Retrofitting = modifying something that already exists for a new or altered purpose. For example, during the COVID-19 global pandemic of 2020-2021, millions of grocery stores retrofitted checkout lines with plexiglass partitions to reduce the airborne spread of the virus between customers and cashiers.

 

Retrofitting doesn’t mean tearing something down and reconstructing it from the ground up. It means making small, possibly temporary adjustments to something that’s already a very stable and functional construction.

 

This guide is designed to help you retrofit your completed essay to a prompt to make sure that it complies with the specifications of the college essay prompt used by a particular college (or college application system, like the Common App or Apply Texas) -- including word count.

 

This retrofitting guide is one of the flex elements of the Stories of Self college admissions essay curriculum, meaning it is optional and can be done at whichever point in the sequence seems most logical for you.

You should have at least a first draft before using this guide, but you can also have a finished, final draft -- maybe even one that you’ve already submitted to a different college or system. If you’re writing your essay long ahead of time, come back to this guide when you’re ready to apply.

 

The basic elements of this guide are as follows:

 

1. What are prompts? What are college application systems?
2. How do you break down a prompt?
3. How do you adapt an essay to a prompt?
4. How can you hit the required word count?

 

What Are Prompts? What Are Application Systems?

 

The prompt is the question or idea that you are being asked to respond to in your essay.

 

A college application system is a way to apply to multiple colleges and universities at once, without having to fill out personal information, upload your resume, and make your teachers or counselors submit new letters of recommendation every single time you apply to a new college.

 

The most famous and widely used college application system is the Common App. More than 900 colleges and universities in the U.S. participate in the Common App, including both public universities (state schools) and private colleges (like religiously affiliated schools and small liberal arts colleges, or SLACs). To find out if the schools you’re interested in participate in the Common App, go here. You can also consult with your school’s college counselor for help, if applicable.

 

If you’re a Texas student, you already know that Texas likes to do things its own way. ApplyTexas is the college application system for schools in Texas.

• Most of the major public/state school systems in Texas, like all the University of Texas campuses, all the Texas A&M campuses, and all the Texas Tech campuses (and others!), use ApplyTexas, not the Common App. A couple will also take the Common App.
• Private schools in Texas (for example: Rice University, St. Mary’s University, Baylor University, Austin College, etc) will often participate in both the Common App and the ApplyTexas systems.
• A number of two-year institutions, like community colleges, also participate in ApplyTexas (but not the Common App).

To find out if the Texas schools you’re interested in participate in ApplyTexas, go here. You can also consult with your school’s college counselor for help, if applicable.

 

Here’s how an application system works: there’s a basic, universal application to fill out and submit external documents like transcripts and letters of recommendation. That basic application will go to each school you select to apply to.

 

Then, individual colleges select supplemental items that they would like submitted to them in addition to the basic application. In terms of the essay, in both the Common App and ApplyTexas systems, colleges can choose from a list of possible prompts.

 

• Here are the current Common App prompts. There are 7 prompts for colleges to choose from. Colleges might select the prompt they want you to respond to, or they might allow you to choose a prompt.
• Here are the current ApplyTexas prompts. They will not change again until the Fall 2022 application cycle -- if you’re applying at any point through Summer 2022, these will be the prompts your target schools choose from. There are 3 prompts for colleges to choose from (or allow you to choose from) -- based on whether you are applying for the first time or as a transfer student.

 

What about other essays?

 

Sometimes schools request additional essays or short answers on topics that might include:

 

• Why this particular school is exciting or a good fit for you
• Why you’re interested in your major and what your career goals are
• The chance to explain any major gaps or inconsistencies in your transcript (for example, a much lower GPA than your average GPA in a particular semester, or a leave of absence)
• Questions related to a scholarship at that school you want to try for
• And others!

 

Often, these essays are shorter and more straightforward -- they need to be well-written and carefully planned, and they might contain some narrative (for example, referencing defining events that motivated you to pursue a certain career path), but they are not expected to be as creative or colorful as the main, narrative college essay. And they should not repeat the same story you tell in the main essay! You might find it really helpful to return to the work you did in Stage 2: Prewriting to find additional experiences to discuss in these answers.

 

For help with these application systems, scholarship applications, supplemental essays, and so on -- including verifying all of the above information -- PLEASE consult college counselors at your high school (if applicable) or communicate directly with the college’s admissions office! Things may change or get updated, and the purpose of this curriculum is to help you write your personal narrative essay, not advise you on the full application process.

 

To summarize:

• Most colleges and universities participate in an application system like the Common App or ApplyTexas.
• The application system provides a list of options for narrative essay prompts for schools to choose from.
• Sometimes schools allow applicants (meaning: you) to choose their own prompt from the application system’s list.
• Sometimes schools require additional, often shorter, essays on other topics. That’s not our focus here, but you might be able to use the exercises from Stage 2: Prewriting to help.

 

How Do You Break Down a Prompt?

 

As previously stated, all college essay prompts are looking for the same basic information about you! Admissions officers use the essay to get a sense of the person behind the GPA, test scores, and extracurriculars, so that they can imagine what that person might contribute to the campus community.

 

That means that all essay prompts are really just slight variations on a master prompt.

 

The master prompt of all narrative college essays is:

 

Tell a story about yourself or your life that demonstrates the essential qualities, values, and passions that make you who you are.

 

Different essay prompts just ask for a slightly different focus -- a focus on challenges, for example, or a focus on identities.

 

You break down an essay prompt in three basic steps:

1. Read the prompt and highlight keywords. Besides major nouns, pay attention to anything that references time (e.g. “from your childhood” or “in the future”).
2. Define the keywords for yourself in your own words
3. State their goal -- what it seems they are looking for -- in your own words. Their goal will ALWAYS include “qualities, passions, and values.”

 

As an example, here’s a breakdown each of the Apply Texas prompts: