There is scholarship funding out there, quite a bit of it; the trick is finding it, and knowing how to apply. We’ll lead you through the stories of a number of our students, and how we helped each of them find scholarships that met their collegiate needs. Let’s get started!

Need Based Scholarships

The first student we’ll look at is Henry, one of our Laurel Scholars students. Henry was a smart and talented student, but was entirely unable to afford college tuition. We helped him find and apply to schools with generous need-based aid. Here’s how that worked: 

Step One: Building a List

Some schools offer generous need based aid, while other colleges want to, but lack the financial resources. With Henry, we only applied to colleges that promised to meet full demonstrated need, and focused our efforts on need-blind schools. These schools examine applications with no concern as to whether or not you can pay, and seek to admit the most qualified students regardless of their financial circumstances. 

Henry’s list focused heavily on these schools, and also had a secret weapon: . 

We’ve written about Questbridge before, but to sum up, it is a program which allows students with demonstrated need to apply to top colleges, and if they are admitted, they are guaranteed a full scholarship, including all expenses. The choice of schools you can apply to is limited, and the application more extensive than the Common App, but if you qualify, you should make use of this resource. 

In addition, there is no limit to the number of schools you can apply to through Questbridge in the regular decision round, and many of them require fewer supplemental essays than they do through the Common App. This allowed Henry to fill out his list with a number of target schools without needing to compose additional supplemental essays.

Step Two: Independent Scholarships

While Henry was well positioned to earn need based scholarships from the schools on his list, he also applied for the Gates Scholarship. Here, the same traits that made him a competitive applicant for top schools propelled him to the final round of evaluating scholarship applicants.

The Gates Scholarship, and other top independent scholarships, are looking for students with truly incredible academic performances, who have taken the time to give back to their communities, and show true passion for academic subjects. Henry fulfilled this in spades. He was the top performing student at his high school, worked as a tutor, and began a popular online group to prepare for math competitions. 

Step Three: Evaluating Offers

Henry received full ride scholarships to a number of top schools; Harvard, Yale, MIT, Columbia, Dartmouth, UPenn, and more. The aid offers were all equally generous, which afforded him the chance to pick the school which best fit his goals and personality. 

Why This Worked

So what about Henry’s application made him so attractive to these colleges, and what caused them to award him with scholarships? 

• Financial need. Top colleges, including the entire Ivy League, don’t offer merit scholarships. That said, anyone earning under $150,000 per year will qualify for need based aid at most of these schools. 
• Academic excellence. As financial need is the only barrier to get the scholarships, the other measure Henry had to meet was getting into these schools. His excellent academic record and extracurriculars, coupled with our help polishing his essays, proved remarkably effective here. 

Merit Scholarships

Merit scholarships are another case; not all schools have generous need based aid, and not all students who hope to attend college qualify, though they may actually want funding assistance with college, the schools they apply to may not cooperate. We work with students like this all the time at �ԹϹ���; let’s look at how John managed to get multiple major scholarship offers. 

Step One: Building a College List

John was a great student, with high grades and top test scores, but he wasn’t interested in applying to Ivy League schools. He wanted two things out of college: a great business program, and a school that would offer him some form of financial aid. With this in mind, we worked to create a list of schools. 

His list had two components. The first was a group of reach schools; top business programs at competitive schools. These schools often did not have much in the way of generous aid packages, but were prestigious enough that John would consider attending them even without an aid offer. 

The second component was a group of slightly less prestigious, though still quite good, business programs. These were from large state schools, flagship institutions looking to attract top academic talent who more often turned them down to attend the Ivy League. They are willing to offer merit scholarships to woo these students, and draw them to attend their institution instead.

Step Two: Honors Colleges

As part of helping John apply, we worked on his applications to honors colleges. These offer far better merit aid than schools at large; indeed for many public schools the best scholarships are directly tied to honors colleges. While the applications to the schools themselves are often easy, without burdensome supplemental essays, the honors colleges are more likely to ask for the kinds of essays and experiences normally expected by Ivy League schools. 

