colorado college supplemental essay examples

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A Strong Colorado College Essay Example

Colorado College is a private liberal arts college in Colorado Springs. Since it’s a small school, you will have to be an impressive applicant to gain a spot here. In addition to strong academics and extracurriculars, you will also need persuasive and engaging essays to put you over the top.

In this post, we will share an essay a real student submitted to Colorado College. We will also go over what the essay did well and where it could improve to give you a better idea of how to approach your Colorado College essays.

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our Colorado College essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts. 

Colorado College Essay Example

Prompt: The Block Plan at Colorado College has a  tradition of innovation and flexibility. Please design your own three-and- a-half- week course and describe what you would do. (Recommended length: 2-3 paragraphs)

I love country music. I am moved by its sad, sultry lyrics, like “Take your records, take your freedom” in Keith Urban’s You’ll Think of Me; I smile over its hopeful, trusting words, like “Something about your hand in mine, just feels right” in James Barker Band’s Good Together; and I laugh when Garth Brooks sings, “Blame it all on my roots, I showed up in boots, and ruined your black-tie affair ,” in Friends in Low Places.

Still, as a genre, country is far from perfect. Whether it’s objectifying women or promoting alcohol as the solution to all problems, the music can be wildly unprogressive, yet still quickly accepted by listeners. I also have questions regarding certain motifs: Why are trucks seen as more fitting for songs than cars? Why does everyone wear bluejeans? 

If I were to design a course for Colorado College’s block plan, I would call it  “Country Music in the 21st Century.” Week One would study the history. Reaching as far back as the Civil War, the course would survey the various influences, instruments, and personalities that shaped the genre. It would also look at artists like Brooks & Dunn and Johhny Cash; key regional centers for country music, such as Nashville, Kentucky, and even California; and how various forces shaped the music into what is now popular country. This week would also include lyrical analysis of some of country’s biggest hits — from “Jolene” to “You’re Still the One” — and begin comparing themes from the 20th century to those that are popular today. 

Week Two would focus on the underrepresentation and the objectification of women in country music. The domination of the genre by men results in the music talking about women, yet rarely allows them to form their own opinions. The first half of the second week would expose this prejudice, looking at sexism found in lyrics (for example, Billy Curington’s “Hey, Girl”), showing the numbers in male success vs female success, and look at the hurdles women must jump over to gain stardom in country music. The second half would celebrate female country stars and their progressive hits, like Danielle Bradberry’s “Worth it” and Kelsi Ballerini’s “I Miss Me More.” 

Week Three would identify and analyze the subgenres of new country – from sad country, to “in love” country, to good times country, to political country, and everything in between. The final for the class (worked on and and presented in the last half-week of the block) would not be a traditional exam, but rather a final project in which students compose their own country song which incorporates elements from old country, women in country, and other themes that have emerged. Additionally, throughout the course, students would attend a local modern country concert every week.

I am extremely enticed by the block plan at Colorado College. Diving into just one topic, rather than splitting my focus between a number of classes, sounds like my cup of tea, especially when that course could be all about country music.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay is so strong because the student picked a topic they are deeply passionate and knowledgable about, which is evident through their level of detail. Including the names of various singers, lyrics from songs, and different types of country music (whether by region or message), reveals to the reader just how much this student knows about country music. Especially in an essay where you are teaching a class about something you are deeply passionate about, it’s so important that you include a high level of detail about your topic to quickly convey your expertise on the subject.

Right from the beginning, their passion is well-established. The introductory paragraph is a good example of how to expand on an idea in a productive and descriptive way. “ I love country music ” is a punchy hook that tells us exactly what their passion is quite plainly. But they don’t stop there. They go through and explain each aspect of country music they appreciate, the emotional response it stirs from the student, and a specific lyric from a song that exemplifies their point for the reader. By the end of the paragraph you already feel like you’ve learned so much about country music, simply because this student took the time to explain it to us.

