursuit-of-excellence-self-improvement/

"“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement." IvyPanda , 17 Sept. 2022, ivypanda.com/essays/in-pursuit-of-excellence-self-improvement/.

IvyPanda . (2022) '“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement'. 17 September.

IvyPanda . 2022. "“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement." September 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/in-pursuit-of-excellence-self-improvement/.

1. IvyPanda . "“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement." September 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/in-pursuit-of-excellence-self-improvement/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement." September 17, 2022. https://ivypanda.com/essays/in-pursuit-of-excellence-self-improvement/.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Success — Self-improvement & Success – Hand in Hand

Self-improvement and Success – Hand in Hand

Categories: Improve Self Assessment Success

About this sample

Words: 735 |

Published: Feb 12, 2019

Words: 735 | Page: 1 | 4 min read

How to improve yourself (essay)

Works cited.

Adams, P., & Maclaine, S. (1999). Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health to You, the Medical System, and Society through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor, and Joy. Inner Traditions.
Allen, J. (2015). You Can Change: God's Transforming Power for Our Sinful Behavior and Negative Emotions. P&R Publishing.
Chopra, D. (2010). The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams. Amber-Allen Publishing.
Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change. Free Press.
Dweck, C. S. (2007). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. Ballantine Books.
Guise, S. (2015). Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Peale, N. V. (2003). The Power of Positive Thinking. Touchstone.
Robbins, A. (2007). Awaken the Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!. Simon & Schuster.
Sincero, J. (2013). You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life. Running Press.
Tolle, E. (1999). The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment. New World Library.

Cite this Essay

Let us write you an essay from scratch

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Get high-quality help

Verified writer

Expert in: Life

+ 120 experts online

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Related Essays

2 pages / 1022 words

6 pages / 2550 words

2 pages / 1032 words

2 pages / 1131 words

Remember! This is just a sample.

You can get your custom paper by one of our expert writers.

121 writers online

Self-improvement and Success – Hand in Hand Essay

Still can’t find what you need?

Browse our vast selection of original essay samples, each expertly formatted and styled

Related Essays on Success

The journey towards earning a degree is an exciting but challenging process. It requires dedication, hard work, and focus. Success in college can set the foundation for a fulfilling career and a prosperous future. Therefore, it [...]

Student success is a journey marked by dedication, resilience, and the acquisition of valuable skills. In this essay, we will explore two pillars of academic achievement: goal setting and study skills. These foundational [...]

Success is a multifaceted concept, and achieving it requires a combination of various qualities and attributes. In this essay, we will analyze the traits that compose a successful person and how these characteristics can be [...]

Diener, E., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Beyond money: Toward an economy of wellbeing. Psychological science in the public interest, 5(1), 1-31.Henderson, M., & Harker, J. (2018). The Routledge Handbook of Social Epistemology. [...]

“Rome was not built in a day,” and basically, there exist in a society, two different category of successful persons of different discipline – the talented and the hard worker. Some people are talented at making hard work and [...]

Personal success is considered as the triumph that each person achieves in their daily lives. The objectives and goals only serve as motivations that depend on the interests, values and principles of each individual. The path to [...]

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

Essay Service Examples Life Improve

Self Improvement Essay

Proper editing and formatting
Free revision, title page, and bibliography
Flexible prices and money-back guarantee

Self-improvement in the Russian setting

Common self-improvement and network anticipation.

Our writers will provide you with an essay sample written from scratch: any topic, any deadline, any instructions.

Cite this paper

Join our 150k of happy users

Get original paper written according to your instructions
Save time for what matters most

Fair Use Policy

EduBirdie considers academic integrity to be the essential part of the learning process and does not support any violation of the academic standards. Should you have any questions regarding our Fair Use Policy or become aware of any violations, please do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected].

We are here 24/7 to write your paper in as fast as 3 hours.

Provide your email, and we'll send you this sample!

By providing your email, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy .

Say goodbye to copy-pasting!

Get custom-crafted papers for you.

Enter your email, and we'll promptly send you the full essay. No need to copy piece by piece. It's in your inbox!

Self-Improvement

An article in our Main Sequence

Next, let’s consider the path of self-improvement.

What Is It?

We previously categorized three reasons under self-improvement: learning about things that interest you, gaining a general education, and becoming a more cultured person. Unlike our career prep reasons, these reasons are not centered on preparing for some specific time/activity after you graduate. Instead, the common factor between these reasons is that they’re all based on improving yourself for your own sake.

In practice, most people following this path choose to major in whatever interests them the most. If they choose a liberal arts major (say, history), it’s not because they necessarily expect to pursue a career in the subject; they’re just interested in it. Even some majors with strong career prospects (such as computer science) can work well for self-improvement if they’re pursued out of interest in the subject matter rather than interest in the resulting career. Thus, the key factor for our self-improvement path is having a personal interest in the material.

If you’re like me, it’s not obvious how studying things that interest you is likely to facilitate self-improvement. In fact, choosing a major based on personal interest in the subject often looks like wandering, especially to concerned parents who were hoping you would pursue engineering or medicine (or both). So, how does interest lead to self-improvement?

Interest → Self-Improvement

The recipe for self-improvement in your studies is simple: engage with challenging material. Let’s break down exactly what I mean by that.

Engaging with your studies requires two factors: diligence (do the work) and interest ( want to do the work). If you have diligence without interest, you’ll end up doing only the bare minimum. If you have interest but no diligence, you’ll never make it past the easy stuff. Both factors are required to engage and make serious progress.

So, we’ve got the formula for engagement. The other factor that plays into self-improvement is challenge. Challenge can seem intimidating, because no one enjoys being overwhelmed with an impossible challenge. The key with challenge is for it to be at the right level for your current abilities. You’re already familiar with this approach, since it’s the basis for grade-levels in school. As you master the easy material, the curriculum introduces you to slightly harder material. You go from algebra to calculus not in one big jump but in many incremental steps. Gradually, over time, you become able to handle harder and harder material.

Along the way, your interests change and grow. What once fascinated you now seems too simple, maybe even boring. If you have any younger siblings or relatives, you may have observed this in action: The old toys and games that they used to love eventually are rejected as being “for babies”. Just like you, their interests deepen as their abilities develop. That doesn’t mean that they (or you) will become interested in everything that’s challenging, just that the process of getting better inherently leads to being interested in more nuanced material.

So, challenge is important for two reasons: It helps you get better by overcoming it, and it helps you grow your interests along the way.

That’s the formula in a nutshell. You improve yourself by engaging with challenging material, and you improve the most when you’re interested in that material.

But What Is Self-Improvement?

With all that said, we still haven’t nailed down exactly what constitutes self-improvement. To try to address that gap, let’s get more specific.

The Three Types of Learning

For the purposes of our discussion, there are three main types of learning in college:

Subject-Matter Knowledge
Transferable Skillsets

Subject-matter knowledge (type 1) is what you learn in your classes. It’s the facts you memorize, the concepts you understand, and the ideas you’re familiar with.

Transferable skillsets (type 2) are the specific things you learn how to do. Depending on your major, this could include learning how to write a novel, program a computer, translate ancient texts, or solve differential equations. These skillsets are transferable, meaning they can be useful in a broad range of fields, and they’re specific, meaning they help you accomplish a well-defined task. Transferable skillsets are usually not taught for their own merit but instead as a way to help you better engage with the subject-matter of your major. This is why computer science is called “computer science” and not “programming”. You learn the skill of making computers do things (programming) so that you can better study the science of what computers can do (computer science).

Finally, self-improvement (type 3) is how your studies change you as a person. This can be gaining an appreciation for ideas, becoming a more cultured person, or improving your critical thinking skills. In the context of college, self-improvement often involves “learning how to learn”, which means mastering the ability to engage with new material and pick it up quickly. The improvements you make to yourself in college will be applicable to almost everything you do in life, although they probably won’t be something you can list on a resume.

So, our categories are: what you directly learn (type 1), the skills you build in the process (type 2), and the personal growth that comes as a result (type 3).

Hypothetical Example

Let’s work through an example to make things more concrete. If you were to study philosophy in college, your learning breakdown might look like this:

Subject-Matter Knowledge: Schools of philosophy, historical basis for the field, and nuances of some of the branches (epistemology, metaphysics, etc.)
Transferable Skillsets: Symbolic logic, rigorous evaluation of arguments, and persuasive writing
Self-Improvement: Ability to digest a complex set of ideas and form an opinion, holding conflicting ideas in your head simultaneously, and awareness of how underlying philosophies affect everyday decisions

Which Type Is the Most Useful for Your Career?

Although the self-improvement path doesn’t focus on job-readiness, it’s still worth thinking about how well it prepares you for a career. If your priority is to get a specific job immediately after graduating, then you should concentrate your efforts on gaining knowledge and skills in a career-focused major. That’s the career prep track we discussed on the last page. Where things get more interesting, though, is considering which types of learning will best prepare you for your whole career, not just the beginning. In the book, In Defense of a Liberal Education , Journalist Fareed Zakaria argues types 2 & 3 are the most valuable to your career in the long-term:

Whatever job you take, the specific subjects you studied in college will probably prove somewhat irrelevant to the day-to-day work you will do soon after you graduate. And even if they are relevant, that will change. People who learned to write code for computers just ten years ago now confront a new world of apps and mobile devices. What remain constant are the skills you acquire and the methods you learn to approach problems. Given how quickly industries and professions are evolving these days, you will need to apply these skills to new challenges all the time. Learning and re-learning, tooling and retooling are at the heart of the modern economy. Drew Faust, president of Harvard University, has pointed out that a Liberal Education should give people the skills ‘that will help them get ready for their sixth job, not their first job.’

In the long-run, transferable skillsets and self-improvement are critical for career success, and the self-improvement approach to college is particularly well-suited to pursuing them. The combination of deep engagement, challenging material, and personal interest encourages you to take your education several steps further than strictly required for a degree, which means you’ll have more opportunities to improve yourself and develop diverse skillsets.

You can thus think of the self-improvement path as a long-term bet on yourself: Instead of focusing on creating a smooth transition into a specific job in the short-term, you work on improving yourself and your long-term career prospects. Plus, you get to study stuff that interests you in the meantime, which is pretty cool.

This framing of the different approaches to college lends itself to our final question: Is it better to prepare for your career in the short-term or long-term? We’ll be evaluating this in depth later, but I think the words of Paul Graham—co-founder of the startup accelerator Y Combinator—would be useful to start pondering now:

Risk and reward are always proportionate . . . . So what you should invest in depends on how soon you need the money. If you’re young, you should take the riskiest investments you can find. All this talk about investing may seem very theoretical. Most undergrads probably have more debts than assets. They may feel they have nothing to invest. But that’s not true: They have their time to invest, and the same rule about risk applies there. Your early twenties are exactly the time to take insane career risks.

So, if you’re willing to bet on your long-term career, and you’re willing to ride out any short-term discomforts that come as a result, then the self-improvement path could be a good choice for you.