Even outside of honors colleges, some merit scholarships require their own supplemental essays, above and beyond what is required simply to apply to the school itself. These scholarship funds are seen as an investment by the school in question, and they want to do their due diligence on you, to make sure they’re choosing their investments wisely. 

Step Three: Understanding Awards

John was admitted to a number of schools, which allows us to explore an important point: what aid awards look like from colleges. Some schools admitted him, but offered no financial aid at all, such as UC Berkeley. As an out of state student, he would be on the hook for the full tuition (plus room and board) if he chose to attend. 

An honors college at a less prestigious state school offered John a full ride scholarship, plus housing in the honors dorm as part of its aid package. Other colleges offered merit scholarships as well, in levels of generosity. 

Be aware when reading merit aid offers that they are generally directly tied to your academic performance at college. Some are also only offered to freshmen, as a hook to entice you to attend. There are further scholarships offered to upperclassmen, but these are not automatic. We helped John avoid a few offers like this. 

In the end, John examined his offers, and went to an honors college at a flagship state school, one which offered him $15,000 a year in scholarship money. This was not the largest aid offer he got, but their program directly fit his future interests the best. 

Final Thoughts

Between them, Henry and John received well north of a million dollars in scholarship offers, despite being very different students, with different circumstances, needs and wants. Regardless of your circumstances, scholarships for college can be found, though which ones you qualify for, and should pursue, will differ based on you and your own personal circumstances.
We hope this article has given you insight into how finding and applying for scholarships works, and what it looks like when you do. If you want to hear how we can help you, with this or any other aspect of college applications, schedule a free consultation today. We have a deep experience meeting students where they are and giving them the right help for their situation, and we’re always happy to hear from you.

The post How to Earn a Million Dollars in Scholarship Offers appeared first on �ԹϹ���.

The post How to Earn a Million Dollars in Scholarship Offers appeared first on �ԹϹ���.

Of course, once you get to college and actually begin work on your major, your mind can change. Maybe some other topic catches your eye, or you fall in love with some esoteric field. Are you then stuck with the major you applied as?

In most cases the answer is no, though what is actually involved in changing your major varies greatly between colleges. In this article, we’ll examine what it entails at each of the top 20 colleges in the US (these change every year, so more than 20 schools are listed, just to be safe), and whether this may be something you can take advantage of. Let’s get started!

When and Why this Matters

Some schools, like UT Austin, separate majors into different colleges (McCombs School of Business contains the Finance and Management majors, Cockrell School of Engineering contains the Mechanical Engineering and Petroleum Engineering majors, etc). These separate colleges have separate admissions criteria and rates. Applications to universities with multiple undergraduate colleges are generally first read by the university’s general admissions committee, then by the college’s subcommittee. For example, applications to the University of Michigan are first read by the general admissions office, then by the Ross School of Business Committee. The committees for the most popular programs (pre-med, computer science, engineering, business/economics) tend to be far more selective than general committees.

Other schools, like Harvard, contain all majors within one college. All applications are read by the same group, not divided up by major. However, even at schools like Harvard that contain all majors within one college, some majors have higher admit rates than others.

For the first group – schools that separate majors into different colleges – students must apply to the college which contains the major they want. For the second group – schools that contain all majors within the same college – students can take the more strategically-optimized approach of applying to a less desirable, “undersubscribed” major and then transferring later.

Pre-vocational  programs like business and engineering will always be oversubscribed and among the most competitive majors. General Admission and Liberal Arts Schools, while still quite competitive, allow students to pick any major they want and then transfer majors freely once in college.

How to Change your Major at Brown

Brown doesn’t even require students to declare a major in the first place if they don’t want to. They have a number of you may choose to take; choosing to end one and embark on another may be done using the same process as normally, requiring a meeting with an advisor and the submission of an online form.

Brown’s main concern when declaring or switching a concentration is that you will still be able to graduate on time. Some classes may be limited in the number of seats available, but this won’t impact declaring a concentration.

