Brainstorm — decide what’s most impressive to say before getting to the prompts 

Prompt’s essay-writing method starts with figuring out what you want to say. (Then we slot that into the essay prompts that are available.)

So what should you say on your college application? Easy. Your entire task is to show admissions officers that you will succeed in college and beyond.

Okay, but how do you show an admissions officer you’re likely to succeed? This is also, surprisingly, not that hard: you do it by talking about your experiences that show one or more of the 5 Traits Colleges Look for in Applicants:

• Drive (grit)
• Initiative
• Contribution
• Intellectual Curiosity
• Diversity of Experiences

That brings us to brainstorming. Before you can begin talking about “Why USC” or thinking about how to answer the veritable volley of strange questions they throw your way, you need to write down all of your high school experiences, which is easier said than done. Brainstorm things like your:

• Academic interests
• Extracurricular activities and interests
• Self-learning and independent projects you’ve undertaken
• Work experiences and substantial domestic obligations
• Any other skills you’ve developed or meaningful experiences you’ve had

If you create a free Prompt account, you can develop these ideas through our brainstorming modules. 

At the end of this process, you should have a solid idea of what experiences best show off one or more of the 5 Traits.

This is important with a disparate set of questions like USC’s — you don’t want the questions themselves to turn you around, confuse or distract you. Instead, with this method, you can use each question as a tool to say what you already know you want to say about yourself to further your application. 

Let’s go through each question.

Q1: Why USC — Focus on your actions that relate to your dreams and your background

The first prompt is:

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words or fewer)

Note that this isn’t a “Why major” essay (even though it looks like one). Why Majors want to know if you can cut it academically in your major. By contrast, “Why Us” prompts want to know if you’re going to succeed academically at that particular college. Given how short the recommended word count is for this question, it clearly falls in that category. 

When a school asks “Why Us,” they’re looking for:

• a likelihood that you’ll actually choose their school if admitted — (read our article on Demonstrated Interest for more on how powerful this can be) and also 
• a sense that you’ll be a good fit at the school — (read our article on “Why Us” essays to get into the minds of admissions officers asking this question). 

The short version of what this means for your essay is that you need to talk about:

1. Your academic-related interests and
2. How they’ll be a great match for USC.

As you’ll note, number 1 here is “you” and number 2 is USC. So start by thinking about which of your academic/extracurricular interests you’d like to highlight to the admissions team. Refer to that big brainstorm we talked about above. After that, get digging for things at USC that match those interests. 

If you visited the campus, consider working an anecdote into your essay — you can also have the essay center around your visit. Just make sure that the aspect of the campus visit you describe relates to your intellectual curiosity. You don’t want the experience you showcase to be about social life or amenities.

Whether or not you visited, spend a bit of time on the USC college website, looking at the academic departments you’d likely major in for courses you might like to take. You can also look at interesting research, faculty and student work, and opportunities on the USC News site. 

Q1: Why USC — Example

Please note that Prompt strongly believes that influencers shouldn’t influence your college essays and that, for essays that get published in flashy places, you don’t know if the essay got that student in or if they got in despite what was maybe a bad essay. 

That being said, an example can be worth a thousand words!

Why USC example 

I’ve already written a full novel. Yes, it’s faced nothing but rejection (though my English teacher Ms. Smithson was encouraging), but still: I wrote it! In fact, I loved writing it and I’m excited to write another. 

But if this experience has taught me anything it’s that I belong in USC’s Narrative Studies department. I love the approach to a deep, rigorous study of narrative in popular culture, from a cross-cultural perspective and a historical perspective. I know that analysis will help my own craft as I continue to work on fiction on the side. But I also love that this study can prepare me for a non-writing career in creative fields, as it has done for many others. 

In fact, I learned about USC through a colleague at the theater where I intern. She graduated from the program and hearing about her experiences made me eager to apply. In particular, her Capstone Project was a study of how anime has influenced modern Japanese theater. I loved hearing about her research and am excited to have the same opportunity. If I had to do it now, I’d write about how Chekov has been adapted since 2000. (My novel was a modern “update” of the Chekov play Three Sisters.)

Notes:

• Word count: 207
• This essay shows a deep understanding of one of USC’s unique departments. (That being said, if you’re writing about a more “typical” major, you can use the same technique, though citing a few courses or research opportunities would be important.)
• This essay displays the student’s intellectual curiosity and talks about some of their intellectual achievements so far and how they connect to what’s at USC.
• This essay leaves the reader with the feeling that the student is excited about USC. 

