<p>Here is the prompt for the Pitzer supplement for class of 2011</p>
<p>Founded in 1963, Pitzer College was built upon four core values that re-imagine the purpose of a college education in a progressively changing world. These values are social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning and student autonomy. Almost 50 years later, our students feel that our founding values help prepare them to address the issues of their time. How do you feel these values will help you find solutions to the evolving challenges of your generation? (4000 characters maximum) </p>
<p>I'm having some issues about approaching the prompt. Should I pick one specific challenge, and write about how the values will find solutions to that particular challenge? Or one challenge for each value (four challenges total)? Is it better to be specific or keep it a little more general and ultimately have an essay that talks about the four values solving the challenges of my generation and affecting the future?</p>
<p>someone also made a topic about this in the Pitzer board, seems like everyone is stumped. I was thinking about taking a more general/broad approach to it, I feel like it would be difficult for me to be specific</p>
<p>My D was just admitted to Pitzer Ed. She wrote about her specific interests in the Supp essay and particular programs at Pitzer that reflect the core values. She struggled with the essay at first until she realized that they want to know more about the applicant and not just read about the core values.</p>
<p>reviving an old thread. i thought i’d post an overview that might be helpful for applicants next year, as well as solicit feedback; i’m applying as a new resource student, so i have a couple more weeks to revise.</p>
<p>to my understanding, the purpose of this essay is to show that you understand why these four values are important for being a productive member of society. they want to see that you are preparing for life after school. it’s not a resume of past achievements or a demonstration of expertise, which can be covered in the other essay.</p>
<p>sample outline:</p>
<p>presentation of context
evaluation (i.e. thesis statement or judgment) + forecast of topics (the four core values)</p>
<p>first topic (social responsibility)
reasons + support</p>
<p>transition sentence to second and third topics
second topic (intercultural understanding)
reasons + support</p>
<p>third topic (interdisciplinary learning)
reasons + support</p>
<p>fourth topic (student autonomy)
reasons + support</p>
<p>conclusion
summation of reasons + restate thesis</p>
<p>my draft ended up having no space for any real support (examples i’ve read about, descriptions of past experiences, relevant statistics, or citations from authorities), but it’s really more of an opinion piece so i was ok with that. i could probably pare down the context in the beginning and jam in several more sentences to flesh things out.</p>
<p>In essence,being general doesnt reveal you!hit on your specific interest.It reveals more about you and makes you unique</p>
<p>i did, just not so much in this essay. i figure the two essays are complementary; one for them to understand you, one for you to show that you understand them. it may be unconventional, but that’s only to be expected. anybody else?</p>