college essay guy essays

63 episodes

Practical, up-to-date interviews with experts in college admissions, financial aid, personal statements, test prep and more. Ethan Sawyer (aka College Essay Guy), interviews deans of admission, financial aid experts, and veterans of the admissions field to extract, then distill their advice into practical steps for students and those guiding them through the process. From creating an awesome college list to appealing a financial aid letter, Ethan skips the general advice and gets right to the action items, all in an effort to bring more ease, joy and purpose into the college admissions process.

The College Essay Guy Podcast: A Practical Guide to College Admissions Ethan Sawyer

4.6 • 198 Ratings
APR 9, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 7A): Recommendation Letter Crash Course for Students and Families

This week, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) is joined by Ayesha King (Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles) to talk about letters of recommendation. They get into: What goes into a letter of recommendation? How are they evaluated by colleges? Who should students consider asking, and how do they ask? What can students and families do to ensure that their letters are the best they can be? What are FERPA rights and why should you waive them? Ayesha King (she/her) has over twelve years of experience in admissions at the secondary, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels, developing her values of social justice, equity and access. She is currently the Director of College Counseling at the International School of Los Angeles (LILA), a French International school, where she is stretching her skills working with students considering post-secondary options all over the world. She holds her Bachelors degree from the University of Redlands and her Masters degree from California Lutheran University. Ayesha loves spending time with her two boys and two dogs, visiting Disneyland, and talking about pop culture. This is the next episode in our series on What Colleges Want. Stay tuned for our upcoming episode about writing letters of recommendation for teachers and counselors. Tom will be joined by Hanah Lim (CEG’s Director of Workshops and a former high school English teacher), where they provide their tips, tricks, and hacks to help you write more efficient and effective letters for your students. Play-by-Play 2:49 - How important are letters of recommendation to admissions officers? 5:55 - Why might it be called a “Letter of Advocacy” instead? 7:19 - When would a letter of recommendation make a big impact on a student’s application? 13:38 - Should students also share this important context if it’s already in their recommendation letter? 15:35 - How can students determine how many letters to request? 19:49 - What is being said in these letters? 26:38 - Which teachers are typically the best to ask for a recommendation letter? 29:51 - Why should students consider asking a teacher from a class they struggled in? 30:47 - What can students do to help their teachers & counselors write the best letter possible? 36:06 - What information should students share with their recommenders? 39:20 - How should students ask for a letter once they have determined who to ask? 44:41 - Do students ever see their letters of recommendation? 48:24 - Closing advice for parents & students Resources How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for College: Step-by-Step Guide for Students CollegeTransitions Blog Post - College Recommendation Requirements Podcast Ep. 505 - What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) How to Write a Successful Common App Activities List How to Use the Common App Additional Information Section: Guide + Examples 100 Brave + Interesting Questions Pedro Pascal Cries From His Head While Eating Spicy Wings

MAR 26, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 6): Demonstrated Interest: What Is it, Why Is it Important, and How Do You Show it? with Dean of Enrollment Christine Bowman

