How to Write the Sarah Lawrence College Essays 2025-2026
Sarah Lawrence College has one optional supplemental essay for applicants, however you have the freedom to choose a topic from one of four options. Roughly, these prompts address identity, creativity, diversity, and differing perspectives on issues. This post will provide guidance on which prompt to choose and a breakdown of how to write an effective response to each one.
Although this essay is technically optional, Sarah Lawrence receives thousands of applications each year, so you should take advantage of every opportunity possible to distinguish yourself from the other applicants. These prompts give you a chance to do exactly that.
Read these Sarah Lawrence essay examples written by real students to inspire your own writing!
Sarah Lawrence College Supplemental Essay Prompts
Prompt: We know that there may be elements of who you are as a person and student that you may not feel are conveyed fully in the other sections of this application. If you wish to showcase a little more about your particular interest in Sarah Lawrence College, please select one of the prompts below and write your essay in the text box. If you do not wish to respond select the prompt “I will not be submitting this optional essay”. (250-500 words)
Option A: Sarah Lawrence students are often described as hyphenates: filmmaker-sociologist-historian, environmentalist-photographer, psychologist-novelist, economist-poet. In 250-500 words, tell us about seemingly disparate interests you have brought together, or hope to bring together at Sarah Lawrence.
Option B: Students at Sarah Lawrence are asked to design their own research questions directly with faculty, and then answer them through intensive semester-long projects that frequently inspire a blend of intellectual rigor and creativity. In 250-500 words, tell us about a text, problem or topic you would love to explore over a semester or a year, and what you would hope to achieve through that work.
Option C: Liberal arts and sciences colleges have a long and robust history of providing the educational foundation for the careers of influential politicians, financiers, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, CEOs, and more. Many of them cite their liberal arts degree as foundational and transformative for how they took on challenges in the world and for shaping their lives after college. How do you see your upcoming college studies leading to your future career (or careers)?
Option D: In today’s rapidly changing world, many social, political, and ethical issues spark intense debate and demand nuanced understanding. Choose a contemporary issue that you find both challenging and urgent—whether it relates to identity, justice, artificial intelligence, environment, or another area—and critically explore your perspective on it. How have your previous experiences, background, and/or values shaped your viewpoint? How do you envision engaging with this issue during your college education and beyond?
Since the Sarah Lawrence essay is optional, you might be asking yourself, Is it worth it for me to even write an essay? Although you won’t be penalized for not submitting an essay, we strongly encourage applicants to do everything in their power to make their application as impressive as possible, which includes submitting essays.
In case you are undecided, some of the benefits of submitting the essay include:
- Demonstrating a deeper interest in the school by dedicating more time to their application.
- Revealing new interesting aspects of yourself to the admissions committee that they wouldn’t learn elsewhere in your application.
- Helping the college differentiate between two applicants who are equally qualified on paper.
- Highlighting your writing skills if you are a strong writer.
- Creating a more complete picture of who you are as a student and person.
The choice whether or not to write the essay is up to you at the end of the day, but if you are serious about Sarah Lawrence, spend a few hours brainstorming and writing an essay to give your application a boost that might be the difference between an acceptance or a rejection.
Option A
Sarah Lawrence students are often described as hyphenates: filmmaker-sociologist-historian, environmentalist-photographer, psychologist-novelist, economist-poet. In 250-500 words, tell us about seemingly disparate interests you have brought together, or hope to bring together at Sarah Lawrence.
Brainstorming your topic
Here, the key to a strong response is identifying a combination of interests that is genuinely unique to you. Sarah Lawrence gives you a hand by providing some examples of what they’re looking for. If the combination you’re thinking of writing about is more along the lines of “student-athlete” or “guitar player-piano player,” you should probably select a different prompt. Not that there’s anything wrong with those interests—they’re just relatively common/logical, which just isn’t what this prompt is getting at, so you may want to pivot to another prompt.
