Many private NYC schools ask high school applicants to write an essay, choosing from five prompts. This year:

  1.  How does the story you tell on social media compare to your real life story?
  2. If you could live elsewhere for one semester, what would you hope to gain from the experience of living there and why?
  3. You are an activist. What is your cause, why are you so passionate about it, and what are you doing about it?
  4. “Honesty is the best policy.” Is it problematic to shift the truth in one’s favor, even if the lie is seemingly harmless to others?
  5. Describe one of your favorite family traditions and why it is meaningful to you.