California Lutheran University 2025-26 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

California Lutheran University 2025-26 Application Essay Question Explanations 

The Requirements: 2 essays of 250 words each

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why, Community

Tell us more about how your background, interests, or passions can contribute to our community. (250 words maximum)

College applications are rampant with essay questions about community, so this essay is ripe for recycling (how eco-friendly of you!). If you haven’t already written a Community Essay that you plan to adapt and recycle here, we recommend considering the things that make you unique. What about your history, experiences, interests, or passions might be worth highlighting for an admissions officer? And how can the experience, interest, or passion you choose enrich the learning environment at the California Lutheran University for others? Maybe you have always been an organizer and the glue that holds your summer camp community together during the school year. How will you bring people together on campus? Maybe you were raised on a farm and developed a strong work ethic at a young age as you helped your parents tend to the fields. Will you be a natural leader in group projects and take initiative in the many clubs you’d like to join? Be sure to connect your personal story to a future vision of yourself at California Lutheran. The most important thing to remember for this prompt is that your history, interest, or passion will enable you to connect and contribute to an inclusive campus community.

What interests you about your intended major? (250 words maximum)

For this essay, let’s go beyond, “I love war documentaries, so majoring in History will be a great fit for me.” We get it, Ken Burns is your LeBron. But how might Cal Lutheran’s courses and professors (get specific!) shape you and teach you something new? And what do you hope to accomplish upon graduating with your intended degree? In college, you will reach new depths of knowledge you may not have even known existed. After explaining why your major piques your interest, describe the experiences you’ve had with it already. Build a bridge between your past and your future for admissions so they can see that you have already demonstrated interest in this field. Maybe after taking dance classes at your local fitness center, you discovered your passion for movement as medicine–and Cal Lutheran’s Exercise Science major will help you further explore this area of interest. Throughout your life, you’ve been exposed to so many different subjects and career paths, and Cal Lutheran wants to know why this one has caught your eye. Finally, look ahead five or ten years and imagine how this degree will catapult you into a fulfilling career that you may not have access to otherwise.