If you feel this prompt is a good match for you, however, the next step is identifying anecdotes that clearly show your interest in the topics you have selected. Since this is a relatively long supplement, make sure you can describe these anecdotes in some detail.
Here are some brainstorming questions to guide your thinking:
- Which two (or more) interests have shaped you most, even if they seem far apart?
- How did you discover each of them? Were they always part of your life or recent discoveries?
- Is there a moment or project where these interests came together naturally?
- What bigger question, problem, or theme connects them for you?
- What specific Sarah Lawrence resources (faculty, programs, student organizations, courses) could help you bridge these fields?
- How might combining these interests allow you to make a unique contribution to the world—or to Sarah Lawrence?
Tips for writing your essay
As an example, say you decide to write about your interests in hiking and cooking. Below are good and bad examples of how you might choose to begin your essay.
Good example: “The day’s last rays of sunlight filled the sky, and Baker Lake’s rumpled surface reflected every incandescent shade of pink, purple, blue, and orange. I could smell the pine trees surrounding the lake, and my fleece was plenty warm enough for a gentle August night. Everything was perfect… except the bowl of mashed potatoes in my lap, which was somehow both powdery and watery, and lacked any and all spices. My parents had also made exactly the same thing for both breakfast and lunch. As I choked down the potatoes by the lake, I began to realize that if I ever wanted better backpacking food, I would have to learn how to cook myself.”
Bad example: “When I was little, I went backpacking every summer with my parents. I really loved the views of mountains, lakes, and valleys, but I was always so hungry after hiking, and my parents weren’t very good cooks. We usually ate dehydrated mashed potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This monotony inspired me to learn how to cook myself, so I could figure out tastier options, even in the backcountry.”
The main difference here is clear: the first response shows, while the second tells. While you should always aim to show, not tell, as noted above this is a longer supplement, so you should take advantage of that extra space to immerse your reader in your story as much as possible. Details, like describing a particular backpacking trip instead of speaking generally, make your passion more believable and convincing.
Note that the prompt allows you to choose interests you have not yet combined. For example, say there is an applicant who also likes hiking and cooking, but, unlike our first applicant, doesn’t have experience cooking in the backcountry. We would recommend this applicant check out Sarah Lawrence’s list of clubs and organizations, and connect her intersecting interests to one or more of the options listed there.
For example, she might write about how the Outdoor Adventure Club would give her an opportunity to cook for her fellow hikers, and how she could then write about her most successful meals in one of Sarah Lawrence’s student publications.
These details will not only show your reader that you are truly passionate about continuing these hobbies in college, but also that you have done your research on Sarah Lawrence and would make valuable contributions to their community.
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing interests without showing their relationship: “I like chemistry and creative writing” isn’t enough. Why? How do they feed into each other?
- Generic Sarah Lawrence mentions: Avoid “I like small classes” or “I want to study many subjects.” That’s every liberal arts school.
- Overly résumé-like descriptions: This should be a story-driven essay, not a bullet-pointed brag sheet.
- Forcing a fake connection: Don’t awkwardly mash together two things just because you think they sound quirky or unique. Authenticity beats quirk for its own sake.
Option B
Students at Sarah Lawrence are asked to design their own research questions directly with faculty, and then answer them through intensive semester-long projects that frequently inspire a blend of intellectual rigor and creativity. In 250-500 words, tell us about a text, problem or topic you would love to explore over a semester or a year, and what you would hope to achieve through that work.
Brainstorming your topic
Sarah Lawrence emphasizes independent, faculty-guided projects, so your answer should:
- Show that you can generate your own research question (not just pick a preexisting paper topic).
- Demonstrate that you can connect a passion or curiosity to a concrete, rigorous academic project.
- Highlight how you’d approach this work in a way that blends creativity and analytical depth.
They’re less interested in hearing about what you already know and more interested in how you’d explore the unknown. Your topic doesn’t have to be a conventional academic discipline—it can be interdisciplinary, quirky, or even unconventional—as long as you make it feel intellectually rich.