On today’s episode, Ethan is joined by Christine Bowman, Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern University. In part 6 in our series on What Colleges Want, Ethan and Christine get into: What is demonstrated interest and how do colleges track it? How important is demonstrated interest to a student’s chance of getting in? How might students find out if a particular school considers demonstrated interest in their admission review? What are some practical ways you can demonstrate your interest to colleges? Christine Bowman is the Assistant VP for Admission at Southwestern, where she oversees the admission department to set enrollment and retention philosophies. She has a Masters in Higher Ed Administration from UT-Austin, was the Co-Chair for the 2007 NACAC National Conference in and has served two terms as the Chair of the Colleges that Change Lives Board of Directors (see last season’s episode with Ann Marano for more on CTCL’s work). She currently serves on the advisory board of ROCA-NM (Rural Opportunities for College Access) and, with almost 30 years of experience in the admission profession, Christine believes in guiding students to find the right college fit and regularly gives presentations encouraging a stress-free college search process. We hope you enjoy the conversation! Play-by-Play 2:15 - What is demonstrated interest? 5:00 - Why might demonstrated interest be important to colleges? 8:22 - What is yield? 11:24 - How can students demonstrate interest for a particular school? 15:17 - What can colleges track? 18:52 - For whom does demonstrated interest matter most? 23:47 - How to “break up” with a college 27:05 - What are some practical tips for students as they reach out to a college? 30:10 - How might an admissions officer use demonstrated interest? 32:58 - What ways can students demonstrate interest without visiting campus? 37:24 - What is the difference between early action, early decision, and regular decision? 40:25 - How important is the college interview? 48:10 - What can parents do to support their students during this process? 53:02 - Closing advice for parents, students, and counselors Resources A Behind the Scenes Look at Demonstrated Interest w/Christine Bowman (Southwestern University) What is Demonstrated Interest? A Practical How-To Guide Factors in the Admission Decision (NACAC Report) How to Decide Whether to Apply Early Action (EA) or Early Decision (ED) College Interview Tips and Strategies - The Ultimate Guide CEG Podcast Episode 411: Finding Your Why, What a Liberal Arts Education Really Is, and How to Figure out What You Actually Want w/ Ann Marano (CTCL)

MAR 12, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 5): A Crash Course in the Supplemental Essays + Application with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 5 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about some of the other written parts of the application—the activities list, additional information section, and supplemental essays. Tom and Ethan get into: How can students write a great Activities List? How can you find out what colleges are looking for in the supplemental essays? And what even is the additional information section? What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how might it be useful? How does a student know when their application is complete? Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel. Play-by-Play 1:09 - What are the other writing components of a college application? 5:26 - How can students write a great Activities List? 9:33 - Does the order of the activities matter? 11:41 - Are activities from 9th and 10th grade worth putting in the Activities List? 13:37 - When should students elaborate on Activities in their Additional Info section? 17:05 - What else can go into the Additional Info section? 23:14 - What are some things to avoid putting in the Additional Info section? 24:41 - How should students format the Additional Info section? 26:19 - Why do some colleges have supplemental essays? 27:31 - What are some of the most common supplemental essays prompts? 34:11 - How might institutional priorities impact an individual applicant? 44:14 - What is a ‘Super Essay’ and how is it used? 49:12 - How does a student know when their application is complete? Resources How to Write a Successful Common App Activities List How to Use the Common App Additional Information Section: Guide + Examples My College List (Research + Essay Topic Tracker) School-Specific Supplemental Essays Why This College Essay Guide + Examples How to Combine Your College Essay Prompts (To Save 20+ Writing Hours) What the Heck are "Hooks" and "Institutional Priorities"? The Values Exercise CEG Podcast Episode 101: Life As an Undocumented Student at Harvard CEG Podcast Episode 504: What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

MAR 5, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 4): A Crash Course in the Personal Statement with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy)

On this week’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) sits down with Ethan Sawyer (College Essay Guy) for Part 4 in our What Colleges Want series to talk about the personal statement. According to the latest State of College Admission report – after grades, course rigor, and positive character traits (see previous episodes), the college essay is what colleges care about most. Tom and Ethan get into: What is the purpose of the personal statement? How do you find a topic, especially if you’re not writing about challenges? Why do I recommend students NOT choose a common extracurricular activity as their main college essay topic? How do you stand out? And how do you know when you’re done? Fun fact: You’ll find the YouTube video version of this podcast on the College Essay Guy YouTube channel. Play-by-Play 1:38 - What is the purpose of the personal statement in the college admission process? 2:53 - How might students use this statement for multiple schools? 3:48 - Should students talk about challenges they’ve faced in a personal statement? 6:47 - Should students talk about their major or career goals? 8:33 - Where is the best place to discuss extracurricular activities? 10:20 - Should students explain red flags in their personal statement? 11:26 - How can students brainstorm potential topics for their personal statement? 17:56 - What is the structure of a personal statement? 21:11 - How can students stand out? 28:57 - Case Study: What does the process look like from brainstorming to final draft? 35:39 - How does a student know when their essay is done? 38:27 - Is there a place for artificial intelligence in the college essay? 41:47 - have personal statements shifted since the Supreme Court ruling on Race-Conscious Admissions? 44:04 - Why does the personal statement process matter? 49:14 - Closing thoughts Resources YouTube Video version of this episode (504) Sample personal statements 7 Brainstorming Exercises (YouTube video) The “Food” essay (YouTube video analysis) The Great College Essay Test Why You Don’t Have to Write about Trauma in Your College Essay to Stand Out—and What You Can Do Instead Matchlighters Informaiton CEG Podcast Episode 404: Race-Conscious Admission Was Struck Down—What Does This Mean and What Can Students and College Counselors Do? w/ Jay Rosner Is It “Okay” to Talk About Race in Your College Application and Essays—And If So, How Should You Do It?

