How to Write the Mount Holyoke College Essays 2024-2025
Mount Holyoke College has one optional essay prompt. You have three options to choose from—you may write about a characteristic about the school that interests you, the community you grew up in, or something you find fascinating.
Though the essay is optional, we strongly encourage you to write a response. Mount Holyoke receives thousands of applications from academically strong students, so your essays are a great opportunity to stand out by showing what you have to offer beyond the numbers.
In this post, we’ll discuss how to craft an engaging response to each of these three options.
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Mount Holyoke Supplemental Essay Prompts
Prompt: Please select one of the three prompts below. Your essay should be between 250-400 words.
- Option 1: What unique characteristic about Mount Holyoke makes you interested in attending? (250-400 words)
- Option 2: Every day, our students cultivate the competence, confidence and courage to make an impact — whether on a personal, community or global level. Tell us about the context in which you have grown up, what forms your aspirations and how your community has shaped your outlook. (250-400 words)
- Option 3: What do you find fascinating? Choose a person, place, concept, idea, or theory and tell us why! (250-400 words)
Option 1
What unique characteristic about Mount Holyoke makes you interested in attending? (250-400 words)
This traditional, structured prompt, often called the “Why This College?” prompt, is very common across college applications. If you decide that this is the prompt you want to respond to, be sure to check out CollegeVine’s guide to writing the “Why This College?” essay for in-depth tips and examples!
Also take care not to copy and paste another “Why This College?” essay you wrote for another college. While there probably will be some overlap due to colleges’ competitive resources, you want your response to be unique and clearly tailored to Mount Holyoke.
Specificity is key to a successful “Why This College?” essay. You might want to do some research online to get some inspiration. Mount Holyoke’s website offers an abundance of information about degree programs, specific courses, student organizations, and faculty members. Look around and see what catches your eye or piques your interest. Once you find something, writing more specifically becomes easier.
It’s essential that you explicitly connect your goals to some aspect of the college. The more personal the connection, the better your response will be. Some things unique to Mount Holyoke can include campus culture, particular classes/academic opportunities, specific professors, traditions, or other on-campus programs.
The aforementioned things are tangible ways for you to connect with the college, but if you can, it’s great to express an intangible connection too. Perhaps you have strong religious convictions or value environmental conservation. Does Mount Holyoke or its programs have values that strongly align with yours? If so, mention that in your response!
For example, let’s say an applicant has volunteered at food banks in high school, and she wants to continue working to combat food insecurity in college. Here are two ways she might research her interests and craft a response.
Example 1: “I’ve volunteered at food banks since I was a freshman in high school, and Mount Holyoke’s Food Justice Society would give me an opportunity to keep learning about food insecurity in college. Classes in unusual departments at Mount Holyoke, like the Entrepreneurships, Organizations, and Society department, would also help me expand my abilities to create social change.”
Example 2: “After working at food banks for the last three years, I am certain I want to continue working to fight food insecurity at Mount Holyoke. Clubs like the Food Justice Society would give me an opportunity to target this issue on a grassroots level, as I believe community-based food production systems are less likely to let people fall through the cracks.
However, I believe a multi-pronged approach is the most effective way to enact social change, and courses like ‘Ethics in Entrepreneurship and Business’ would get me to consider what role corporations have in ensuring their workers have enough to eat.”
Notice that the first example just tells the reader about a particular club and department whereas the second describes in detail how the applicant would take advantage of these opportunities to pursue her own goals.
Admissions officers know what their school offers (example 1). What they don’t know is how you see those offerings enriching your college experience. That’s what a strong response should illustrate for them (example 2).
There are a few things you should try to avoid when creating your response.
- Name-dropping some random professors or programs you looked up without saying anything about them.
- Writing effusive praise about the college. Empty flattery is vague and suggests that you have nothing specific to say.
- Naming a general facet that’s common to all colleges. A good location, a strong English program, small class sizes, etc. are not unique characteristics of the school.
- Making Mount Holyoke’s membership in the Five College Consortium (with Amherst, Smith, Hampshire, and UMass Amherst) the focal point of your essay. This community is fine to mention, but you should focus more on aspects within MoHo.
Admissions committees like to see individuality. Be yourself and be sincere in your response, and you will already be on the right track.
Option 2
Every day, our students cultivate the competence, confidence and courage to make an impact — whether on a personal, community or global level. Tell us about the context in which you have grown up, what forms your aspirations and how your community has shaped your outlook. (250-400 words)
This prompt is a great choice for applicants who want to discuss the impact of their community on their identity. Community, for the most part, can be seen as a byproduct of one’s unique culture, experiences, and environment, so this essay should discuss these influences in the context of their community. This essay should focus on how a particular community—shaped by its unique culture, experiences, and environment—has helped you grow and develop as a person.