College represents a rare opportunity in most people’s lives. To see what makes it so special, let’s consider the life circumstances that normally surround it.

Before college, your focus was on what others told you was important: Your parents, teachers, and the school curriculum guided what you studied and how you spent your time.

After college, the responsibilities of adulthood—the need to pay bills, support a family, etc.—will place restrictions on how much risk you can stomach, forcing you to make tough choices between financial security and pursuing your interests.

During college, though, you have a unique opportunity to invest in your long-term success. College can be your time to delve into interests, sample different life paths, and broaden your mind. The self-improvement path is a great way to do that, assuming you can stomach the risk.

I’ll let Zakaria take us out:

America never embraced the European model of specific training and apprenticeships because Americans moved constantly, to new cities, counties, and territories in search of new opportunities. They were not rooted in geographic locations with long-established trades and guilds that offered the only path forward. They were part of an economy that was new and dynamic, so that technology kept changing the nature of work and with it the requirements for jobs. Few wanted to lock themselves into an industry for life. . . . Those who seek to reorient U.S. higher education into something more focused and technical should keep in mind that they would be abandoning what has been historically distinctive, even unique, in the American approach to higher education. [edited for clarity]

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

8 Overcoming Challenges College Essay Examples

The purpose of the Overcoming Challenges essay is for schools to see how you might handle the difficulties of college. They want to know how you grow, evolve, and learn when you face adversity. For this topic, there are many clichés , such as getting a bad grade or losing a sports game, so be sure to steer clear of those and focus on a topic that’s unique to you. (See our full guide on the Overcoming Challenges Essay for more tips).

These overcoming challenges essay examples were all written by real students. Read through them to get a sense of what makes a strong essay. At the end, we’ll present the revision process for the first essay and share some resources for improving your essay.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized.

Essay 1: Becoming a Coach

“Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.” Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.

Despair weighed me down. I sank to my knees as a stream of competitors, coaches, and officials flowed around me. My dojang had no coach, and the tournament rules prohibited me from competing without one.

Although I wanted to remain strong, doubts began to cloud my mind. I could not help wondering: what was the point of perfecting my skills if I would never even compete? The other members of my team, who had found coaches minutes earlier, attempted to comfort me, but I barely heard their words. They couldn’t understand my despair at being left on the outside, and I never wanted them to understand.

Since my first lesson 12 years ago, the members of my dojang have become family. I have watched them grow up, finding my own happiness in theirs. Together, we have honed our kicks, blocks, and strikes. We have pushed one another to aim higher and become better martial artists. Although my dojang had searched for a reliable coach for years, we had not found one. When we attended competitions in the past, my teammates and I had always gotten lucky and found a sympathetic coach. Now, I knew this practice was unsustainable. It would devastate me to see the other members of my dojang in my situation, unable to compete and losing hope as a result. My dojang needed a coach, and I decided it was up to me to find one.

I first approached the adults in the dojang – both instructors and members’ parents. However, these attempts only reacquainted me with polite refusals. Everyone I asked told me they couldn’t devote multiple weekends per year to competitions. I soon realized that I would have become the coach myself.

At first, the inner workings of tournaments were a mystery to me. To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side. I learned everything from motivational strategies to technical, behind-the-scenes components of Taekwondo competitions. Though I emerged with new knowledge and confidence in my capabilities, others did not share this faith.

Parents threw me disbelieving looks when they learned that their children’s coach was only a child herself. My self-confidence was my armor, deflecting their surly glances. Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

Despite the attack, I refused to give up. When I saw the shining eyes of the youngest students preparing for their first competition, I knew I couldn’t let them down. To quit would be to set them up to be barred from competing like I was. The knowledge that I could solve my dojang’s longtime problem motivated me to overcome my apprehension.

Now that my dojang flourishes at competitions, the attacks on me have weakened, but not ended. I may never win the approval of every parent; at times, I am still tormented by doubts, but I find solace in the fact that members of my dojang now only worry about competing to the best of their abilities.

Now, as I arrive at a tournament with my students, I close my eyes and remember the past. I visualize the frantic search for a coach and the chaos amongst my teammates as we competed with one another to find coaches before the staging calls for our respective divisions. I open my eyes to the exact opposite scene. Lacking a coach hurt my ability to compete, but I am proud to know that no member of my dojang will have to face that problem again.

This essay begins with an in-the-moment narrative that really illustrates the chaos of looking for a coach last-minute. We feel the writer’s emotions, particularly their dejectedness, at not being able to compete.

Through this essay, we can see how gutsy and determined the student is in deciding to become a coach themselves. The writer shows us these characteristics through their actions, rather than explicitly telling us: To prepare myself for success as a coach, I spent the next year as an official and took coaching classes on the side.

One area of improvement of this essay would be the “attack” wording. The author likely uses this word as a metaphor for martial arts, but it feels too strong to describe the adults’ doubt of the student’s abilities as a coach, and can even be confusing at first.

Still, we see the student’s resilience as they are able to move past the disbelieving looks to help their team. The essay is kept real and vulnerable, however, as the writer admits having doubts: Every armor is penetrable, however, and as the relentless barrage of doubts pounded my resilience, it began to wear down. I grew unsure of my own abilities.

The essay comes full circle as the author recalls the frantic situations in seeking out a coach, but this is no longer a concern for them and their team. Overall, this essay is extremely effective in painting this student as mature, bold, and compassionate.

Essay 2: Starting a Fire

Was I no longer the beloved daughter of nature, whisperer of trees? Knee-high rubber boots, camouflage, bug spray—I wore the garb and perfume of a proud wild woman, yet there I was, hunched over the pathetic pile of stubborn sticks, utterly stumped, on the verge of tears. As a child, I had considered myself a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes, who was serenaded by mourning doves and chickadees, who could glide through tick-infested meadows and emerge Lyme-free. I knew the cracks of the earth like the scars on my own rough palms. Yet here I was, ten years later, incapable of performing the most fundamental outdoor task: I could not, for the life of me, start a fire.

Furiously I rubbed the twigs together—rubbed and rubbed until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers. No smoke. The twigs were too young, too sticky-green; I tossed them away with a shower of curses, and began tearing through the underbrush in search of a more flammable collection. My efforts were fruitless. Livid, I bit a rejected twig, determined to prove that the forest had spurned me, offering only young, wet bones that would never burn. But the wood cracked like carrots between my teeth—old, brittle, and bitter. Roaring and nursing my aching palms, I retreated to the tent, where I sulked and awaited the jeers of my family.

Rattling their empty worm cans and reeking of fat fish, my brother and cousins swaggered into the campsite. Immediately, they noticed the minor stick massacre by the fire pit and called to me, their deep voices already sharp with contempt.

“Where’s the fire, Princess Clara?” they taunted. “Having some trouble?” They prodded me with the ends of the chewed branches and, with a few effortless scrapes of wood on rock, sparked a red and roaring flame. My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.

In the tent, I pondered my failure. Was I so dainty? Was I that incapable? I thought of my hands, how calloused and capable they had been, how tender and smooth they had become. It had been years since I’d kneaded mud between my fingers; instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano, my hands softening into those of a musician—fleshy and sensitive. And I’d gotten glasses, having grown horrifically nearsighted; long nights of dim lighting and thick books had done this. I couldn’t remember the last time I had lain down on a hill, barefaced, and seen the stars without having to squint. Crawling along the edge of the tent, a spider confirmed my transformation—he disgusted me, and I felt an overwhelming urge to squash him.

Yet, I realized I hadn’t really changed—I had only shifted perspective. I still eagerly explored new worlds, but through poems and prose rather than pastures and puddles. I’d grown to prefer the boom of a bass over that of a bullfrog, learned to coax a different kind of fire from wood, having developed a burn for writing rhymes and scrawling hypotheses.

That night, I stayed up late with my journal and wrote about the spider I had decided not to kill. I had tolerated him just barely, only shrieking when he jumped—it helped to watch him decorate the corners of the tent with his delicate webs, knowing that he couldn’t start fires, either. When the night grew cold and the embers died, my words still smoked—my hands burned from all that scrawling—and even when I fell asleep, the ideas kept sparking—I was on fire, always on fire.

This essay is an excellent example because the writer turns an everyday challenge—starting a fire—into an exploration of her identity. The writer was once “a kind of rustic princess, a cradler of spiders and centipedes,” but has since traded her love of the outdoors for a love of music, writing, and reading.

The story begins in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. One of the essay’s biggest strengths is its use of imagery. We can easily visualize the writer’s childhood and the present day. For instance, she states that she “rubbed and rubbed [the twigs] until shreds of skin flaked from my fingers.”

The writing has an extremely literary quality, particularly with its wordplay. The writer reappropriates words and meanings, and even appeals to the senses: “My face burned long after I left the fire pit. The camp stank of salmon and shame.” She later uses a parallelism to cleverly juxtapose her changed interests: “instead of scaling a white pine, I’d practiced scales on my piano.”

One of the essay’s main areas of improvement is its overemphasis on the “story” and lack of emphasis on the reflection. The second to last paragraph about changing perspective is crucial to the essay, as it ties the anecdote to larger lessons in the writer’s life. She states that she hasn’t changed, but has only shifted perspective. Yet, we don’t get a good sense of where this realization comes from and how it impacts her life going forward.

The end of the essay offers a satisfying return to the fire imagery, and highlights the writer’s passion—the one thing that has remained constant in her life.

Essay 3: Last-Minute Switch

The morning of the Model United Nation conference, I walked into Committee feeling confident about my research. We were simulating the Nuremberg Trials – a series of post-World War II proceedings for war crimes – and my portfolio was of the Soviet Judge Major General Iona Nikitchenko. Until that day, the infamous Nazi regime had only been a chapter in my history textbook; however, the conference’s unveiling of each defendant’s crimes brought those horrors to life. The previous night, I had organized my research, proofread my position paper and gone over Judge Nikitchenko’s pertinent statements. I aimed to find the perfect balance between his stance and my own.

As I walked into committee anticipating a battle of wits, my director abruptly called out to me. “I’m afraid we’ve received a late confirmation from another delegate who will be representing Judge Nikitchenko. You, on the other hand, are now the defense attorney, Otto Stahmer.” Everyone around me buzzed around the room in excitement, coordinating with their allies and developing strategies against their enemies, oblivious to the bomb that had just dropped on me. I felt frozen in my tracks, and it seemed that only rage against the careless delegate who had confirmed her presence so late could pull me out of my trance. After having spent a month painstakingly crafting my verdicts and gathering evidence against the Nazis, I now needed to reverse my stance only three hours before the first session.

