THE COVID-19 OPTIONAL ESSAY

College admissions officers lived through the pandemic with you all and in your application, provide an opportunity for students to share their story about how the Coronavirus impacted their lives. If you complete this essay, be mindful of common experiences such as struggles with on-line learning, cancellations of extracurricular activities or inability to visit campuses. These challenges had an impact on all students, but what is most important is how you, personally, faced them. When writing this essay, don’t take too long to get to the point. Sadly, there are many students who suffered great loss. Did you suffer the loss of a family member or friend? Did you need to take on more responsibility because of lost jobs and wages? Through the pandemic, did you discover something new about yourself and your ability to persevere? Did you find a new hobby or passion that helped to pass the alone time and associated stress? You will find this prompt in the “Additional Information” section of the application and are asked to stay within a 250 word limit.