Next up in our journey through the Common App prompts: Prompt #2. Now, we’ve already confessed our love for Prompt #7, but we get it, not everyone wants that much freedom. If you’re someone who thrives with a little structure, Prompt #2 might be your perfect match.
Before we dive in, let’s remind you of something important: almost every school on your list is going to require a Common App essay. This means you need to get it right. Not perfect in a robotic, polished-to-death way, but right in the sense that it shows who you are, how you think, and what matters to you.
Here’s the prompt:
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?
This is a classic “growth” prompt, which many schools will ask you in their supplements. We don’t hate it as a Common App prompt, but it might be something you want to bank for school-specific essays. We do like that this prompt is asking you to tell a story! However, a word of warning before you go writing an emotional deep-dive: this essay is not about failure alone. It’s about what happened after the failure. That’s the key. A ton of students spend the entire essay rehashing something that went wrong and forget the second part of the question – the learning.
Also, you do not have to share your biggest trauma here. You do not need to write about the worst things that have happened to you to get into college, and consider this us giving you permission to not write about it if you don’t want to. Heavy experiences like mental health struggles, chronic illness, learning differences, or family issues might feel like an obvious fit for this prompt. Still, there’s a better place for those: the Additional Information section. You are allowed to protect your story. You’re also allowed to be strategic. And this is one of those moments.
Instead, think of your Common App essay as a space to show personality, reflection, and values. Let the essay breathe. Let it be you.
Common App Essay Prompt #2 Example Topics
This prompt is begging you to tell a story. And thankfully for you, the outline for this story has basically been spelled out for you. To tell a good, compelling, not depressing failure story you need:
The Failure itself
Humility
Growth
When it comes to this prompt, smaller is smarter. You don’t need to write about a massive, life-altering failure to impress admissions officers. In fact, trying to force a “serious” story into this prompt often backfires, especially if it’s something better suited for the Additional Information section.
Instead, think about the smaller stumbles – the kind of thing that was frustrating or embarrassing at the time but, in hindsight, actually taught you something valuable.
Maybe you botched your first attempt at baking something fancy and turned croissants into bricks. Maybe you tanked your first mock trial because you forgot your closing argument. Maybe you signed up to lead a hike and had absolutely no idea what you were doing. Maybe you thought you could wing your talent show performance and completely bungled it. We encourage you to stay away from an academic failure or an extracurricular that’s already present in your application.
These may seem like minor moments, but they’re real. And that’s the point! Most admissions officers are barely a decade out of high school themselves. They still remember what it felt like to mess up, get flustered, or overestimate their own abilities. When you write about something that feels honest and personal (especially if you can laugh at yourself a little), you’re more likely to connect with them.
The crux of your essay shouldn’t be the failure. That should be the first act – open with it. If you bombed your first debate round and immediately decided debate wasn’t for you, that’s not much of a story. But if you froze mid-argument, realized you were wildly underprepared, and then spent the next month rebuilding your confidence and figuring out how to improve? Now that’s what we call an essay. The mistake is just the setup. What matters is what you did next.
Common App Essay Prompt #2 Example Guide
So you’ve got your story idea – now it should just magically appear on the page, right? Right???
Writing the Common App essay is hard. Even when you’ve got a clear prompt and a solid idea, getting that story down in a way that feels natural, compelling, and true to you takes time. But like we said, prompt #2 actually makes things a little easier by giving you a clear path to follow: a beginning, middle, and end. And if your story is something like bombing your first debate or turning croissants into charcoal, the structure almost builds itself.
Let’s start at the beginning. You want to open your essay by dropping us straight into the scene. Think about what it looked like, sounded like, even smelled like. Help us feel what you felt in that moment. Were you staring at a half-empty room, realizing your slideshow wouldn’t load? Listening to awkward silence after forgetting your mock trial script? Picking frosting out of your hair after an overly ambitious baking experiment? These kinds of details make the story come alive and create a strong sense of voice. And don’t worry if you don’t have the perfect opening line right away. You can always come back and write the intro last – and usually it’s easier to write the attention-grabbing intro once the rest of the essay has fallen into place.
Once you’ve set the scene and introduced the challenge or failure, you move into the heart of your story – the middle. This is where you show what happened next. It’s not just about the mistake; it’s about what you realized, what you did, and how you responded. Maybe you learned that winging it in debate doesn’t cut it, or that being the most enthusiastic person in the room doesn’t guarantee people will show up. This section is where your self-awareness kicks in. You’re showing the reader that you’re capable of growth, that you can reflect and adapt, which is exactly what colleges are looking for.
And now, the ending. This is where you bring everything full circle. You don’t need a Hollywood-style comeback story, but the ending should offer some sense of resolution or forward movement. If you started with a baking disaster, maybe you end with a story of hosting a small, successful brunch for your friends or taking a bite of your perfect 2nd attempt. If your debate team journey started with stage fright, maybe you end with the quiet confidence of knowing how to prep and handle pressure. You also do not need to spend a paragraph waxing poetic on the concept of growth. Just tell the story, let your words show the growth or adaptability.
Above all, try to end on a high note. Not in a fake or overly sweet way, because admissions officers can see through that, but something that’s not an overt downer. Remember, admissions officers are reading a lot of essays, and many of them are heavy. If yours can be honest, human, hopeful, and maybe even humorous, it’ll stick with them in a positive way.
As you move into the editing phase, read your essay out loud. This is one of the best ways to catch awkward phrasing or overly formal language. Then, if you really want to sharpen it, try retyping the whole thing into a new document. It helps you see the essay with fresh eyes and tighten up your voice. And when it’s time for feedback, don’t invite everyone you know into the process. Two trusted readers are usually the sweet spot. Any more than that, and you risk turning your essay into a confusing patchwork of other people’s opinions.
Once your essay feels clear, authentic, and finished, you’re ready. Hit submit.
You've got this.
Prompt #2 gives you a solid, structured way to tell a story that reveals who you are, not just what you’ve done. If you choose a moment that’s meaningful without being life-or-death, bring in a little humility, maybe some humor, and reflect honestly on how you’ve grown, this prompt can absolutely work in your favor. At its best, it’s less about the failure itself and more about the version of you that came out the other side. If that sounds like the kind of story you’re ready to tell, Prompt #2 might be the perfect fit.
Need help with your Common App essay? Reach out to us today.