<p>I was wondering if anyone could provide some insight as to how to approach the "Community" essay prompt. What are some important things to consider? Should I link it to UMich's programs at all?</p>
<p>I linked mine to my prospective major and I even mentioned a professor that I always wanted to work with. </p>
<p>I attended application workshops held by Umich admissions reps and their advice was to specify and be detailed and personal. In your essays, show them who you are and what makes you unique. Lots of people talked about sports or their city, but you need to dig deeper and choose a topic that reflects the real you. </p>
<p>I wrote mine as kind of a tongue-in-cheek diss to the word “community”. I said that I belonged to the community that hates the word community (later clarifying, I called the community the “ideological counter-culture”).</p>
<p>Just write about a <em>unique</em> community you belong to, one that won’t be written about much. That probably eliminates the sports team, church (unless you could elaborate on what makes your church different), or geography aspect. Not to say you can’t take one of those routes, it would just be harder to make it sound different.</p>
<p>All these admissions people want is a little slice of you, so try to sneak in a little about your interests and what draws you to Michigan. Best of luck and I hope we all get accepted.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the advice! I guess the key is to just be really unique with it. </p>
<p>I had 3 different ideas and therefore ended up writing 3 different essays. I really recommend this. Just hit the paper and let your fingers take you wherever they go (I swear it’s easier than you think – deciding to get started is half the battle). My winning one was about my county (a literal community) and how getting involved with a non-profit outreach organization showed me so many different sides to my county that I had never even knew existed. I originally thought I would not have enough to say on this topic, so I tried writing about my camp and even religious identity. It was very helpful to experiment with each topic because it enabled me to realize when an essay was a winner. Either think outside the box for a creative topic OR take a cliche topic and approach it from a very creative angle. Good luck and go blue. :)</p>