Top 5 College Essay Topics That Win Admissions: Ivy League Insights

Updated on
June 24, 2025
GOOD COLLEGE ESSAY TOPIC
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Your college essay is your moment to shine. A great topic shows who you are, tells a gripping story, and sticks with admissions officers. But how do you pick a topic that’s "good enough"? We studied over 27,000 Ivy League-admitted essays to find out what works. In this blog, we’ll share a simple way to check if your topic is strong, a tool to spark killer ideas, and five types of topics that win over admissions teams.

A strong topic shows your personality and growth. Data shows 84% of admissions officers say essays are a big deal for borderline applicants. Skip generic stories. Evaluate your essay topic on the following checklist:

Authenticity: A simple yardstick is, “Am I excited to write about this topic, or am I choosing it because I think colleges will love it?” The latter often leads to a weak essay.

Impact: Can I demonstrate objective evidence in the topic, like a specific moment, that shows growth or substantiates my claims?

Storytelling: Can I develop an interesting story with unique insights, strong arguments, or showcased achievements?

Uniqueness: How many times have I heard this story? The topic has to be unique.

Score It: Rate each 1–5 (5 = excellent). A score of 16+ out of 20 means your topic is a winner.

Step What It Means Ask Yourself Warning Sign
Be Real Shows the true you, your voice, your thoughts. Does this let me be myself? Feels like what colleges expect.
Make an Impact Shows how you grew or changed. Did this shape me? Can I show what I learned? No clear change or lesson.
Tell a Story Has a beginning, middle, and reflection. Can I make it a vivid story? Is there a key moment? Just a list or statement.
Be Unique Only you could tell this story. Does this highlight my journey? Sounds like everyone else's story.

Top 5 Topic Types That Win:

These five topic types, from 27,000+ Ivy essays, check all four boxes and get noticed:  

Quiet Passion

What: A niche interest showing your curiosity.
Example: Tracking sewer grates, sparking a love for urban planning.

Meaningful Object

What: An embarrassing moment that shaped you.
Example: An old, tattered recipe card from Grandma  

Awkward Moment

What: An embarrassing moment that shaped you.
Example: A cringe Instagram post that taught confidence.  

Small Failure

What: A minor mistake with a big lesson.
Example: Forgetting play lines but learning to improvise.

Creative Fix

What: A unique solution to an odd problem.
Example: Teaching coding with Taylor Swift lyrics.  

Tool to Find Great Topics

Stuck? Try the topic brainstorming tool here. It's fun and will help you brainstorm essay topics that shine.

Topics to Avoid (Unless You Have a Unique Twist)

These are overdone topics:

Dead grandparents.
Sports Injuries
Travel and mission trips
Academic challenges

In sum, a college essay topic must be authentic, impactful, story-driven, and unique. Evaluate it yourself with our 4-step checklist. If you’re stuck, use GradGPT’s tool as a crutch to find a killer topic. Try our 5 topic archetypes for inspiration. All the best