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Mount Holyoke College 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Mount Holyoke College 2023-24 Application Essay Explanations

The Requirements: 1 optional essays of 250-400 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why, Oddball

Please select one of the three prompts below. Your essay should be between 250-400 words.

What unique characteristic about Mount Holyoke makes you interested in attending?

The admissions department at Mount Holyoke wants to know why you’re applying. First things first, take a look at the other two prompts below. If neither of them spark any ideas or inspiration, this might just be the perfect prompt to select, since you should definitely have material for this one. A classic “why” essay like this one is a time-honored supplement tradition, and your answer can reveal a lot to admissions about your potential fit and overall commitment to the school. Spend some time on the Mount Holyoke website (if you haven’t already) and get to know what they have to offer. Explore all areas of social and academic life to build your list of reasons, big and small. You’d be wise to include as many specific references in your response as possible; demonstrate your authentic interest in Mount Holyoke and admissions is sure to take note.

Every day, our students cultivate the competence, confidence and courage to make an impact — whether on a personal, community or global level. Tell us about the context in which you have grown up, what forms your aspirations and how your community has shaped your outlook. 

This is a classic Community Essay, through and through. Admissions officers want to know how your background and community have made you into the person you are today. Where do you come from? What you address can be reflective of larger cultural constructs or a trait specific to your immediate family. Consider how your particular background or experience will help you contribute to Mount Holyoke’s campus community. How will it help inspire and/or inform others? What has influenced your identity and your aspirations? What do you believe and how have your experiences molded you into the kind of person who cultivates the competence, confidence, and courage necessary to make an impact? So long as you are revealing new information about yourself that will help admissions to envision you as a community member next fall, you’re on the right track.

Early bird or night owl? Sweet or savory? Go out or stay in? Or choose your own “this or that” scenario and make your case!

We love this prompt. Not only is it fun and fresh, but it lends itself to recycling material from essays you’ve already written. Did you write an activity essay about your love of sailing? You might be able to make it work here! (Beach or mountains?) Maybe you wrote a community essay about your summer spent working at an animal shelter with like-minded volunteers. (Cats or dogs?) If you don’t have any material ripe for recycling, we recommend thinking about activities that enrich your life or aspects of your identity that will help Mount Holyoke get to know you on a deeper level. As with all essays, the prompt is simply a tool for sharing information about yourself that admissions officers won’t already know.

We try our best to make sure our guides are as up to date as possible, but we still recommend confirming each prompt and word count with the school in question.
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