Scripps is an all-women college in Claremont, California. It is one of the 5C, so students can take classes at Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer. The acceptance rate is around 25%.
Let take a look:
Why have you chosen to apply to Scripps College? (200 words)
This short Why Us prompt should explain why you want to attend an all-women college, and what specific academic opportunities at Scripps you plan to take advantage of should you be admitted. We like to start with a short story about how you discovered your academic interests, which will allow the reader of your essay to get to know you. From there, declare a major in writing. , and you should do extensive research on the offerings within your department of choice.
Write about two upper-level classes that you want to take, and be sure to include a reason why. One of the goals of this prompt is to prove to Scripps that youre already actively engaged with your intended area of study, so find classes that correlate to the things youre reading about, studying, and researching now. While youre on the homepage, find a professor who youd like to do research with. Explain why youre a good fit for their team by writing about how the things youve done in high school have prepared you to be their research assistant.
If there is anything else that is highly specific to Scripps that has influenced your decision to apply, you can include that as well. As we mentioned before, you should also include a sentence or two about why an all-women college is your ideal community. Once youve gathered all of the materials, find a creative way to tell your story with details of Scripps offerings weaved throughout.
Youll then choose one of the three prompts below, and the word count is 150-300 words.
If you could trade lives with someone (fictional or real) for a day, who would it be and why?
We have suggested skipping this prompt for the last few years, and we are standing by that advice for this application season. When you introduce other people into your essays, they should be secondary characters. The issue with this prompt is that you run the risk of writing exclusively about someone else, which would not say much about you. Another issue? Writing that you want to trade lives with someone suggests that you aren happy with your actual life. Obviously, no one is happy with every aspect of their lives 100% of the time. But your essay should be about the personality traits that you have, not the ones you wish you did. But fear not, you have better options below!
Youve invented a time machine! When and where is your first destination and why?
Much better! This is the perfect opportunity for you to shine on a light on a hobby, interest, or secondary academic interest that you have. Think about the things that youre passionate about that are not represented elsewhere in your application. If Scripps knows that youre a straight A student with a penchant for English, but theyre unaware that youre obsessed with art, tell them about which country and time period youd love to be transported to. You should only pick times and places are unique, and do not pick the most obvious thing. Instead of starting with the destination, think about the passion first and start the research process there. Once youve decided what to write about, explain why youre choosing it.
You have just been invited to give a TED talk. What will you talk about and why did you select that topic?
To successfully answer this prompt, you need two things. A topic, and a reason for choosing that topic. Again, think about the things that youre passionate about. What are you trying to become an expert in? What research rabbit holes keep you up at night? It doesn have to be academic, in fact it much better if it not. You already told Scripps what you want to major in. Youre looking for a niche topic that youve spent a considerable amount of time looking into. This prompt will work best for those students who have passions outside of school that have not been addressed elsewhere in their application.
We strongly suggest avoiding anything philosophical, such as the meaning of life. Most adults, aka the people who will be reading your supplement, do not want to hear a teenagers deep thoughts. It might be helpful to look into actual TED talks, because youll see that there is a quite a range of topics. Feel free to pick something lighthearted and/or to totally geek out, just make sure youre illuminating the link between yourself and your topic of choice.
Contrary to popular belief, your supplements are just as important as the common app essay. Take time to brainstorm, write, and edit a lot.
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