While students might feel that this prompt has to relate back to their desired major, you actually have more freedom here to write about anything you are interested in exploring intellectually. With all that freedom, some students might find this an appealing option, while others might be overwhelmed and prefer to go with a more direct prompt in Option A, C, or D.
However, we would say that the beauty of this prompt is that it allows you to discuss something you are passionate about, without worrying about whether it’s the subject you’ve done the best in or the intended major you’ve listed. The idea is to simply come up with a research project that you would enjoy pursuing.
When it comes to picking a topic, we recommend that you hone into something specific. For example, don’t pick “the Roman Empire” as your topic, but instead focus on “the changing role of women during the transition from the Republic to the Empire”. Below are some more examples of the types of creative and specific research topics you could choose:
- How behavioral psychology influences Super Bowl ads
- The effects of honeybees on global food supply
- Why are revolutions a popular topic in musicals?
- The connection between dystopian novels and political activism
- The future of organ donations with 3D printers
- Who was the real Great Gatsby?
- Improving infrastructure rehabilitation in the aftermath of war
Tips for writing your essay
Once you have a topic in mind, there are four things your essay needs to do.
- Explain why you have chosen this particular topic.
- Actually explain what your research will be about.
- As stated in the prompt, explain what you hope to achieve from your research—or, in other words, explain the broader significance of your hypothetical work.
- Tie your research back to Sarah Lawrence. The strongest essays will prove to the admissions committee that the student will only be able to pursue this research at Sarah Lawrence because of the unique opportunities available there.
Note: It’s important to note that the two first steps can happen in reverse order. Depending on how you write your essay, it might make more sense to first fill the reader in on what specifically you are interested in, and then explain where your passion for the topic came from. Or, maybe through your story of why you are passionate about the topic, you will reveal information about it, which will naturally transition into explaining your research question(s) in more depth.
Either structure is fine! Just make sure your reader can clearly follow your ideas, and that they’re learning both why you’re interested in this topic and what specifically you hope to learn.
However you choose to spin it, if you include specific opportunities you will engage with and explain how they will enhance your research, it will show the admissions committee you have done your research (no pun intended) and you are serious about attending Sarah Lawrence.
Example introductions:
Good example: “When I first read Invisible Cities, I became obsessed with its idea that places hold memories as vividly as people do. I want to explore how architecture can intentionally preserve personal and collective memory through sensory design. My research would blend cognitive psychology on scent and sound triggers with architectural theory on memorial spaces, alongside field visits and interviews. Ultimately, I’d design a small-scale ‘memory room’—an installation using smell, texture, and sound to spark recollection. This project would merge intellectual study and creative design to transform memory from a private mental act into a shared physical experience.”
Why it works: This essay is centered around a specific question which allows the student to dive deep into the particular interest. Additionally, it has an interdisciplinary scope, focusing on architecture as well as cognitive psychology. It’s also clear through this introduction what sparked this student’s interest. Finally, they incorporated clear research steps, creative phases, and a well-defined outcome, demonstrating that they understand the key elements of successful research.
Bad example: “I am interested in history and culture, so I’d spend the semester researching how cities develop and what influences their growth. I would read books about well-known cities, compare them, and write a paper. This would help me understand more about the world and how societies function. I might also look at different cultures’ approaches to building and expansion. I think this would be a good project because it’s important to learn about history and how it shapes the present. By the end, I would be more knowledgeable about cities and more aware of cultural differences around the globe.”
Why it doesn’t work: Besides the fact that this topic is extremely vague, this essay lacks a specific research question which keeps the whole response feeling very general and unengaging. We also don’t get any sense of where this student’s interest in history and culture came from because there’s no personal connection. Finally, there isn’t a clearly details research process, and the outcome of learning more about the world is far too generic to reveal anything about this student to the admissions committee.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Being too generic: “I’d study literature” or “I’m interested in psychology” without a specific lens or question.
- Choosing a topic you can’t connect to personally: If it could be anyone’s project, it won’t stand out.
- Focusing only on the end product: They want to see your process and thinking, not just your intended result.
