Claremont McKenna College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California. While it’s a small school, it is part of a consortium, meaning CMC students can take classes at Pomona, Scripps, Harvey Mudd, and Pitzer. CMC is primarily known for its social sciences, but they offer over 30 majors (some in conjunction with other consortium schools). Last year their acceptance rate was about 11%. We have written about their supplement in the past, but they changed the questions a bit this year. The CMC supplement has two essay questions and one “optional” video. We put optional in quotations because, with an acceptance rate of only 11%, you should be using your opportunities wisely. TL;DR: just do the video.
So how would we approach this year’s supplement? We are glad you asked.
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.
You can more or less disregard the first sentence of this question. This question is really asking you, “Why do you want to go to CMC?” Double points if you can connect your reason to a professional goal (which we are sure you can do.)
When writing any essay that asks you, “Why do you want to go here,” you always want to show the reader that the school would be perfect for you and you would be perfect for the school. You do this by calling out campus opportunities that fit your goals. Before you even start writing, you will need to do some research. The first step is to look at the list of majors and choose one that fits your academic niche. Once you have selected your major, think of a story about when you first became interested in that field of study. For example, if you want to major in Government, maybe you volunteered on a local campaign. Tell that story and show how that spark led to wanting to study Government in college.
The next step is finding two higher-level classes (skip the intro courses) and a professor whose work interests you. This takes a bit of research. For example, a Government major may choose GOVT191 CM - Public Policy Since the New Deal and GOVT171C CM - Religion and Liberalism. Explain why you are interested in these courses and how they relate to your interests or goals. Similarly, find a professor whose research you are interested in. For example, you might be drawn to Dr. Asher’s work in environmental policy process. You can discuss how you would want to assist him and why you are interested in his work.
Finally, it's time to look outside the classroom. While academics have to be no. 1 in this essay, you should also write about on-campus opportunities you hope to take advantage of. This could be clubs, extracurriculars, programs, etc. However, the best opportunities to mention connect to something you already do; because then you get to talk more about yourself. Love being on your high school’s Model UN team? You can write about joining the CMC Model United Nations. If you connect your passions to the school and mention details, this essay shouldn’t be hard to write.
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?
What is with CMC and these super wordy questions? This is another question that might seem more complex than it really is. First, you need to brainstorm a time when you disagreed with someone. Other stories can work here, but conversations work really well with this type of prompt. While you can write a story about someone who is obviously wrong, the best stories won’t be about going against a strawman argument. It also isn’t bad to take on a small topic here. It will be harder to take on or find common ground if you are talking about a hugely charged political issue. We recommend choosing something with a bit of nuance that can be seen from multiple sides.
Once you have a story in mind, the trick here is to ensure you answer all the questions in the prompt. You need to identify what happened, what you learned, and how it changed you moving forward.
The video response is technically optional, but we recommend doing it. It's an excellent opportunity to show another side of yourself and get creative. They offer four prompts. However, not all of them are created equal.
Video response prompts for all first-year applicants:
1. Claremont McKenna College is a special community because it is composed of talented people who individually and collectively contribute to improving the life of the College. How do you hope to contribute to the CMC community?
We don’t recommend taking this one on. It’s a little too similar to the first essay question. Plus it is just a little boring. If you are really pulled to this one, that’s fine, but it’s not our choice.
2. The Marian Miner Cook Athenaeum represents the intellectual mantelpiece of the Claremont McKenna College community, bringing students, faculty, and staff closer together through active engagement and discussion on a daily basis. Knowing that diversity of thought and respectful dialogue are vital elements to the Athenaeum’s mission, who is someone you would want to hear speak at the Athenaeum in order to better understand a diverse perspective or experience from that of your own?
We are also not huge fans of this question. If you decide to take it on, just make sure you have a creative choice. This isn’t the place to say, Obama. Don’t get us wrong. We are sure he could teach you a lot. But you want to choose someone that only YOU would choose. Back up your choice with details from your life. Maybe you own all their books or dressed up as them for Halloween… it's ok to do some show and tell.
3. Developing a personal narrative is key to understand one’s own values and unique voice. Instances of personal adversity are key markers when determining an individual’s character, resoluteness, and sources of inspiration. When was the last time you were moved to great emotion and how did you positively respond from that moment in time?
We like this question. However, that comes with one caveat. You might be tempted to choose something highly dramatic, which can go bad quickly. Yes, they call out “personal adversity,” but that doesn’t have to mean melodrama. This is a great time to play with the form. You could write out what happened as a movie scene or show how it still affects you in the real world.
4. People support each other and their communities in various ways. How do you support those around you and how has this shaped your unique perspective?
This is another great question. To answer this, you should show us your world. Take us into your community and show us who you are. Sometimes students get scared of the word “community.” A community is just a group of people who share common interests, attitudes, or goals. Show us one that you treasure.
CMC’s supplement isn’t as tricky as it looks but it takes time to complete. Start early and give yourself time for research and brainstorming. If this all seems like too much, we can help.
Worried about supplements? We have you covered! Reach out here.