<p>A college that I am applying requests that I write a 250 word essay what I as an individual would bring to the campus community. It's UMich and they state, "At the University of Michigan, we are committed to building a superb educational community with students of diverse talents, experiences, opinions and cultural backgrounds."</p>
<p>I don't why but for some reason, I don't know how to approach this. It is so open-ended that I am stuck. What really are they asking me to focus on? Do they want to hear about my extracurriculars or experiences?</p>
<p>What you should do first is read all about U Mich, and think about the things you would like to do outside the classroom...what do they offer that interests and excites you, and how does that dovetail with ec's you've been pursuing in college and maybe in even h.s. Also, think about how you contribute to the intellectual life of school through your style of classroom participation or any other academic things you've done (research, TA-ing, etc.), or maybe any other personal attributes that set you apart and make you someone who can offer a unique perspective or point of view. After you've thought about those things, you can construct an essay which shows how your particular interests, strengths, experience and/ or talents would mesh with and contribute to the specific opportunities at UMich. (if you're mentioning personal attributes and intellectual/academic contributions, do that first, then ec type stuff second).</p>
<pre><code> talents
experiences
opinions
cultural background
</code></pre>
<p>Given your chosen category, tell about yourself. What is it about you that will make the most significant contribution to a "superb educational community"?</p>
<p>In 250 words, I would not try to say why your talents match with UM. I would just respond literally to the prompt: of all that you would bring to the University, persuasively tell of one or two that will make the most significant contribution to a "superb educational community".</p>
<p>It was actually on the steps of the Michigan Union that JFK made his famous Peace Corps speech. Take a cue from him and ask what you can do for your university. </p>
<p>In otherwords, what will you bring to the table of the campus community?</p>
<p>This can be extracurricular -- will you play sports, write for the newspaper, act, dance, lead, etc? </p>
<p>It can be diversity -- racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, geographic, political. (Of course you can't just BE it, you have to explain how your diversity status will contribute.) </p>
<p>And it should also be intellectual -- how will your life experiences and academic interests add to lively discussion both in and out of the classroom?</p>
<p>I don't think that big universities like UMich put a whole lot of weight on these kinds of statements the way LACs do, but it can't hurt if you have something positive to contribute.</p>