Before writing, make a list of things in your life that are important to you: experiences, relationships, interests, ideas, places, even objects.  The key here is to look inward and start thinking in terms of your personal values and passions. Once you have this list, narrow it down to something you really care about.  If it isn't important to you, it won't be interesting to your reader.

Don’t stress about the Common Application prompts.  They offer a great deal of flexibility and if you write about a topic in personal terms, your essay will probably work as a response to at least one of the prompts.

When writing a first draft, don’t worry about the length of your piece or perfect grammar, spelling, organization, etc.  Just get your ideas down on the page and try to elaborate as much as possible. Once you have a working draft, you can cut it down to fit the word count and fine-tune the mechanics. 

Make sure that your essay tells your reader a lot about you.  Ideally, this essay should be a story about you, your ideas and your outlook on the world.  Your reader should feel as if they know you after reading it.  Use the essay as an opportunity to convey something about yourself that they probably won't see in other parts of the application.

Don’t feel obligated to share all of your successes and strengths.  They essay can't cover everything. Also, it is sometimes more impressive to show how you have grown and learned from a shortcoming or failure than a great triumph.  Be open, honest, reflective and introspective.  Don't be afraid to show vulnerability.

Don’t spend a disproportionate number of words describing places or situations unless these descriptions directly inform your reader about you and how you see the world around you.  For instance—if you took a life changing trip, share your feelings and reflections about a moment that really meant something to you, don’t try to describe the whole travel experience.  Lots of people take trips, but only you experienced that particular moment––help your reader to understand why it mattered to you.

The old saying, “show, don’t tell,” applies to the college essay.  Don’t tell your reader how you feel or that something is important to you––show it through the story you tell and the examples you provide.   

Make sure that your topic reveals something about you that will make an admissions committee want to have you on campus as a student in their community.   Select a topic that accentuates your strengths of heart, mind, and soul, and presents you positively.

Don’t try to teach your reader something through your essay.  Assume that your readers are already educated about the topic––it is not your job to provide background information or try to convince the reader to agree with your opinion.  The only thing they want to learn about is you.  (note: Definitely avoid topics that make you seem close minded.)

Be yourself.  Don’t try too hard to be overly funny or intelligent or clever or experienced or sympathetic, etc…  Just be honest and open and share a bit about yourself so that the admissions committee can get to know a little bit about who you are and what you will add to their student body.