Common App essay grader · 2026–27
Common App Prompt 7 Essay Grader
Topic of your choice. Paste your draft and see how well it answers this exact prompt.
Get a clear score, six focused notes, and a practical next step for your college essay. See your score free — no sign-up. Sign in free to read the notes.
06
Reading lenses
01
Free first read
100
Point scale
Private by default. Your draft is used only to create your review. Signed in, it stays in your history until you delete it; as a guest, it is deleted within 24 hours.
Used as context for the same six scoring dimensions; it does not add or change criteria.
No account needed for your score. Your essay is used only to grade it, and is deleted within 24 hours unless you sign in to keep the review.
Common App Prompt 7 · 2026–27
How to answer this prompt
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
250–650 words. Choose one of the seven prompts.
What it is really asking
Freedom raises the bar for focus. Without a question to answer, the essay has to set its own: a clear center, a real story, and reflection that tells readers who you are.
Angles that work
- An essay built around one object, place, or routine that opens into who you are.
- A structure of your own, such as a list or a series of short scenes, held together by one idea.
- A strong essay written for another prompt that already says something essential about you.
Common traps
- Choosing this prompt to avoid committing to a point — the essay wanders.
- Cleverness in form with too little personal reflection underneath.
- Reusing a school assignment that analyses a book instead of revealing you.
The grader above already has this prompt filled in. It scores your essay on the same six dimensions as always — narrative strength, specificity, reflection and insight, authentic voice, writing execution, and overall admissions value — and uses the prompt as context, so its notes point out where your essay drifts from the question.
By prompt
Other prompts
Each page pre-fills its prompt in the grader.
Common App personal essay (2026–27)
250–650 words. Choose one of the seven prompts.
- Common App Prompt 1 · Background, identity, interest, or talent
- Common App Prompt 2 · Challenge, setback, or failure
- Common App Prompt 3 · Questioning a belief or idea
- Common App Prompt 4 · Gratitude
- Common App Prompt 5 · Accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked growth
- Common App Prompt 6 · A topic that makes you lose track of time
UC Personal Insight Questions (2026–27)
Up to 350 words each. Answer four of the eight questions; all are weighed equally.