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How to Respond to the 2023/2024 University of Richmond Supplemental Essay Prompts

Cait Williams is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cait recently graduated from Ohio University with a degree in Journalism and Strategic Communications. During her time at OU, was active in the outdoor recreation community.

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

The University of Richmond supplemental essay options are anything but mainstream. They offer you several prompts and a diverse array of topics to choose to respond to. Check out our article below to learn how to choose the prompt that is right for you!

A quick look at Richmond

It’s always good to know a bit about the school you’re applying to before you answer their supplemental essay prompts . So, let’s take a quick look at the University of Richmond before we move on! 

A lot of schools put an emphasis on community, but few deliver like Richmond does! Let’s take a quick look at a few fast facts about Richmond!

 At Richmond , they are the…

• #1 ranked most beautiful campus in the United States
• #3 ranked best run college  
• #3 ranked for the best classroom experience

During your years at Richmond, the University is committed to helping you grow academically and as an individual. It’s no wonder that the University of Richmond is ranked #10 in the nation for having the happiest students !

Richmond knows that because every student is different, their path to a degree will be different too. At Richmond, you can expect to find a community ready to support you in every area you wish to explore! Now, let’s get started with the University of Richmond supplement essay!

Note: Although we have listed three prompts below, remember that students should only choose one from the list; you do not need to respond to all three!

You have a platform to create change. What is an action or policy you might propose to address an issue of social injustice in your school or local community, or on a national or global scale? (350-650 words)

Okay, how many college applications have asked you this question? Probably not many. Richmond wants to get to know you through something unique and personal. Colleges hear all kinds of responses about why students choose their major and their school, but that’s not the only way for them to get a sense of who you are. 

Through your answer to this prompt you can talk about an issue that you feel strongly about. You can give an admissions counselor a window into your world. What social issues in your community, family, or school make you want to take action?

When it comes to this prompt, don’t overthink it. College admissions counselors don’t expect you to propose a foolproof plan to solve the issue you choose to talk about. What they want to see is that you can think critically about these things and that you pay attention to the world around you, as both of those qualities will be necessary in your college journey.

Tell us about a time you learned something unexpected. What did you learn, and what happened next? (350-650 words)

This prompt also offers you an opportunity to talk about something unique and personal to you, essentially this is one of the best prompts you could ask for in terms of showing the admissions committee something more personal about yourself! 

This prompt is not only asking about things you learned academically, but rather anything you’ve learned. Maybe you want to talk about the time you learned more about your family tree and it led you to explore your family history, which led to a larger passion for studying history. Or perhaps you learned about the overflow of pets that your county has at its shelter and you decided to take action by volunteering to educate people about spaying and neutering their pets. You may have even learned a crazy fact, such as that wombats poop square poop, and that led you to want to study zoology!

Whatever it is you learned, make sure it conveys something about you that’s going to affect your college journey. After all, that’s what Richmond is looking for! Take some time to think about a few things you could talk about for this prompt. It never hurts to write about a few things to see where they go!

Check out: What are extracurricular activities and why do they matter?

Richmond welcomes students from various backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. What is at least one way you will contribute to our community that is not already mentioned in your application? (350-650 words)

The best way to choose how you’d like to answer is to think about what you want Richmond to know most about you, and what they may not already know through your application. Consider the questions below to help you start!

Questions to consider

• What is your background?
• What communities have been most impactful to you (school, where you live, communities related to your family heritage, etc.)
• Do you hold any unique perspectives related to social issues, religious beliefs, or your community?

Now that you’ve thought about your past and where you come from, it’s time to connect those things to how you will contribute to the Richmond community. So, let’s look at some more questions!

• What are ways that you contributed to your community at home?
• Are there specific clubs or organizations that you’d like to be a part of or found once you get to Richmond?
• What ways have you been poured into through your community that you would like to now give back?

