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How to write the amherst college essays, updated for 2023-2024.

Choose one of the following quotations, and respond to the question posed, in an essay of not more than 350 words. It is not necessary to research, read, or refer to the texts from which these quotations are taken; we are looking for original, personal responses to these short excerpts. Remember that your essay should be personal in nature and not simply an argumentative essay.

Prompt 1: “Amherst College is committed to learning through close colloquy and to expanding the realm of knowledge through scholarly research and artistic creation at the highest level. Its graduates link learning with leadership—in service to the College, to their communities, and to the world beyond.” – from the Mission of Amherst College

What do you see as the benefits of linking learning with leadership and/or service? In your response, please share with us a time where you have seen that benefit through your own experience.

Explanation:

In responding to Amherst College’s supplemental essay prompt, which asks you to reflect on the benefits of linking learning with leadership and/or service, it is essential to convey a deep understanding of the institution’s mission and demonstrate your alignment with its core values. The prompt also calls for you to share a specific example from your own life to illustrate this connection.

First, consider how your experiences and values align with Amherst College’s commitment to learning, leadership, and service. How have you used your knowledge and skills in service of your community? Why is Amherst’s commitment to service and community a driving factor in your own interest in the institution? You might express your enthusiasm for an educational environment that values the holistic development of its students, emphasizing the synthesis of academic pursuits, leadership, and community service.

Then, you should share a specific experience from your life that illustrates the benefits of linking learning with leadership and service. This should be a time when you actively partook in a service project or leadership role that allowed you to apply your academic knowledge and skills to make a meaningful impact. For instance, you might recount a time when you took a leadership position in a community service project that was closely related to your academic major or interests. Describe how your academic insights enhanced your ability to lead the project effectively, and how the project, in turn, benefited the community. Be sure to highlight what you learned from this experience, both academically and personally, and include specific and demonstrable results (these may be qualitative through community response or quantitative through funds raised or volunteers mobilized).

Finally, link this experience not only to your personal growth but also to the way that you intend to continue positively impacting your broader community in the future. Doing so will demonstrate your leadership skills as well as the type of community member you will be on Amherst’s campus.

Prompt 2: “We seek an Amherst made stronger because it includes those whose experiences can enhance our understanding of our nation and our world. We do so in the faith that our humanity is an identity forged from diversity, and that our different perspectives enrich our inquiry, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our community, and prepare students to engage with an ever-changing world.” – from the Trustee Statement on Diversity and Community

In what ways could your unique experiences enhance our understanding of our nation and our world?

To answer this prompt effectively, you should first consider your background, personal experiences, and perspectives. Consider the various aspects of your life, experiences, and identity that make you unique. Think about your cultural background, family history, personal values, and formative experiences; then, make a list of the key factors that have shaped your identity. In your response, clearly articulate how your unique experiences align with and reinforce Amherst College’s commitment to diversity and the belief that diverse perspectives enrich the academic environment.

Rather than offering vague or general statements about diversity, provide one specific example from your life experiences that demonstrates your potential to enhance the understanding of your nation and the world. For instance:

• Share an anecdote about an event, relationship, or encounter that was profoundly influenced by your unique perspective or background.
• Discuss a cultural tradition or practice that is significant to you and has broadened your understanding of cultural diversity.
• Reflect on a time when your unique experiences provided a different perspective on a complex issue or challenge.

Finally, demonstrate that you understand the reciprocal nature of this exchange. Just as you can enrich the understanding of others, acknowledge how your experience at Amherst can further develop your own understanding of different perspectives. This mutual exchange of knowledge and growth is at the heart of Amherst’s values.

Submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should not submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay. Also, if you have submitted an analytical essay in response to the “essay topic of your choice” prompt in the Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir writing section, you should not select Option B.

If you are/were an applicant to Amherst’s Access to Amherst (A2A) program, you may use your A2A application essay in satisfaction of our Writing Supplement requirement. If you would like to do so, please select Option C. However, if you would prefer not to use your A2A essay for this purpose and you want to submit a different writing supplement, select either Option A or Option B. Option A, Prompt 2 is the same prompt as the A2A application essay; if you would like to submit an updated version of your A2A application essay, please choose Option A.

Please note that Option C is available only to applicants to Amherst’s A2A program. Non-A2A applicants must choose either Option A or Option B.