Gradually, anger gave way to utter panic. My research was fundamental to my performance, and without it, I knew I could add little to the Trials. But confident in my ability, my director optimistically recommended constructing an impromptu defense. Nervously, I began my research anew. Despite feeling hopeless, as I read through the prosecution’s arguments, I uncovered substantial loopholes. I noticed a lack of conclusive evidence against the defendants and certain inconsistencies in testimonies. My discovery energized me, inspiring me to revisit the historical overview in my conference “Background Guide” and to search the web for other relevant articles. Some Nazi prisoners had been treated as “guilty” before their court dates. While I had brushed this information under the carpet while developing my position as a judge, i t now became the focus of my defense. I began scratching out a new argument, centered on the premise that the allied countries had violated the fundamental rule that, a defendant was “not guilty” until proven otherwise.

At the end of the three hours, I felt better prepared. The first session began, and with bravado, I raised my placard to speak. Microphone in hand, I turned to face my audience. “Greetings delegates. I, Otto Stahmer would like to…….” I suddenly blanked. Utter dread permeated my body as I tried to recall my thoughts in vain. “Defence Attorney, Stahmer we’ll come back to you,” my Committee Director broke the silence as I tottered back to my seat, flushed with embarrassment. Despite my shame, I was undeterred. I needed to vindicate my director’s faith in me. I pulled out my notes, refocused, and began outlining my arguments in a more clear and direct manner. Thereafter, I spoke articulately, confidently putting forth my points. I was overjoyed when Secretariat members congratulated me on my fine performance.

Going into the conference, I believed that preparation was the key to success. I wouldn’t say I disagree with that statement now, but I believe adaptability is equally important. My ability to problem-solve in the face of an unforeseen challenge proved advantageous in the art of diplomacy. Not only did this experience transform me into a confident and eloquent delegate at that conference, but it also helped me become a more flexible and creative thinker in a variety of other capacities. Now that I know I can adapt under pressure, I look forward to engaging in activities that will push me to be even quicker on my feet.

This essay is an excellent example because it focuses on a unique challenge and is highly engaging. The writer details their experience reversing their stance in a Model UN trial with only a few hours notice, after having researched and prepared to argue the opposite perspective for a month.

Their essay is written in media res , or in the middle of the action, allowing readers to feel as if we’re there with the writer. The student openly shares their internal thoughts with us — we feel their anger and panic upon the reversal of roles. We empathize with their emotions of “utter dread” and embarrassment when they’re unable to speak.

From the essay, we learn that the student believes in thorough preparation, but can also adapt to unforeseen obstacles. They’re able to rise to the challenge and put together an impromptu argument, think critically under pressure, and recover after their initial inability to speak.

Essay 4: Music as a Coping Mechanism

CW: This essay mentions self-harm.

Sobbing uncontrollably, I parked around the corner from my best friend’s house. As I sat in the driver’s seat, I whispered the most earnest prayer I had ever offered.

Minutes before, I had driven to Colin’s house to pick up a prop for our upcoming spring musical. When I got there, his older brother, Tom, came to the door and informed me that no one else was home. “No,” I corrected, “Colin is here. He’s got a migraine.” Tom shook his head and gently told me where Colin actually was: the psychiatric unit of the local hospital. I felt a weight on my chest as I connected the dots; the terrifying picture rocked my safe little world. Tom’s words blurred as he explained Colin’s self-harm, but all I could think of was whether I could have stopped him. Those cuts on his arms had never been accidents. Colin had lied, very convincingly, many times. How could I have ignored the signs in front of me? Somehow, I managed to ask Tom whether I could see him, but he told me that visiting hours for non-family members were over for the day. I would have to move on with my afternoon.

Once my tears had subsided a little, I drove to the theater, trying to pull myself together and warm up to sing. How would I rehearse? I couldn’t sing three notes without bursting into tears. “I can’t do this,” I thought. But then I realized that the question wasn’t whether I could do it. I knew Colin would want me to push through, and something deep inside told me that music was the best way for me to process my grief. I needed to sing.

I practiced the lyrics throughout my whole drive. The first few times, I broke down in sobs. By the time I reached the theater, however, the music had calmed me. While Colin would never be far from my mind, I had to focus on the task ahead: recording vocals and then producing the video trailer that would be shown to my high school classmates. I fought to channel my worry into my recording. If my voice shook during the particularly heartfelt moments, it only added emotion and depth to my performance. I felt Colin’s absence next to me, but even before I listened to that first take, I knew it was a keeper.

With one of my hurdles behind me, I steeled myself again and prepared for the musical’s trailer. In a floor-length black cape and purple dress, I swept regally down the steps to my director, who waited outside. Under a gloomy sky that threatened to turn stormy, I boldly strode across the street, tossed a dainty yellow bouquet, and flashed confident grins at all those staring. My grief lurched inside, but I felt powerful. Despite my sadness, I could still make art.

To my own surprise, I successfully took back the day. I had felt pain, but I had not let it drown me – making music was a productive way to express my feelings than worrying. Since then, I have been learning to take better care of myself in difficult situations. That day before rehearsal, I found myself in the most troubling circumstances of my life thus far, but they did not sink me because I refused to sink. When my aunt developed cancer several months later, I knew that resolution would not come quickly, but that I could rely on music to cope with the agony, even when it would be easier to fall apart. Thankfully, Colin recovered from his injuries and was home within days. The next week, we stood together on stage at our show’s opening night. As our eyes met and our voices joined in song, I knew that music would always be our greatest mechanism for transforming pain into strength.

This essay is well-written, as we can feel the writer’s emotions through the thoughts they share, and visualize the night of the performance through their rich descriptions. Their varied sentence length also makes the essay more engaging.

That said, this essay is not a great example because of the framing of the topic. The writer can come off as insensitive since they make their friend’s struggle about themself and their emotions (and this is only worsened by the mention of their aunt’s cancer and how it was tough on them ). The essay would’ve been stronger if it focused on their guilt of not recognizing their friend’s struggles and spanned a longer period of time to demonstrate gradual relationship building and reflection. Still, this would’ve been difficult to do well.

In general, you should try to choose a challenge that is undeniably your own, and you should get at least one or two people to read your essay to give you candid feedback.

Essay 5: Dedicating a Track

“Getting beat is one thing – it’s part of competing – but I want no part in losing.” Coach Rob Stark’s motto never fails to remind me of his encouragement on early-morning bus rides to track meets around the state. I’ve always appreciated the phrase, but an experience last June helped me understand its more profound, universal meaning.

Stark, as we affectionately call him, has coached track at my high school for 25 years. His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running. When I learned a neighboring high school had dedicated their track to a longtime coach, I felt that Stark deserved similar honors.

Our school district’s board of education indicated they would only dedicate our track to Stark if I could demonstrate that he was extraordinary. I took charge and mobilized my teammates to distribute petitions, reach out to alumni, and compile statistics on the many team and individual champions Stark had coached over the years. We received astounding support, collecting almost 3,000 signatures and pages of endorsements from across the community. With help from my teammates, I presented this evidence to the board.

They didn’t bite.

Most members argued that dedicating the track was a low priority. Knowing that we had to act quickly to convince them of its importance, I called a team meeting where we drafted a rebuttal for the next board meeting. To my surprise, they chose me to deliver it. I was far from the best public speaker in the group, and I felt nervous about going before the unsympathetic board again. However, at that second meeting, I discovered that I enjoy articulating and arguing for something that I’m passionate about.

Public speaking resembles a cross country race. Walking to the starting line, you have to trust your training and quell your last minute doubts. When the gun fires, you can’t think too hard about anything; your performance has to be instinctual, natural, even relaxed. At the next board meeting, the podium was my starting line. As I walked up to it, familiar butterflies fluttered in my stomach. Instead of the track stretching out in front of me, I faced the vast audience of teachers, board members, and my teammates. I felt my adrenaline build, and reassured myself: I’ve put in the work, my argument is powerful and sound. As the board president told me to introduce myself, I heard, “runners set” in the back of my mind. She finished speaking, and Bang! The brief silence was the gunshot for me to begin.

The next few minutes blurred together, but when the dust settled, I knew from the board members’ expressions and the audience’s thunderous approval that I had run quite a race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough; the board voted down our proposal. I was disappointed, but proud of myself, my team, and our collaboration off the track. We stood up for a cause we believed in, and I overcame my worries about being a leader. Although I discovered that changing the status quo through an elected body can be a painstakingly difficult process and requires perseverance, I learned that I enjoy the challenges this effort offers. Last month, one of the school board members joked that I had become a “regular” – I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Just as Stark taught me, I worked passionately to achieve my goal. I may have been beaten when I appealed to the board, but I certainly didn’t lose, and that would have made Stark proud.

While the writer didn’t succeed in getting the track dedicated to Coach Stark, their essay is certainly successful in showing their willingness to push themselves and take initiative.

The essay opens with a quote from Coach Stark that later comes full circle at the end of the essay. We learn about Stark’s impact and the motivation for trying to get the track dedicated to him.

One of the biggest areas of improvement in the intro, however, is how the essay tells us Stark’s impact rather than showing us: His care, dedication, and emphasis on developing good character has left an enduring impact on me and hundreds of other students. Not only did he help me discover my talent and love for running, but he also taught me the importance of commitment and discipline and to approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The writer could’ve helped us feel a stronger emotional connection to Stark if they had included examples of Stark’s qualities, rather than explicitly stating them. For example, they could’ve written something like: Stark was the kind of person who would give you gas money if you told him your parents couldn’t afford to pick you up from practice. And he actually did that—several times. At track meets, alumni regularly would come talk to him and tell him how he’d changed their lives. Before Stark, I was ambivalent about running and was on the JV team, but his encouragement motivated me to run longer and harder and eventually make varsity. Because of him, I approach every endeavor with the passion and intensity that I bring to running.

The essay goes on to explain how the writer overcame their apprehension of public speaking, and likens the process of submitting an appeal to the school board to running a race. This metaphor makes the writing more engaging and allows us to feel the student’s emotions.

While the student didn’t ultimately succeed in getting the track dedicated, we learn about their resilience and initiative: I now often show up to meetings to advocate for a variety of causes, including better environmental practices in cafeterias and safer equipment for athletes.

Overall, this essay is well-done. It demonstrates growth despite failing to meet a goal, which is a unique essay structure. The running metaphor and full-circle intro/ending also elevate the writing in this essay.

Essay 6: Body Image

CW: This essay mentions eating disorders.

I press the “discover” button on my Instagram app, hoping to find enticing pictures to satisfy my boredom. Scrolling through, I see funny videos and mouth-watering pictures of food. However, one image stops me immediately. A fit teenage girl with a “perfect body” relaxes in a bikini on a beach. Beneath it, I see a slew of flattering comments. I shake with disapproval over the image’s unrealistic quality. However, part of me still wants to have a body like hers so that others will make similar comments to me.

I would like to resolve a silent issue that harms many teenagers and adults: negative self image and low self-esteem in a world where social media shapes how people view each other. When people see the façades others wear to create an “ideal” image, they can develop poor thought patterns rooted in negative self-talk. The constant comparisons to “perfect” others make people feel small. In this new digital age, it is hard to distinguish authentic from artificial representations.