Q2: Short Takes — Refer to your brainstormed experiences to decide what aspects of your personality to highlight

This unique prompt reads in full:

• Describe yourself in three words. 

• First Word: (25 characters)
• Second Word: (25 characters)
• Third Word: (25 characters)

• What is your favorite snack? (100 characters)
• Best movie of all time: (100 characters)
• Dream job: (100 characters)
• If your life had a theme song, what would it be? (100 characters)
• Dream trip: (100 characters)
• What TV show will you binge watch next? (100 characters)
• Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate? (100 characters)
• Favorite book. (100 characters)
• If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be? (100 characters)

Though “fun” and “quirky,” admissions officers are still looking through your answers with a red pen and a view toward advancing your application to either the “reject” or the “admit” pile. 

It’s important both to answer in the spirit of the questions asked — loose and open — but also to show that you exhibit one or more of the 5 Traits and have the ability to succeed in college and beyond. 

So sift through your list of brainstormed experiences. Try to make your answers reflect the experiences that show your potential for success. In addition, try to make your answers amplify the potential you’ve exhibited in your personal statement and in “Why USC.”

Note that you have just enough space to add a few words of explanation to each of your answers, which can help connect them to your overarching application themes.

Q2: Short Takes — Example 

For example, pretend the same student who answered the “Why USC?” example above is responding here. Assume their personal statement centered on their experiences at the theater internship, where they learned the value of hard work to support creative expression (showing up every day, working hard on thankless tasks to build an audience). 

They might answer like this:

• Describe yourself in three words. 

• First Word: Creative
• Second Word: Hard-working
• Third Word: Curious

• What is your favorite snack? Anything from the Sterling Theater vending machine, especially after 7pm. 
• Best movie of all time: Uncle Vanya on 42nd St — A film of a rehearsal of a play. What is art? How do we make it? Why?
• Dream job: Creative Director of a theater company devoted to showcasing new and emerging playwrights. 
• If your life had a theme song, what would it be? Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” — you have to put in the hours to make creative projects work. 
• Dream trip: As a kid I went to the Stratford Theater Festival with my grandma every year. I’d love to go back. 
• What TV show will you binge watch next? Only Murders in the Building — I 🖤meta (true crime podcast fans make their own true crime podcast)
• Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate? I’m not over my Chekov obsession, so Chekov. Also, his being a doctor could be handy.
• Favorite book. Ai WeiWei’s 1000 Years of Joy and Sorrows — from political oppression to freedom through art.
• If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be? Stage fighting. It’s just so much fun!

Notes:

• The answers all connect to the other work in the student’s essays — their internship at a theater and their desire to write and major in “narrative studies” — and the traits of drive and intellectual curiosity. 
• You don’t have to share your actual “favorite” movie (or TV show, or snack, …). Instead, share the one that fits with the larger message about your intellectual curiosity that you want the admissions officers to hear. (Nobody’s favorite movie is Uncle Vanya on 42nd St. This student’s favorite movie is probably Princess Bride. Just saying.)
• It’s not a bad idea to have one “fun” answer that’s not totally related to your application — in this case, the stage-fighting answer might play that role. While showcasing your intellectual bona fides matters, it’s also nice to show that you can be loose and authentic. 

Helpful info on all the “other” stuff you’ll consider as you apply to USC (and other schools)

A few helpful resources for the non-supplement parts of your application:

• Common App: Since you must use it for USC, read our guide to acing everything to do with writing your Common App. 
• Whether to submit test scores: USC remains test-optional this year. Our test-optional article will guide you through the tricky waters of making this decision. 
• Early options: USC offers Early Action. Read our Early Admissions article so you know how to approach this decision. 

BTW, here’s our guidance for approaching any college supplement + here’s where you can find our guides for almost every college’s supplements. 

Feeling inspired? A great place to start is at our College Essay Help Center. 

More articles on Prompt.com’s admissions-boosting methods:

• Work with a college essay coach
• Strong essays increase your chance of admission by up to 10x
• Don’t let influencers influence your college essays
• Should I apply test-optional?
• Early admissions: Everything you need to know
• College Essay Help Center