Essay Prompt:
Vanderbilt University’s motto, Crescere aude, is Latin for “dare to grow.” In your response, reflect on how one or more aspects of your identity, culture, or background has played a role in your personal growth, and how it will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt.
Please provide your response in approximately 250 words.*
Explanation:
This prompt can be a bit tricky, since it actually touches upon not one, but two topics. First, it asks you to meditate on how various aspects of your identity have shaped your growth. Then, it asks you to tie your individual growth to the university’s growth-oriented mission, sharing the specific ways in which you hope to contribute to the campus community as a student. As you choose an aspect of your identity to focus on, consider something that is not only unique or central to who you are, but that you have also actively engaged with. For instance, your family may be Russian Orthodox, attending services and celebrating holidays, but if you have not truly thought about your relationship to your faith or incorporated the theology and practices into your own growth over time, it is likely not the strongest topic to explore.
After you describe the way in which this facet of your identity has shaped your maturation, consider how you will use the lessons you have learned to make an impact within the Vanderbilt community. Focus on action rather than ideas. Research student organizations, extracurricular opportunities, and other outlets at Vanderbilt that will enable you to use your experiences to make the campus a brighter and more vibrant place.
KEY TIP
Remember that aside from your main Common Application essay, this is your only opportunity to share your voice with the Vanderbilt admissions officers who read your file, so take advantage of it. Your values, personality, and passion should shine brightly off the page. In the process, however, don’t try to overstuff your response with a variety of experiences—it will prevent you from getting into the descriptive depth you need to address the primary topic, especially since 250 words makes for a rather short essay.
Sample:
Nah tek yuh mattie eye fuh see.
This phrase would dance from my grandmother’s lips in conversations with her friends, admonishments to family members, and in one of our final conversations before I left my home in Guyana at the age of fourteen. “See for yourself.”
For so much of my life, I’ve felt in between worlds. Khichri, bhaji and Chutney unite me with my Indian roots, while pepperpot, gilbaka, and Soca inspired pride in the land that raised me. Urdu speakers would be shocked by my Caribbean accent, while Trinis curious about my island of origin were surprised to hear my homeland was contiguous to South America. As whispers consumed the eighth grade classroom regarding my background, I grew sullen and disconnected, alone within my new world.
I wished they could hear my grandmother’s mellifluous voice declaring her favorite proverb. Although I eventually learned how to shine and overcome the isolation and misconceptions I experienced, I never forgot how it felt and have since vowed to do everything I could to liberate others from it.
Vanderbilt’s community offers the perfect place for me to encourage tolerance. NICExVU grants me the perfect opportunity to uplift Nashville’s first-gen communities through service while Narrative 4 Vanderbilt’s mission of healing divisions through writing deeply resonates with me. Furthermore, the Latin American and Caribbean Student Association will be a second home for me to embrace my culture, while Opening Statement will enable me to bond with other aspiring first-generation lawyers.
Essay Prompt:
Vanderbilt University’s motto, Crescere aude, is Latin for “dare to grow.” In your response, reflect on how one or more aspects of your identity, culture, or background has played a role in your personal growth, and how it will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt.
Please provide your response in approximately 250 words.*
Explanation:
This prompt can be a bit tricky, since it actually touches upon not one, but two topics. First, it asks you to meditate on how various aspects of your identity have shaped your growth. Then, it asks you to tie your individual growth to the university’s growth-oriented mission, sharing the specific ways in which you hope to contribute to the campus community as a student. As you choose an aspect of your identity to focus on, consider something that is not only unique or central to who you are, but that you have also actively engaged with. For instance, your family may be Russian Orthodox, attending services and celebrating holidays, but if you have not truly thought about your relationship to your faith or incorporated the theology and practices into your own growth over time, it is likely not the strongest topic to explore.
After you describe the way in which this facet of your identity has shaped your maturation, consider how you will use the lessons you have learned to make an impact within the Vanderbilt community. Focus on action rather than ideas. Research student organizations, extracurricular opportunities, and other outlets at Vanderbilt that will enable you to use your experiences to make the campus a brighter and more vibrant place.
KEY TIP
Remember that aside from your main Common Application essay, this is your only opportunity to share your voice with the Vanderbilt admissions officers who read your file, so take advantage of it. Your values, personality, and passion should shine brightly off the page. In the process, however, don’t try to overstuff your response with a variety of experiences—it will prevent you from getting into the descriptive depth you need to address the primary topic, especially since 250 words makes for a rather short essay.
Sample:
Nah tek yuh mattie eye fuh see.
This phrase would dance from my grandmother’s lips in conversations with her friends, admonishments to family members, and in one of our final conversations before I left my home in Guyana at the age of fourteen. “See for yourself.”
For so much of my life, I’ve felt in between worlds. Khichri, bhaji and Chutney unite me with my Indian roots, while pepperpot, gilbaka, and Soca inspired pride in the land that raised me. Urdu speakers would be shocked by my Caribbean accent, while Trinis curious about my island of origin were surprised to hear my homeland was contiguous to South America. As whispers consumed the eighth grade classroom regarding my background, I grew sullen and disconnected, alone within my new world.
I wished they could hear my grandmother’s mellifluous voice declaring her favorite proverb. Although I eventually learned how to shine and overcome the isolation and misconceptions I experienced, I never forgot how it felt and have since vowed to do everything I could to liberate others from it.
Vanderbilt’s community offers the perfect place for me to encourage tolerance. NICExVU grants me the perfect opportunity to uplift Nashville’s first-gen communities through service while Narrative 4 Vanderbilt’s mission of healing divisions through writing deeply resonates with me. Furthermore, the Latin American and Caribbean Student Association will be a second home for me to embrace my culture, while Opening Statement will enable me to bond with other aspiring first-generation lawyers.