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Amherst College 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Decision: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 6

You Have: 

Amherst College 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations 

The Requirements: One essay of 300 words, a series of optional short answers

Supplemental Essay Type(s):   Activity , Diversity , Essay of choice

Optional additional identity information: The questions below provide a space for you to share additional information about yourself. This information is used in the admission process to understand each applicant’s full context, as part of our whole-person review process. Your responses will be kept private and secure, and will not be used for a discriminatory purpose. 

If you would like to share more about yourself that is not captured elsewhere in your application, please tell us more here. (maximum: 175 words).

Amherst is giving you an opportunity to further distinguish yourself from other applicants—not with amazing test scores or impressive grades, but by painting a more detailed picture of who you are. Think about activities you enjoy, places that give you peace, or aspects of your personality or background that you haven’t discussed in your application yet and tell that story. Maybe you’d like to write about your experience growing up in a military family, competing in the Junior Olympics, or playing Mancala with your grandpa. The options are endless! Just be sure to tell admissions something about you that they don’t already know.

Do you identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community? If you wish to share this information, please complete the following question: If you wish to share more about your LBGTQ+ affiliation, please use the space below. (Maximum: 75 words)

Amherst wants to admit a diverse class of students and takes seriously its commitment to making the campus a safe space for all. That said, this short essay response is entirely optional, so please don’t feel pressured to respond if you identify as LGBTQ+ but aren’t ready to be out to admissions yet. Any response you choose to give here will not make or break your admission; it’ll just add another facet to your application.

Please briefly elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience of particular significance to you. (Maximum: 175 words)

Activity essays like this one are more common than participating in icebreaker activities during your first week of college. All things considered, the hardest part is selecting the activity you want to write about! So, we return to our favorite mantra: tell admissions something they couldn’t learn from anywhere else in your application. If you wrote your Common App essay about your time walking dogs for your local animal shelter, focus on a different activity or work experience that reveals a new aspect of your personality. This can be a great opportunity to highlight your leadership skills and any awards or special recognition you may have received throughout high school. Were you nominated for an award after going undefeated with your doubles tennis partner? Were you asked to manage a team of volunteers at the food pantry based on your community-minded reputation and leadership skills? No matter what you choose, it should probably be something you’ve been involved in for a while, so you can demonstrate your growth and the impact that you have had on others.

If you have engaged in significant research in the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences or humanities that was undertaken independently of your high school curriculum, please provide a brief description of the research project: (Optional) (50-75 words)    

There’s not a lot of room for embellishment in this brief prompt. So only answer it if A) you have actually done research that fits the bill, and B) you haven’t already written about it in detail. (In the first prompt of this supplement, for example.) If your work meets the criteria, don’t worry about getting too clever with your description. In fact, you’ll do yourself a favor if you adhere to the standard academic practices around presenting research in your chosen field. If it’s scientific or medical research, cover the bases of a report: research question, methods, and results (with special emphasis in anything you found particularly interesting or central to your experience). If it’s in the social sciences or humanities, a basic synopsis that focuses on your main argument will do. Once you’ve filled in the basic details, you might consider giving a little background on how you came to participate in this extracurricular research: how did you get connected with the lab or program? This small narrative element will help you show admissions that you’re motivated, engaged, and already out in the world impressing people.

In addition to the essay you are writing as part of the Common Application, Amherst requires a supplementary essay from all applicants. There are three options for satisfying Amherst’s supplementary writing requirement: Option A, Option B or Option C. You may select only one of these options. Before deciding, carefully read the descriptions of all three options.

Option a: choose one of the following quotations, and respond to the question posed, in an essay of not more than 350 words. it is not necessary to research, read, or refer to the texts from which these quotations are taken; we are looking for original, personal responses to these short excerpts. remember that your essay should be personal in nature and not simply an argumentative essay..

Before you even get to the quotations, there’s a lot to take in about Option A, so let’s take a breather. Don’t let the seemingly academic nature of this assignment fool you; at the end of the day, Amherst admissions is still looking for a personal story.  

Prompt 1: “Amherst College is committed to learning through close colloquy and to expanding the realm of knowledge through scholarly research and artistic creation at the highest level. Its graduates link learning with leadership—in service to the College, to their communities, and to the world beyond.” 