This question may take a bit more work than the other two prompts, but if it can convey important information to the admissions committee, it may be well worth your time. You need to think about your past, but also something you hope to do in the future. Be honest with yourself and the admissions counselors. You may not have really thought about how you’d contribute to campus yet, but that’s okay. Take some time now to think about it. Do your research on Richmond’s website and social media accounts to see what their community is like and where you’d best fit in to be an engaged member of the community!

Key Takeaways

• The University of Richmond offers three prompts for you to choose from, of which you only need to respond to one
• Do your research about Richmond before you submit your application to demonstrate that you are serious about attending their school 
• If you have the time, you should attempt answering more than one prompt to figure out which of your essays best represents you
• Once you’re done with your college application , you can still work hard toward your college goals by applying to scholarships

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Admission Insider's Guide

Admission insider's guide.

You have one more year to plan wisely to show colleges your mastery of material, so why let off the gas pedal now? We’re not saying you can’t have fun in your last year of high school.  Of course, we encourage you to make the most of your time with your classmates. But we also want to help you to find success in the college process. We hope that these tips prove helpful as you sit down to select next year’s coursework.  

Your breath catches in anticipation as you desperately try to remember your login credentials on decision release day, finally entering the online Spider Portal only to discover…you’re deferred.

Not the news you were hoping for, no doubt. But let’s hold off on that sigh of defeat for now.

If you’re in the position of navigating the college process without an assigned college counselor, you might need to put in a little extra elbow grease to get your bearings. But the good news: there are so many free and reputable resources out there to help.  

You’ve narrowed down your college list. You’re about to put the final touches on your application. But wait – you forgot the supplemental essay! Don't panic, because we've got you covered!

You probably have many questions, and it is our job to answer them all. We want to help you discover whether UR is the right fit. However, while there are no "silly" questions, not all questions are created equal. Some don’t answer what you really want to know. Here are some ways to turn that less-than-awesome question into one that will impress your admission officer this fall.

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University of Richmond Essay Example

The University of Richmond is a top liberal arts college with a competitive acceptance, so it’s important to write strong essays to help your application stand out. In this post, we’ll share an essay a real student has submitted to the University of Richmond. (Names and identifying information have been changed, but all other details are preserved).

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our University of Richmond es say breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts.

Prompt: By the time you graduate from college, there will be jobs that don’t exist today. Describe one of them and how Richmond might prepare you for it.

Imagine this: You’re going to your doctor for your bi-monthly medical checkup. You step into the doctor’s room and sit down. He checks your blood pressure, sugar levels, and your weight. He then types the results onto his computers, hits a few buttons, and a machine alongside starts whirring. A few minutes later, it spits out a tiny pellet. This pellet contains your DNA, with all your medical history coded on it. The next time you visit your doctor, you just hand them your pellet, and they can scan it to get your full medical history. 

This concept may seem extremely far-fetched and unnecessary. After all, it’s way easier to just save it to your phone than it is to keep a pellet. However, this idea of storing data in the form of tiny pellets is beneficial. By the time I graduate from college, it is predicted that the internet will produce 463 exabytes of data per day. That is equivalent to 212 million DVDs per day! The magnetic or optical data-storage systems that currently hold this volume of 0s and 1s typically cannot last for more than a century, if that. Further, running data centers takes enormous amounts of energy. In short, we are about to have a serious data-storage problem that will only become more severe over time.  

The answer to all this is DNA-based data storage. DNA can accurately stow massive amounts of data at a density higher than electronic devices do. I believe that the key to the future is learning how to harness this data and store it. A major in Computer Science from the University of Richmond will enable me to understand how data can be coded in sequences. Moreover, a concentration in Data Science and Statistics helps me learn the concepts and principles behind understanding the vast amounts of data produced each day. I plan to leverage URichmond’s liberal arts curriculum to gain an in-depth understanding of the challenges we face in the field of data science. 