How to Change your Major at Caltech

You won’t declare a major at all until the third quarter of your freshman year; before that all students take the same core curriculum. Changing a major within your academic division requires a meeting with your advisor. Changing majors between divisions at Caltech requires filing a petition, but this is usually approved. The primary concern when switching majors is whether you will be able to graduate on time. We recommend taking time during your core classes to decide firmly what you want to major in.

How to Change your Major at Carnegie-Mellon University

Changing majors within your college at CMU is generally quite easy, requiring a meeting with your advisor. Changing majors to Computer Science specifically requires an . Changing majors between colleges has different procedures for , but generally requires an application. Spaces are not guaranteed for internal transfer students, and most schools have GPA minimums for prospective internal transfers.

It is possible to add an additional major in a school you are not part of, though your selection of majors is limited in some circumstances, and requires the permission of the department you are trying to add a major in. Additional majors are available in ; the school of computer science only offers an additional major in .

How to Change your Major at Columbia

It is easy to change your major within your school at Columbia, either within Columbia College or Engineering. For both schools, you declare your major in your sophomore year. This is all done , except for Comparative Literature, Medical Humanities, and the Special Concentration in Business Management, all of which require a separate application. To change majors within either school, you fill out the , and bring it to the Center for Student Advising.

Changing majors between the College and Engineering requires applying for an internal transfer between these schools. This is less common, and follows the same application process as an external transfer (though there is no application fee). It is easier to transfer from Engineering into the College than the reverse. Generally, only a few students do this each year.

How to Change your Major at Cornell

It is generally straightforward to change your major within a college at Cornell, requiring you submit a form with your advisor. Each school handles internal change of majors on its own. The main concern when changing a major within a school is that you will still be able to graduate within four years. You can generally only add a second major in the college you are in.

Changing majors between schools requires an application for . Each college within Cornell has their own requirements for these transfer applicants. Some specific majors have additional requirements on top of this, to make sure you are sufficiently prepared for the coursework they require.

How to Change your Major at Dartmouth

You are not able to declare a major at Dartmouth until your second year, regardless of what you applied as. This may be done , the major concert the college has is that you have a plan to graduate on time. You may add a second major this way as well. Changing or dropping a major may also be done ; your request will be processed by the department you are trying to change into. Again, the primary concern is whether you have a plan to graduate on time; if you already have most of the prerequisite courses needed for a major, switching is not difficult.

How to Change your Major at Duke

Changing your major within your current college at Duke is remarkably easy. It may be done by submitting a form to the university registrar. While you must submit a plan when you originally declare a major, you do not need to do so when changing your major. 

Declaring a major in the college you are not currently part of requires applying for an . You must meet with an academic dean and then apply online in order to do so; these applications are competitive, and space is limited. Note that it is equally difficult to transfer into and out of Engineering.

How to Change your Major at Emory

You cannot declare a major until the end of your freshman year, and must declare one by the end of your sophomore year. You may change your major within your college quite easily, this only requires meeting with your advisor. Emory’s unique design as a university also makes it easy to change majors between colleges.

All students at Oxford college transfer to another school within Emory after their sophomore year, and Goizueta only accepts students after their second year; they have an 80% acceptance rate for these internal transfer students. There is an application required, but it is not a difficult one. Note that transferring after this second year shift period is generally impossible, as you would be unable to finish your degree in four years.

How to Change your Major at Georgetown

Declaring or changing a major within your college is , requiring a meeting with an advisor and an online form. The goal is to ensure that you will be able to graduate on time. You may also add a second major in the school you are in without hassle. 

Changing between schools at Georgetown requires an application for internal transfer; the requirements for this vary by school (, , ). In each case, you must have a full year of school completed at Georgetown already, applying in Spring of your freshman year or during your sophomore year. The application is accessible online.

How to Change Your Major at Harvard

First, Harvard calls them concentrations, rather than majors, though they function the same. You declare your concentration in your second year, and may change it . This requires meeting with the departmental advisors of the concentration you are attempting to join. Their main concern is whether you will be able to graduate on time.