The first part of your essay should provide some background on your own upbringing. Ask yourself what makes your culture, experience, or environment unique.
For example, if you’re going to discuss the collaborative environment of your high school, you need to explain the specific situations that demonstrate that, such as having Socratic classroom seminars instead of individual lectures.
Or, if you were raised in a multicultural household, you could talk about the many family holidays and religious events you shared between your Latino father’s and Chinese mother’s sides of the family.
A quick note if you intend to write about your racial background: In June 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The ruling, however, still allows colleges to consider race on an individual basis, which is one reason many schools are now including diversity prompts as one of their supplemental essay prompts. If you feel that your racial background has impacted you significantly, this is the place to discuss that.
Next, you should explain how your culture, experience, or environment has positively impacted you. To fully answer the prompt, this should not only include how your values, characteristics, and interests have been impacted, but also how your perspectives and worldview have been impacted. Additionally, if these aspects of your identity have grown or changed, you should also include how and why this change occurred.
For instance, if you’re writing about how you grew up in a multicultural family, don’t just write “this environment taught me to respect my culture and value relationships with others.” This line could be written by anyone; it doesn’t tell the admissions officers anything specific or special about you.
Instead, show how your values have changed through anecdotes and indirect details about your environment:
“Almost every month there was a family holiday event during which my mom’s or dad’s family would come together from nearby states to enjoy time together. Smiles crossed our faces when we exchanged red envelopes to wish each other good luck every Chinese New Year season and happy tears shed when we remembered our ancestors and flipped through old photographs on Dia de los Muertos.
Being raised in a multicultural home meant an almost endless number of parties, which allowed me to learn firsthand how two disparate cultures valued their own respective heritage and celebrated it with the ones they loved.”
Lastly, you should connect the aspects of your identity that were shaped by the culture, experience, or environment you discussed to Mount Holyoke’s community, or to the world at large. Address how your environment has influenced your personal aspirations and shaped your outlook on the future.
You might explain how the values and perspective you’ve gained will allow you to make a positive impact at MoHo. Whether it’s your desire to learn, care for others, collaborate, or advocate, explain how that characteristic will make you a good community member at MoHo.
In the example above, the student may want to work with MoHo’s Office of Community Belonging, an organization at Moho that provides programs that support social justice education, dialogue, celebration, and identity development across several cultural centers, including the Asian Center for Empowerment and Eliana Ortega Cultural Center.
Option 3
What do you find fascinating? Choose a person, place, concept, idea, or theory and tell us why! (250-400 words)
Understanding the Prompt
This prompt is an opportunity for you to showcase your intellectual curiosity, passion, and personality by discussing something that captivates you: a person, place, concept, idea, or theory—really anything that you find fascinating, so long as the admissions committee can see why it excites you and how it reflects who you are as a person more broadly.
This essay is your chance to demonstrate your genuine enthusiasm for learning by sharing a part of your intellectual identity that might not come across in transcripts and test scores alone.
Brainstorming Questions
To help you start thinking about what you want to write about, consider these questions:
- Personal Interests: What are your hobbies or passions? Is there a particular subject you love to read about or research in your free time?
- Academic Interests: Are there specific topics or concepts within your academic pursuits that you find particularly intriguing? Why do they stand out to you?
- People Who Inspire You: Is there a historical figure, artist, scientist, or contemporary leader who inspires you? What about them fascinates you?
- Places and Cultures: Is there a particular place—whether it’s a country, city, or even a fictional world—that you find captivating? What is it about this place that draws you in?
- Ideas and Theories: Are there philosophical ideas, scientific theories, or social movements that you find thought-provoking? How do these ideas influence your thinking or worldview?
- Current Events: Are there current issues or developments in the world that you are particularly interested in? How do they relate to your own experiences or aspirations?
What Makes a Good Response
A strong response to this prompt will:
- Be Specific and Personal: Choose something that genuinely fascinates you and is specific enough to discuss in detail. Avoid general topics that would be fascinating to many people–remember, your goal with this essay is to show what you have to offer that someone else doesn’t. Show why this particular person, place, concept, idea, or theory is meaningful to you.
- Show Depth of Thought: Go beyond surface-level descriptions and explore the deeper reasons behind your fascination. Discuss how this topic challenges you, makes you think, or influences your perspective. You have 400 words, which is on the long side for a supplement, so let your ideas breathe.
- Connect to Your Experiences: Relate the topic to your own life, experiences, or aspirations. How has this fascination shaped who you are or what you want to do in the future?
