How to Write the Common App Essay for Prompt #2 in 2025
If you’re applying to college, one of the most insightful questions on the Common Application is Prompt #2: 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 one of the most popular prompts and for good reason. It gives you a chance to show resilience, maturity, and personal growth. In this blog post, you’ll learn what this prompt is really asking, how to brainstorm meaningful topics, see example ideas, and get strategic Common App essay tips to write a college essay that stands out.
What is this Common App Essay Prompt about?
There are 7 total Common App Essay prompts, but this one zeroes in on how you deal with obstacles and what you learn from them. It’s about showing colleges you can bounce back, reflect deeply, and grow from challenges (qualities that matter greatly on a college campus). Let’s take a look at the prompt again:
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?
At first glance, it might seem like it requires a dramatic story. But often, the best essays about challenges are actually small, personal moments that reveal your mindset.
- This prompt is especially well-suited for stories about:
- A personal failure or mistake
- An unexpected setback in school, sports, or another activity
- Overcoming a fear or limitation
- Learning to adapt when plans didn’t work out
If an admissions officer only read your essay (and not your résumé or activities list), would they understand how you handle setbacks and grow from them?
Let’s take a closer look…
“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 opening is the heart of the prompt:
- It’s not just about the obstacle. It’s about what you learned and how you changed.
- Colleges care far more about your insights than about the “size” of the problem.
“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 means:
- The experience doesn’t have to be earth-shattering.
- It could be a class you struggled with, a time you disappointed someone, or failing to make a team.
- What matters is how you handled it, emotionally and practically.
“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?”
Colleges want to see:
- How you processed the experience.
- How it shaped your character, perspective, or future choices.
- It’s a chance to show growth, maturity, and resilience — all traits colleges love.
What Colleges Learn From This Essay
When admissions officers read your essay for Prompt #2, they’re hoping to understand:
- How you face adversity: Do you blame others or take responsibility?
- What you’ve learned: Did you develop new strengths, empathy, or a clearer sense of what matters?
- How you grow from mistakes: Will you handle the inevitable challenges of college life with grace and adaptability?
Colleges want students who can thrive even when things get tough, in classes, relationships, and life beyond campus.
How to Brainstorm for Common App Prompt #2
If you think you want to respond to Prompt #2, first you’ll want to do some brainstorming. Be honest and open… you’re allowed to be imperfect.
- What’s something that didn’t go the way you planned?
- When did you fail at something that truly mattered to you?
- Was there a time you had to deal with rejection or loss?
- Have you faced a personal fear or internal struggle (like social anxiety, public speaking, or perfectionism)?
- What’s a small moment that taught you a big lesson?
You don’t necessarily need a tragic story for this prompt. Even trying out for something and not making it, or having a tough conversation with a friend, can show tremendous growth.
Strategies for Choosing and Developing Your Topic
- Start with Themes, Then Uncover Stories: This might sound counterintuitive, but I actually think it’s best to consider themes or values you want to communicate. If you want to show you’re resilient, try thinking of small stories in your life that showcase that theme/trait. I recommend taking a look at this values exercise by the College Essay Guy to help you get started.
- Free-Write or Make a List: Jot down childhood memories, meaningful conversations, or even inside jokes that capture something real. Often, your best topic is buried in something casual.
- Ask People Who Know You Well: What do they see as your defining traits or moments? Sometimes others see your story more clearly than you do. At the end of the day, it’s your essay, but getting input can be helpful. Just try to avoid getting too many opinions.
- Focus on the Details, Even When Brainstorming: The small specifics, the color of your grandmother’s sari, the first fish you caught with your uncle, will make your story stand out.
Topic Ideas for Common App Essay Prompt #2
Here’s a big list of topic ideas to help you start brainstorming. Your reflections and specific details are what make them shine.
Academic or personal failures
- Failing a big test after studying hard, and learning how to adjust your study habits
- Getting a disappointing grade in a subject you love, and how you rebuilt confidence
- Bombing a class presentation and later practicing public speaking until it became a strength
Personal or family challenges
- Dealing with your parents’ divorce or a strained friendship, and finding your own stability
- Moving to a new town and learning to overcome loneliness
- Managing anxiety or a mental health challenge that made simple tasks feel huge
Taking a risk and failing
- Running for student government and losing, then getting involved in another way
- Trying to start a club or event that flopped, but still building leadership skills
- Speaking up in class about an unpopular opinion, feeling embarrassed, but realizing the importance of honesty
Final Common Application Essay Tips
- Be authentic: Use your real voice. Admissions officers can tell when you’re writing what you think they want to hear vs. if it’s authentic to you.
- Reflect deeply: The best essays don’t just narrate an event; they explore what it meant to you.
- Connect back to who you are today: How does this background, identity, interest, or talent continue to shape your choices, values, or goals?
- Revise carefully: Read your essay aloud. Check that it sounds like you, not a forced version of yourself.
How to Write the Common App Essay Prompt #2
Common App Essay Prompt #2 is your chance to show that you’re resilient, thoughtful, and growing, all key qualities for college success. Whether it’s a personal failure, a family challenge, or simply learning to navigate your own expectations, this is the space to let admissions officers see how you handle life’s challenges.
By being honest, specific, and reflective, you’ll write a college essay that does more than answer a question. It will reveal your character, helping you take a big step closer to getting into college.
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