By: Caroline Koppelman
Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be the other student in the class, and why?
Every year there are multiple supplements that ask you to write about a person. Whether the supplement is similar to Williams, which asks you to choose a person for your class, or Barnard where you’ll have to write about having lunch with someone, this question comes up a lot. As with all supplements, there are an endless number of options.
When writing your response, you must be careful about your answer. Your answer will speak volumes about you and can greatly affect your candidacy. Like your common app essay, this is an opportunity to show a part of yourself that isn’t represented anywhere else on the application. So, you want the person you choose to be unique, thought provoking, and interesting. The admission officer should initially think, “I wonder why they chose this person?” Dig deep for this question and think about authors, chefs, actors, politicians, activists, mentors, innovators, artists, leaders of NGOs or charities, or musicians who aren’t well known. Start by thinking about the things you enjoy learning, reading, and experiencing. Your answer should expose a secret passion that you have and allow the reader to understand you more. In your answer, be ready to give context and defend your choice. You want to communicate why you chose this person out of everyone in the world. Beware of being too controversial or dark in order to stand out.
Above all else, avoid the cliché people. If you’re thinking of writing about any of the following, we strongly encourage you to go back to the drawing board. Although all of these people are okay answers, they are overdone.
Don’t write about:
- Hillary Clinton
- Beyonce
- Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Oprah
- Rosa Parks
- Your Grandma
- Donald Trump
- Elon Musk
- Benjamin Franklin
- Alexander Hamilton
- Ghandi
- The Kardashians
- Harriet Tubman
- Hitler
- Martin Luther King Jr.
- Kobe Bryant
- Harry Potter
- Albert Einstein
- Warren Buffet
- Barack Obama
- Marilyn Monroe
- Elvis Presley
- Taylor Swift
- Coco Chanel
- George Clooney
- Pablo Picasso
- Alexander the Great
- Tim Cook
- Marie Curie
- Stephen Hawking
- Caitlyn Jenner
- Malala Yousafzai
- Bono