Scripps is an all-women’s college in Claremont, California. It is one of the 5C’s, so students can take classes at Claremont McKenna, Pomona, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer. The acceptance rate is around 25%.
Let’s take a look:
Why have you chosen to apply to Scripps College? (200 words)
This short “Why Us” prompt should explain why you want to attend an all-women’s college, and what specific academic opportunities at Scripps you plan to take advantage of should you be admitted. We like to start with a short story about how you discovered your academic interests, which will allow the reader of your essay to get to know you. From there, declare a major in writing. There are a lot to choose from, and you should do extensive research on the offerings within your department of choice.
Write about two upper-level classes that you want to take, and be sure to include a reason why. One of the goals of this prompt is to prove to Scripps that you’re already actively engaged with your intended area of study, so find classes that correlate to the things you’re reading about, studying, and researching now. While you’re on the homepage, find a professor who you’d like to do research with. Explain why you’re a good fit for their team by writing about how the things you’ve done in high school have prepared you to be their research assistant.
If there is anything else that is highly specific to Scripps that has influenced your decision to apply, you can include that as well. As we mentioned before, you should also include a sentence or two about why an all-women’s college is your ideal community. Once you’ve gathered all of the materials, find a creative way to tell your story with details of Scripps offerings weaved throughout.
You’ll then choose one of the three prompts below, and the word count is 150-300 words.
If you could trade lives with someone (fictional or real) for a day, who would it be and why?
We have suggested skipping this prompt for the last few years, and we are standing by that advice for this application season. When you introduce other people into your essays, they should be secondary characters. The issue with this prompt is that you run the risk of writing exclusively about someone else, which would not say much about you. Another issue? Writing that you want to trade lives with someone suggests that you aren’t happy with your actual life. Obviously, no one is happy with every aspect of their lives 100% of the time. But your essay should be about the personality traits that you have, not the ones you wish you did. But fear not, you have better options below!
You’ve invented a time machine! When and where is your first destination and why?
Much better! This is the perfect opportunity for you to shine on a light on a hobby, interest, or secondary academic interest that you have. Think about the things that you’re passionate about that are not represented elsewhere in your application. If Scripps knows that you’re a straight A student with a penchant for English, but they’re unaware that you’re obsessed with art, tell them about which country and time period you’d love to be transported to. You should only pick times and places are unique, and do not pick the most obvious “thing.” Instead of starting with the destination, think about the passion first and start the research process there. Once you’ve decided what to write about, explain why you’re choosing it.
You have just been invited to give a TED talk. What will you talk about and why did you select that topic?
To successfully answer this prompt, you need two things. A topic, and a reason for choosing that topic. Again, think about the things that you’re passionate about. What are you trying to become an expert in? What research rabbit holes keep you up at night? It doesn’t have to be academic, in fact it’s much better if it’s not. You already told Scripps what you want to major in. You’re looking for a niche topic that you’ve spent a considerable amount of time looking into. This prompt will work best for those students who have passions outside of school that have not been addressed elsewhere in their application.
We strongly suggest avoiding anything philosophical, such as the meaning of life. Most adults, aka the people who will be reading your supplement, do not want to hear a teenagers “deep” thoughts. It might be helpful to look into actual TED talks, because you’ll see that there is a quite a range of topics. Feel free to pick something lighthearted and/or to totally geek out, just make sure you’re illuminating the link between yourself and your topic of choice.
Contrary to popular belief, your supplements are just as important as the common app essay. Take time to brainstorm, write, and edit a lot.
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