Another positive of this essay is how it dives deeper than just the topic of country music. This student clearly loves this genre of music, but their class isn’t just teaching students about the music—they are applying issues of social justice and female empowerment to their course. Acknowledging social issues and how your interests interact with the world at large shows a level of maturity that admissions officers are sure to appreciate.

What Could Be Improved

One thing this essay should be aware of is that it has a bit of an agenda. The applicant makes it explicit that her course will commend certain female singers for their “ progressive ” songwriting. While this phrasing shows her passion, we wouldn’t recommend that you set up your class as a way to prove something or change minds. Rather, you should emphasize creating discussion and facilitating inquiry. For example, a more nuanced stance than “ modern female country singers should be praised for their progressivism ” might be “ what demographic or music-industry changes have enabled these female singers to find receptive female audiences? ” This ensures that it’s about the discussion, not the applicant’s belief. 

Another thing to be conscious of is the length of the essay. Although the length is recommend, it is only supposed to be two or three paragraphs and this essay is six. So blatantly ignoring the length can signal to admissions officers you either aren’t good art following rules or you don’t respect their time.

To get closer to three or four paragraphs, this essay could remove the conclusion as it doesn’t add anything of substance that hasn’t already been said. They could also combine the first and second paragraphs with a sentence like this: “ I love country music, but I hate the embedded misogyny in it. My blood boils over lines like ‘Shake it for the young bucks sittin’ in the honky-tonks’ in Luke Bryan’s Country Girl. Why shouldn’t we expect more from country music in this day and age?” By mirroring the structure of the first paragraph, this sentence conveys the key ideas of the second, without requiring a whole new paragraph.

Where to Get Your Colorado College Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your Colorado College essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. 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 want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Colorado College 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 15

You Have: 

Colorado College 2024-25 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 essay of 250-300 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Community, Diversity

In seeking to identify students who will thrive here, our supplemental essay prompt asks you to think about your experiences and potential for engagement with ideas in one of three areas that are critical to us as an institution and as a community:

Antiracism . colorado college is committed to becoming an antiracist institution. we are working to break down systemic racism and foster an inclusive environment in which students, staff, and faculty of diverse backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives can thrive. with antiracism central to our mission, our students are better prepared to make meaningful change in the world., sustainability . we aspire to make cc a model for sustainability. 24 out of 30 academic departments offer at least one course that includes sustainability topics, we’re one of the top institutions in the country for water conservation, and our library is the largest net-zero academic library in the nation. we live our commitment to a thriving future., wellness . we recognize that there is no singular pathway to wellbeing, and empower students to envision and follow their own paths to wellness. through a variety of resources designed to address physical, spiritual, and mental health while helping students develop skills in areas like stress management and building healthy relationships, we equip students to live healthy and fulfilling lives. , with that background information in mind, here is the 2024-2025 supplemental essay prompt:, colorado college values creating an equitable, environmentally-conscious, and healthy community. choose one of these areas – antiracism, sustainability, or wellness – and describe your experiences and the specific ways you plan to get involved in this area at cc..

Colorado College may win the award for longest prompt ever while asking a very simple question: what have you done and what will you do on campus to further antiracism, sustainability, or wellness? Each of the three topics is fair game, so choose the one that speaks to you the most and write about your experiences. Maybe you developed crippling anxiety as you entered high school and discovered that swimming laps every morning was the perfect calming meditation. Perhaps you staged a protest at your school when they tried to remove recycling bins. If you don’t have any demonstrable experience with the topics, don’t worry; write about the aspects of your personality, values, or experiences that would prime you to get involved in one of these areas at CC. Perhaps you’ll act in allyship and challenge racial microaggressions when they arise in your dorm. Maybe you come from a multiracial family and have been struck by your effortless code-switching, prompting you to think more deeply about race in America and how you can effect positive change through a research project for your Linguistics minor. Whether you write about antiracism, sustainability, or wellness, make sure you tailor your response to demonstrate how you will further this agenda on campus. 

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