- Listing everything you’d read without synthesis: Show how you’d use the texts; don’t just name them.
- Underplaying creativity: Even in a STEM topic, show an inventive twist or unexpected method.
Option C
Liberal arts and sciences colleges have a long and robust history of providing the educational foundation for the careers of influential politicians, financiers, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists, CEOs, and more. Many of them cite their liberal arts degree as foundational and transformative for how they took on challenges in the world and for shaping their lives after college. How do you see your upcoming college studies leading to your future career (or careers)?
Understanding the prompt
First, it’s important to note that not all students know what they want to major in, or even what career path they may wish to pursue. After all, exploring fields of study is one of the principal points of college. With that in mind, if you find that you have only a nebulous idea of what career you want (or no idea at all), you may want to consider responding to one of the other prompts.
If you have a stronger concept for what you’re going to pursue in college, this might be the prompt for you. It’s okay if you end up changing your mind about your major or career in the future; all you really require to be able to answer this prompt is a sense of your college/career goals as they are now, even if you ultimately don’t stick with them specifically.
This prompt is similar to the common “Why This Major?” prompt archetype, but with a unique Sarah Lawrence twist.
Brainstorming questions
Even if you know what your major and future career might be, you want to brainstorm specific anecdotes and goals that will add depth and detail to your essay. We’ve compiled the following questions to get you started:
- What’s the earliest moment you can remember being drawn to your intended field?
- Which specific skills from that field do you want to master in college?
- What interdisciplinary connections excite you? (e.g., a Political Science major who also wants to study data science for policy analysis)
- Is there a real-world problem you’re determined to address, and how will your studies help?
- Which aspects of the liberal arts approach—critical thinking, writing, adaptability, collaboration—do you see as crucial in your future work?
- Have you had any formative experiences (internships, projects, independent research) that show how you already think like someone in your intended career?
- If you imagine yourself 10 years from now, what are you doing on a random Tuesday afternoon at work? How did your college experience prepare you for that moment?
Tips for writing your essay
Once you’ve figured out your field of study and gotten an idea of what you think you should write about, it’s time to plan out how you intend to tackle the prompt. For a prompt like this, a narrative approach is generally quite effective. Let’s take a look at one way you could structure this narrative essay.
Start with a vivid moment or snapshot showing your interest in action. Instead of something like “I have always been interested in history,” say something more like, “Under the dim light of the microfilm reader, I scrolled through 1940s newspapers, chasing down the origins of a local housing dispute.”
Evocative sensory details can serve as an immediate hook, drawing the reader into your unique personal background and story. From here, you’ll want to establish your personal connection to your field of choice. You don’t want to just tell a riveting story; you want to connect your narrative to the field, showcasing why it’s the field for you.
Make it clear you didn’t pick your major randomly. To do this, you should connect the dots among a few things:
- What you want to study.
- How that subject will prepare you for your goals.
- Why the liberal arts framework is uniquely suited to that preparation.
Once you accomplish this goal, highlight your interdisciplinary curiosity. Sarah Lawrence (as well as liberal arts schools in general) wants students who see how economics connects to literature, or how biology overlaps with ethics. Try to connect these seemingly disparate fields together.
Next, be as specific as you can about your career vision. Even if your plans change later on, a well-articulated current goal is better for a prompt like this than a vague phrase like “I’m open to anything.”
Finally, end your response with forward momentum—a sense that your college studies will launch you into a lifetime of meaningful work.
Here are two hypothetical students to show you some examples of how you might approach this topic:
- Isabella – Environmental Policy Innovator: Growing up along Florida’s Gulf Coast, Isabella watched red tide outbreaks devastate fishing communities. She plans to major in Environmental Studies and minor in Economics, aiming to craft sustainable fisheries policies. She believes that she will be able to achieve her goals with a liberal arts foundation, as she plans to pair ecology with courses in political science, ethics, and communication. This background will prepare her to navigate the intricate intersection of science and legislation.