In my sophomore year of high school, I coded an app that calculated the amount of money our school made from our food fair and told us the best-selling and worst-selling items. Although this is a straightforward app, it is what introduced me to the world of using numbers for real-life applications. Since then, I have done numerous online courses in CS and Data Science. At URichmond, I’ll also have the opportunity to venture outside my comfort zone by taking interdisciplinary classes like “Introductory Econometrics”. When I read the syllabus for this class, I was intrigued by the idea of learning how to extract tangible information from numbers and applying them to the real-world economy.  

One aspect that drew my attention to URichmond was its high-quality research opportunities. The Richmond School of Arts and Science’s undergraduate research program would allow me to work with mentors, such as Dr. Jon Park or Dr. John R. Hubbard. Specifically, the Annual Student Symposium will allow me to showcase my work in a professional setting and help me gain valuable public speaking skills. I believe that this competitive environment will also be a fun motivator to push myself to grow both academically and socially. 

URichmond’s interdisciplinary approach to education and support for independent undergraduate research will optimally prepare me for a future-proof career in Computer Science and Data Science. I am eager to engage with the faculty of URichmond, and I can’t wait to start.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay has a very strong hook at the beginning that does a good job drawing the reader in and setting up the rest of the essay. The scenario of coding information in DNA pellets helped turn what could be a somewhat abstract concept for the reader into something relatable and tangible, which is especially important in an essay that asks you to image a job that doesn’t exist. The admissions officers want to see some creativity and imagination in this essay, so taking the time to describe the job without letting it overpower the essay really helped.

Another positive aspect of this essay is how it clearly shows the student’s knowledge about the topic, but still leaves room for them to learn more. There is no question that this student has researched data in the past and thought about how it will be addressed in the future. Including the statistics on “463 exabytes of data per day” and the “optical data-storage systems” leaves the reader with the impression this student is really passionate about data and would be a good fit for the computer science department. However, the admissions officers want to make sure their college can offer something to this student, so mentioning classes, professors, and programs shows that this student is curious to learn more. 

Finally, this student did a nice job of tying the two parts of the prompt together. By choosing a future job that relates to the field the student wants to study, they were able to showcase their prior high school experience in this field and describe resources at Richmond that would enhance their performance in the field one day. This essay displayed the student’s passion for their chosen topic, interest in Richmond, and creativity, which is everything the admissions committee wants to see.

What Could Be Improved

While this essay starts off with a strong hook, it falls into the trap of a traditional school supplement and becomes a bit more generic towards the end. The essay conveys why this student wants to study computer science and makes it evident they would be a good fit for any computer science department, but the admissions officers reading it want to know why this student wants to study computer science at Richmond specifically . Although Richmond-specific resources were mentioned, they weren’t very unique.

The essay mentions the student is looking forward to taking “Introductory Econometrics”, however this is a fairly basic course offered at most colleges. The student should have found a more unique computer science class that interests them that they wouldn’t have been able to find at another university. Maybe they found a class at Richmond about the ethics of big data in medicine and they feel that this would allow them to approach their idea from a philosophical standpoint to understand the feasibility DNA pellets.

Another trap this student falls into is naming two professors they want to work with without explaining why . The student says Richmond “would allow me to work with mentors”, but gives no indication to what these professors study or what project the student wants to help out on. Maybe the student learned about the professors’ research in high school and wants to ask them questions about an experiment, or maybe they want hands-on experience from recognized professionals in a highly specific field. The student could have any connection to the professors, so long as they provide justification and don’t just name-drop them.

Finally, one other way the student could have improved this essay was by connecting it back to the job they proposed at the beginning. The last paragraph isn’t very engaging as is, and just mentions “a future-proof career” but misses an opportunity for the essay to come full-circle. Returning to the creativity introduced in the hook would have left the admissions officers thinking about this student’s creativity and imagination after they finished reading.

Where to Get Your University of Richmond Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your University of Richmond essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, university of richmond supplemental essays.

Hi everyone, I'm applying to the University of Richmond and I'm wondering if any current students or recent applicants have tips for the supplemental essays? How can I make my application stand out and show that I'm a good fit for their community?

