Colorado College operates on a unique block system, in which students take one class at a time for three-and-a-half weeks of fully immersed study. This has made the college iconic across the United States as a place where people who are passionate and focused can throw themselves fully into the things that they love. It is also a highly self-selective school. People don’t apply to CC as a safety. It doesn’t just get added onto a college list as a back-up plan. If a student is applying, it’s because they really want to learn within the block system. The acceptance rate is 22%.
CC calls The Block Plan, “the cure for the common classroom.” There are four blocks per semester and eight blocks per year. Each block is considered equivalent to one semester-long course at a ‘regular’ college or university. This is because you will commit as much, or more, time to the course over the three-and-a-half weeks than you would in a semester-long version. The course is basically your full-time job, and it demands focus. One day you may be in normal classroom, and the next on a week-long camping trip for a science course or in D.C. for a politics program.
Given CC’s alternative approach and unique perspective, it isn’t surprising that they don’t require SAT or ACT scores. More than 50% of applicants do not submit test scores, but if you have strong scores, you should submit them. For CC, that means an SAT over 1450 or an ACT over 32.
You also have a bunch of options for how to apply. CC offers Early Decision I, Early Decision II, Early Action, and Regular Decision application options. The Early Decision options are, obviously, binding, whereas Early Action just gets you an answer, well, early, and Regular Decision is the latest deadline.
Whichever route you take, you’ll have to write the supplemental CC application essay. In this post, we’re going to break down how to stand out and craft a strong application.
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CC is more willing to seriously consider students who may have struggled in a normal school setting, but who have deep passion, wild enthusiasm, and proven drive. Students who have excelled in a particular course of study or extracurricular, but not experienced that same level of success across the board, can find a home at CC because the college is interested in exactly this type of student.
The supplement, then, is your place to prove yourself. You don’t need to make excuses for where you are weak, but you absolutely do need to underline where you are strong. So, let’s get into it.
One of the benefits of Colorado College’s Block Plan is the opportunity to immerse yourself fully in a single subject for 3.5 weeks. We see this as the luxury of focus — the joy and value of directing your full attention to one thing. Tell us about a time when you experienced this kind of deep focus in an academic or extracurricular setting. What were you doing and how did it turn out? (300 words)
This prompt is awesome, because they are asking you to show them how you already operate in a way that will take to the CC way of doing things — in the classroom and out. Instead of asking you to tell them what you will do at CC, they want to get a sense of how you will exist within their space based on how you’ve already been practicing this in life.
So, let’s find a story to tell. Since you’re considering CC, there is probably something that jumped to mind when you first read the prompt. If so, and if it happened after sophomore year, run with it. If not, you’ll have to do some mining. Remember, this doesn’t have to be in the classroom. It could be a week-long camping trip with no technology, a month of evenings spent digesting the works of one particular writer, or day when all that mattered was mastering how to eyeball distance. The length of time isn’t, in truth, the point. The focus is what matters, and telling the story of it.
As you tell your story, there doesn’t need to be some big lesson or takeaway. Let it be what it was, and don’t try to weave in facts about CC or obvious reasons why you’ll be a great addition to campus. Make that clear in your interest, commitment, and the outcome, not heavy-handed sentences summing up ‘the point.’
Remember, too, that you can use different storytelling techniques and mechanisms to strengthen the form of your response. This doesn’t need to be a cut-and-dry explanation of the past. You can use dialog, vivid imagery, metaphor, and suspense. You can employ lyricism, poetry, or even write your response as a screenplay. But don’t pick a style just for the hell of it, or because you think it will make you look fancy. Make sure, above all else, that you are staying true to who you are and what you care most about. If you aren’t into films, writing a screenplay wouldn’t make sense. But if you are writing about something to do with poetry, what better way to underline it than to adopt the style(s) here.
Optional: If you’d like to share the outcome — a project, performance, paper, or other result — you may upload a document or provide a URL.
We love the CC allows you to share the outcome of your exploration here, and don’t feel like there has to be a big reveal or result. If you ended up at the top of a mountain, scan a map showing your route. If you starred in a play, share a review. It can be as simple as a picture or pdf, or as complex as a video recording of your final result. Both can have enormous impact, so spend less time worrying “is this enough,” and more time reminding yourself to be totally you.
CC also invites students to submit supplemental recommendations, in addition to the two teacher evaluations. These could be from job or internship supervisors, mentors, coaches, additional teachers, or anyone else who has been deeply impactful to your life, education, and decision to apply to CC. We advise our students to have at least one supplemental recommendation for the CC application, and ideally two.
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