When I was 11, I developed anorexia nervosa. Though I was already thin, I wanted to be skinny like the models that I saw on the magazine covers on the grocery store stands. Little did I know that those models probably also suffered from disorders, and that photoshop erased their flaws. I preferred being underweight to being healthy. No matter how little I ate or how thin I was, I always thought that I was too fat. I became obsessed with the number on the scale and would try to eat the least that I could without my parents urging me to take more. Fortunately, I stopped engaging in anorexic behaviors before middle school. However, my underlying mental habits did not change. The images that had provoked my disorder in the first place were still a constant presence in my life.

By age 15, I was in recovery from anorexia, but suffered from depression. While I used to only compare myself to models, the growth of social media meant I also compared myself to my friends and acquaintances. I felt left out when I saw my friends’ excitement about lake trips they had taken without me. As I scrolled past endless photos of my flawless, thin classmates with hundreds of likes and affirming comments, I felt my jealousy spiral. I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.” When that didn’t work, I started to feel too anxious to post anything at all.

Body image insecurities and social media comparisons affect thousands of people – men, women, children, and adults – every day. I am lucky – after a few months of my destructive social media habits, I came across a video that pointed out the illusory nature of social media; many Instagram posts only show off good things while people hide their flaws. I began going to therapy, and recovered from my depression. To address the problem of self-image and social media, we can all focus on what matters on the inside and not what is on the surface. As an effort to become healthy internally, I started a club at my school to promote clean eating and radiating beauty from within. It has helped me grow in my confidence, and today I’m not afraid to show others my struggles by sharing my experience with eating disorders. Someday, I hope to make this club a national organization to help teenagers and adults across the country. I support the idea of body positivity and embracing difference, not “perfection.” After all, how can we be ourselves if we all look the same?

This essay covers the difficult topics of eating disorders and mental health. If you’re thinking about covering similar topics in your essay, we recommend reading our post Should You Talk About Mental Health in College Essays?

The short answer is that, yes, you can talk about mental health, but it can be risky. If you do go that route, it’s important to focus on what you learned from the experience.

We can see that the writer of this essay has been through a lot, and a strength of their essay is their vulnerability, in excerpts such as this: I wanted to be admired and loved by other people too. However, I felt that I could never be enough. I began to hate the way that I looked, and felt nothing in my life was good enough. I wanted to be called “perfect” and “body goals,” so I tried to only post at certain times of day to maximize my “likes.”

The student goes on to share how they recovered from their depression through an eye-opening video and therapy sessions, and they’re now helping others find their self-worth as well. It’s great that this essay looks towards the future and shares the writer’s goals of making their club a national organization; we can see their ambition and compassion.

The main weakness of this essay is that it doesn’t focus enough on their recovery process, which is arguably the most important part. They could’ve told us more about the video they watched or the process of starting their club and the interactions they’ve had with other members.

Still, this essay shows us that this student is honest, self-aware, and caring, which are all qualities admissions officer are looking for.

Essay 7: Health Crisis

Tears streamed down my face and my mind was paralyzed with fear. Sirens blared, but the silent panic in my own head was deafening. I was muted by shock. A few hours earlier, I had anticipated a vacation in Washington, D.C., but unexpectedly, I was rushing to the hospital behind an ambulance carrying my mother. As a fourteen-year-old from a single mother household, without a driver’s license, and seven hours from home, I was distraught over the prospect of losing the only parent I had. My fear turned into action as I made some of the bravest decisions of my life.

Three blood transfusions later, my mother’s condition was stable, but we were still states away from home, so I coordinated with my mother’s doctors in North Carolina to schedule the emergency operation that would save her life. Throughout her surgery, I anxiously awaited any word from her surgeon, but each time I asked, I was told that there had been another complication or delay. Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities.

My mother had been a source of strength for me, and now I would be strong for her through her long recovery ahead. As I started high school, everyone thought the crisis was over, but it had really just started to impact my life. My mother was often fatigued, so I assumed more responsibility, juggling family duties, school, athletics, and work. I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover. I didn’t know I was capable of such maturity and resourcefulness until it was called upon. Each day was a stage in my gradual transformation from dependence to relative independence.

Throughout my mother’s health crisis, I matured by learning to put others’ needs before my own. As I worried about my mother’s health, I took nothing for granted, cherished what I had, and used my daily activities as motivation to move forward. I now take ownership over small decisions such as scheduling daily appointments and managing my time but also over major decisions involving my future, including the college admissions process. Although I have become more independent, my mother and I are inseparably close, and the realization that I almost lost her affects me daily. Each morning, I wake up ten minutes early simply to eat breakfast with my mother and spend time with her before our busy days begin. I am aware of how quickly life can change. My mother remains a guiding force in my life, but the feeling of empowerment I discovered within myself is the ultimate form of my independence. Though I thought the summer before my freshman year would be a transition from middle school to high school, it was a transformation from childhood to adulthood.

This essay feels real and tells readers a lot about the writer. To start at the beginning, the intro is 10/10. It has drama, it has emotions, and it has the reader wanting more.

And, when you keep going, you get to learn a lot about a very resilient and mature student. Through sentences like “I made countless trips to the neighborhood pharmacy, cooked dinner, biked to the grocery store, supported my concerned sister, and provided the loving care my mother needed to recover” and “Relying on my faith and positive attitude, I remained optimistic that my mother would survive and that I could embrace new responsibilities,” the reader shows us that they are aware of their resilience and maturity, but are not arrogant about it. It is simply a fact that they have proven through their actions!

This essay makes us want to cheer for the writer, and they certainly seem like someone who would thrive in a more independent college environment.

Essay 8: Turned Tables

“You ruined my life!” After months of quiet anger, my brother finally confronted me. To my shame, I had been appallingly ignorant of his pain.

Despite being twins, Max and I are profoundly different. Having intellectual interests from a young age that, well, interested very few of my peers, I often felt out of step in comparison with my highly-social brother. Everything appeared to come effortlessly for Max and, while we share an extremely tight bond, his frequent time away with friends left me feeling more and more alone as we grew older.

When my parents learned about The Green Academy, we hoped it would be an opportunity for me to find not only an academically challenging environment, but also – perhaps more importantly – a community. This meant transferring the family from Drumfield to Kingston. And while there was concern about Max, we all believed that given his sociable nature, moving would be far less impactful on him than staying put might be on me.

As it turned out, Green Academy was everything I’d hoped for. I was ecstatic to discover a group of students with whom I shared interests and could truly engage. Preoccupied with new friends and a rigorous course load, I failed to notice that the tables had turned. Max, lost in the fray and grappling with how to make connections in his enormous new high school, had become withdrawn and lonely. It took me until Christmas time – and a massive argument – to recognize how difficult the transition had been for my brother, let alone that he blamed me for it.

Through my own journey of searching for academic peers, in addition to coming out as gay when I was 12, I had developed deep empathy for those who had trouble fitting in. It was a pain I knew well and could easily relate to. Yet after Max’s outburst, my first response was to protest that our parents – not I – had chosen to move us here. In my heart, though, I knew that regardless of who had made the decision, we ended up in Kingston for my benefit. I was ashamed that, while I saw myself as genuinely compassionate, I had been oblivious to the heartache of the person closest to me. I could no longer ignore it – and I didn’t want to.

We stayed up half the night talking, and the conversation took an unexpected turn. Max opened up and shared that it wasn’t just about the move. He told me how challenging school had always been for him, due to his dyslexia, and that the ever-present comparison to me had only deepened his pain.

We had been in parallel battles the whole time and, yet, I only saw that Max was in distress once he experienced problems with which I directly identified. I’d long thought Max had it so easy – all because he had friends. The truth was, he didn’t need to experience my personal brand of sorrow in order for me to relate – he had felt plenty of his own.

My failure to recognize Max’s suffering brought home for me the profound universality and diversity of personal struggle; everyone has insecurities, everyone has woes, and everyone – most certainly – has pain. I am acutely grateful for the conversations he and I shared around all of this, because I believe our relationship has been fundamentally strengthened by a deeper understanding of one another. Further, this experience has reinforced the value of constantly striving for deeper sensitivity to the hidden struggles of those around me. I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story.

Here you can find a prime example that you don’t have to have fabulous imagery or flowery prose to write a successful essay. You just have to be clear and say something that matters. This essay is simple and beautiful. It almost feels like having a conversation with a friend and learning that they are an even better person than you already thought they were.

Through this narrative, readers learn a lot about the writer—where they’re from, what their family life is like, what their challenges were as a kid, and even their sexuality. We also learn a lot about their values—notably, the value they place on awareness, improvement, and consideration of others. Though they never explicitly state it (which is great because it is still crystal clear!), this student’s ending of “I won’t make the mistake again of assuming that the surface of someone’s life reflects their underlying story” shows that they are constantly striving for improvement and finding lessons anywhere they can get them in life.

Where to Get Your Overcoming Challenges Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Overcoming Challenges essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 53 stellar college essay topics to inspire you.

College Essays

feature_orange_notebook_pencil_college_essay_topics

Most colleges and universities in the United States require applicants to submit at least one essay as part of their application. But trying to figure out what college essay topics you should choose is a tricky process. There are so many potential things you could write about!

In this guide, we go over the essential qualities that make for a great college essay topic and give you 50+ college essay topics you can use for your own statement . In addition, we provide you with helpful tips for turning your college essay topic into a stellar college essay.

What Qualities Make for a Good College Essay Topic?

Regardless of what you write about in your personal statement for college , there are key features that will always make for a stand-out college essay topic.

#1: It’s Specific

First off, good college essay topics are extremely specific : you should know all the pertinent facts that have to do with the topic and be able to see how the entire essay comes together.

Specificity is essential because it’ll not only make your essay stand out from other statements, but it'll also recreate the experience for admissions officers through its realism, detail, and raw power. You want to tell a story after all, and specificity is the way to do so. Nobody wants to read a vague, bland, or boring story — not even admissions officers!

For example, an OK topic would be your experience volunteering at a cat shelter over the summer. But a better, more specific college essay topic would be how you deeply connected with an elderly cat there named Marty, and how your bond with him made you realize that you want to work with animals in the future.

Remember that specificity in your topic is what will make your essay unique and memorable . It truly is the key to making a strong statement (pun intended)!

#2: It Shows Who You Are

In addition to being specific, good college essay topics reveal to admissions officers who you are: your passions and interests, what is important to you, your best (or possibly even worst) qualities, what drives you, and so on.

The personal statement is critical because it gives schools more insight into who you are as a person and not just who you are as a student in terms of grades and classes.

By coming up with a real, honest topic, you’ll leave an unforgettable mark on admissions officers.

#3: It’s Meaningful to You

The very best college essay topics are those that hold deep meaning to their writers and have truly influenced them in some significant way.

For instance, maybe you plan to write about the first time you played Skyrim to explain how this video game revealed to you the potentially limitless worlds you could create, thereby furthering your interest in game design.

Even if the topic seems trivial, it’s OK to use it — just as long as you can effectively go into detail about why this experience or idea had such an impact on you .

