So I am applying to Richmond and still have to finish my essay. My new neighbors happen to be a married couple that met while attending Richmond and recently they were asking me about my applications. The Richmond essay prompts came up and both graduates stated they thought the prompts were ridiculous, especially “Tell us about spiders.” I am curious what others think of the prompts. Are they a tad ridiculous? Are they fair compared to other college’s supplemental prompts? What do you think?
I personally really liked the “Spiders” prompt! Then again, I also applied to UChicago, LOL. I definitely don’t think they’re ridiculous; by using such open-ended prompts, Richmond wants insight into how you think. Another great part about such prompts is that you do what you want with them, and tell the story that you want told. The first prompt was pretty normal, basically just “Choose your own question and answer.” I think that’s pretty standard. “Spiders” is more out-of-the-box, but the Office of Admissions was very excited about the prompt, and there are just so many ways to spin it that I think it’s fantastic.
TL;DR Yes, the prompts are a bit weird in their open-endedness, but I think a lot of people like that.
My D is having trouble coming up with something creative, I assume they want to get essays on how great being a Richmond Spider would be but how does she write this in a way that they haven’t seen a million times?
I actually am writing about my personal experiences with real spiders, but I would say the best advice is to be sincere if she’s writing about what it means to be a Richmond spider. Talk about somewhere or something about the campus or university or program she wishes to be in and just expand on it. Don’t fluff up the essay for no reason. That’s what I would say.
Cloudysmom my D2 approached the spider essay in an unusual way; she basically stated how detestable spiders are and went from there. It was extremely descriptive, funny and honest. She did end the essay by mentioning the importance of spiders in the ecosystem. The more out of the box you can go the better I believe.