The University of Richmond might sound like a large public university, but it's actually a private liberal arts college in (you guessed it) Richmond, Virginia. While they have under 5k undergrads, they house a business school and the country's first undergraduate school of leadership studies. Their acceptance rate is around 24%. Their supplement is only one question and they let applicants choose between 3 prompts with a word limit of 650. So let’s break them down.
Prompt 1
Tell us about the most unusual talent you have, and how you have made it useful.
This is a great question that anyone can answer. This is an opportunity to show off a cool quirk you have. There are two parts to this question and you need to make sure you hit both points. The best way to do this is to introduce a talent you have and then tell a story about when you used it.
For example, maybe you taught yourself magic tricks. Introduce your talent with some background, such as “I saw a magic show and then I practiced every day for a year because I thought it was so cool.” Then tell a story about the clown for your little sister's birthday party canceling, so you put your skills to the test by stepping up and being the party magician. End with what you gained and gave using this talent in the story. IE how you gained confidence in your skill and how your sister didn’t feel like her birthday was ruined because her friends had a great time. With this story, you get to show yourself as dedicated to your family and a problem solver… and a magician.
The skill could be anything. The story you tell is the more important part, but it should be a fun/quirky talent if you can. Think juggling, building models, playing the Euphonium, and embroidery. Bonus points if it is nowhere else on your application.
Prompt 2
Spiders are essential to the ecosystem. How are you essential to your community or will you be essential in your university community?
Ok, we don’t know why they start this with the spiders thing, but this is actually a very common question. We suggest talking about a current community instead of the future college community. Talking about something that hasn’t happened yet, usually makes for an unfocused and kind of rambly essay.
The idea of community can sometimes be scary for students. They think a “community” has to be a racial or religious grouping. It can be, but it doesn’t need to be. A community is just a group of people who are connected by an interest or a goal. A community could be a team, a club, a school, a family unit, or a group of friends. We suggest telling a story about a community that is important to you and a moment where you supported them.
This prompt should feel like a story with two important parts. The first is to bring us into your world. Let the reader into your community and what it's like. This is a pretty long essay so take your time. We should understand why this community is important to you. The second part of this is describing a time you did something for your community. Don’t get too caught up in the word “essential.” It seems lofty, but it doesn’t have to be. Your story should be about a time when you helped out, took on a leadership role that you didn’t need to, or solved a problem for your community. It can be a pretty small moment. But one that shows your commitment to your community.
Prompt 3
Please share one idea for actions or policies that you think would begin to address an issue of racial or social injustice.
This prompt isn’t for everyone. The best answer to this prompt is with an issue that you have already interacted with. What do we mean by this? If you share something that is purely theoretical, this essay will feel untethered. You want this to feel personal and connected to you. Yes, everyone wants social justice (hopefully,) but if you haven’t worked towards that at all, this will feel more like an academic paper instead of a personal essay.
If you are someone who is already working in the social justice space, then this question is easier to answer. Let’s say you help run a community fridge, tell a story about how that fridge is important for your community. Then open the story up and say how more community fridges/a policy of adding community food access connects to racial or social justice. Combating food deserts and food security has far-reaching effects, explore that. Show what you have done, why it’s important, and why it should be expanded. This will be the heart of your essay.
This is a question for those already putting in significant work and those people know who they are.
The University of Richmond lets you choose your essay topic, so choose the one that lets you show yourself in the best light. Your essay should bring the reader into your world and show off the interesting person that you are. These essays have a long word count, so you will need to really explore the world of your essay. This takes time. Give yourself plenty of time to write and edit this essay.
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