- Malik – Narrative-Driven Neuroscientist: Malik fell in love with neuroscience after his grandfather’s Parkinson’s diagnosis. He also writes short stories to process the emotional complexity of dealing with a loved one’s illness. He sees a foundation in liberal arts as the best way to merge biology and creative writing, preparing for a career in medical communications that makes complex research accessible to patients.
Here are good and bad examples of how Malik could approach this prompt. Note that they are not meeting the word limit, as they’re meant to simply be illustrative.
Good Example: “When my grandfather’s hands began to tremble, I started keeping a journal—not of symptoms, but of the stories he told between pauses. That’s how I learned science can be as much about listening as lab work. Studying cognitive and brain science with a foundation in liberal arts will give me the tools to understand the brain and the language to make that knowledge human. Courses in biology, creative writing, and ethics will help me craft medical narratives that demystify research for patients and families. My goal is to make science a language of comfort, not confusion, for those navigating illness.”
Why it works: This essay kicks off with the personal connection of Malik’s grandfather, which shows us where his motivation for his interests developed from. There is also a clear connection to the liberal arts education. Finally, it discusses what Malik wants to do in the future beyond just stating the job title—it shows us the type of work and the outcomes he wants to make possible.
Bad Example: “I want to major in neuroscience because the brain is very interesting. I think a liberal arts college will give me a well-rounded education that will help in any job. My career goal is to help people understand science better, possibly through writing. I also enjoy creative writing, so I think that could be useful. With these skills, I could work in journalism, research, or even teaching. College will prepare me for the challenges ahead by giving me knowledge and the ability to think critically.”
Why it doesn’t work: This essay could have been written by any student. It doesn’t reveal anything personal about the applicant and has very little imagery or emotional connection. Overall, it feels bland and generic.
Option D
In today’s rapidly changing world, many social, political, and ethical issues spark intense debate and demand nuanced understanding. Choose a contemporary issue that you find both challenging and urgent—whether it relates to identity, justice, artificial intelligence, environment, or another area—and critically explore your perspective on it. How have your previous experiences, background, and/or values shaped your viewpoint? How do you envision engaging with this issue during your college education and beyond?
This is a fairly standard version of the common Political/Global Issues essay archetype.
This type of prompt is meant to highlight that you’re an active, socially aware individual who genuinely cares about others and wants to create positive change. Because of how this specific prompt is worded, it’s safe to assume that admissions officers will also be evaluating your ability to think critically and solve problems. This prompt is also a chance for Sarah Lawrence to gauge how well your values align with theirs.
Understanding the prompt
This particular prompt is asking you to:
- Choose one contemporary issue that feels urgent and complex — something you think about deeply. It can be global (e.g., climate change, AI ethics) or local (e.g., gentrification in your city), but it must be current and contested.
- Analyze your perspective on the issue — not just what you think, but why you think it, based on your background, experiences, and values.
- Show how you’ll engage with the issue in college and beyond — what you plan to do, study, or create to address it.
- A strong response is not a news report. It’s a personal reflection that blends critical thinking with lived experience, then looks forward to concrete action.
To help you decide on a topic, consider the following questions:
- What’s a social, political, or ethical topic you’ve found yourself researching or debating in the past year?
- Which issue has made you change your mind over time? What caused that shift?
- Have you ever had personal experiences that made an abstract issue feel real?
- Which challenge makes you feel like you can’t just stay silent?
- How do your cultural background, family values, or life experiences shape how you view this issue?
- If you could lead a project on campus tomorrow addressing this problem, what would it be?
As you choose a topic, be mindful of the importance of value alignment. One thing all schools with this kind of prompt are looking for is students that align with their values. A student population that embodies the values of the school tends to lead to a strong sense of community. You don’t necessarily need to fully align with all of Sarah Lawrence College’s mission, vision, and values, but this prompt might be easier for you to address if you do.
