The "Dark Roast Espresso" essay focuses on a single unique experience in your life that has significantly shaped who you are. This type of essay is about sharing a journey—one that has profoundly impacted your personal development, values, and outlook on life. It requires a level of vulnerability and introspection that goes beyond the surface, asking you to open up about something deeply transformative.
The entire focus of a "Dark Roast Espresso" essay should be a life-altering event or challenge. This could be something like a major personal loss or overcoming a significant obstacle in your life. Think about how you've gotten to this very moment today, reading these words on your screen: there's something different about you. What experience has made your life very different from the lives of other seniors applying to college?
In the essay, it's essential to reflect on who you were before the event, how it challenged you, and most importantly, how it changed you. What lessons did you learn? How did it shape your character, your goals, or your understanding of the world around you? The key is to reflect on the journey and tie it all together with a strong theme.
What makes a strong theme? Well, it must be more complex than a single trait like “determination” or “adaptability”. That trait can be the first theme, but there must be a deeper lesson. Was there a limit to where your determination could bring you? Were there drawbacks to being too adaptable and too accommodating of others' needs? The theme should have multiple parts and should highlight an evolution, whether it's in the way you interact with your environment, the way you treat others, or the way you think about some subject.