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How to Write Carnegie Mellon's "What to Emphasize" Essay

Something important you want the committee to consider, or something you have not had a chance to share. CMU asks you to tell, not link (no websites).

300 wordsRequiredBackground and identity2026-27
Carnegie Mellon University's wording, checked October 26, 2026
“Consider your application as a whole. What do you personally want to emphasize about your application for the admission committee’s consideration? Highlight something that’s important to you or something you haven’t had a chance to share. Tell us, don’t show us (no websites please).”

How to approach it

  1. 1Check what is missing from your application.
  2. 2Choose one thing and give it a story.

A structure that works

One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.

  1. 1The one thing you want them to know.
  2. 2A story that shows it.
  3. 3Why it matters for who you would be at CMU.

Where the 300 words go

PartWords
The moment or exampleabout 120
What it shows or changedabout 110
Why it matters, or what you bringabout 80

Mistakes to avoid

  • Repeating your best activity.
  • Links or portfolios (CMU says no websites).

The checklist our grader uses for this question

When you check your Carnegie Mellon answers, this answer is read against these 5 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the 300 words limit they set its readiness verdict.

AreaWhat a reader looks for
Answers the questionThe opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered.
One lived experienceIt focuses on one specific aspect of the applicant's life or background, shown through a moment or detail, not a list of labels.
How it shaped youIt shows how that experience changed what the applicant thinks, does or notices, with evidence rather than a claim.
What classmates will gainIt makes clear what the applicant would bring to conversations, classes or campus life because of it.
Carnegie Mellon's askHighlights something important that is not elsewhere in the application, told rather than linked (no websites).

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Questions

How long is Carnegie Mellon's "What you want to emphasize" essay?

Up to 300 words.

Is it required?

Required. Carnegie Mellon's full set of questions is on the Carnegie Mellon supplemental essays page.

Can I reuse an essay from another college for this prompt?

You can start from material you have, but rewrite it for Carnegie Mellon's exact wording: answer every part of this question, and cut what it does not ask for.

Can Statementory write or improve my answer?

We never write or rewrite it: colleges ask you to affirm your essays are your own work. Our checker reviews it against the checklist on this page, quotes your own words, and asks the questions only you can answer.

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