RETURN TO STAGE HOMEPAGE
STAGE 2: Auditioning Your Ideas
Next up, let’s see which of your ideas is ready to take the spotlight! In STAGE 2, we will:
Connect your personal qualities with meaningful experiences in your life
Brainstorm potential story ideas and test their strength
Cast your story and Common Application(R) essay prompt
TIme For Auditions!
At this STAGE, you probably have a lot of ideas swirling through your mind. The sample essays and character worksheet were specifically designed to help you recognize your characteristics; uncover old memories; and discover experiences that you didn’t even realize were meaningful. But what if your ideas feel flat or boring? What if your thoughts don’t seem to make sense? What if you can’t find a good story lurking behind your answers? Well, that’s what auditions are for!
Directors hold auditions to find the most suitable actor for a role, and that’s exactly what you’re going to do–college essay style! Together with your essay coach, you’ll assume the roles of directors as you ‘try out’ ideas for your essay. These auditions are important because they give you the chance to consider all of your ideas, even the ‘bad’ or ‘crazy’ ones you want to quickly boo off the stage. By analyzing your character worksheet, we’ll be able to see what qualities are in the ‘spotlight’ and how they connect to different events in your life. That’s where your story starts to emerge!
As we begin to shape your story, we are also going to cast your Common App(R) essay prompt. It might seem odd that we waited until STAGE 2 to introduce you to the seven essay topics, but there’s a method to our madness. If you place all of your focus on the prompts too soon, you might end up limiting your ideas and ‘trapping’ yourself. However, now that you’ve explored your character and memories, you can familiarize yourself with the essay prompts. They are purposely broad, so there are plenty of options for matching your story to a prompt.
Here are the 2024-2025 Common AppⓇ essay prompts:
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Your next in-Meeting activity (with a coach!):
You will complete STAGE 2 together with an essay coach during a meeting, so there is nothing you need to complete just now! If you’d like to preview it in advance, visit your STAGE Essay Program Materials Google Drive folder and open your “Auditioning Your Ideas” worksheet. If you haven’t already, you can go ahead and book a meeting using the button below:
THE STAGE PROGRAM
RETURN TO STAGE HOMEPAGE