Writing the Contributions/Lived Experience Essay
Common App Supplemental Essays
Form: 50–400-word narrative essay
Audience: The admissions committee
Topic: An experience in your life that led you to develop personal qualities or skills
Purpose: To show the committee how you would contribute to their college community, and to give you an opportunity to discuss aspects of your identity, particularly race and ethnicity, that aren’t addressed elsewhere in the application
The Contributions/Lived Experience essay was created by colleges after the 2023 Supreme Court ruling that ended affirmative action. In it, you’ll be asked to discuss how your lived experiences have shaped you into the person you are today, how you might contribute to a college community…or both! Here’s an example:
Sample Contributions/Lived Experience Prompt: Stanford University
Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests, and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (250 words)
Tips for a Great Contributions/Lived Experience Essay
1. Pick an experience to highlight. Start by thinking about what aspect of your lived experience you want to highlight. The obvious candidates are social identities like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, etc. But you can write about ANY experience that has had an impact on the person you are today.
2. Identify how you contribute. You’ll also need to think about how you might contribute to a college community. For example, you could contribute through character traits (see the Top Ten list), skills and abilities, or a unique point of view.
3. Connect the dots between #1 and #2. The strongest essays won’t just say “I’d contribute a passion for biology and a unique point of view on Southeast Asian politics.” They’ll also show the reader how you developed those qualities through your life experiences.
For more on the Contributions/Lived Experience essay, including a sample essay and strategies for telling your story, check out Chapter 6 of Write Yourself In (p. 149).
