1. Pluto, the demoted planet. Ophiuchus, the thirteenth Zodiac. Andy Murray, the fourth to tennis's Big Three. Every grouping has something that doesn't quite fit in. Tell us about a group and its unofficial member, why (or why not) should it be excluded?

2. Were Snowflake and Napoleon right that some animals are more equal than others? Consider hierarchy and order as you craft your response.

3. UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would recognize and why.

4. What's a saying, phrase, or quote that has stuck with you or that you've often heard repeated?

5. In the spirit of adventurous inquiry (and with the encouragement of the University of Chicago Admissions Office), choose your own prompt or submit a response to a prompt the student has received from another institution or created on their own.

1. The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (250 words)

2. Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate — and us — get to know you better. (250 words)

3. Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (250 words)

4. What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words)

5. How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words)

6. What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words)

7. What five words best describe you? (5-10 words)

1. Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (150 words)

2. You may wish to include an additional essay if you feel that the college application forms do not provide sufficient opportunity to convey important information about yourself or your accomplishments. You may write on a topic of your choice, or you may choose from one of the following topics: (Optional)

3. Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body, with members who have different perspectives, interests, and backgrounds. To better understand how you might contribute to our community, please respond to the following question in 200 words or less: How would your friends characterize you? In what ways do you feel you complement and add to the Princeton community? (200 words)

1. What inspires you? (200 words or fewer)

2. Yale students live and learn alongside thousands of other brilliant minds. What do you hope your Yale suitemates will learn from you? (200 words or fewer)

3. Describe something about yourself that is not addressed elsewhere in your application but that you feel would be relevant to the admissions committee. (200 words or fewer)

1. As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and engineering. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)

2. At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)

3. Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals. (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)

1. Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (250 words or fewer)

2. Tell us about the most significant challenge you've faced or something important that didn't go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (250 words or fewer)

3. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (200–250 words)

4. At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world's biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc. (200–250 words)

5. Tell us about a significant challenge you've faced or something that didn't go according to plan that you feel comfortable sharing. How did you manage the situation? (200-250 words)

1. List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of your schoolwork that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)

2. We're interested in learning about some of the ways that you explore your interests. List some resources and outlets that you enjoy, including but not limited to websites, publications, journals, podcasts, social media accounts, lectures, museums, movies, music, or other content with which you regularly engage. (125 words or fewer)

3. A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and live in a community with a wide range of perspectives. How do you or would you learn from and contribute to diverse, collaborative communities? (200 words or fewer)

4. Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? (200 words or fewer)

1. If you're applying to Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, please discuss why you consider Duke a good match for you. Is there something in particular at Duke that attracts you? (200 words maximum)

2. If you're applying to the Pratt School of Engineering, please discuss why you want to study engineering and why you would like to study at Duke. (200 words maximum)

3. Duke University seeks a talented, engaged student body that embodies the wide range of human experience; we believe that the diversity of our students makes our community stronger. If you'd like to share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had that would help us understand you better, perhaps a community you belong to or your family or cultural background, we encourage you to do so below. Real people are reading your application, and we want to do our best to understand and appreciate the real people applying to Duke. (250 words maximum)

1. Brown's Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)

2. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

3. At Brown, you will learn as much from your peers outside the classroom as in academic spaces. How will you contribute to the Brown community? (200-250 words)

1. Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth's Class of 2025, what aspects of the College's academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? (100 words or less)

2. Please respond in 100 words or fewer: While arguing a Dartmouth-related case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1818, Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, delivered this memorable line: "It is, Sir…a small college. And yet, there are those who love it!" As you seek admission to the Class of 2025, what aspects of the College's program, community, or campus environment attract your interest?

3. Choose one of the following prompts and respond in 250-300 words:

• The Hawaiian word mo'olelo is often translated as "story" but it can also refer to history, legend, genealogy, and tradition. Use one of these translations to introduce yourself.
• What excites you?
• In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba, Class of 2014, reflects: "If you want to make it, all you have to do is try." What's your try?
• If Dartmouth could offer you admission to only one course, which course would you want to take, and why?

1. Describe three experiences and/or activities that have helped develop your passion for a possible career in a STEM field. (Your response for each experience/activity should range between 10–120 words.)

2. Much like the life of a professional scientist or engineer, the life of a "Techer" relies heavily on collaboration. Knowing this, what do you hope to explore, innovate, or create with your Caltech peers? (Your response should range between 250–400 words.)

3. Caltech students are often known for their sense of humor and creative pranks. What do you like to do for fun? (Your response should range between 250–400 words.)

4. The process of discovery best advances when people from various backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives come together. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity of Caltech's community? (Your response should range between 250–400 words.)

1. While other parts of your application give us a sense of who you are, we are also excited to hear more about how you see yourself engaging with the larger Northwestern community. In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond.

2. In the past year, which activity, interest, experience, or intellectual pursuit captured your heart, mind, time, and energy? Why? (200 words)

3. If you were to teach a course at Northwestern, what would it be called and what would it explore? (200 words)

1. Please elaborate on one of your activities (extracurricular, personal activities, or work experience). (150 words)

2. What did you learn about yourself in adapting to new challenges or responsibilities during the pandemic? (150 words)

3. Think about the person you hope to become and the community you hope to help build at Rice. (300-500 words)

4. Based upon your exploration of Rice University, what elements of the Rice experience appeal to you most to help you to grow here? (150 words)

5. Rice students care deeply about their academic pursuits, but they're also known for prioritizing the experience of each student in the community. Keeping this in mind, please tell us what attribute(s) of Rice you think would align best with your personality, outlook, and/or values. (150 words)

1. Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, describe how you intend to explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania. (300-450 words)

2. At Penn, learning and growth happen outside of the classroom, too. How will you explore the community at Penn? Consider how this community will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape this community. (150-200 words)

1. Washington and Lee University seeks to build a community that is diverse, equitable, and inclusive. Through our admissions process, we admit students who will contribute to these values. Please share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had to help us better understand how you would contribute to our mission of inclusion and how your perspective, leadership, and/or experiences might benefit the W&L community. (250 words)

2. Why are you interested in attending Washington and Lee University? (250 words)

1. Most Pomona students conduct research or produce an original creative work during their time here. Tell us how you might use our resources to create an academic project of your own, and why such a project would be meaningful to you. (250 words)

2. Please respond to one of the following prompts: (250 words)

• In the past few years, is there something you have changed your mind about? Why?
• Reflecting on your own interests and experiences, please comment on how you will contribute to life at Pomona.
• In a world full of turmoil and uncertainty, what gives you hope?

1. Please respond to one of the prompts below in a short essay of 300 words or fewer:

• At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner's work. Focused on close reading, writing, and oral argument, tutorials help students develop clear analytical thinking and persuasive communication. While tutorials aren't for everyone, which academic settings or experiences have been most intellectually rewarding for you? Why?
• At Williams we believe that learning happens not just inside the classroom but beyond it as well: in residence halls, over a shared meal, on athletic teams, and with student groups. Our student body is made up of artists, scientists, athletes, activists, policy wonks, raconteurs, lovers of puns, and so much more. How do you see yourself contributing to the Williams community?
• The first-year experience at Williams includes living in an Entry—a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that's a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what's likely to be the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives, and interests they've ever encountered. What do you want to bring from your own background and experiences? And what do you hope to learn from others?