Essay: You are a teacher who has been asked to design a two-week course. What would you teach and why?

Essay: Submit a 280-character tweet describing what education means to you, and discuss it.

Essay: Describe how a literary character has inspired you to embody leadership.

Essay: Describe a volunteer opportunity that you have participated in, as well as how it has impacted you as a student.

Essay: If you could spend one day with any American First Lady, who would you select and why?

Essay: What role do you typically play in group projects, and how do you think this impacts your education?

Essay: Describe your favorite childhood memory of school, and discuss how it has shaped you into the student you are today.

Essay: Describe one piece of advice you would give your 9th grade self. Why did you choose it?

Essay: Pick a professor from a film or TV show, and discuss how he or she helped to shape your views on education.

Essay: Imagine your name is an acronym. What does it stand for, and how does it symbolize your academic strengths?

Essay: What are two inventions that you foresee existing in the year 2025? How do they influence society?

Essay: If you had the authority to change your school community, what specific and positive changes would you make?

Essay: Describe your most ambitious academic goal for 2017, as well as how you plan to achieve it.

Essay: Describe how another student influenced your education, as well as how that experience helped you grow.

Essay: If you could study abroad in any city, which would you choose and why?

Essay: Discuss one of your passions (either academic or extracurricular), and explain how you plan to further pursue it in college or graduate school.

Essay: What are your goals for this school year? What strategies or techniques will you use to achieve them?

Essay: If you could time travel to your very first day of school, what is one piece of advice that you would give your younger self?

Essay: If you could have dinner with one historical figure, who would it be? What three questions would you ask, and why?

Essay: What has high school taught you—outside of academics—that you will carry with you to college?

Essay: Describe an academic trick or technique that has helped you succeed.

Essay: If you could redesign the college application process, what would you change and why?

Essay: Describe a time you helped another student succeed and what you learned from the experience.

Essay: Which class has challenged you most in school, and what have you learned from this challenge?

Essay: What is your top New Year's Resolution for school in 2016?

Essay: What piece of technology has most impacted your life as a student? How has it done so?

Essay: Describe an out-of-school experience that has helped you inside the classroom.

Essay: Name a personality trait that has helped you succeed in school, and describe its impact.

Essay: What is the best back-to-school advice you ever received? Why do you think this advice is important?

Essay: What is your ideal school schedule: year-round or traditional? Why?

Essay: Describe one lesson you have learned from an extracurricular activity. How will it help you succeed in college?

Essay: Imagine your school could only fund the visual arts, the performing arts, or athletics. Argue which field should be supported.

Essay: Think of an academic experience where things did not go as planned. How did you recover and what did you learn?

Essay: Who is your biggest academic influence and why?

Essay: What is the most valuable study method you learned in high school? Describe how it will help you in college.

Essay: Think of a teacher who has had a positive impact on your education. How did he or she make this impact?

Essay: Describe an experience that led you to choose your current/intended college major.

Essay: Describe a time when you exemplified strong leadership skills in school.

Essay: Discuss an accomplishment that has helped prepare you for college.