If your views don’t align with those of the college, you’ll want to minimize the gap between your viewpoint and that of the school. After all, an admissions officer will be reviewing your essay, and admissions officers are human beings with biases (even ones they are probably not aware of) just like everyone else. With that in mind, if you find that the typically liberal and progressive views of the college don’t resonate strongly with you, you may want to consider answering one of the other prompt options instead.
Tips for writing your essay
No matter what issue you choose to discuss, a good essay will define a clear and specific issue, establish a personal connection and credibility, show a nuanced stance, display forward-looking engagement, and integrate your past, present, and future. This may sound daunting, but if you choose your issue well, the rest should follow.
Let’s break down why you should include these above things:
- A clear issue: “Climate change” is too broad a topic to make for a strong essay. “The disproportionate impact of urban heat islands on low-income neighborhoods” is something more specific and personalizable.
- Personal connection and credibility: You should explain why you care. Maybe your hometown floods every hurricane season, or perhaps your family works in a field affected by rapid AI automation.
- A nuanced stance: You’ll want to avoid one-dimensional takes. Show that you’ve considered multiple perspectives and acknowledge complexity.
- Forward-looking engagement: Name specific things at Sarah Lawrence—courses, clubs, professors, research—that align with your stance on the issue and your long-term goals.
- Integration of past, present, and future: Weave together your past experiences, current reflections, and future ambitions.
Consider a hypothetical student named Ethan, who lives in a rural community. He grew up in a farming town where climate change brought unpredictable weather and crop failures. Ethan is interested in agricultural sustainability, hopes to research renewable irrigation methods in college, and wants to partner with state policymakers after graduation to bring eco-friendly practices to local farms.
Let’s look at good and bad examples of how Ethan might approach this essay. Note that these examples don’t meet the word limit and are here for illustrative purposes.
Good example: “In my hometown, weather dictates the rhythm of life. But lately, that rhythm has been erratic—hail in May, drought in August. I’ve watched my dad lose half his wheat crop two seasons in a row, and I can’t shake the thought that our farming methods might not survive the climate we’re facing. In college, I want to study environmental engineering, focusing on renewable irrigation systems that use reclaimed rainwater. I see myself partnering with our local farmers’ co-op to pilot these methods back home. For me, sustainability is not just abstract policy—it’s the difference between harvest and heartbreak.”
Why this works: Because Ethan used specific and concrete details in this essay, it is engaging and reveals the personal stakes he has in the community issue. Additionally, the essay has a clear plan for how Ethan will apply his experiences and his education to the real world. Also note that there are memorable phrases (i.e. “harvest and heartbreak”) that will leave the admissions officers thinking about this essay even after they’ve finished it.
Bad example: “Climate change is a big problem, and it’s affecting agriculture everywhere. If we don’t take action soon, many farmers will not be able to produce enough food. In college, I want to learn about ways to make farming more sustainable and join environmental clubs. This will help me gain knowledge so I can help people in the future. I think it’s important to use renewable resources and be more eco-friendly. I want to make sure the planet is healthy for future generations and will work hard to achieve this goal.”
Why this doesn’t work: Here, the essay uses broad statements that lack a unique angle based in Ethan’s lived experiences. There is also an overuse of cliché language like “help people in the future”, and the descriptions of the actions Ethan will take in school and in the future are vague and lacking. Overall, the essay feels generic.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Choosing a buzzword issue without depth: Don’t pick “AI” or “climate change” unless you can connect it to your experiences.
- Sounding like an op-ed instead of a personal essay: You’re not writing for The New York Times. This is about your journey and reasoning, not just statistics.
- Being overly idealistic with no plan: “I want to end poverty” is admirable but vague. Show realistic, actionable steps.
- Ignoring the other side: If you present your view without acknowledging opposing arguments or complexities, it feels less thoughtful.
Where to Get Your Sarah Lawrence College Essay Edited for Free
Do you want free, nearly-instantaneous feedback on your Sarah Lawrence essay? After rereading your essay over and over, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. So meet Sage, our AI tutor and advisor, who will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Sage can improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school by helping you show what you have to offer beyond the numbers!