– from the mission of amherst college, prompt 1 question: what do you see as the benefits of linking learning with leadership and/or service in your response, please share with us a time where you have seen that benefit through your own experience..

This option is perfect for students who have a strong background in volunteering, community service, and leadership. If that’s you—great! In your response, make sure you focus on how learning has translated into leadership or community service. Maybe you were a junior camp counselor for at-risk youth and observed how your senior counselor adjusted their approach to each camper based on what they learned about them. Perhaps you started volunteering at an animal shelter and quickly realized you had a lot to learn about animal care, eventually using what you learned to train other volunteers. Make sure you articulate what you see as the benefits of connecting learning with leadership and how you will use this knowledge as a member of the Amherst community.

Prompt 2: “We seek an Amherst made stronger because it includes those whose experiences can enhance our understanding of our nation and our world. We do so in the faith that our humanity is an identity forged from diversity, and that our different perspectives enrich our inquiry, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our community, and prepare students to engage with an ever-changing world.” 

– from the trustee statement on diversity and community, prompt  2 question: in what ways could your unique experiences enhance our understanding of our nation and our world.

This is a Diversity Essay in disguise, perfect for students who have a unique background, identity, or interest that has impacted how they interact with the world. Maybe you grew up on a working farm and look forward to using your experience to educate your peers as an EcoRep in your dorm. Perhaps you’ve lived all over the world because your parent was in the Foreign Service and you bring a fresh perspective on American imperialism. You could also write about your race, nationality, or any other aspect of your background, personality, or experiences. Make sure to focus on not only what makes you unique, but also how that has primed you to educate your peers and make your mark on Amherst’s campus.

Prompt 3: “Strong commitment to the freedom of inquiry lies at the heart of Amherst College’s mission to create a home in which the liberal arts may flourish. As a small residential liberal arts college that prides itself on the ability, curiosity, and diversity of its students, Amherst seeks to create a respectful environment in which members of its community feel emboldened to pursue their intellectual and creative passions.”

– from the amherst college statement of academic and expressive freedom, prompt 3 question: tell us about an intellectual or creative passion you have pursued; what did you learn about yourself through that pursuit.

This prompt is perfect for students who have a creative or intellectual passion outside of their classwork that has been a major part of their lives thus far. Maybe you’ve taken coding courses through your local community college and used those skills to build an app for your uncle’s deli. Perhaps you love musical theater and perform every year with the summer stock company in your town, taking on increasingly larger roles. Whatever you choose to write about, make sure the focus is on what you learned about yourself. Maybe you realized that you have a deep-seated desire to utilize your skills to help others. Perhaps you always considered yourself clumsy but discovered you could dance, improving your self-confidence in the process. Through this prompt, Amherst seeks to understand what inspires you and how that inspiration has changed you. To finish it up, tell admissions how you will continue to pursue this passion as an Amherst student. 

Option B: Please submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay. If you have submitted an analytical essay in response to the “essay topic of your choice” prompt in the Common Application writing section, you should NOT select Option B. 

Okay, we’ll keep it short. Although this is technically an option, the wording should make it clear that admissions is really angling for a response to option A. We only see two sets of circumstances where an applicant might want to consider option B: (1) if you somehow procrastinated to the eleventh hour and have no time to write an original essay or (2) you have written something you are so proud of that it could have won an award (and maybe it did). Just make sure it is what admissions is asking for (a persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological, or historical evidence)⸺if not, you’re better off scrambling to write a response to one of the Option A prompts!

Option C: If you are/were an applicant to Amherst’s Access to Amherst (A2A) program, you may use your A2A application essay in satisfaction of our Writing Supplement requirement. If you would like to do so, please select Option C. However, if you would prefer not to use your A2A essay for this purpose and you want to submit a different writing supplement, select either Option A or Option B. Option A, Prompt 2 is the same prompt as the A2A application essay; if you would like to submit an updated version of your A2A application essay, please choose Option A. [Please note that Option C is available only to applicants to Amherst’s A2A program. Non-A2A applicants must choose either Option A or Option B.] 

No explanation necessary! If you think that this essay will be the best way for you to reflect yourself to Amherst admissions, then feel free to use it here. If it’s so nice, why write it twice?

About Kat Stubing

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Want to see your chances of admission at University of Idaho?

We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.

University of Idaho’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Common app personal essay.