FEB 13, 2024

What Colleges Want (Part 3): "Positive Character Attributes": What Are They, and How Do You Show Them in Your College Application?

In today’s two-part episode, we’re delving into one of the potentially more confusing aspects of what colleges want — “positive character attributes” — which 65.8% of colleges give considerable or moderate importance. In part 1, I’m joined by Tom Bear (VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology) and Bob Massa (former chief admissions/enrollment officer at Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Drew University) to discuss: What are these positive character attributes? Why are they important to colleges? How do colleges decide which qualities to seek and how to evaluate for them? How do students show these qualities in their application? Part 2 is with Trisha Ross Anderson, from the Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Making Caring Common Project, and we get into: How Making Caring Common helps colleges figure out what they are looking for How some colleges are working to increase access and equity in admissions Advice to parents as they navigate this process with their students Tom Bear has been working in college enrollment since 1987 at a variety of institutions, including as VP for Enrollment at University of Evansville, Senior Director of Enrollment at Notre Dame and now as the VP for Enrollment at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He joined the Character Collaborative in 2017, served as Board Chair and will chair NACAC’s Character Focus Initiative. Bob Massa got his Doctorate in Higher Education from Columbia, served as the chief admissions/enrollment officer at Johns Hopkins University, Dickinson College and Drew University and Co- founded the Character Collaborative in 2016. Although he has retired from full-time work after 45 years of campus-based work, he is an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California’s online masters program in enrollment management. Trisha Ross Anderson has served on research teams at the Harvard Graduate School of Education for the past 13 years. She’s worked with the Making Caring Common (MCC) Project to help write reports including one called Turning the Tide that focuses on reform of the college admission process. She leads MCC’s college admissions initiatives with Richard Weissbourd and currently serves on NACAC’s Character Focus Initiative Advisory Council. Play-by-Play 0:00 - Meet Tom Bear and Bob Massa (Part 1) 2:12 - What do colleges mean by “positive character attributes”? 3:55 - What are some examples of these “positive character attributes”? 4:58 - Why is it important for students, parents, and counselors to think about these qualities? 7:16 - How do colleges decide what qualities they’re looking for? 12:04 - How do colleges evaluate students for these qualities? 13:09 - Example of a rubric on extraordinary commitment to others 19:10 - Why don’t colleges share their rubrics for what they’re looking for? 21:18 - What can students do to better understand what a particular school is looking for? 24:08 - How do colleges evaluate “character” in an applicant? 29:58 - What is the high school profile and how is it used in a student’s evaluation? 31:20 - Why is it important to think about positive character attributes now? 35:56 - How can students demonstrate these qualities in their college applications? 40:00 - What can parents do to help their students in this process? 42:01 - Meet Trisha Ross Anderson (Part 2) 43:09 - What is the Making Caring Common (MCC) project? 44:37 - How is MCC working with colleges? 46:17 - Why is it difficult to create a rubric for these qualities? 48:16 - How is MCC helping colleges decide on what they are looking for? 52:45 - How is MCC helping colleges to increase equity and access in the college admissions process? 57:33 - Advice for parents on navigating this process with their students 1:01:31 - Closing thoughts Resources Making Caring Common Character Assessment in College Admission Guide Turning the Tide (2016): Insp