Don’t give in to the temptation to choose a topic that sounds impressive but doesn’t actually hold any deep meaning for you. Admissions officers will see right through this!

Similarly, don’t try to exaggerate some event or experience from your life if it’s not all that important to you or didn’t have a substantial influence on your sense of self.

#4: It’s Unique

College essay topics that are unique are also typically the most memorable, and if there’s anything you want to be during the college application process, it’s that! Admissions officers have to sift through thousands of applications, and the essay is one of the only parts that allows them to really get a sense of who you are and what you value in life.

If your essay is trite or boring, it won’t leave much of an impression , and your application will likely get immediately tossed to the side with little chance of seeing admission.

But if your essay topic is very original and different, you’re more likely to earn that coveted second glance at your application.

What does being unique mean exactly, though? Many students assume that they must choose an extremely rare or crazy experience to talk about in their essays —but that's not necessarily what I mean by "unique." Good college essay topics can be unusual and different, yes, but they can also be unique takes on more mundane or common activities and experiences .

For instance, say you want to write an essay about the first time you went snowboarding. Instead of just describing the details of the experience and how you felt during it, you could juxtapose your emotions with a creative and humorous perspective from the snowboard itself. Or you could compare your first attempt at snowboarding with your most recent experience in a snowboarding competition. The possibilities are endless!

#5: It Clearly Answers the Question

Finally, good college essay topics will clearly and fully answer the question(s) in the prompt.

You might fail to directly answer a prompt by misinterpreting what it’s asking you to do, or by answering only part of it (e.g., answering just one out of three questions).

Therefore, make sure you take the time to come up with an essay topic that is in direct response to every question in the prompt .

Take this Coalition Application prompt as an example:

What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What's the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?

For this prompt, you’d need to answer all three questions (though it’s totally fine to focus more on one or two of them) to write a compelling and appropriate essay.

This is why we recommend reading and rereading the essay prompt ; you should know exactly what it’s asking you to do, well before you start brainstorming possible college application essay topics.

53 College Essay Topics to Get Your Brain Moving

In this section, we give you a list of 53 examples of college essay topics. Use these as jumping-off points to help you get started on your college essay and to ensure that you’re on track to coming up with a relevant and effective topic.

All college application essay topics below are categorized by essay prompt type. We’ve identified six general types of college essay prompts:

Why This College?

Change and personal growth, passions, interests, and goals, overcoming a challenge, diversity and community, solving a problem.

Note that these prompt types could overlap with one another, so you’re not necessarily limited to just one college essay topic in a single personal statement.

How a particular major or program will help you achieve your academic or professional goals
A memorable and positive interaction you had with a professor or student at the school
Something good that happened to you while visiting the campus or while on a campus tour
A certain class you want to take or a certain professor you’re excited to work with
Some piece of on-campus equipment or facility that you’re looking forward to using
Your plans to start a club at the school, possibly to raise awareness of a major issue
A study abroad or other unique program that you can’t wait to participate in
How and where you plan to volunteer in the community around the school
An incredible teacher you studied under and the positive impact they had on you
How you went from really liking something, such as a particular movie star or TV show, to not liking it at all (or vice versa)
How yours or someone else’s (change in) socioeconomic status made you more aware of poverty
A time someone said something to you that made you realize you were wrong
How your opinion on a controversial topic, such as gay marriage or DACA, has shifted over time
A documentary that made you aware of a particular social, economic, or political issue going on in the country or world
Advice you would give to your younger self about friendship, motivation, school, etc.
The steps you took in order to kick a bad or self-sabotaging habit
A juxtaposition of the first and most recent time you did something, such as dance onstage
A book you read that you credit with sparking your love of literature and/or writing
A school assignment or project that introduced you to your chosen major
A glimpse of your everyday routine and how your biggest hobby or interest fits into it
The career and (positive) impact you envision yourself having as a college graduate
A teacher or mentor who encouraged you to pursue a specific interest you had
How moving around a lot helped you develop a love of international exchange or learning languages
A special skill or talent you’ve had since you were young and that relates to your chosen major in some way, such as designing buildings with LEGO bricks
Where you see yourself in 10 or 20 years
Your biggest accomplishment so far relating to your passion (e.g., winning a gold medal for your invention at a national science competition)
A time you lost a game or competition that was really important to you
How you dealt with the loss or death of someone close to you
A time you did poorly in a class that you expected to do well in
How moving to a new school impacted your self-esteem and social life
A chronic illness you battled or are still battling
Your healing process after having your heart broken for the first time
A time you caved under peer pressure and the steps you took so that it won't happen again
How you almost gave up on learning a foreign language but stuck with it
Why you decided to become a vegetarian or vegan, and how you navigate living with a meat-eating family
What you did to overcome a particular anxiety or phobia you had (e.g., stage fright)
A history of a failed experiment you did over and over, and how you finally found a way to make it work successfully
Someone within your community whom you aspire to emulate
A family tradition you used to be embarrassed about but are now proud of
Your experience with learning English upon moving to the United States
A close friend in the LGBTQ+ community who supported you when you came out
A time you were discriminated against, how you reacted, and what you would do differently if faced with the same situation again
How you navigate your identity as a multiracial, multiethnic, and/or multilingual person
A project or volunteer effort you led to help or improve your community
A particular celebrity or role model who inspired you to come out as LGBTQ+
Your biggest challenge (and how you plan to tackle it) as a female in a male-dominated field
How you used to discriminate against your own community, and what made you change your mind and eventually take pride in who you are and/or where you come from
A program you implemented at your school in response to a known problem, such as a lack of recycling cans in the cafeteria
A time you stepped in to mediate an argument or fight between two people
An app or other tool you developed to make people’s lives easier in some way
A time you proposed a solution that worked to an ongoing problem at school, an internship, or a part-time job
The steps you took to identify and fix an error in coding for a website or program
An important social or political issue that you would fix if you had the means

How to Build a College Essay in 6 Easy Steps

Once you’ve decided on a college essay topic you want to use, it’s time to buckle down and start fleshing out your essay. These six steps will help you transform a simple college essay topic into a full-fledged personal statement.

Step 1: Write Down All the Details

Once you’ve chosen a general topic to write about, get out a piece of paper and get to work on creating a list of all the key details you could include in your essay . These could be things such as the following:

Emotions you felt at the time
Names, places, and/or numbers
Dialogue, or what you or someone else said
A specific anecdote, example, or experience
Descriptions of how things looked, felt, or seemed

If you can only come up with a few details, then it’s probably best to revisit the list of college essay topics above and choose a different one that you can write more extensively on.

Good college essay topics are typically those that:

You remember well (so nothing that happened when you were really young)
You're excited to write about
You're not embarrassed or uncomfortable to share with others
You believe will make you positively stand out from other applicants

Step 2: Figure Out Your Focus and Approach

Once you have all your major details laid out, start to figure out how you could arrange them in a way that makes sense and will be most effective.

It’s important here to really narrow your focus: you don’t need to (and shouldn’t!) discuss every single aspect of your trip to visit family in Indonesia when you were 16. Rather, zero in on a particular anecdote or experience and explain why and how it impacted you.

Alternatively, you could write about multiple experiences while weaving them together with a clear, meaningful theme or concept , such as how your math teacher helped you overcome your struggle with geometry over the course of an entire school year. In this case, you could mention a few specific times she tutored you and most strongly supported you in your studies.

There’s no one right way to approach your college essay, so play around to see what approaches might work well for the topic you’ve chosen.

If you’re really unsure about how to approach your essay, think about what part of your topic was or is most meaningful and memorable to you, and go from there.

Step 3: Structure Your Narrative

Beginning: Don’t just spout off a ton of background information here—you want to hook your reader, so try to start in the middle of the action , such as with a meaningful conversation you had or a strong emotion you felt. It could also be a single anecdote if you plan to center your essay around a specific theme or idea.
Middle: Here’s where you start to flesh out what you’ve established in the opening. Provide more details about the experience (if a single anecdote) or delve into the various times your theme or idea became most important to you. Use imagery and sensory details to put the reader in your shoes.
End: It’s time to bring it all together. Finish describing the anecdote or theme your essay centers around and explain how it relates to you now , what you’ve learned or gained from it, and how it has influenced your goals.

Step 4: Write a Rough Draft

By now you should have all your major details and an outline for your essay written down; these two things will make it easy for you to convert your notes into a rough draft.

At this stage of the writing process, don’t worry too much about vocabulary or grammar and just focus on getting out all your ideas so that they form the general shape of an essay . It’s OK if you’re a little over the essay's word limit — as you edit, you’ll most likely make some cuts to irrelevant and ineffective parts anyway.

If at any point you get stuck and have no idea what to write, revisit steps 1-3 to see whether there are any important details or ideas you might be omitting or not elaborating on enough to get your overall point across to admissions officers.

Step 5: Edit, Revise, and Proofread

Sections that are too wordy and don’t say anything important
Irrelevant details that don’t enhance your essay or the point you're trying to make
Parts that seem to drag or that feel incredibly boring or redundant
Areas that are vague and unclear and would benefit from more detail
Phrases or sections that are awkwardly placed and should be moved around
Areas that feel unconvincing, inauthentic, or exaggerated

Start paying closer attention to your word choice/vocabulary and grammar at this time, too. It’s perfectly normal to edit and revise your college essay several times before asking for feedback, so keep working with it until you feel it’s pretty close to its final iteration.

This step will likely take the longest amount of time — at least several weeks, if not months — so really put effort into fixing up your essay. Once you’re satisfied, do a final proofread to ensure that it’s technically correct.

Step 6: Get Feedback and Tweak as Needed

After you’ve overhauled your rough draft and made it into a near-final draft, give your essay to somebody you trust , such as a teacher or parent, and have them look it over for technical errors and offer you feedback on its content and overall structure.

Use this feedback to make any last-minute changes or edits. If necessary, repeat steps 5 and 6. You want to be extra sure that your essay is perfect before you submit it to colleges!

Recap: From College Essay Topics to Great College Essays

Many different kinds of college application essay topics can get you into a great college. But this doesn’t make it any easier to choose the best topic for you .

In general, the best college essay topics have the following qualities :

They’re specific
They show who you are
They’re meaningful to you
They’re unique
They clearly answer the question

If you ever need help coming up with an idea of what to write for your essay, just refer to the list of 53 examples of college essay topics above to get your brain juices flowing.

Once you’ve got an essay topic picked out, follow these six steps for turning your topic into an unforgettable personal statement :

Write down all the details
Figure out your focus and approach
Structure your narrative
Write a rough draft
Edit, revise, and proofread
Get feedback and tweak as needed

And with that, I wish you the best of luck on your college essays!

What’s Next?

Writing a college essay is no simple task. Get expert college essay tips with our guides on how to come up with great college essay ideas and how to write a college essay, step by step .

You can also check out this huge list of college essay prompts to get a feel for what types of questions you'll be expected to answer on your applications.