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

Sarat, Austin D. Research Interests

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I have authored or edited more than 100 books and am interested broadly in the cultural and social life of American law. Currently I am pursuing several distinct lines of research.

First, I am studying what I call state killing, what others call the death penalty, in order to understand what state killing reveals about American values and beliefs. I use the death penalty as a lens through which to view ideas about responsibility and blame, pain and its proper uses, race and fairness, mercy and the possibilities of redemption.

I recently completed a book-length study of botched executions in the United States ( Gruesome Sprectacles: Botched Executions and Ameruca's Death Penalty ) and a study of race and capital punishment in the United States. I have launched a new project on democracy and the death penalty. In this project, I am examining what happens when the question of retaining/abolishing the death penalty is put on the ballot.

I am also interested in what I call “lawful lawlessness,” areas in which the law authorizes, but does not regulate, the exercise of power. What do these areas tell us about the rule of law and its limits? The executive power to grant or deny clemency is certainly one of those areas. Another is the power of prosecutors to decide who to charge with crimes. Here courts have said that prosecutors can refuse to prosecute someone who has violated the law for good reasons, or bad reasons, or no reasons at all and that such a decision is not subject to judicial review.

I have also done extensive research on cause lawyers. These lawyers explicitly and self-consciously devote themselves to advancing a political cause rather than representing individual clients. I focus on the various ways that such lawyers serve and constrain social movements as well as the challenges that cause lawyering poses to traditional ideas of lawyering and lawyer professionalism.

Another line of work concers the legal regulation of guns. In that work I am trying to understand the uses and limits of law to regulate firearms.

Finally, my research focuses on the cultural life of law or law in popular culture. I have editred a book entitled Trial Films on Trial and I am now writing a book entitled Hollywood’s Law: What Movies Do for Democracy . This book examines movies about law from 1950 to 2000 in order to understand how these films contribute to the development of democratic citizenship.

In addition to my scholarship, my public writing has appeared in such places as The New Republic, The Guardian, The Boston Globe, The Cleveland Plain-Dealer, The National Law Journal, The Providence Journal, The Los Angeles Times , The American Prospect , Aljazeera America, US News , CNN , Politico , and The Daily Beast .  I have been a commentator or guest on HuffPost Live, Bloomberg Radio, National Public Radio, All Things Considered , Morning Edition , Public Television’s The News Hour , Odyssey , Democracy Now , RT International, ABC World News Tonight , MSNBC, Aljazeera America TV, Sputnik News-Moscow , All in with Chris Hayes , The Point with Ari Melber , and The O'Reilly Factor . 

Wolfson, Boris

Boris Wolfson

European Studies , Russian , Film and Media Studies

Associate Professor of Russian (On Leave 3/4/2024 - 6/30/2024)

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Research , expertise and interests.

• Modern Russian literature and culture: the Soviet 1930s, the turn of the 20th century • Performance studies; history and theory of modern drama, theater, and film • Private experience, self-writing and cultural institutions: diaries, memoirs, oral histories

Current Projects

• Russian Performances (interdisciplinary edited volume) • Collective authorship and the catastrophic imagination in early Soviet culture • Foreigners in Cold-War Moscow: daily lives of the Thaw 

• Intermediate and advanced Russian language and culture • Tolstoy: survey; seminar on  War and Peace • Chekhov and His Theater • Modernism and Revolution • The Soviet Experience • Russian and Soviet Film

• Global classroom • Multimedia and digital authorship  • Interdisciplinary humanistic inquiry • Undergraduate research • Community engagement

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How to Write the Williams College Essays 2020-2021

Found in rustic, western Massachusetts, Williams College is a small liberal arts college known for its stellar undergraduate education. With a tight knit community of 2,000 students, Williams boasts a 7:1 student to faculty ratio and offers 36 different majors. Williams was founded in 1793, and through its 227 year history, it has accrued deep traditions, such as a school-wide Mountain Day, in which students hike up nearby Mount Greylock. 

Williams College has consistently been ranked by US News as the number one liberal arts college in America. The college is also highly selective, and for the class of 2023, only 13% of applicants were accepted (most recent official stats). Williams alumni are also diverse, ranging from President James Garfield to composer Stephen Sondheim to photographer Walker Evans. 

A key aspect of the Williams application lies in the strength of your supplemental essay, which gives the admissions committee a more personal look at your profile, and we’ve broken down each essay prompt below! Want to know your chances at Williams? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Want to learn what Williams College will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering Williams College needs to know.