Hi! You're in luck: CollegeVine has a blog post breaking down exactly how you want to tackle each University of Richmond supplemental essay! You can read it here: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-university-of-richmond-essays.

Also remember that CollegeVine offers both free peer essays reviews and paid reviews by expert college admissions advisors. Sometimes, a second, objective set of eyes on your writing is exactly what you need to take it from good to great.

Good luck with your application!

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University Of Richmond Admission Essay Writing Guide

Application Guide

Essay examples, how to write your university of richmond supplemental essays.

Your essay is the most personal data you can give the admission officials as it contains details of who you are, your passions, skill sets, and plans. There are steps to follow if you must write a great application essay. These need to be clearly and easily understood in your essay.

Talk about yourself

The essay is the opportunity to cast the spotlight on you as a person. It is meant to provide an insight into who you’ve been and who you are at the moment. Your voice needs to be clear and reflective of deep introspection. Present all the information you feel would be important in deciding your suitability for the university of Richmond.

Your essay must be void of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. You need to sufficiently display your ability to write good essays, as university students would expect. Writing and communications are vital skills in the 21st century and important for college students. You can hire any of our writers to help you in this regard if you are not sure you can write your application statement well.

Word Count and Writing Format

Different essay formats and different schools may have different writing formats. Affirm if there is any particular format you would be required to follow. You also need to confirm the maximum word allowed for your essay. Most college application essays must have a word count of less than 650, and a few do not have limits.

Be Authentic

When you have to write to impress the reader, there can be some pressure, especially when college admission is at stake. However, refuse the urge to spice your essay with things that did not happen. Don’t state what did not occur as it did; rather, stick to the truth of what happened and be honest about how you handled yourself and the lessons you learned. Admission officials are mostly experienced at their job, and some of them can sniff lies from a lie. Being caught in a lie can be disastrous.

What can you contribute?

One of the goals of writing Richmond supplemental essays is to know what areas you can positively contribute to the school. Writing your skills and achievements is great, but not enough. There are likely other students who have unique skill sets and accomplishments. You need to write about how you can benefit the university community. You can use examples of your contributions in high school to reiterate your capacity and willingness to contribute.

University Of Richmond Admission Essay Prompts

The university has given prospective students an option of three essay prompts to choose from. You must answer only one of the University of Richmond supplemental essays 2022 as part of your application process. Your response should be between 350-650 words in length.

Tell us about the most unusual talent you have and how you have made it useful.

This is a great essay prompt, as it gives you the flexibility to write about any skill set you choose. You are not restricted to an interpersonal or academic skills; you can write about absolutely any talent. It allows you to write about an important aspect of yourself that is not written anywhere else in your application. The central theme here is the useful unique talent you have. Note that they are not just interested in you gloating about this unique trait; they are much interested in its use, both for you and for the University of Richmond.

You can talk about the impact of the talent on you, your friends, and your family. If it is something you are not comfortable admitting in public due to social or racial bias, you can talk about how you handle the pressure and the lessons you have learned. Understand that there are no wrong answers here, and you are allowed to write about any talent you have, regardless of how common it may be. You may tend more to the insights you have gathered from your experiences rather than trying to make the talent look unusual.

Spiders are essential to the ecosystem. How are you essential to your community, or will you be essential in your university community?

The ultimate goal of this supplemental essay is to describe how you will make the university of Richmond a better place just as you have made your community. It is important to note that community here does not necessarily mean your county, suburb, or city.

The word ‘community’ here could mean your circle of friends, high school classmates, club members, or any group of people you share common goals. The community here is not restricted to any particular geolocation. Having chosen the community you want to write about, you need to consider your role and the resulting impact. It is what can be replicated at the university under much different learning and housing conditions.

For example, suppose your role in your community was resolving electrical issues with appliances and gadgets. In that case, you need to consider if you would be able to continue doing the same in college without hampering your academics.

There is a general expectation that your role in the community is what you would be useful for in the university community, but you can switch things up and write about how you plan to contribute differently than your previous community when admitted to the University of Richmond. This is because contributions to your university may be a preparatory phase for your plans.