Want to see examples of college essays that absolutely rocked? You're in luck because we've got a collection of 100+ real college essay examples right here on our blog!

Want to write the perfect college application essay? We can help. Your dedicated PrepScholar Admissions counselor will help you craft your perfect college essay, from the ground up. We learn your background and interests, brainstorm essay topics, and walk you through the essay drafting process, step-by-step. At the end, you'll have a unique essay to proudly submit to colleges. Don't leave your college application to chance. Find out more about PrepScholar Admissions now:

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

21 Self-Improvement Ideas For College Students

Students need to pursue self-improvement not only to achieve their goals while moving towards graduation but also to live more fulfilled and complete lives. More than 3.9 million students graduated from colleges last year, and the number of students in public and private educational institutions is expected to reach 20 million by 2029. Here we look at 4 self-improvement ideas for college students.

Most students consider college or university just the necessary step on their way to becoming a part of the workforce. However, your college experience can be more meaningful than just obtaining a degree. You can learn a lot about yourself, develop numerous skills, and prepare not only for your professional career but also for adult life, in general.

To understand how you can work on yourself and what traits or skills you can develop, you should understand what self-improvement is, in the first place. Simply put, self-improvement is a continuous process of personal development. This is a process aimed at making you a more well-rounded person.

What Self-Improvement Is and Why You Need It

Self-improvement relates not only to the way we grow personally and professionally but also to the way we present ourselves to others and adapt to different situations in our lives. This process relies on learning and practice. You should be able to develop effective responses to various challenges and to demonstrate your professionalism in the workplace. You should also learn to develop good relationships.

Your personal development and self-improvement can include various things, depending on your personal goals and career plans . The main idea is to improve your skills and knowledge.

“Your self-improvement can include anything but it must contribute to your personal growth and specific goals,” adds Veronica Blair, MBA essay expert at LegitWritingServices.com and self-improvement coach. A great thing about self-improvement is that it requires dedication so you can develop your personality while working on various skills.

Students have to think about their careers and set the right priorities. Some students take various courses. However, courses can take a lot of time. Given that students need to attend classes, and many of them also have part-time jobs and families, they often don’t have any time for courses or extracurricular activities. However, you can learn something new with no need to stick to a strict schedule, whenever you have a spare hour or two. Getting to college is an achievement in itself. However, you shouldn’t miss out on any opportunities to achieve more while you’re in college.

Given that self-improvement can involve virtually anything, you should clearly understand your goals and figure out what exactly you can do to achieve these goals.

Planning Your Personal Development

If you feel the need for personal development, you can simply do whatever you like and what is interesting to you. However, your efforts will deliver more value if you know what might be most useful for you and where you should start. When searching for the right path of self-improvement ideas, we recommend that you follow these simple steps.

1. Formulate your vision

What do you want to do? Who do you want to be? What do you want people to think of you? You should identify clear short-term and long-term goals so that your self-improvement will have a clear direction. Don’t focus on any possible difficulties at this stage. Instead, consider your goals and wishes, in general. For instance, you might improve such areas of your life as education, health, finance, and relationships with others.

2. Determine possible obstacles

Many people cannot become better versions of themselves because they’re afraid of failure. Another common reason why people cannot achieve their self-improvement goals is poor time management. You should identify all the obstacles and figure out how you’re going to overcome them.

3. Use SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. This is a strategic planning approach that is very popular among businesses. If you consider these four important aspects, you’ll be able to objectively evaluate the current state of your goals, understand what external factors can help you, and what can stop you. For example, financial problems and job rejections are threats, while scholarships and financial aid are opportunities.

Best Self-Improvement Ideas for Students

1. learn new skills or start a hobby.

Learning something new is always a great idea, especially if it is challenging and helps your self-improvement. You can find countless online courses dedicated to almost anything, and many online courses are free. If your career path involves creativity, you might also benefit from having a creative hobby.

2. Learn a new language

Learning another language might be very useful for your employment. There are many industries where knowing foreign languages can be a great competitive advantage for a candidate. Besides, it’s an opportunity to learn another culture and to look at your culture from a new angle. You may choose a language you’ve always been interested in, or you may choose a language that seems to be the easiest to learn. A great thing about language skills is that you can use them to your advantage immediately, and they can be equally useful for professionals from completely different areas.

3. Go to therapy

Fortunately, the stigma around therapy and psychology almost disappeared during the last decades, and many people have started to realize how beneficial therapy can be. The most important thing you should know about therapy is that it’s not only for those who have mental issues. It’s a powerful tool that can help you better understand yourself and set the right priorities. If you feel like something stops you from accomplishing what you want, therapy might help you identify the roots of your problems and fix them. Besides, many modern students suffer from anxiety, depression, or constant stress. In this case, going to therapy is the best solution.

4. Help others

Helping others will help you better understand who you are. It can help you become better at building relationships with others, and it might also help you develop leadership qualities . You can help others in different ways. For instance, you can help your peers with their studies. You can also help those who need it most by volunteering and working for nonprofit organizations.

5. Effective Communication

Effective communication is a cornerstone of self-improvement ideas, especially in a college setting. It’s not just about talking or writing well; it involves understanding and being understood. This skill is crucial in group projects, presentations, and everyday interactions. Developing effective communication can mean practising active listening, improving your writing skills for essays and emails, and learning to express your thoughts clearly and concisely. Remember, good communicators are not just good speakers but also excellent listeners. They’re aware of non-verbal cues and can adjust their communication style to suit different audiences. Enhancing this skill can lead to better relationships with peers and professors, and it’s a highly valued trait in the professional world.

6. Networking

Networking is an essential self-improvement idea for college students. It’s about creating and maintaining relationships that can support both personal and professional growth. In college, you have access to a vast network of peers, faculty, and alumni. Engaging in student organizations, attending industry talks, and participating in networking events can open doors to internships, job opportunities, and mentorships. Networking isn’t just about meeting new people; it’s about building meaningful connections. It involves being genuine, showing interest in others, and offering help when you can. Remember, a strong network can provide guidance, support, and opportunities throughout your career.

7. Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

Critical thinking and problem-solving are vital self-improvement ideas for college students. They involve the ability to analyze information, think logically, and make reasoned decisions. In an academic context, this means not taking information at face value but questioning, researching, and evaluating different perspectives. Outside of academics, these skills help in everyday decision-making and in facing complex real-world problems. To develop these skills, engage in activities that challenge you, such as puzzles, strategy games, or debates. Learning to approach problems with an analytical mind can lead to innovative solutions and is a highly sought-after skill in the professional world.

8. Self-Discipline and Motivation

Self-discipline and motivation are key self-improvement ideas, especially in the flexible structure of college life. These skills are about having the inner drive to pursue your goals and the self-control to stick to your plans. This means setting a schedule for study, managing distractions, and staying motivated even when tasks are challenging or tedious. Developing self-discipline can involve creating routines, setting short-term goals, and rewarding yourself for achievements. Motivation can be maintained by keeping your larger goals in perspective, seeking inspiration, and staying engaged with your passions. These skills are essential for academic success and are invaluable in personal and professional life.

9. Cultural Awareness and Diversity Appreciation

Cultural awareness and diversity appreciation are increasingly important self-improvement ideas in today’s globalized world. College is a great place to learn about different cultures, languages, and perspectives. This involves being open-minded, respectful, and curious about people from different backgrounds. Engaging in cultural events, taking courses on world cultures, or joining international student groups can enhance your understanding. This knowledge not only enriches your personal life but also prepares you for working in diverse environments. Being culturally aware and appreciating diversity fosters inclusivity and can lead to more harmonious and productive environments in both personal and professional settings.

10. Personal Branding

Personal branding is a strategic self-improvement idea for college students. It’s about building and conveying a positive image of yourself to the world. This involves identifying your strengths, skills, and passions and showcasing them through your online presence, resume, and personal interactions. A strong personal brand can differentiate you in job applications and interviews. It’s about being consistent, authentic, and professional across all platforms. Whether it’s through a LinkedIn profile, a personal blog, or networking events, effective personal branding communicates your value and can open doors to opportunities in your desired field.

11. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is an essential self-improvement idea, encompassing the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as empathize with others. It’s crucial for forming healthy relationships, effective communication, and personal well-being. In college, this might involve managing stress, dealing with setbacks, and working effectively in teams. Emotional intelligence also includes recognizing the emotions of others, which can lead to better collaboration and conflict resolution. Enhancing this skill can be achieved through self-reflection, mindfulness practices, and seeking feedback from others. High emotional intelligence can lead to better academic and professional outcomes and more fulfilling personal interactions.

12. Public Speaking

Public speaking is a valuable self-improvement idea for college students. Whether it’s presenting a project, speaking at a student organization meeting, or participating in a debate, effective public speaking skills can set you apart. This skill involves not just speaking clearly, but also engaging your audience, organizing your thoughts, and conveying your message confidently. Overcoming the fear of public speaking can be achieved through practice, seeking constructive feedback, and observing effective speakers. Remember, good public speakers are made, not born. This skill can enhance your academic performance and is highly beneficial in any professional career.

13. Reading and Learning Outside the Curriculum

Reading and learning outside the curriculum are enriching self-improvement ideas for college students. This involves exploring subjects and interests beyond your required course material. Whether it’s reading books, following industry news, attending workshops, or exploring online courses, expanding your knowledge base can provide new insights and ideas. This habit not only broadens your intellectual horizons but also keeps you informed and inspired. It can lead to discovering new passions, enhancing creativity, and potentially opening up new career paths. Lifelong learning is a valuable habit that keeps your mind active and engaged beyond your college years.

14. Goal Setting and Reviewing

Goal setting and reviewing are crucial self-improvement ideas for college students. This process involves identifying what you want to achieve, creating a plan to reach these goals, and periodically reviewing your progress. Effective goal setting includes making your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). This practice can keep you focused and motivated and helps in manage your time and resources efficiently. Regularly reviewing your goals allows you to adjust them as needed and reflect on your achievements and areas for improvement. This habit is essential for personal growth and success in both academic and professional life.

15. Seeking Feedback and Constructive Criticism

Seeking feedback and constructive criticism is a valuable self-improvement idea for college students. It involves actively seeking input from professors, peers, and mentors on your work and behaviour. This feedback can provide insights into your strengths and areas for improvement. Being open to constructive criticism, though sometimes challenging, is key to personal and professional development . It helps you understand how others perceive your work and behaviour, which can lead to meaningful improvements. Remember, the goal of feedback is not to undermine confidence but to help you grow and excel. Embracing this process can significantly enhance your learning and development.

16. Personal Well-being and Mental Health

Personal well-being and mental health are fundamental self-improvement ideas for college students. College life can be stressful, with academic pressures, social challenges, and life transitions. Prioritizing your mental health involves recognizing stress, seeking support when needed, and engaging in activities that promote emotional well-being. This can include practices like mindfulness, counselling, hobbies, or exercise. Being attentive to your mental health is as important as your physical health. It enables you to perform your best academically and enjoy a more fulfilling college experience. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, not weakness, and is crucial for maintaining overall well-being.