How to Write the Williams College Supplemental Essays

This is an opportunity for you to present another writing sample. It’s entirely optional, and you can either respond to one of the prompts below in an essay of no more than 300 words, or you can upload an academic paper (preferably in the humanities or social sciences) completed in the last academic year.

Option 1: The first-year Entry—a thoughtfully constructed residential microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience—brings together students from around the world with different perspectives, interests and backgrounds. Imagine having a late-night conversation with your Entrymates about a community that you value. Describe that community and why it’s important to you.

Option 2: All-Campus Entertainment (ACE), a student organization, hosts a weekly event called “Stressbusters”—an opportunity for students to focus on self-care by stepping away from their typical routine and enjoying some unscheduled time—and snacks!—with friends. Weekly Stressbuster activities might include a concert, playing with a therapy dog, painting pumpkins, building with Legos, etc. What’s your version of a “stressbuster,” and how does it help you rejuvenate in the midst of a hectic week?

Option 3: At Williams, we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 pre-determined tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. What topic would you be most excited to study in that setting and why?

Option 4: I would like to upload my own essay (from a humanities or social science course and ideally 3-5 pages in length).

The first-year Entry—a thoughtfully constructed residential microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience—brings together students from around the world with different perspectives, interests and backgrounds. Imagine having a late-night conversation with your Entrymates about a community that you value. Describe that community and why it’s important to you. (300 words)

In this essay, you want to first brainstorm the communities that have been valuable to you growing up, any community that has been formative for you as a person. This can be a cultural or ethnic community, a family, a sports team, a musical ensemble, a neighborhood, an online community, or a workplace. The key simply is to bring this community alive in your essay, illustrate how much it means to you, and show how you’ve given back to it. 

You want to show the admissions committee passion and commitment to groups and organizations that you’re invested in, just as you would in a freshman residential community. Then, you could look toward the future, toward your time at Williams, and talk about wanting to meet people outside of your own bubbles, and have intimate conversations with people from all over the world. 

Williams College consistently admits students from the vast majority of states in America, as well as from over 30 countries worldwide, so their commitment to diversity is deep. As a result, you want to think about what perspective you would uniquely bring to the Williams Entry, what kinds of conversations you could contribute to foster a diverse community. There’s enough space to also think critically about the communities you’ve been a part of, and think through the different problems that you had to undergo while being a part of them. 

Here are a few different examples for you to think about:

• Maybe you have been committed to your Indian Bhangra team for the past four years. You could talk about the technical aspects of your work, such as choreographing dances, organizing practices, and putting on performances. However, you could also dive into the most difficult parts of your commitment, such as the time a dance wasn’t coming together leading up to the concert, or dealing with a sudden drop out in your group, or having communication issues within the team. Through these experiences, you could talk about drawing closer to your team, as well as feeling closer to your own Indian heritage through dance and performance.
• Maybe you’ve been shaped by your environmental surroundings, being from Idaho. You could talk about how you never grew up in a city or a large community, but spent most of your time with your family and friends hiking mountains and going camping. You could talk about how as an Idahoan, you have come to value land conservation, indigenous rights, and an overall respect for the places you inhabit. You could illustrate for the reader the beautiful scenery that surrounded you growing up, the thrill of looking out from a mountaintop, and the difficulties of living outdoors. 
• Maybe you’re not American, and grew up in Brazil. You could talk about your own local customs and culture, how it differs from the stereotypes of Americans you have grown up hearing. Maybe your interest is primarily in politics, and so you envision having long conversations that compare the Brazilian government to the American government, and how race relations operate in both countries. 

All-Campus Entertainment (ACE), a student organization, hosts a weekly event called “Stressbusters”—an opportunity for students to focus on self-care by stepping away from their typical routine and enjoying some unscheduled time — and snacks! — with friends. Weekly Stressbuster activities might include a concert, playing with a therapy dog, painting pumpkins, building with Legos, etc. What’s your version of a “stressbuster,” and how does it help you rejuvenate in the midst of a hectic week? (300 words)

There’s many different ways in which you can approach this essay, and it’s certainly a bit more left field than prompts one and three, but if done right, this essay can shine an equal amount of light on your character, personality, and passions. However, this essay is a bit tricky, because you want to answer the prompt and talk about the ways in which you relieve stress, but you also want to show the admissions committee a deeper picture of yourself as a person. Therefore, you should try to avoid a simplistic response, like “I binge Netflix,” without a bit more depth into your own struggles and passions as a person. 