How to Change your Major at Johns Hopkins

It is within your school at Johns Hopkins, requiring a meeting with your departmental advisor. Arts and sciences students are not able to declare a major at all until the end of their freshman year; engineering students enter with a declared major, and must meet with an advisor to change it. You are never able to change your major into biomedical engineering.

You are able to declare a second major in a college you are not part of after a meeting with your advisor. Some majors are space dependent, and you may not add biomedical engineering as a second major. There are limits to prevent your second major being too close to your existing major.

How to Change your Major at MIT

Changing your major at MIT is quite , requiring a meeting with an advisor to go over what courses from your previous major may be applied to your new major. You also need to meet with the departmental advisor for the new major. Their goal is to ensure you will be able to graduate on time.

How to Change your Major at New York University

It is generally quite easy to change your major within your school at NYU; indeed, you are not required to declare a major until the end of your freshman year. This requires filling out a form, and meeting with a departmental advisor. Note that specifically is more difficult to declare a major in.

may be applied for after your first year, and require a full application, though there is no application fee. Students in the core program in liberal studies may only transfer after they complete that program. Artistic programs require a portfolio or audition. You may alternatively add a major in even if you aren’t a member of the school. This includes computer science, though spaces are limited.

How to Change your Major at Northwestern

It is easy to change your major within your school at Northwestern, requiring filing a form . If you are in one of the specialized schools, you may add a second major in the College of Arts and Sciences, but the reverse is not true. While you can take classes at another school, you may not add a specialized major.

require you to be in good academic standing. The procedure is slightly different for each school you are trying to transfer into, but always requires a meeting with an advisor from the school. Entering specialized schools is often space dependent, as there are so many open seats in courses available. A request for inter school transfer resolves at the end of your current term.

How to Change your Major at Notre Dame

Changing majors at most schools at Notre Dame, and between most schools, is quite easy, requiring a meeting with your . Some majors require you to have sufficient academic preparation in order to enter them, to ensure you will be able to graduate on time.

Mendoza college of business is generally only entered by incoming freshmen. A small number of internal transfer students are accepted each year. You may apply as an as an enrolled first year student. This requires a meeting with your advisor, an online form, and a short essay response.

How to Change your Major at Princeton

While Princeton used to refer to these as concentrations, they recently changed that (). You must first decide whether you are completing a BSE or AB degree; AB students declare majors in their second year, while BSE students declare majors in their first year. Once you have declared a major, it is very difficult to switch. You may also declare an independent major, but doing so requires demonstrating that no existing options will allow you to undertake the course of study you want, and that you have a coherent plan for what you will study.

How to Change your Major at Rice

You must declare a major by the end of your second year at Rice, this requires filling out a form , and meeting with an advisor. You may add a second major in the same way, and follow the same procedures to drop a major. After your third year, you must always have at least one major declared (which means you must add a new one before dropping your current one).

How to Change your Major at Stanford

Declaring a major may be done , but requires approval of the department you are declaring the major in. You must declare and be approved for a major before adding a second major or a minor. You may change majors by adding a new major, and then dropping your original; make sure you add the new major before dropping the previous, to ensure a continual access to university resources.

How to Change your Major at Tufts

Declaring a major within Tufts is . You may transfer between the schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, so long as certain are met. You may not transfer into the BFA program. Transferring is relatively straightforward so long as students meet the course prerequisites. Changing majors within a school is relatively easy.

How to Change your Major at UC Berkeley

You apply as a specific major at UC Berkeley, and are admitted as that major. Changing afterwards may be done within your college, but is difficult for ; these vary by college. Changing to a non-high demand major is a simple GPA check, while a high demand major requires a comprehensive review.

Changing colleges is another process, and requires an internal transfer application. This is separate for each college at Berkeley, and each has its own requirements. Trying to transfer in to apply to a high demand major is even harder. All internal transfers are space dependent.

