Claremont McKenna College's wording, checked October 26, 2026A critical part of fulfilling our mission is living out the commitments of CMC’s Open Academy: Freedom of Expression, Viewpoint Diversity, and Constructive Dialogue. We want to learn more about your commitment to listening and learning from others with different viewpoints, perspectives, and life experiences from your own.“Describe a time when engaging with someone about a specific topic resulted in you changing your attitude, belief, or behavior, or you changed the belief or behavior of someone else. What was the change that occurred for you, and what facilitated that change? What did you learn from that experience, and how has it informed how you engage with others?”
CMC's page prints no word limit: use the limit shown in your application.
How to approach it
- 1Name the topic and the person.
- 2Show the change precisely.
- 3Explain what facilitated it.
- 4End with how you engage with others now.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The topic and the person.
- 2The change: what you believed before and after.
- 3What made the change possible.
- 4How it shapes the way you engage now.
Mistakes to avoid
- A debate you won with no change in you.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Claremont McKenna 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 no set limit limit they set its readiness verdict.
| Area | What a reader looks for |
|---|---|
| Answers the question | The opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered. |
| A real difference | The issue and the other person or group are specific, and the difference between their views is stated fairly. |
| How you engaged | It shows the process (listening, questions asked, what the applicant said and did), not a debate won; the applicant need not be the hero. |
| What you learned | It says honestly what changed in the applicant's thinking or way of engaging, even if neither view changed, and how they engage with others now. |
| Claremont McKenna's ask | Names the change, what facilitated it, what was learned, and how it informs how the applicant engages with others. |
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Questions
More on Claremont McKenna and this kind of question
- Harvard: A time you strongly disagreed · 150 words
- Yale: Essay: an opposing view · 400 words
- Columbia: A time you did not agree with someone · 150 words
- Duke: Difference of opinion · 250 words
- Johns Hopkins: Engaging across differences · 350 words
- Barnard: A woman who brings people together · 200-250 words