McDaniel College
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McDaniel College’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts
Select-A-Prompt Essay
Pick One Optional Question
Option 1
Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you.
Option 2
Discuss some issue of personal, local, national or international concern and its importance to you.
Option 3
Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you and describe that influence.
Option 4
Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc.) that has had an influence on you and explain that influence.
Option 5
A range of academic interests, personal perspectives and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community, or describe an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
Option 6
Write about a topic of your choice. This can be a previously written sample you wrote for a class or project.
Extracurricular Essay
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.
Common App Personal Essay
The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.
Option 1
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
Option 2
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Option 3
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Option 4
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Option 5
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Option 6
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Option 7
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