How to Change your Major at UCLA

You can apply to UCLA as a specific major, or undecided, but always apply to a school within UCLA. If you are undecided, you must select a major during your freshman year. You may to change your major within your school with the registrar’s office. Some majors which are highly popular are restricted for this; you should contact the departmental advisors for your major of interest to learn about any additional requirements to transfer into a major. 

Changing majors between colleges requires transferring to the school where the major is offered. This is difficult, and requires an internal transfer application. This is based on availability. 

How to Change your Major at UC Santa Barbara

UC Santa Barbara admits students by major, but you can petition to change this major you enroll in the school. Some majors are open to be changed into, while others, such as the entire college of engineering, require spaces to be available, which they usually are not. 

It is relatively easy to change your major within a college. Changing majors between colleges requires a for arts and sciences, and a full application for . They caution that not everyone who wants to will be able to change majors, because it is space-dependent. Transfer students are unable to change colleges into engineering.

How to Change your Major at UChicago

The deadline for is the spring quarter of your third year, but students are encouraged to declare a major by the end of their second year. You should consult with the department head before declaring a major, to make sure you will be able to fulfill all of the requirements in time to graduate. Changing your major once you have declared one requires the same procedure. Some courses are capped, which may limit the availability of certain majors.

How to Change your Major at the University of Florida

You may choose a major with a consultation with your advisor. Changing majors meeting with the dean of the college you are attempting to declare a major in, as well as your current advisor. Some majors may have limited space, and they want to be sure you will be able to graduate on time.

How to Change your Major at the University of Michigan

Changing majors within a college at UMich is quite easy, meeting with the departmental advisor of the major you want to join. Depending on your college, you may come in with a major declared, or declare a major by the end of your second year at Michigan. CS students are encouraged to apply specifically as interested in the CS major, due to its popularity.

Adding a major in another college requires completing a . The requirements and difficulty of this application vary by your intended school and major. It is much harder to transfer into Engineering or Business than Liberal Arts and Sciences (though transferring into is also particularly competitive). 

How to Change your Major at UNC Chapel Hill

It is generally straightforward to or change a major, you must do so by the end of your sophomore year. If you want to declare a major in a professional school (including business), you must do so earlier. You must also apply to the school in question after having declared your intent to major there.

Computer science requires a in order to major in. You must have taken the necessary prereq courses to apply, and spaces in the program are limited. Students must be admitted to the program in order to take upper level courses in computer science.

How to Change your Major at UPenn

Changing your major within a college, like or , is quite easy. Generally you do not declare a major until your second year, and can change it by filing a form online. There are some majors you cannot change into, notably Digital Media Design and Networks and Social Systems Engineering. These are limited enrollment, and must be applied to.

Changing your college at Penn requires an . This must be applied for, and spaces are limited. Students in Arts and Sciences and Engineering may add a in the other school, this requires permission from an advisor. You may also do this with a second major in Wharton, but this requires an application. Note that a second major in engineering will not qualify you to take the certification exam required for engineers.

How to Change your Major at USC

The University of Southern California has both majors. You may add an open major in your college at any time, while a competitive one must be applied to, and in some cases has caps on the number of students who can enroll. You can switch majors within your school using the same process.

Changing schools at USC is more difficult. Some, like the business school, require you to apply for an . USC’s Viterbi School of engineering has for students to transfer into it from other schools at USC. If you want to major in engineering, you must apply to Viterbi as an incoming freshman.

How to Change your Major at the University of Virginia

It is quite easy to within your school at UVA, and to change one once you have declared. In each case, you will need to have completed prerequisite courses, and have a clear plan to graduate on time, but advising exists to help you with this. Some majors, especially competitive ones, have minimum GPAs required to apply for them.

Adding a major in another school requires applying for an . This process is competitive, and depends on your academic standing and the room available in your desired new school and major. Each school at UVA has their own requirements for an internal transfer. 

