Trinity is a private liberal arts school in Hartford, Connecticut. Around 2,000 undergraduate students attend the school, and the student to faculty ratio is 9:1. The acceptance rate for the class of 2024 was 35%.
Here’s what you’ll see on the common app website:
OPTIONAL: Please consider writing an additional, optional essay that focuses on your specific interest in Trinity College. You may select one of the following prompts and write an essay of 250-650 words. you can type directly into the box or you can paste text from another source.
If you’re serious about attending Trinity, you need to submit a response. There’s no such thing as an optional supplement. Here are the prompts:
We live in an urban-global age with more than half of the planet's people living in cities. Trinity College is an urban liberal arts college deeply engaged with the local community and committed to making an impact across the world. How do you aspire to use your education to impact local and global communities?
This supplement reads a bit clunky, so it might be helpful to think of it as: “How will I use my Trinity education to help others?”
Assuming you’ve read through both the website and these supplements, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that Trinity is obsessed with the location of the college, and that they’re looking for students who will take advantage of their liberal arts education by using what they’ve learned to improve communities around the world. There are two boxes that you need to check in your essay:
Figure out what kind of impact you want to make.
Explain how your intended academic path at Trinity will help you make an impact.
If the above sounds overwhelming, you might want to start by focusing on an issue that you would like to address. The best way to find something meaningful is to look for local examples of widespread and global issues that you’ve had first-hand experience with. So, if you live in California and you’ve been affected by the wildfires, you might use your personal story to explain why you care. A big part of this essay is getting the admissions team to care about your issue as well, so you’re better off sticking with a personal example so that you can write passionately about a cause. From there, you could explain why studying Environmental Science will help you understand the root causes of environmental destruction, and how you plan to use what you’ve learned at Trinity to work with non-profits and government agencies to lobby for better economic policies.
If starting with an issue doesn’t suit you, start by researching the academic program that you intend to study at Trinity. Then, read through everything until you’ve figured out how you can use their offerings to make some sort of positive change within your field of choice.
Whichever route you choose, tell Trinity what you plan to study. Then, identify specific offerings that will inch you closer to your goal. You should write about two upper-level courses that you want to take, a professor who you’d like to do research with, and one more Trinity specific opportunity. Your response should read like a story with a beginning, middle, and end that explains why you’re a perfect match for Trinity, and how their offerings will help you take steps towards positive change in the community of your choice.
Our mission states: "Engage. Connect. Transform. As the preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting, Trinity College prepares students to be bold, independent thinkers who lead transformative lives." Keeping the three pillars of the mission in mind, how do you see yourself contributing to the Trinity community?
We suggest skipping over the mission statement and focusing on this part of the prompt: “how do you see yourself contributing to the Trinity community?”
You can back into this question by thinking about the communities that you’re currently engaged with. They want to know who you are, what matters to you, and what you’ll be bringing to the Trinity community. We like to think of communities as places where you feel the safest, happiest, and most grounded. That can be your family, the group of friends you play board games with, or the other members of an interest-based team or activity.
Write with passion about the community that you choose. And yes, this means that you shouldn’t be writing about a group that you don’t really care about but think makes you sound smart. Instead of writing explicitly about how the community has shaped you, tell a story about what it’s like to be a member of the “team” and let the rest be implied. Enthusiasm will go a long way here, and be sure to focus on a story that allows you to explain your role and contribution to the community.
It’s important to research Trinity before you start writing. They mention their goals and ideals often, which means that your supplements should prove that you’re aligned with the school.
Reach out to us if you’re feeling overwhelmed.