JAN 24, 2024

502: What Colleges Want (Part 2): A Deep Dive into GPA, Course Selection, and Making the Most of the Academic Opportunities Available to You

On today’s episode, Tom Campbell (CEG’s Community Manager) and Nitzya Cuevas-Macias (Director of College Programs at Downtown College Prep) cover: How do students decide which classes to take—and what questions should they ask when deciding? Key recommendations for selecting English, math, science, social studies, language, and elective courses The most frequently asked questions we get asked about courses and grades Nitzya Cuevas-Macias was a first-gen college student at UC Berkeley where she studied History and Legal Studies, and earned her Master’s in Mexican American Studies from San José State. She’s been working in education for 16 years where the majority of her time has been in college access and success, in the CBO, non-profit world, k-12 public and charter, and community college. Currently, she is the Director of College Programs at Downtown College Prep, a free public charter in San José, CA and serves as a board member of the Western Association for College Admission Counseling. We hope you enjoy! Play-by-Play: 2:21 - Introductions 6:02 - What are key things to keep in mind when planning your high school experience? 10:21 - Subject area recommendations 11:40 - English 16:04 - Math 21:34 - Science 28:02 - Social Studies 31:11 - Languages 33:06 - Visual/Performing Arts 36:17 - Electives 36:39 - Rapid-fire FAQs about grades 37:43 How do colleges evaluate my course grades and transcript? 38:22 - Is it important to only get Straight-As to have a chance? 40:29 - How do colleges evaluate my GPA? 42:05 - How can students balance a high GPA with challenging courses? 44:28 - Should students increase their rigor every year? 45:23 - Is it a good idea to take additional summer or online courses? 49:43 - How important is class rank? 51:19 - Should I pick Honors, AP, IB, or Dual Enrollment? 54:17 - Are AP and IB scores important if my school doesn’t offer AP courses? 57:28 - How do I know what classes to take if I don't know what I want to study or where I want to go to college? 59:59 - Wrap up / closing thoughts Resources: Coursera UC Scout Episode 403: AP, IB, Honors, Oh My!: How Admissions Officers View Your High School Courses, Rigor, and School Context - Susan Tree Episode 213: Self-Directed Learning (Why You Can Quit HS & Be Okay) What are AP classes? IB vs AP Easiest AP Classes Hardest AP Classes

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University of Washington (UW) 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision:

Regular Decision Deadline: Nov 15

You Have:

University of Washington 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: One 500 word essay (required), one 300 word essay (required), one 200 word essay (optional). Supplemental Essay Type (s): Oddball , Community , Additional Info

At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.

Please note that the uw essay questions must be answered within our application. for the common app, that means within our uw questions. we do not consider the common app essay., essay prompt, tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it. (650 words max).

You can think of this prompt as the slightly more general cousin to the Common App’s first prompt, which is about your background. You can write about almost anything in your life experience that has shaped who you are today. But maybe you feel like you used your best story in your personal statement. What to do? Your goal is to reveal a different side of yourself, so try thinking in opposites! If your personal statement was about your family, maybe this essay could focus on school or work. If your personal statement was about your leadership skills, could this essay cover a time when you let someone else lead the way and learned something new? As you begin to zero in on the area of your life that you haven’t tapped into yet, think about how your past experiences still resonate in your life today. Maybe your summer job as a lifeguard taught a new sense of personal responsibility that has made you more attentive in your day-to-day life. Maybe an ill-fated childhood attempt to drink an entire carton of milk taught you how to balance enthusiasm and moderation in every major project you take on. The experience itself can be big or small, but its connection to who you are today must be clear. UW wants to know who you’ll be on campus, so show them!

Short Response

Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the university of washington. (300 words).