How to Change your Major at Vanderbilt

You may at Vanderbilt during your second year, and it is the same process to declare a new major or change your major. You must have a major by the end of your sophomore year. This requires filing an online form, and may require speaking with an advisor. This only applies to changing majors within your school at Vanderbilt.

You may to transfer between colleges at Vanderbilt. You must be in at least your sophomore year and in good academic standing to do this, must complete an application, and must meet with the dean of your intended school. This is the only way to take a major not in your college.

How to Change your Major at Wake Forest

Students generally declare their major during their at Wake Forest. If you wish to major in anything related to business, you will need to apply to the . Changing majors after you declare is difficult but possible, and requires meeting with the departmental advisor from the new major. You need to be in good academic standing, and have a plan to graduate on time. They do note that some majors are more popular than others, and space is not guaranteed in the most popular majors, including computer science, though they do not mention hard caps.

How to Change Your Major at Washington University in St. Louis

It is relatively easy to change your major within your school at WUSTL, requiring approval from your departmental advisor (who will sometimes want a meeting with you). Their goal is to ensure that your plan is sound, and that you will graduate on time. at WUSTL requires meeting with the dean, and receiving permission from both schools. You will also need permission from the departmental advisor of the major you are entering. You must be in good academic standing to change schools.

You may add a second major in some schools without an internal transfer. and data science both offer this as a route to pursue these majors. These are intended for students in Arts & Sciences with an interest in these fields who want to complement their existing major.

How to Change your Major at Yale

Generally, students at Yale declare their major during their second year. You may do this by logging into the student portal and ; you may change your major later in your time at Yale in the same way. A small number of majors require an application or have other requirements to undertake them, find these all . Most majors only require the initial process.

Final Thoughts

Each college has their own policies for declaring and changing majors, based on their internal organization and priorities. This can be confusing for students trying to compare different colleges; we hope that this article has given you an overview of some of the different methods colleges use, though it is by no means exhaustive.

Your major is a big choice, but you don’t need to know for sure what you need to study in high school, especially if you apply to colleges which allow you to have the freedom to change your major as your interests change. This is something to keep in mind when you are building your college list.

If you are looking for help choosing your major, or building a college list that will work well for you, schedule a free consultation to learn how �ԹϹ��� can help. We have a long experience advising students on every aspect of college admissions, and we’re always happy to hear from you.

The post How to Switch Majors at Top-30 Colleges appeared first on �ԹϹ���.

The post How to Switch Majors at Top-30 Colleges appeared first on �ԹϹ���.

The supplemental essays colleges ask for are a constant challenge for students. We have created the essay guides to help with this, analyzing past essays from �ԹϹ��� students who successfully answered these prompts. Of course, colleges do sometimes change up their prompts, but the guidance on what they’re looking for remains true.

This admissions cycle, however, many colleges have introduced new prompts. Some have completely overhauled their applications, while others have simply added one new prompt. While a degree in turnover is expected, this is many new prompts. In this article, we’ll break down what these prompts are, why so many colleges have introduced new prompts, and how to go about answering the most common of them. 

Why so Many New Prompts?

As we discussed in a previous article, the Supreme Court has ended the practice of affirmative action in college admissions, declaring it unconstitutional. That said, they did still allow colleges to consider a student’s unique experiences and circumstances, and use those to make admissions decisions, so long as race itself was not the deciding factor, and they did not use these as a proxy for race. 

What colleges are doing becomes clear in light of this. They want to maintain diverse classes, with statements published widely to that effect, but can no longer consider race directly. Therefore, they are introducing new questions to gain further insight into your circumstances and background, and to learn how you may contribute to diversity on their campus. 

Not all colleges are asking new prompts like this, and not all are making their prompts mandatory, but this is a noticeable shift. You are likely going to have to answer at least one essay on diversity if you are applying to top colleges this year, so we will cover how to approach these questions at the end of this article. 