- Highlight Your Enthusiasm: Use vivid and engaging language to convey your passion. The admissions committee should be able to sense your excitement and curiosity through your writing.
- Be Creative: Feel free to take a creative approach to the topic. Think about unique angles or perspectives that might set your essay apart–for example, maybe you could structure your essay as a conversation between yourself and the person you’re fascinated by.
Hypothetical Student Examples
- A Space Enthusiast: This student has been fascinated by space exploration ever since watching a documentary about the Hubble Space Telescope as a child. They could write about the concept of time dilation and how it challenges their understanding of reality. They might connect this fascination to their desire to study astrophysics and contribute to future space missions.
- A History Buff: A student who is deeply interested in ancient civilizations might discuss their fascination with the lost city of Atlantis, which got them curious about the concept of historical preservation and the idea of learning from the past to shape the future. They could conclude by talking about their hope to go on archeological digs in college, to learn more about ancient cultures with their own two hands.
- A Music Lover: This student finds the concept of synesthesia—where senses overlap, such as seeing colors when hearing music—utterly fascinating. They are a visual artist, but learning about this phenomenon has inspired them to explore the relationship between sound and color in their art, for example by listening to music while painting similar scenes and presenting the resulting works alongside each other.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Choosing a Topic You Think Will Impress: Don’t pick a topic just because you think it will impress the admissions committee. If you don’t care about the DNA’s double helix structure, or find Shakespeare impossible to understand, that disconnect will show in your essay. Choose something that genuinely fascinates you–the more unusual or unconventional, the better!
- Being Too Vague or General: Avoid broad or general topics that are difficult to explore in detail. Instead, focus on a specific aspect of the topic that you can discuss in depth. For example, rather than writing about food and culture, write about what Italian cuisine reflects about the country’s culture.
- Lack of Personal Connection: Make sure to connect the topic to your own experiences or interests. The essay should reveal something about you, not just provide information about the topic.
- Overloading with Information: Don’t turn the essay into a research paper. Focus on your personal perspective and why the topic fascinates you, rather than overwhelming the reader with facts and data.
Excerpts from Good and Bad Examples
Good Example Excerpt:
“I’m captivated by the phenomenon of bioluminescence—the way certain organisms produce light in the darkest environments. The first time I saw bioluminescence in person, I was visiting Vieques, a tiny island off the coast of Puerto Rico, and on a night kayaking trip. As my paddle sliced through the water, tiny bursts of blue light followed in its wake, like stars swirling beneath the surface.
Seeing an entire hidden world emerge to shimmer in the dark was surreal. From then on, I was fascinated with the natural world’s mysteries, and dove deep (no pun intended!) into marine biology. I’ve studied how bioluminescent organisms, like jellyfish and deep-sea fish, use light for communication and survival in extreme conditions, as the idea that life can thrive in the most unlikely environments, by illuminating its surroundings, inspires me. These creatures have taught me to appreciate resilience, adaptation, and the beauty of discovery in the unknown.”
Why this works: This response vividly describes a personal experience, using language that brings the reader into the moment with the student. Beyond the tangible imagery of the glowing water, the student’s intellectual curiosity and efforts to learn more about their topic are clear. Mount Holyoke admissions officers reading this essay can have confidence that this student is ready to take full advantage of the school’s resources to continue pursuing their passions.
Bad Example Excerpt:
“I find technology fascinating because it has changed the way we live. Technology has made life easier and more convenient. For example, we can now communicate with people around the world through the internet, and we have access to unlimited information. I am excited about the future of technology and the many possibilities it holds. I hope to work in the tech industry one day and contribute to developing new technologies that will make the world a better place.”
Why this is a bad example: The topic of technology is too broad, and the essay does not focus on a specific aspect of technology. There is also no personal perspective on technology, or connection to the student’s own experiences or interests.
The student mentions wanting to work in the tech industry, but does not explain why, or how their fascination with technology has shaped their goals. Finally, the writing is bland, which could make readers skeptical about whether they are genuinely enthusiastic about this topic.
In Conclusion
The most important thing with this essay is to choose a topic you’re genuinely passionate about. If you do that, your genuine enthusiasm should naturally lead to a personal connection, and to details about the broader personality traits or skills you’ve developed as a result of being fascinated by this topic.
Where to Get Your Mount Holyoke Essay Edited For Free
Do you want feedback on your Mount Holyoke essay? After rereading your essay over and over again, it can be challenging to find places where your writing can be improved. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool, where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.
If you’re looking for faster feedback, you can use Sage, our AI tutor and advisor for a free, nearly-instantaneous essay review. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!
