Pitzer College is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, CA, just outside of L.A. It’s part of the 7 Claremont Colleges – which if you are unfamiliar, is a consortium of schools that all share one giant campus, resources, and even classes. Each school has it’s own distinct personality which will allow you to get specific about why that particular school fits your larger goals. Pitzer is very big into sustainability, and it’s even listed in their prompt as a key core value. Pitzer has around a 15% acceptance rate and a small student population, so making sure your supplemental essays are in tip-top shape are important.
We’ve covered Pitzer’s supplement before, and good news for you – it’s relatively straightforward. Let’s dissect it.
At Pitzer College, five core values distinguish our approach to education: social responsibility, intercultural understanding, interdisciplinary learning, student engagement, and environmental sustainability. As agents of change, our students utilize these values to create solutions to our world's challenges. Find out more about our core values. Please choose from the following prompts and answer below (650 word limit):
Jeez, these are so LONG. We don’t love a long supplemental essay.
Describe what you are looking for from your college experience and why Pitzer would be a good fit for you.
A classic Why essay! Love it! Okay, so first you need an origin story. Why do you want to study what you want to study? Get into the weeds, you have the space. If you’re interested in the Environmental Analysis major, you should tell a story of how you found yourself interested in environmental science. If you’re from a costal area, maybe you’re concerned about the impact trash in our oceans and on our coast has had on wildlife and you have a story about a beach cleanup or finding an animal stuck in trash that led you to really want to pursue this. You’ll end the story by declaring your major at Pitzer.
Then, pick 1-2 upper-level classes in your major that align with your interests and goals within the major. Upper level is important here, you don’t want to pick something that isn’t unique to Pitzer. Write about how these will impact your education and elevate you to meet your goals.
Next, find a professor that does research you’re interested in and pitch yourself as their research assistant. Why is that research interesting to you? What resources, experience, or connections does this professor have that can help you?
Then you’ll pick an extracurricular or two that draw a line from what you did in high school to what you will do at Pitzer. Don’t pick something entirely off-base or out of character for you, but instead something a little more specific.
Finally, talk about where Pitzer is. The Claremont Colleges love that they’re Claremont Colleges. Explain how this unique setting and arrangement is important to you, how it can help you. Being near L.A. is also something to touch on, especially for job or internship opportunities. Maybe find a coffeeshop or bookstore or another regular college haunt in Claremont that you’re excited to explore when you get there.
You should leave them with the impression that Pitzer is the only place you can meet your goals and have the perfect college experience.
Reflecting on your involvement throughout high school or within the community, how have you engaged with one of Pitzer’s core values?
Take a look at Pitzer’s core values as listed in the prompt, and really study them. For a community-based essay, we’d recommend thinking small and thinking story. Your story should show, not tell, how you’ve interacted with one of these core values in your everyday life, or perhaps in conjunction with a smaller community. Set the scene, bring us into the moment with you. It should flow like a story with a full narrative arc, and a beginning, middle, and end.
Pitzer is a selective school, and we hope this guide empowers you to write the best possible supplement for your application. If you need more help, contact us here.