New Supplemental Essay Questions

Some schools already had prompts which touched on the topic of diversity, and so have not added new ones for this admissions cycle. Others introduced new prompts beyond diversity. We’ll let you know what new prompts to expect, and give brief advice on answering them, if they are something unexpected. Colleges are organized alphabetically, for your convenience. 

Babson: 

• A defining element of the Babson experience is learning and thriving in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives and interests. Please share something about your background, lived experiences, or viewpoint(s) that speaks to how you will contribute to and learn from Babson’s collaborative community.

Brandeis:

• Brandeis was established 75 years ago to address antisemitism, racism, and gender discrimination in higher education, and today, the university remains dedicated to its founding values of inclusivity and justice. How has your educational experience shaped your perspective on these values? (250 words)

Brandeis is a distinctly Jewish university, though you do not need to be Jewish yourself to attend.

Boston College:

• In her November 2019 Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background.  Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them?

This is just one of multiple prompts offered; you do not need to answer this one specifically.

Brown:

• Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)

Columbia:

• A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. Tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia’s diverse and collaborative community. (150 words or fewer)
• In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not predict or anticipate. It is important to us, therefore, to understand an applicant’s ability to navigate through adversity. Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have faced and discuss the personal qualities, skills or insights you have developed as a result. (150 words or fewer)

Columbia has two new questions, both of which relate to the central theme, though in different ways. Barrier and challenge essays are less common than strict diversity ones, but we will see more of them as we continue. 

Cornell: 

• In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, Ezra Cornell wrote, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” For over 150 years, Cornell University has remained deeply committed to Ezra’s vision. Explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a learning community devoted to “… any person … any study.” We encourage you to think broadly about your life experiences, including how local (e.g., family, school, neighborhood) or global communities you’ve been part of have helped shape your perspective

Emory: 

• Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness
• Emory University has a strong commitment to building community. Tell us about a community that you have been part of where your participation helped to change or shape the community for the better.

These are both optional; Emory gives you two sets of prompts, and makes you choose one from each to answer. You do not need to speak to diversity if you have nothing to say; we will cover when you should consider answering one of these prompts more in the next section.

Harvard: 

• Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard? (200)
• Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you. (200)
• Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. (200)
• How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? (200)
• Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. (200)

Harvard has changed all of their prompts, though some only slightly. They have also expanded the word count, and increased the number of questions they ask. As Harvard was one of the main targets of the suit, it makes sense that they greatly restructured their supplemental questions. For advice on answering the roommate question, see our guide to Stanford, which asks something similar. 

Johns Hopkins:

• Tell us about an aspect of your identity (e.g. race, gender, sexuality, religion, community, etc.) or a life experience that has shaped you as an individual and how that influenced what you’d like to pursue in college at Hopkins.? (This can be a future goal or experience that is either academic, extracurricular, or social).  300 word limit. 

This question is asking two completely unrelated things, and you will need to answer both. They want to both understand some aspect of your identity, and what you want to study at Johns Hopkins. This would work better, and be easier to answer, as two distinct questions.

Notre Dame: 

• What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community, etc)?  Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community? (150 words)

This is one of several questions you can choose to answer, and is not required.

Rice:

• Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice? 500 word limit.

This essay is one of two possible prompts you can answer. The other also deals with community, but is the same essay they have used in the past. We believe this new prompt is a direct response to the Court’s decision.

Stanford:

• Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (250)

Don’t worry, Stanford is still asking their notorious roommate essay questions as well, this is merely a new addition.

Tulane: 

• Describe why you are interested in joining the Tulane community. Consider your experiences, talents, and values to illustrate what you would contribute to the Tulane community if admitted. (250 words)

This is a major change, because Tulane, until this year, asked for a far longer essay. This change seems less due to the Supreme Court decision, though it may have impacted the form the new question took. Instead, this seems a realignment in how Tulane is handling admissions.

UChicago:

UChicago has new essay prompts each year, as their uncommon essay always changes. These do not relate to the new Supreme Court ruling, and should be answered as UChicago’s particular brand of weird essays always are. You can find these prompts .

