The Common Application is quite annoying. I have no idea what to write for the essay and unless I finish it, I can not access the supplements for the five schools I am applying to. My choices are: evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you; discuss some issue of personal, local, national or international concern and its importance to you; indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence; describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you, and explain that influence; a range of academic interests, personal perspectives and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you; topic of your choice.
These questions are so vague that I have no idea what to write about. At first, I thought I would write about the daily influence of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) in my life. But, after consulting some of my college friends, I realized that his name is taboo among much of conservative academia and would subject me to discrimination from the admissions officers. I then considered writing about the Arab-Israeli conflict in response to the international concern question, but that would subject me to negative bias as well. Now I am considering writing about seeing my first byline published and the story behind it.