The Requirements: One optional short essay of 250 words
Required Prompt (Maximum 250 words)
We are looking for students who want to be bridge builders—students who can connect people, groups, and ideas to span divides, foster understanding, and promote collaboration within a dynamic, interconnected, and vibrant global academic community. We are eager for you to tell us how your experiences have helped you understand what qualities and efforts are needed to bridge divides so that people can better learn and work together.
Consider one or more of the following questions in your essay:
Tell us about a time you encountered a perspective different from your own. What did you learn—about yourself, the other person, or the world?
Tell us about an experience you’ve had working with others who have different backgrounds or perspectives. What challenges did your group face? Did you overcome them, and if so, how? What role did you try to play in helping people to work together, and what did you learn from your efforts?
Tell us about someone you’ve observed who does a particularly good job helping people think or work together. How does this person set the stage for common exploration or work? How do they react when difficulties or dissensions arise?
Bridge Builders Essay Slides
Q: What Schools Actually Want
A:
Reveal intellectual humility.
Demonstrate cultural fluency.
Show systems thinking.
Prove emotional regulation.
NOT seeking: "I'm a good person who gets along with everyone"
Q: Choose Your Angle
A:
Option 1: Perspective Encounter. Focus on a change in your thinking. Show what you believed before and after.
Option 2: Group Collaboration. Focus on concrete steps to unite people. Show measurable outcomes.
Option 3: Bridge Builder Observation. Focus on a technique you applied. Prove how you used it successfully.
Q: Proven Structure
A:
Hook + Context (50 words): Start mid-conflict. Name the disagreement. State the stakes.
Your Action (60 words): What you did. Use action verbs.
Others' Response (60 words): How people reacted. What changed.
Insight + Application (80 words): What you learned. How you will apply it at university.
Q: Hook Examples
A:
Weak: "I've always been someone who brings people together."
Strong: The school board meeting fractured along class lines over budget cuts.
Strong: My lab partner slammed her notebook shut, arguing my hypothesis was wrong.
Strong: The Slack channel went silent after Marcus's message: 'This project is racist.'
Strong: Our robotics team's Indians and Pakistanis stopped collaborating after Kashmir tensions escalated.