You can be as open as you want to be, talking about stress relief side by side with your daily stresses, flipping back and forth between the difficulties and the pleasures of your daily life. Ideally, your stressbuster could also be a hobby or activity you love to do, but just don’t have enough time to pursue. Or maybe your stressbuster is an extracurricular activity, and you’ve been struggling over the difficulty in enjoying it, while being pushed to excel in it. It’s critical that you drive the essay towards not what you do, but who you are. 

Here are a few examples for you to think about:

• Maybe your stress reliever is playing the cello, but you have a particularly complicated relationship with that because playing the cello also brings you stress. You want to both excel in the instrument, winning competitions and helping your school orchestra, but also want to keep it as a hobby that brings you joy. You can talk about the times it’s been a relief, maybe when you play a certain song you love, but also dive into the times when it’s caused stress and pain in your life. 
• Maybe your destresser is watching food channels on YouTube, which not only makes you more hungry, but has also instilled within you a curiosity about the different food cultures across the world. Maybe there’s a few particular YouTubers you follow closely, which has inspired you to create your own YouTube channel, and spread joy through cooking videos of your own. Making the videos turned out to be hard work, but you found joy through seeing other people respond positively to your content. 
• Maybe your hobby is building model airplanes, which you’ve been doing with your father since you were a child. You could talk about how despite everything else changing in your life, school getting much more difficult, and witnessing different familial troubles, you’ve never stopped working on model airplanes with your dad, and it’s been a soothing and reliable activity for you. 

At Williams, we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 pre-determined tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. What topic would you be most excited to study in that setting and why? (300 words)

First, you want to brainstorm the kinds of academic fields you’re interested in, and it’ll be even better if you have past experiences studying the topic. Then, you want to choose a specific sub-topic in the particular field you chose: if you want to study English, you could choose a particular author, or literary movement, or genre of writing. If you want to study chemistry, you could choose anything from thermal dynamics to quantum mechanics to inorganic chemistry. 

The key here is to be able to both talk about a specific topic, as well as shed light into your own character, passions, and desires for your future education. You want to show the readers what you’d bring to the table in an academic discussion, and how you would engage with difficult academic questions. 

You should also do some digging into all the different tutorials Williams offers , just to get a sense of the kinds of classes taught at Williams. The topics truly span the entire range of academic disciplines, with titles ranging from “Fictions of African American History” to “Analytic Number Theory” to “Advanced Planetary Geology.” 

Next, you want to think about why you’re excited to study the subject, and here, past anecdotes are great. If you want to do a computer science tutorial, you could talk about your own experience learning how to code and working on your side projects, but then go into how Williams takes it up to the next level, with their “Machine Learning” tutorial. You could talk about how you’re excited to work with similarly passionate people, and not only get better at the technical aspect of coding, but also dive into the ethical and societal questions suitable in a tutorial-esque setting.

Maybe you want to study history, and the topic you’d be most excited to study is the Vietnamese War, because of your own history of being the child of Vietnamese refugees. You want to get to know more about your own history and culture, as well as be able to understand your parents’ own socio-political contexts better. 

While imagining your ideal tutorial, it wouldn’t hurt to brainstorm what the class itself would look like. What kinds of materials and mediums would you be engaging with in class? What primary sources excite you? What kinds of problems would you want to solve each week? Even if you don’t include all of this in the essay, it’ll help bring the tutorial to life in your head.

I would like to upload my own essay (from a humanities or social science course and ideally 3-5 pages in length).

If you feel like a high school essay captures better the essence of who you are, rather than the aforementioned prompt options, you should go for this option. Or, you could pursue this option if you’re completely crunched for time. However, we would recommend that you pursue one of the first three options, because they are all excellent avenues for you to illustrate your personality and character, but also show to Williams that you’re committed to writing about their school. 

Ideally, if you do end up choosing this option, the essay should be grammatically tidy and free of any syntactical errors. A well argued analytic essay should do the job, but it would be even better if you had a personal essay you could use, because the main point of the supplemental essays is for the admissions committee to get to know you on a personal level.

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