Please share one idea for actions or policies that you think would begin to address an issue of racial or social injustice.

Do you know anyone who has suffered injustice in the past, or do you have first-hand experience of social injustice? If yes, this should be your choice of the Richmond supplemental essays.

Social injustices are ravaging society, and this is an opportunity to lend your voice to a solution. To begin with, you need to understand that social issues can revolve around age, gender, race, sexual orientation, climate change, and income equality. Social problems include unemployment, housing, malnutrition, overpopulation, etc.

It might be a good idea not to have an overly liberal or conservative stance but stick with the details of your actions or policies. Avoid any extreme context. This is because the University of Richmond is a liberal college in the South. If you find this difficult, you might rather opt for another essay prompt. Write about social injustice and share your thoughts on how to address it. Stick to only one action or policy.

Explain how the injustice came to matter to you, giving details about yourself. Don’t just discuss injustice in a broad, third-party language. After all, the goal of this prompt is to know how you respond to adversity or harsh conditions.

University of Richmond Application Checklist

• Get all the required papers (Letters of recommendation, Test scores sent, High school transcript, Application Essays )
• Proofread your entire application forms, cover letters, and application essays.
• Get your application fees ready or confirm if you are eligible for a waiver
• Submit early, typically a few days before the deadline.

About the University Of Richmond

On January 2, 1843, Richmond college opened its doors to the public. It started with a total of 68 students, 3 teachers, a small endowment, and assets valued at $20,000. The salaries of the 3 teachers were $900 for the president and $600 and $500 respectively for the other two teachers. It was the story of a humble beginning, but things still took a nosedive. The school was heavily involved in the Confederate war.

The entirety of the students formed a regiment and joined the confederate army during the American civil war. The college’s building soon became a hospital for Confederate troops and then a barracks for the Union soldiers. The college’s doors shut after it went bankrupt, having invested all of its funds in the Confederate war bonds. James Thomas came to the rescue with a donation of $5,000, and the college opened again in 1866.

Dr. Frederic W. Boatwright got elected as president in 1894 and became perhaps the most influential president of the school, serving for 51 years. By 1914, Boatwright had raised funds required to move the college from its initial location downtown to the new 350-acre campus in the modern-day Westhampton area of Richmond. The school was officially renamed the University of Richmond in 1920.

We know it can be a Herculean task when applying for bachelor’s programs. It is normal to have some doubts when you have to write a college grade paper as a high school student. When you consider that the University of Richmond was ranked by Kiplinger in 2018 as the 18th best private college in the United States and ranked 22nd overall among national liberal arts colleges by U.S. News & World Report in 2021, you realize the stakes are high.

Do not fret. We have admission experts that can write an application essay that would get you into the university of Richmond; all you need to do is hire anyone of them. There are also thousands of sample essays available on our online platform that can be used for bachelor’s and graduate school applications.

The University of Richmond has more than 100 majors and minors available for undergraduates, the bulk of which is concentrated in the School of Arts and Sciences, the Jepson School of Leadership Studies, and the Robins School of Business.

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FAQ about University Of Richmond

Supplemental Essay Guide 2024-25

What do the 2024-25 supplemental essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA's experts are here to break them all down.

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A Guide to Creating a Successful Application

During the conversation of college admission, often the question arises, “What can I do to stand out?”. Typically, the underlying assumption is, “What can I do to standout…in a good way”. While there are many aspects of an application that are desirable, compelling, and interesting to read, there are equally as many blunders students can make when crafting their application.

Admittedly, when asked about the “best” in an application, my mind usually recalls the worst. We read a lot of good, great, and neutral, but what stands out is usually a bummer, a disappointment, or a missed opportunity.