Ah, the infamous “community” essay. Many schools ask students about their communities because they want to know how applicants relate to the people around them, forge connections, and commune with their peers. In this particular instance, the question calls attention to family as well, so consider how the people who you are related to (or those who you consider family even if they’re not bound to you by blood) have influenced your life and worldview. Maybe you’re very involved in your local synagogue, polka dancing club, or environmental organization. University of Washington wants to know about your life beyond the classroom and how you will continue those activities and interests on their campus. Why do you invest in the people you invest in?

Additional Information About Yourself or Your Circumstances (200 words)

You are not required to write anything in this section, but feel free to include additional information if something has particular significance to you. for example, you may use this space if:, -you have experienced personal hardships in obtaining your education, -your activities have been limited because of work or family obligations, -unusual limitations or opportunities unique to the schools you attended.

This prompt is an opportunity for you to explain just about anything else that you haven’t covered elsewhere on the application. Usually, we recommend this type of optional essay only to students who have experienced a major academic strain or have had noticeable blemishes on their records. One example could be the explanation of a complication, like an illness that caused you to miss school and impacted your grades. Perhaps your family moved around a lot, which made it hard to transfer grades or connect with your peers. Maybe an undiagnosed learning disability caused you major challenges in school until you learned how to cope with it. UW’s prompt covers these circumstances, and invites responses from applicants who feel that their unique circumstances are not represented elsewhere in their application.

Additional Space (Optional) (200 words)

You may use this space if you need to further explain or clarify answers you have given elsewhere in this application, or if you wish to share information that may assist the office of admissions. if applicable, be sure to include the question number to which your comment(s) refer..

Admissions is giving you one more opportunity to address anything that needs to be addressed. If you feel inclined to answer, think about what else might admissions officers might want or need to know about you. You have an additional 200 words at your disposal to speak to them in your own voice, so use them as long as what you’re writing isn’t simply filler — if that’s the case, it’s better just to leave this blank.

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How to Write the Carleton College Essays 2023-2024

Carleton College is a small liberal arts college in Minnesota that ranks among the highest of its kind, meaning that writing strong essays will be essential to standing out as an applicant.

Carleton’s supplemental essay prompts generally revolve around the school’s sense of community and inclusion, and your responses should reflect your desire to be a part of that community. While there may not be a standard “ Why This College? ” supplement, each essay choice will in some shape or form ask you to envision yourself as a Carleton student, and admissions representatives are looking for students who want to continue the school’s mission of serving the community and one another.

Want to know your chances at Carleton? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Carleton College Supplemental Essay Prompts

Prompt 1 : Please share your thoughts on one (1) of the following prompts, in no more than 300 words.

Option A : Carleton’s community plan for inclusion, diversity, and equity aims to nurture and develop an even stronger community where students, faculty, and staff belong and thrive. How might you contribute to a sense of belonging at Carleton?
Option B : Before graduation, every Carleton student completes a senior project, known as “comps.” Comps projects take many different forms: a few recent examples are formal research papers, public presentations, and even a live staging of theater production. Based on your current academic interests, what type of comps project or topic would you explore, and why? (No pressure, we won’t hold you to this!)
Option C : Traditions at Carleton center around building and appreciating community. Some examples include the new student frisbee toss, Friday flowers, and baking cookies at Dacie Moses House. If you were tasked with creating a new Carleton tradition, what would you propose and how would you emphasize community within your idea?

Prompt 2 : Anything missing? Do you want to share more with us? If so, use this space to fill any gaps you think would assist us in reviewing your application. (Optional, no more than 250 words.)

Carleton admission staff provide helpful essay tips on their admissions website. This is great advice for writing college essays overall. They encourage students to see the essay as an opportunity to share information that won’t be found elsewhere in your application and to show who you are beyond test scores and GPAs.

Be genuine. Write what you want to say, not what you think they want to hear.
Answer the question.
It is an essay, so remember to come up with a thesis, an introduction, body, and ending.
Don’t set out to write the perfect admission essay. Write the best essay for you.
Proofread. Errors and misspellings are distracting. Take the time to create a clean, error-free essay.

