Prompt 1:
The CMC admission office would like to know a bit more about you and how you see yourself connecting with our campus as a student. The following are required supplemental essay prompts found in both the Common Application and the Coalition Application:
CMC’s mission is to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions. With this mission in mind, please explain why you want to attend Claremont McKenna College. (250 words)
Explanation:
As with any “why this school” essay, your response to this prompt should provide specific, concrete, and compelling reasons why Claremont McKenna is the right school for you, paying particular attention to the school’s mission of preparing students to become leaders in their communities. As you answer this question, highlight a few specific aspects of CMC that make you want to attend it over other high-ranking liberal arts colleges. Additionally, you should connect your personal and academic goals with the programs and opportunities CMC offers. Consider how CMC’s mission aligns with your aspirations. Do you have a passion for business, government, or a particular profession? How will CMC’s approach to education and its resources support your ambitions? Be specific about why CMC is an ideal match for your goals. If you relate to CMC’s applied liberal arts philosophy of “learning to do and doing to learn,” show your reader what that looks like in your life. Did your love of finance lead you to start a podcast about financial literacy? Or maybe your passion for baking led you to take an online class about the chemistry of cooking. If you haven’t seen this philosophy play out in your life thus far, think about how it would shape your college experience into one that is both intellectually stimulating and practically applicable.
Sample:
“Obviously the company could do more to fulfill their sustainability pledges, but don’t you think that the boom in jobs is ultimately a net gain?” One student asked.
“I don’t want to ascribe to a system of corporate ethics that is solely based on the lesser of two evils,” another answered with equal passion.
These are the kinds of fragmentary conversations that I heard as I wandered CMC’s campus for the first time. The experience encapsulated what I had read about CMC’s applied approach to the liberal arts, and I knew this was where I wanted to spend my next four years.
My passion for social entrepreneurship and policy-making has driven my academic and extracurricular pursuits thus far. During high school, I founded a small nonprofit organization that addresses food insecurity in my community. This experience taught me the importance of combining innovative thinking with practical action, a philosophy that I see reflected in CMC’s curriculum. Courses like “Leadership and the Liberal Arts” and “Entrepreneurship and the Public Good” embody the integration of diverse disciplines and real-world problem-solving that I am seeking. Additionally, the Roberts Environmental Center and the Policy Lab provide unparalleled opportunities for students to engage in research and projects that have tangible societal benefits.
While all of these university offerings draw me to CMC, those overheard conversations on the quad remain the core source of my interest in CMC. The mission of the college is inspiring—but the way the mission pulsates through students is even more amazing.
Prompt 2:
A critical part of fulfilling our mission is living out the commitments of CMC’s Open Academy: Freedom of Expression, Viewpoint Diversity, and Constructive Dialogue. We want to learn more about your commitment to listening and learning from others with different viewpoints, perspectives, and life experiences from your own. Describe a time when engaging with someone about a specific topic resulted in you changing your attitude, belief, or behavior, or you changed the belief or behavior of someone else. What was the change that occurred for you, and what facilitated that change? What did you learn from that experience, and how has it informed how you engage with others? (250 words)
Explanation:
This essay prompt asks you to reflect on your commitment to listening to and learning from others with different viewpoints, perspectives, and life experiences. You are also asked to describe a specific situation where your engagement with someone led to a change in attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors—either for you or the other person. To respond effectively, select a specific experience that demonstrates your commitment to constructive dialogue and your ability to embrace diverse perspectives. The chosen experience should have resulted in a meaningful change in attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors, and demonstrate your current worldview and perspective. Explain how this experience has informed your approach to engaging with others who hold different viewpoints. How has it influenced your willingness to listen and learn from diverse perspectives? What steps have you taken to engage in more productive dialogues? Keep in mind that this question is designed to help admissions officers understand what type of community member you will be on Claremont McKenna’s campus, so be sure to link this pivotal experience to your aspirations for the future and your intended contributions to CMC’s community.
Sample:
It was our Saturday hangout spot—an easy-to-spot landmark that cast a long shadow across the lawn. I had spent countless weekends leaning against the cool granite, but I had never actually seen it—until that day.
We had invited a new friend Jenna, one of the few Black students in our small, Southern town, to join us. As she approached, she looked up with hesitation. “This is where you hang out every Saturday?”
For the first time, I truly looked at the imposing confederate soldier etched in stone, rifle in hand. I saw the inscription championing the Lost Cause and the confederate flag chiseled into the pedestal. “I—I’m so sorry. I guess I just didn’t think about it,” I said sheepishly.
Jenna shared patiently about how the statue made her feel, how its meaning would always be felt more poignantly for her than for us. As she spoke, the monument looked different to all of us. It was no longer just there, like a part of the natural landscape—it was a symbol, a sore thumb sticking out from the ground. That day, Jenna not only invited us to find a gathering place in which everyone felt welcome, but she helped us to look around in a more thoughtful and intentional way.
As a student at Claremont McKenna, I will not only bring an openness to the perspectives of others, but I also hope to be like Jenna, sharing my own perspective with patience, grace, and conviction.