Let’s start with what may seem obvious, getting the name of the college or university correct. It is no secret you are applying to other schools. We get it. However, it is best to make sure you are proofreading your essays (and your emails) to ensure you are name-dropping the right place. My recommendation, avoid it in the main part of the application. The return on investment in dropping the college or university into your application essay is not worth needing to edit the essay every time you submit your application to a different school. Save it for the supplemental area of the application, when you may be addressing a school-specific essay or short answer prompts. Here you can showcase your knowledge of a college in a productive way, and this challenges you to dig deeper as to why you are interested in attending. If your essay is general enough that you can copy and paste a multitude of colleges throughout your response, then it probably isn’t a strong essay.

Example: “I have been thoroughly impressed by Richmond University’s outstanding academic reputation, diverse community, and commitment to excellence in education.”

While a college name-drop misstep won’t be the one thing that influences your admission decision, it is a bummer to read. Take the extra minute to remember who you are speaking about and who you are speaking to, and avoid this pitfall.

Attention to detail and concerted effort elevate your application. Think strategically about using each section of the application to build your narrative. The activities section, additional information section, personal essay, and supplement are all areas you have direct control over at this moment, while your transcript and test scores are essentially set, so use these areas wisely to expand the story of “you”. For example, you have the ability to write two to three sentences describing each activity and your role. As a reader, it can be disappointing to encounter an engagement list with titles only and utilizing the space tell us a little bit more can go a long way.

Continue that effort into the supplemental essay. These prompts can often point to the values and mission of an institution, so we are curious to read your reflection. Glossing over the supplement signals a lack of intention, and you want your application to be a narrative of intention. Don’t skip the opportunity to tell us more.

The window to make an impression is short, so you might as well strive to make a good one. Or at least, not a bad one. While, there are plenty of tips and tricks out there in the white noise of admission advice, time, care, and attention to detail are the foundational elements of creating a successful application. You got this!

Essays That Worked

The essays are a place to show us who you are and who you’ll be in our community.

It’s a chance to add depth to something that is important to you and tell the admissions committee more about your background or goals. Below you’ll find selected examples of essays that “worked,” as nominated by our admissions committee. In each of these essays, students were able to share stories from their everyday lives to reveal something about their character, values, and life that aligned with the culture and values at Hopkins.

Read essays that worked from Transfer applicants .

Hear from the class of 2027.

These selections represent just a few examples of essays we found impressive and helpful during the past admissions cycle. We hope these essays inspire you as you prepare to compose your own personal statements. The most important thing to remember is to be original as you share your own story, thoughts, and ideas with us.

Ordering the Disorderly

Ellie’s essay skillfully uses the topic of entropy as an extended metaphor. Through it, we see reflections about who they are and who they aspire to be.

Pack Light, But Be Prepared

In Pablo’s essay, the act of packing for a pilgrimage becomes a metaphor for the way humans accumulate experiences in their life’s journey and what we can learn from them. As we join Pablo through the diverse phases of their life, we gain insights into their character and values.

Tikkun Olam

Julieta illustrates how the concept of Tikkun Olam, “a desire to help repair the world,” has shaped their passions and drives them to pursue experiences at Hopkins.

Kashvi’s essay encapsulates a heartfelt journey of self-discovery and the invaluable teachings of Rock, their 10-year-old dog. Through the lens of their companionship, Kashvi walked us through valuable lessons on responsibility, friendship, patience, and unconditional love.

Classical Reflections in Herstory

Maddie’s essay details their intellectual journey using their love of Greek classics. They incorporate details that reveal the roots of their academic interests: storytelling, literary devices, and translation. As their essay progresses, so do Maddie’s intellectual curiosities.

My Spotify Playlist

Alyssa’s essay reflects on special memories through the creative lens of Spotify playlists. They use three examples to highlight their experiences with their tennis team, finding a virtual community during the pandemic, and co-founding a nonprofit to help younger students learn about STEM.

More essays that worked

We share essays from previously admitted students—along with feedback from our admissions committee—so you can understand what made them effective and how to start crafting your own.

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Our interactive workshops—on topics like the college search process and essay preparation—will help you build your strongest application when you’re ready to apply.

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