UNC Chapel Hill: 

• Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged.
• Discuss an academic topic that you’re excited to explore and learn more about in college. Why does this topic interest you? Topics could be a specific course of study, research interests, or any other area related to your academic experience in college.

UNC was the other school named directly in the lawsuit, and like Harvard has completely revamped their prompts. They used to have multiple options, which students could choose two of to answer. Now, they have only two prompts, and all applicants must answer both.

UPenn:

• Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)

This one doesn’t follow the trend of the other new prompts, but is an interesting form for an essay to take. This essay should still tell readers something about you, so we recommend discussing how the person impacted your life positively. Note that it specifically says someone you have not yet thanked; thus parents and other close family members should be out.

Wake Forest

• Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person’s dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou’s powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community? (150 words)

This essay, along with all of the supplementals for Wake Forest, is optional. We recommend all students answer them anyway.

Washington University St. Louis:

• Discuss a fresh perspective or opinion you brought to a collaborative setting or project.
• Describe a community you are part of, and your place in it.
• Tell us how your identity has impacted the way you view or interact with your community.

All of these have a 250 word limit. The essay is now optional, and you may choose any of these prompts to answer. You may also submit a 90 second video, either in place of or alongside whichever essay you choose to complete.

How to Answer These Questions

While not all of these schools are asking the same thing, a clear trend can be seen in the kinds of questions they are asking. While the exact phrasing differs, most of these questions seek to supplement what was lost in the Supreme Court decision, and to gain an understanding of how your circumstances shaped the person and student you are. 

These are all forms of diversity questions, and can be intimidating for many students to answer. The trick is understanding what these schools mean by diversity, and using that to write a compelling essay. 

These schools care about more than race; they want a diversity of views and experiences, things that can only be learned through living, and then shared with your peers at college. Here are examples of diversity and experience which shapes you, and which can be used to answer these questions: 

• Your ethnic or racial identity. This is the most straightforward, and what many people think of when they hear the term diversity. This can focus on any aspect of your identity, and how it has shaped your view of the world around you, and what unique outlooks it has given you. 
• Your geographic origin. Especially if you are from somewhere that most people are not; thus writing about a small town in North Dakota often works better than writing about being from NYC.
• Your gender or sexual identity, especially if it has significantly impacted your view of the world, and your experiences in it.
• Your cultural identity. Culture is a broad and slippery thing, surrounding everything humans do, and each of us is shaped by the culture we are born into.

For all of these, the trick is not to focus on the identity itself you are writing about, but about how this particular aspect of your identity shaped your view of the world, and gave you unique insights you can share with the university’s community. 

When to Answer a Diversity Essay

A few of these questions are optional; merely one of many you may decide to answer. Whether to answer one is then a strategic decision. There are a few factors to consider when deciding whether or not to answer one of these questions: 

• Could you respond to one of the other prompts with an essay you’d already written, saving you the time to write a whole new essay?
• Will you have to write more diversity essays, and is it worth it to have one written specifically for these prompts?
• Have your experiences shaped you significantly, and is sharing these worthwhile for a supplemental essay? 

We have written about the challenge of trauma essays before, and in some cases diversity essays may be an extension of this. Don’t think you need to answer one of these questions, but it can give admissions officers a look at another side of you, and give them insight into how you would contribute to their school they would not see otherwise.

Final Thoughts

The essays are one of the most challenging parts of any college application, but they are also among the most important. They are your best chance to speak directly to admissions officers, and let them know who you are, and how you can contribute to their campus. These new prompts are an attempt by colleges to help students communicate exactly that, spurred on by the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Of course, writing is a difficult process, one you don’t have to go through alone. �ԹϹ��� are experts when it comes to crafting the perfect essays, to allow you to tell your own story, and show off to colleges who you are. If you want to hear how we can help you with your applications, schedule a free consultation today.

The post Colleges Introduce New Essay Prompts for 2023 appeared first on �ԹϹ���.

The post Colleges Introduce New Essay Prompts for 2023 appeared first on �ԹϹ���.