Residential liberal arts colleges like Carleton know that students have a better experience and greater success when they feel that they belong at their school. This is especially true for smaller colleges where students and faculty know each other by name. These prompts give admission staff an opportunity to get to know you as a person and how the Carleton community might be a good fit for you.

All of these options will require some introspection on your part. You may even surprise yourself as you consider these prompts.

Prompt 1, Option A

Carleton’s community plan for inclusion, diversity, and equity aims to nurture and develop an even stronger community where students, faculty, and staff belong and thrive. how might you contribute to a sense of belonging at carleton (300 words).

This prompt references Carleton’s EDI Action Plan, which emphasizes Carleton’s commitment to fostering a community that stresses equity, diversity, and inclusion. The first thing you should do when preparing to answer this prompt is to brush up and read about that action plan, which can be found in full and in a more-concise brochure format .

Essentially, Carleton hopes to create an environment in which everyone has equal access to educational resources regardless of race, gender, financial status, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, and so on. As a result, this is a great prompt to answer if you feel your personal identity aligns with this mission statement or if you wish to share how your perspective could continue the progress Carleton is hoping to achieve.

We recommend that you write about your background or identity that you feel has given you a unique perspective on this prompt. Even if you feel as though you don’t have something new to add to the conversation, that may prove to be untrue as you begin fleshing out your response. Everyone, regardless of their community and identity, has a unique set of experiences and thus a unique perspective, so as long as you can lean into that in your response, your answer will certainly be your own.

First, describe your chosen background and how it has shaped your identity. You can write about family members, traditions, friends, holidays, cultural practices, and even things as simple as food. Just make sure that they are genuine experiences that you’ve had and avoid sweeping generalizations about a people or a culture that may sound unauthentic. And don’t worry about spending too much time writing about this, this is primarily helpful to provide context to the admissions representative who may be less familiar with your background.

The primary goal of this response is not just to describe your background and identity, but to show the admissions representative how you plan to continue a sense of inclusion and belonging within the wider Carleton community. That can be for both students who identify similarly to you as well as those who wish to engage further.

Perhaps you plan to put together a multicultural group on campus for South Asian students. Or maybe you’d love to spotlight international films that you grew up with from your immigrant parents. Maybe you’re a first-generation college student who wants to connect with fellow first-generation students on campus to help new first-generation students transition into the campus community. Whatever your idea may be, the admissions representative wants to see that you’re passionate about your background, ambitious, and committed to their EDI cause.

Remember to keep it unique and authentic to your experiences. This will have the most impact on your application. You want your final response to feel as though only you could’ve written it, so reflect on what you want your college experience to be in relation to your background and identity, and write about how you can help determine that for others.

Prompt 1, Option B

Before graduation, every carleton student completes a senior project, known as “comps.” comps projects take many different forms: a few recent examples are formal research papers, public presentations, and even a live staging of theater production. based on your current academic interests, what type of comps project or topic would you explore, and why (no pressure, we won’t hold you to this) (300 words).

This question allows you the opportunity to speak candidly about your interests and your goals – they can extend beyond what you may already have experienced in high school and can be as ambitious as you want them to be. In fact, we recommend shooting for the stars. It’s that sense of ambition that the admissions representative is hoping to see in your response.

Regardless of what field or area of study you are interested in, there will most likely be something that can serve as a capstone, or in this case a “comps”. Think of the comps as a final project that serves as a comprehensive example of all you have learned, compounding the skills and knowledge you have garnered over four years of college into one final swan song.

As they state in the prompt, you’re not tied to whatever you choose, so think of a project you would create if any of your high school teachers gave you full autonomy. While you shouldn’t write about trying any hyperbole like finding a cure for cancer or solving world hunger, you can certainly write about crafting a research paper about cancer or working in the public health department to develop strategies to combat global famine.

Remember, you’re not pitching a project to them, but rather explaining why you would want to complete your chosen comps. If you want your final project to be a staged reading of an original play, describe how you want to elevate your narrative writing in college and want to be able to complete a full-fledged work with a performance component that can represent how your understanding of theatre has grown.

