Scripps College supplemental essays

These are Scripps College's 2025-26 prompts. The 2026–27 wording was not yet published when this page was verified. Most schools keep prompts the same or change them lightly; confirm on scrippscollege.edu before you submit.

The prompts, one by one

1. Why Scripps?100-200 words · Why us

   “Why have you chosen to apply to Scripps College?”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Scripps College good" but "what will you do here that you can't do elsewhere, and what in your past proves you'll actually do it." The reader already knows the school is good.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Opening with the campus, the ranking or the "world-renowned faculty." Every sentence that would survive with another school's name swapped in is wasted. Listing three programs with no explanation of any of them is the second trap.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start with the specific thing you've already been doing. Name one or two concrete Scripps College resources (a course, a lab, a program, a professor's actual work) and say what you'd do with each. End on the next step, not on a compliment.

2. Trade lives essay (choose one)150-300 words · Open prompt

   “If you could trade lives with someone (fictional or real) for a day, who would it be and why?”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Scripps College is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

3. Time machine essay (choose one)150-300 words · Open prompt

   “You've invented a time machine! When and where is your first destination, and why?”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Scripps College is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

4. Podcast essay (choose one)150-300 words · Open prompt

   “You have just been invited to host your podcast. What will you talk about, and why did you select that topic?”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Scripps College is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Scripps College) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.