17. Time Management Skills

Time management skills are essential self-improvement ideas for college students. Efficiently managing your time can significantly reduce stress and increase productivity. This involves prioritizing tasks, setting realistic goals, and avoiding procrastination. Utilizing tools like calendars, planners, and time management apps can help keep track of assignments, deadlines, and personal commitments. Developing good time management skills also means learning to say no to unnecessary tasks and understanding the value of your time. This skill is not only crucial for academic success but also for maintaining a balanced life. Effective time management allows more time for relaxation and personal interests, leading to a more satisfying college experience and preparation for the professional world.

18. Financial Literacy

Financial literacy is a critical self-improvement idea for college students, pivotal for achieving long-term independence and stability. Understanding the basics of budgeting, saving, and investing helps in managing personal finances responsibly. Creating a budget helps track expenses and control spending while learning about savings and investments can secure your financial future. College is an excellent time to start practising financial responsibility, as habits formed during this period can have a lasting impact on your financial well-being. Financial literacy also includes understanding student loans, credit scores, and taxes. Being financially literate empowers you to make informed money decisions and reduces financial stress.

19. Healthy Living Habits

Adopting healthy living habits is a vital self-improvement idea for college students. A balanced lifestyle that includes a nutritious diet, regular physical activity, and sufficient sleep is essential for maintaining good physical and mental health. Nutritious food provides the energy needed for academic and extracurricular activities, while exercise helps reduce stress, boost mood, and improve overall health. Adequate sleep is critical for cognitive functions like memory, attention, and creativity. Developing these healthy habits during college can help in managing the demands of college life and lay the foundation for a healthy lifestyle in the future. Remember, taking care of your body is as important as nurturing your mind.

20. Mindfulness and Stress Management

Mindfulness and stress management are crucial self-improvement ideas for college students. College life can be overwhelming, making stress management essential for maintaining mental health and academic performance. Mindfulness practices like meditation, yoga, or deep breathing exercises can significantly reduce stress levels and increase focus and emotional regulation. These practices help cultivate a sense of presence and awareness, allowing you to enjoy your college experience more fully. Incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine can improve concentration, enhance creativity, and promote a sense of peace and well-being . Regular practice can transform how you respond to stress and challenges, making you more resilient and adaptable.

21. Personal and Professional Networking

Personal and professional networking is a key self-improvement idea for college students. Effective networking involves building and nurturing relationships that can support your academic and career aspirations. In college, this means connecting with classmates, joining clubs and organizations, attending workshops, and reaching out to professors and alumni. Networking is about sharing ideas, learning from others, and opening doors to opportunities such as internships, jobs, and mentorships. It’s important to approach networking with a mindset of mutual benefit, where you are not only seeking help but also offering support and resources when you can. Developing a strong network can provide valuable guidance, support, and opportunities throughout your academic and professional journey.

Wrapping Up

These self-improvement ideas are beneficial for everyone. You can grow personally in many ways, the main thing is to clearly understand your short-term and long-term goals. You should also analyze obstacles and opportunities so that you can determine what can help you achieve your goals. While in college, you shouldn’t ignore any opportunities to learn something new and to evolve both professionally and personally.

Posts You Might Like

5 Ways to Grow Your Employees

360 Feedback To Jumpstart Your Career - People Development Magazine

The Complete Guide To 360 Feedback – The Art Of Constructive Criticism

Why Learning And Development Is Important For Your Organization

Integrity At Work - People Development Magazine

How To Tell Whether You Are Living In Integrity Or Not

Learning and Development - People Development Magazine

Three Elephants In Learning and Development

Reinforcement Theory - People Development Magazine

How Managers Are Using Reinforcement Theory to Motivate Employees

We use cookies to enhance our website for you. Proceed if you agree to this policy or learn more about it.

Essay Database >
Essays Samples >
Essay Types >
College Essay Example

Self-Improvement College Essays Samples For Students

24 samples of this type

WowEssays.com paper writer service proudly presents to you an open-access collection of Self-Improvement College Essays designed to help struggling students tackle their writing challenges. In a practical sense, each Self-Improvement College Essay sample presented here may be a guide that walks you through the crucial stages of the writing process and showcases how to develop an academic work that hits the mark. Besides, if you need more visionary help, these examples could give you a nudge toward a fresh Self-Improvement College Essay topic or inspire a novice approach to a threadbare issue.

In case this is not enough to slake the thirst for efficient writing help, you can request personalized assistance in the form of a model College Essay on Self-Improvement crafted by a pro writer from scratch and tailored to your particular requirements. Be it a plain 2-page paper or a profound, extended piece, our writers specialized in Self-Improvement and related topics will submit it within the stated period. Buy cheap essays or research papers now!

Good Example Of Frederick Douglass And Benjamin Franklin Essay

Essay on the brain that changes itself, sample essay on annotation, summary and annotation of literature: thoreau’s synthesizing metaphor.

Don't waste your time searching for a sample.

Get your essay done by professional writers!

Just from $10/page

Bio Genetic Research Essay

Introduction:, review of the initial pdp essay sample, personal development plan, good essay on the function of gossip, sample essay on making sense of the kingdom of matthias., good example of essay on problematizing adult learning, great leaders great coaches essay samples, sample essay on gender and ethics.

The word prima facie according to W.D Ross moral theory implies a conditional duty which is a moral obligation that carries some significance in virtue of it being obligatory. A prima facie duty is binding to all things equal, unless overridden by another higher priority task. There are several prima facie duties that we can utilize to choose what it is that we are obligated to do as human beings. Ross compiled seven types of prima facie obligations that include fidelity, reparation, gratitude, justice, beneficence, self-improvement, and non-maleficence (Garrett, 2004).

An Experience in Life When I Had To Prioritize My Obligations

Free essay on quality philosophy, introduction, free essay about strengthfinder assessment.

The Gallup StrengthFinder assessment helps people to discover and understand their strengths. The assessment identifies the individual’s top five strengths and provides a description of how these strengths when combined are beneficial to the individual’s personal life and career. The StrengthFinder is useful for people who want to know, understand, and dominant their talents and use them to increase their performance and excel in their careers.

Survey Results

Essay on personal development reflection.

At present, there is various issues that need to be enhanced the extent that academics and different exercises are concerned. I have attained a considerable measure in education, games and social exercises largely. In addition, I have enhanced my open aptitudes. Notwithstanding, regardless I need to focus on my principle objective, which is to acquire straight A's in all the courses I take every semester, and in the meantime, attain different objectives in different exercises separated from training.

East Asian Education System (Do East Asian Kids Spend More Time On Academics Essay Examples

Good essay on development of self-leadership skills: discussion, example of essay on the autobiography of ben franklin, good essay about evaluation about oprah winfrey channel tv show, essay on contributions of w. edwards deming, essay on self concept in psychology, a discussion, oprah as leader essay example.

Oprah Winfrey could easily be considered the "Queen of Change." Before even entering onto her web site at Oprah.Com a pop-up invites you to "Dream Big" which is just what she did when she was a little girl growing up in an impoverished neighborhood. Since that time, she employed change as a noun and a verb in every aspect of her life and business. A large part of her leadership style relates to transformation, for herself, her staff, her businesses and most of all as a product for her following. To maintain this type of fluid change requires strong leadership and vision.

Who is Oprah?

Self-promotion to self-improvement essay examples, the autobiography of benjamin franklin.

Benjamin Franklin wrote one of the most intelligent and purposeful autobiographies in history. Franklin emerged from the American Revolution one of the most famous men in the world. An inventor/entrepreneur/publisher/writer with a keen sense of self-promotion, Franklin was spectacularly successful at using his celebrity as a platform from which to share the wisdom collected from a life of remarkable achievement. Perhaps the most notable aspect of his memoir is the fact that it combined simple language and personal examples with brilliant, often deceptively complex personal philosophy. The result is a truly “democratic” literary work in that it offers something beneficial for everyone.

Keywords: Benjamin Franklin, autobiography, American Revolution, memoir

Essays on motivation for students in the classroom, motivating students in the classroom, rational and real god essay, future of psychology essay.

Popular psychology, mostly referred to as pop psychology or pop psych, refer to theories and concepts about human mental life and the performances that are majorly based on psychology and that gain popularity in the wider general population. These term ‘pop psychology’ can be used to explain consultants, teachers and entertainers who are basically known as being psychologists, not for the reason of academic achievements but because they have demonstrated that very image or have been treated in that manner in respect to their work.

Password recovery email has been sent to [email protected]

Use your new password to log in

You are not register!

By clicking Register, you agree to our Terms of Service and that you have read our Privacy Policy .

Now you can download documents directly to your device!

Check your email! An email with your password has already been sent to you! Now you can download documents directly to your device.

or Use the QR code to Save this Paper to Your Phone

The sample is NOT original!

Short on a deadline?

Don't waste time. Get help with 11% off using code - GETWOWED

No, thanks! I'm fine with missing my deadline

Get the Reddit app

Join the A2C Discord!

r/ApplyingToCollege is the premier forum for college admissions questions, advice, and discussions, from college essays and scholarships to college list help and application advice, career guidance, and more.

Literally, essays can be whatever you want them to be (but do avoid some topics)

Here’s some examples of essays I’ve heard/read over the years...

How doing speech and debate regained a my confidence after a decade of speech therapy (my own common app)

Collecting piggy banks

Getting your head stuck between Ronald McDonald’s legs at a McDonald’s play place

A ton about being/hosting a foreign exchange student and how small things like a church bell or a sandwich connects cultures

Making meatballs with an older family member

You can literally write about anything and everything you want to write about. However, there’s topics you should steer clear of. For example, don’t write about how amazing and inspirational your uncle is. AOs will be like “that’s great your uncle is so wonderful but we don’t know anything about you.”

Avoid sob stories but if you decide to do one, focus on how you grew based on it. I literally wrote a supplemental essay about getting my first B and how it made me realize that it’s okay to ask for help and it’s great to build a relationship with my teacher. Even some personal growth stories from tragedy can be overdone. For example, talking about a sick relative and how you want to be a doctor/nurse to take care of people like them.

Don’t write about mission trips. We had an AO visit our school and this is literally the first thing she said. They all just end up reading the same of how “you can still be happy and have nothing.” Also don’t write about sports unless you’re on an athletic scholarship. Like mission trip essays, they all just kinda read the same.

Edit: Also, I know many people are starting to write essays. Hear are my only two tips for they A) have your program read your essay aloud for you. It’ll help you pick up an any grammar errors/awkward phases. B) If essay is too long, search for “that” in your paper. A lot of use “that” a ton while writing and 99% of the time it’s unnecessary.

Edit 2.0: Yes, I’m just a prefrosh. . The examples of the top of the posts are all examples from students I know who’ve gotten into T20 universities. The topics I said to steer away from are all examples I have heard straight from the mouths of AOs. Literally the head of admissions of one university told me about avoiding mission trips. Yes, you can write about these topics. Just some topics might come across better than others.