The admissions representatives are looking for driven and ambitious admits who have hopes, dreams, and intentions to use a college experience to help achieve them. This is your chance to show off what you hope to do with your college experience, and leave your mark not only on your future but also on Carleton’s campus and community.

The more specific you are in your response the better – having a clear goal in mind, even if you’re not completely sure of what you want your project to be, will leave a lasting impression on your admissions reader. Write about what you want your process to look like, how you want your project to engage with the community, and basically anything else that can paint a vivid picture of your aspirations.

Prompt 1, Option C

Traditions at carleton center around building and appreciating community. some examples include the new student frisbee toss, friday flowers, and baking cookies at dacie moses house. if you were tasked with creating a new carleton tradition, what would you propose and how would you emphasize community within your idea (300 words).

This can be a tougher question to answer, as it requires you to assess a community that you are not yet familiar with. However, admissions readers are not looking for the next big Carleton tradition to snatch up, rather they want to see your commitment to engaging with the Carleton community and the traditions that come with it. They want to see how you hope to build and add to the community at the school, as well as how you can use creativity to engage a wider student body.

This will require some critical thinking and inventiveness, so the first thing you’ll want to do is conduct a brainstorming session. Take a couple of minutes, whether you type it or handwrite it, and jot out any idea that comes to mind. It’s likely that the idea that you will choose for your essay will come from this list.

Also make sure to look more into Carleton’s current traditions, as you don’t want to accidentally suggest something that already exists! It can also help you get a feel for the kind of tradition that might fit best at Carleton.

Think back on your high school experiences. Are there any community events from your high school you want to carry forward to college? Are there any events you wish your high school had had? What about personal events during your life? Are there any that could be applied to the campus at large? Think about Carleton as a Midwestern school. Are there any Midwestern traditions you hope to bring to Carleton?

Remember that these essays are ultimately meant to tell Carleton something more about you as an applicant, so don’t be afraid to suggest something related to your interests.

For example, maybe you plan to play in the orchestra and want more students to experience orchestral music in a casual setting. You might suggest a spring festival that takes place at the Carleton Arboretum. There could be live music by campus music groups, games planned by each dorm in a bracket-style tournament, and international foods catered by the culture clubs. This event would expose students to the diverse range of music at Carleton and have students from all kinds of groups working together to make the festival a success.

Your tradition is meant to inspire that sense of community, so aim to create one that brings all students together and makes them feel present on the Carleton campus.

Remember to keep in mind that Carleton is a small liberal arts college that doesn’t come with the same mass of athletic spirit as larger public universities might, so try not to write about something like tailgating or rallying the student body for a game.

Additionally, you’ll want to avoid general community events such as game days as well as anything that may just be a national-wide college tradition like leaving your dorm room door open on the first day to meet your hall. Feel free to do research on other schools’ traditions, but be careful not to directly copy or paraphrase the traditions of any other. Look into Carleton’s culture and think about what kind of community-building activities would find a good home there.

Anything missing? Do you want to share more with us? If so, use this space to fill any gaps you think would assist us in reviewing your application. (Optional, no more than 250 words.)

However, if you feel as though there is something about your identity or about why you want to go to Carleton that is important to your application, don’t hesitate to include it here. Here are some examples of details you may wish to write about here:

Unusual circumstances or hardships (financial hardships, first-generation status, illness, tragedy, etc.)
Family responsibilities that may have prevented students from taking traditional extracurriculars
Unique extracurricular that wasn’t written about in another part of the application outside of the Activities section
Describing your identity in the context of race, gender, or LGBTQ+

This prompt is going to be on an extremely case-by-case basis, so do what feels right for you and remember that you don’t have to embellish anything about yourself or your life in an attempt to make it sound more interesting to an admissions reader. They really just want to get to know you as your authentic self, so if you do choose to answer this prompt, make sure that you’re doing it in a manner that is genuine and honest.

Also, even though this prompt has a 250-word limit, feel free to only write a few short sentences if that feels more appropriate to you.

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