Prompt 1:
The CMC admission office would like to know a bit more about you and how you see yourself connecting with our campus as a student. The following are required supplemental essay prompts found in both the Common Application and the Coalition Application:
CMC’s mission is to prepare students for thoughtful and productive lives and responsible leadership in business, government, and the professions. With this mission in mind, please explain why you want to attend Claremont McKenna College. (250 words)
Explanation:
As with any “why this school” essay, your response to this prompt should provide specific, concrete, and compelling reasons why Claremont McKenna is the right school for you, paying particular attention to the school’s mission of preparing students to become leaders in their communities. As you answer this question, highlight a few specific aspects of CMC that make you want to attend it over other high-ranking liberal arts colleges. Additionally, you should connect your personal and academic goals with the programs and opportunities CMC offers. Consider how CMC’s mission aligns with your aspirations. Do you have a passion for business, government, or a particular profession? How will CMC’s approach to education and its resources support your ambitions? Be specific about why CMC is an ideal match for your goals. If you relate to CMC’s applied liberal arts philosophy of “learning to do and doing to learn,” show your reader what that looks like in your life. Did your love of finance lead you to start a podcast about financial literacy? Or maybe your passion for baking led you to take an online class about the chemistry of cooking. If you haven’t seen this philosophy play out in your life thus far, think about how it would shape your college experience into one that is both intellectually stimulating and practically applicable.
Sample:
“Obviously the company could do more to fulfill their sustainability pledges, but don’t you think that the boom in jobs is ultimately a net gain?” One student asked.
“I don’t want to ascribe to a system of corporate ethics that is solely based on the lesser of two evils,” another answered with equal passion.
These are the kinds of fragmentary conversations that I heard as I wandered CMC’s campus for the first time. The experience encapsulated what I had read about CMC’s applied approach to the liberal arts, and I knew this was where I wanted to spend my next four years.
My passion for social entrepreneurship and policy-making has driven my academic and extracurricular pursuits thus far. During high school, I founded a small nonprofit organization that addresses food insecurity in my community. This experience taught me the importance of combining innovative thinking with practical action, a philosophy that I see reflected in CMC’s curriculum. Courses like “Leadership and the Liberal Arts” and “Entrepreneurship and the Public Good” embody the integration of diverse disciplines and real-world problem-solving that I am seeking. Additionally, the Roberts Environmental Center and the Policy Lab provide unparalleled opportunities for students to engage in research and projects that have tangible societal benefits.
While all of these university offerings draw me to CMC, those overheard conversations on the quad remain the core source of my interest in CMC. The mission of the college is inspiring—but the way the mission pulsates through students is even more amazing.
Prompt 2:
A critical part of fulfilling our mission is living out the commitments of CMC’s Open Academy: Freedom of Expression, Viewpoint Diversity, and Constructive Dialogue. We want to learn more about your commitment to listening and learning from others with different viewpoints, perspectives, and life experiences from your own. Describe a time when engaging with someone about a specific topic resulted in you changing your attitude, belief, or behavior, or you changed the belief or behavior of someone else. What was the change that occurred for you, and what facilitated that change? What did you learn from that experience, and how has it informed how you engage with others?
Explanation:
This essay prompt asks you to reflect on your commitment to listening to and learning from others with different viewpoints, perspectives, and life experiences. You are also asked to describe a specific situation where your engagement with someone led to a change in attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors—either for you or the other person. To respond effectively, select a specific experience that demonstrates your commitment to constructive dialogue and your ability to embrace diverse perspectives. The chosen experience should have resulted in a meaningful change in attitudes, beliefs, or behaviors, and demonstrate your current worldview and perspective. Explain how this experience has informed your approach to engaging with others who hold different viewpoints. How has it influenced your willingness to listen and learn from diverse perspectives? What steps have you taken to engage in more productive dialogues? Keep in mind that this question is designed to help admissions officers understand what type of community member you will be on Claremont McKenna’s campus, so be sure to link this pivotal experience to your aspirations for the future and your intended contributions to CMC’s community.
Sample:
It was our Saturday hangout spot—an easy-to-spot landmark that cast a long shadow across the lawn. I had spent countless weekends leaning against the cool granite, but I had never actually seen it—until that day.
We had invited a new friend Jenna, one of the few Black students in our small, Southern town, to join us. As she approached, she looked up with hesitation. “This is where you hang out every Saturday?”
For the first time, I truly looked at the imposing confederate soldier etched in stone, rifle in hand. I saw the inscription championing the Lost Cause and the confederate flag chiseled into the pedestal. “I—I’m so sorry. I guess I just didn’t think about it,” I said sheepishly.
Jenna shared patiently about how the statue made her feel, how its meaning would always be felt more poignantly for her than for us. As she spoke, the monument looked different to all of us. It was no longer just there, like a part of the natural landscape—it was a symbol, a sore thumb sticking out from the ground. That day, Jenna not only invited us to find a gathering place in which everyone felt welcome, but she helped us to look around in a more thoughtful and intentional way.
As a student at Claremont McKenna, I will not only bring an openness to the perspectives of others, but I also hope to be like Jenna, sharing my own perspective with patience, grace, and conviction.