IMAGES

Essay on self improvement (1000 words)
How to write a college essay about myself in 2021
🎉 Self improvement essay. Self. 2019-02-25
Self Confidence Essay
University essay about myself
Self Improvement Essay

VIDEO

why you should live life on default settings
IMPROVE Your College Essay With These 30-SECOND Fixes
A Day In The Life Of A 14 Year Old On Self-Improvement
Avoid This Terrible College Essay Topic
how to stop self sabotaging
HOW TO WRITE SHORT ESSAY ON SELF DISCIPLINE || Article how to self disciplined

COMMENTS

Essay on Self Improvement
500 Words Essay on Self Improvement Understanding Self-Improvement. Self-improvement is the process of making yourself a better person. It is about learning new things, developing new skills, and becoming a better version of yourself. ... They could be big goals like getting into a good college, or smaller goals like reading a new book every month.
Essays About Personal Growth: Top 5 Examples and 8 Prompts
5. Personal Growth for Leaders. Leaders must adapt and address problems efficiently and decisively as they move through a fast-changing landscape. Elaborate on how the pursuit of personal growth helps leaders deliver in their enormous role in organizations, companies, and communities. 6.
How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay
Good example. I peel off my varsity basketball uniform and jump into the shower to wash away my sweat, exhaustion, and anxiety. As the hot water relaxes my muscles from today's 50 suicide drills, I mull over what motivating words I should say to my teammates before next week's championship game against Westmont High.
Top Self Improvement Essay Topics for Personal Growth
By starting on an engaging note, you set the tone for the rest of your essay, making readers eager to explore your ideas further. 2. Reflect on personal experiences: A self-improvement essay is most effective when it discusses genuine personal experiences and the lessons learned from them.
How to Write the "Overcoming Challenges" Essay + Examples
1. Avoid trivial or common topics. While there aren't many hard-and-fast rules for choosing an essay topic, students should avoid overdone topics. These include: Working hard in a challenging class. Overcoming a sports injury. Moving schools or immigrating to the US. Tragedy (divorce, death, abuse)
15 Tips for Writing a College Essay About Yourself
We don't get the same depth with the first example. 6. Don't be afraid to show off…. You should always put your best foot forward—the whole point of your essay is to market yourself to colleges. This isn't the time to be shy about your accomplishments, skills, or qualities. 7. …. While also maintaining humility.
3 College Essay Examples that Need Improvement
3. Quality Writing and Storytelling. It's important to show your writing skills in an essay, and keep your audience engaged. Don't forget, the essay is different from other parts of your application: it's a story. That means you need dialogue, action, sensory details, and a strong hook. Think about your favorite writers and how they tell ...
Common Application Essay Option 5 Tips—Personal Growth
These 5 tips for a winning essay can also help guide you. Finally, realize that many topics fit under multiple options on the Common Application. For example, option #3 asks about questioning or challenging a belief or idea. This can certainly connect with the idea of a "realization" in option #5. Also, option #2 on encountering obstacles could ...
177 College Essay Examples for 11 Schools + Expert Analysis
Technique #1: humor. Notice Renner's gentle and relaxed humor that lightly mocks their younger self's grand ambitions (this is different from the more sarcastic kind of humor used by Stephen in the first essay—you could never mistake one writer for the other). My first dream job was to be a pickle truck driver.
"In Pursuit of Excellence": Self-Improvement Essay
In the chapter titled Self-Examination, the author discusses how to assess one's strengths to facilitate self-improvement. According to Orlick (2016), it is essential to stay committed to one's goals. Without a high level of commitment, achieving the set goals is difficult.
A College Paper on Strengths and Weaknesses
A College Paper on Strengths and Weaknesses. In the journey of self-discovery and personal growth, the concepts of strengths and weaknesses serve as pivotal markers. Understanding these aspects of oneself is not merely about self-assessment but also about leveraging one's potential and addressing areas of improvement.
27 Outstanding College Essay Examples From Top Universities 2024
This college essay tip is by Abigail McFee, Admissions Counselor for Tufts University and Tufts '17 graduate. 2. Write like a journalist. "Don't bury the lede!" The first few sentences must capture the reader's attention, provide a gist of the story, and give a sense of where the essay is heading.
≡ Personal Growth Essay Examples for College by GradesFixer
A Personal Experience of a Course of Multicultural Education. 2 pages / 824 words. Every experience we encounter presents us with a chance to grow, to overcome difficulties, and expand our minds. We are the result of our life experiences, which are the foundations of personal growth and development.
Self-improvement and Success
Make rooms for self-improvement. Take things one at a time. You don‟t expect black sheep‟s to be goodytwo-shoes in just a snap of a finger. Self-improvement is a one day at a time process. Self-improvement results to inner stability, personality development and SUCCESS. It comes from self-confidence, self appreciation and selfesteem.
Self Improvement Essay
SELF IMPROVEMENT (COMM 1) Topic Outline Thesis Statement: There are different ways to improve your self. A. Make the habit of drinking more water. B. Be hygienic. C. Get 8 to 9 hours of sleep every…
Self Improvement Essay
Self Improvement Essay. This essay sample was donated by a student to help the academic community. Papers provided by EduBirdie writers usually outdo students' samples. Everybody in the family is embarrassed about the 'best-stayed discreet' in light of the fact that the issue is never examined in a sheltered situation with other people who ...
Essay On Self Improvement
Self-Improvement Goals. 341 Words | 2 Pages. Self-Improvement Goals 1. Stop procrastinating over my homework and organize my time better. 2. Begin to make new friends at school this year. 3. Read More. Most people want to improve themselves in some way, whether it is to lose weight or give up smoking or increase their confidence.
Pursuing Self-Improvement in College
The Three Types of Learning. For the purposes of our discussion, there are three main types of learning in college: Subject-Matter Knowledge. Transferable Skillsets. Self-Improvement. Subject-matter knowledge (type 1) is what you learn in your classes. It's the facts you memorize, the concepts you understand, and the ideas you're familiar with.
8 Overcoming Challenges College Essay Examples
Essay 1: Becoming a Coach. "Advanced females ages 13 to 14 please proceed to staging with your coaches at this time.". Skittering around the room, eyes wide and pleading, I frantically explained my situation to nearby coaches. The seconds ticked away in my head; every polite refusal increased my desperation.
53 Stellar College Essay Topics to Inspire You
Once you've chosen a general topic to write about, get out a piece of paper and get to work on creating a list of all the key details you could include in your essay. These could be things such as the following: Emotions you felt at the time. Names, places, and/or numbers. Dialogue, or what you or someone else said.
21 Self-Improvement Ideas For College Students
11. Emotional Intelligence. Emotional intelligence is an essential self-improvement idea, encompassing the ability to understand and manage your emotions, as well as empathize with others. It's crucial for forming healthy relationships, effective communication, and personal well-being.
19 College Essay Topics and Prompts
1. Be considerate with humor. Showing off your sense of humor lets your personality show through your words and can make reading the essay more entertaining. Try including a few sentences that you think will bring a smile to the reader's face, or use adjectives to insert some colorful comedy. 2.
Self Improvement Essay
Self Improvement Continuous Improvement Essay Personal Self Assessment Essay self improvement self improvement (comm topic outline thesis statement: there are. Skip to document. University; High School. ... Monroe College. 0 followers. 21 Uploads. 96 upvotes. Follow. Recommended for you. 39. Dependence On Computers Essay. Essay. Essays. 100% ...
Self-Improvement College Essays Samples For Students
WowEssays.com paper writer service proudly presents to you an open-access collection of Self-Improvement College Essays designed to help struggling students tackle their writing challenges. In a practical sense, each Self-Improvement College Essay sample presented here may be a guide that walks you through the crucial stages of the writing process and showcases how to develop an academic work ...
Literally, essays can be whatever you want them to be (but do ...
Hack the College Essay (external PDF link) The ScholarGrade Essay Series Part 1: How To Start An Essay, "Show Don't Tell" The Top 30 Essay Mistakes To Avoid. Why College Essay tips and some Personal Essay Tips. Last Minute "Why X" & Supplement Advice from a current Brown sophomore. I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically.

Essay on Self Improvement

100 Words Essay on Self Improvement

Why is Self Improvement Important?

How to Start Self Improvement?

Tips for Self Improvement

250 Words Essay on Self Improvement

Challenges in Self Improvement

500 Words Essay on Self Improvement

The Importance of Self-Improvement

Ways to Improve Yourself

Challenges in Self-Improvement

The Role of Patience in Self-Improvement

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Essays About Personal Growth: Top 5 Examples and 8 Prompts

5 Essay Examples About Personal Growth

Have a language expert improve your writing

How to Write About Yourself in a College Essay | Examples

Table of contents

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Be vulnerable

Don’t overshare

Share what you have learned

Brag indirectly

Use stories to prove your qualities

Cite this Scribbr article

Is this article helpful?

Kirsten Courault

Top Self Improvement Essay Topics for Personal Growth

The Importance of Self-Improvement

Choosing the Right Self Improvement Essay Topics

Personal Development and Growth in Essays

Self-Reflection and Self-Improvement Essays

How to Write an Effective Self-Improvement Essay

Real-Life Examples of Self-Improvement Essays

Self-Improvement Essay Topics for Different Areas of Life

Self-Improvement Through Personal Relationships

Self-Improvement Through Careers

Maintaining Physical Health

Tips for Crafting a Compelling Self-Improvement Essay

What is self-improvement?

How can I choose the right self-improvement essay topic?

How can personal development and growth be reflected in essays?

How can self-reflection be incorporated into self-improvement essays?

Can you provide some real-life examples of self-improvement essays?

What are some self-improvement essay topics for different areas of life?

Tips for Writing an Essay on an Event That Led to Personal Growth

What Defines a "Period of Personal Growth"?

What Type of "Accomplishment, Event, or Realization" Is Best?

Personal Growth Can Stem From Failure

Most Important of All: "Discuss"

A Final Note for Common Application Option #5

“In Pursuit of Excellence”: Self-Improvement Essay

Self-improvement and Success – Hand in Hand

How to improve yourself (essay)

Cite this Essay

Related Essays

Still can’t find what you need?

Related Essays on Success

Related Topics

Get Your Personalized Essay in 3 Hours or Less!

Self Improvement Essay

Self-improvement in the Russian setting

Cite this paper

Related articles

Most popular essays

Join our 150k of happy users

What Is It?

Interest → Self-Improvement

But What Is Self-Improvement?

The Three Types of Learning

Hypothetical Example

Which Type Is the Most Useful for Your Career?

What are your chances of acceptance?

Your chancing factors

8 Overcoming Challenges College Essay Examples

Essay 1: Becoming a Coach

Essay 2: Starting a Fire

Essay 3: Last-Minute Switch

Essay 4: Music as a Coping Mechanism

Essay 5: Dedicating a Track