How to Write the Connecticut College Essay 2025-2026
Connecticut College is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut, known for its rigorous academics, beautiful arboretum campus, and strong commitment to student-driven learning. For the 2025-2026 application cycle, applicants to Connecticut College can respond to one optional essay.
While this essay is optional, we strongly encourage students to respond to it as it’s a great chance to share more about yourself with the admissions committee and help yourself stand out. Plus, this supplement is on the shorter side so it shouldn’t be too much additional effort for your application.
Connecticut College Supplemental Essay Prompt
Optional: Developing a strong, equitable and inclusive community is important to us at Connecticut College. After all, camels live and work together in herds. In 150 words or less, please tell us a little more about who you are and what you will bring to the Conn community to help us grow into the best version of ourselves. You may choose to include details about how your background, identity, challenges, and lived experiences have shaped your accomplishments and potential contributions.
Any format is acceptable. You can write a few sentences, one run-on sentence or even a bullet-point list. (150 words)
This supplement is as open-ended as they come! Connecticut College gives you the freedom to choose what you want to write about and how you want to share it. All that freedom might seem overwhelming, but we’ll help you focus your response.
Ultimately, you should use this essay to share more about the type of person you are and the type of student you will be at Connecticut College. Take advantage of the open-ended nature of this prompt to focus on an aspect of yourself that you think is the most important to understanding who you are. We’ll go over some common ways to respond to this prompt to give you ideas of the different ways you can approach it.
Your Background
If your race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or cultural heritage is key to understanding who you are, you could make this the focus of your essay. You should ideally only focus on one of these aspects since you have limited space, although if the intersectionality of two of your identities (i.e. being gay and Black) is crucial, you should definitely talk about that in your essay.
You want to avoid simply telling your readers about your background, instead bring it to life through an anecdote to show how it shapes your actions, thoughts, dreams, and more.
Consider this example of a student who shares more about her Colombian heritage:
“Every Saturday morning, my kitchen smells like frying arepas and brewing café con leche as my abuela narrates family stories in rapid Spanish while I scramble to help my sisters cook. Growing up in this lively Colombian household taught me how energy, humor, and tradition can build community. I’ve carried this approach into my school clubs—turning a dull study session into a mini “cafecito” break where everyone shares a story or a snack. At Conn, I want to create spaces where cultural traditions spark connection, from organizing a Latinx heritage week to sharing recipes that get everyone laughing and talking. I’ll miss the warmth of my family’s kitchen when I go to college, but I’ll bring the spirit of Colombia with me wherever I go.”
A Hobby or Interest
Students who have an interest that is central to their identity can use this essay to share that with the admissions committee. Whether it’s collecting old maps, playing the ukulele, volunteering at a dog rescue, etc., if there’s something you love and are known for, you can make it your topic.
Use details to bring your passion to life, but also make sure you expand upon what this interest means to you. Do you love collecting maps because it fuels your adventurous spirit and allows you to dream of traveling the world one day? Is the reason you love playing the ukulele because it brings joy to those around you by reminding them of peace and it connects to your desire to bring joy and peace as a politician one day? Figure out the deeper meaning behind your interest and make sure to include that.
Here’s an example for a student who runs their own business doing custom sneaker art:
“I start each design with a blank white Air Force, but by the time the last stroke of paint dries, it tells a story—of style, creativity, and connection. I first got into designing sneakers because I loved seeing how a pop of color or a small detail could completely transform an ordinary shoe into something expressive and unique, something that reflected the person wearing it. What began as painting pairs for myself and my friends quickly grew into a small business, with orders coming from people across the country. Running this business has taught me more than just artistic techniques: I’ve learned how to manage orders, communicate with clients, market my designs, and balance creativity with practical challenges. Beyond the skills, it’s given me insight into how creativity can intersect with entrepreneurship to make something tangible and meaningful. I hope to bring this mindset into college, exploring how design and business can create experiences that delight, inspire, and connect people.”
Overcoming A Challenge
If you’ve faced difficulties and had to overcome a challenge in your life, you could also choose to share that in this essay. What’s important to remember for this type of essay is that while you should explain what the challenge was, the main focus should be on your growth and learning from the experience. Especially with the tight word count, focus more on what you did to overcome and how you are a better person because of facing this challenge.
We’d recommend only going down this route if there was a major obstacle in your life that has really defined you—don’t just pick a time you disagreed with your sibling or a bad grade you had to work to improve. Challenges like having a learning disability, overcoming a serious injury, or moving multiple times, are more along the lines of what you would want to write about.
For example, here’s a student writing about their dyslexia:
“I froze, eyes locked on the paragraph in front of me, while my classmates read aloud effortlessly. Letters danced and merged on the page, and my chest tightened. Diagnosed with dyslexia in third grade, I had faced this moment countless times, but each reading still felt like climbing a steep, slippery hill. I started recording myself reading, breaking passages into bite-sized sections, and experimenting with colored overlays to make the letters clearer. Slowly, words that once felt impossible became manageable. This struggle taught me resilience, creative problem-solving, and the importance of advocating for myself. Now, when I encounter a challenge—whether in the classroom, on a team, or in a new project—I approach it with the same persistence and strategy. Dyslexia didn’t just teach me how to read; it taught me how to learn, adapt, and persevere, shaping me into someone ready to tackle obstacles and embrace growth in every aspect of life.”
Personal Characteristics
If none of the other topics spoke to you, you could also consider writing about personal characteristics or traits that are central to your identity. Maybe as an eldest child you have always been extremely responsible and carry that with you in everything you do. Or maybe you are extremely adventurous—whether it’s trying exotic foods, taking big risks, or loving the outdoors, you’re there. If there’s a character trait like these that you think the admissions officers should know about, share it here.
Just as with the other themes, you need to show the admissions officers that this characteristic is a key part of who you are. You can do this through anecdotes and stories. And remember, you’re choosing a trait that’s central to your identity, so you want to show how it not only influenced you in the past, but also how it will continue to impact the choices and actions you make in the future.
Here’s an example of a student focusing on their resilience:
“I juggled three jobs and schoolwork last summer, balancing shifts at the grocery store with online courses and caring for my younger siblings while my parents worked long hours. There were evenings when I collapsed onto my bed, exhausted, wondering how I would get everything done. But each morning, I woke determined to tackle the day. Resilience has always been central to who I am—not the ability to avoid hardship, but the capacity to keep going despite it. It’s what pushed me to lead my school’s tutoring program, help peers navigate tricky assignments, and start an after-school coding club for middle schoolers. This trait doesn’t stop at my door; I carry it into everything I do. At college, I know resilience will guide me through challenging courses, demanding projects, and new opportunities, helping me persevere while learning and growing every step of the way.”
Final Thoughts
While we’ve laid out some common paths to take, these are by no means the only ways to respond to this essay. Connecticut College is giving you an immense amount of freedom, so use it and write about whatever you think they need to know in order to understand you and your application better.
Also, we’ve presented the examples in a very traditional essay format, but don’t forget that the prompt allows you to play with the format. This is a great way to let your creativity in! We’ve seen students write their essay as a letter, write a sentence for each letter of their name, present their essays as a casting pitch of who they are, and more. Getting creative with your format is a great way to make your essay more memorable.
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