Dartmouth College's wording, checked October 26, 2026“"It's not easy being green…" was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity, outlook, or sense of purpose?”
How to approach it
- 1Show difference in one moment.
- 2Then show how you embraced it, in action.
- 3The prompt asks how you have embraced it as part of your identity, outlook or sense of purpose. Pick one of the three and build toward it.
- 4Difference is yours to define: background, belief, ability, interest, circumstance.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1A moment when the difference was visible or felt.
- 2What it cost or complicated.
- 3The turn: when and how you started to own it.
- 4How it shapes your outlook or purpose now, in action.
Where the 250 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| The moment or example | about 100 |
| What it shows or changed | about 90 |
| Why it matters, or what you bring | about 60 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Only the difficulty, with no embracing.
- Explaining who Kermit is. The quote is only the doorway.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Dartmouth 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 250 words 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. |
| One lived experience | It 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 you | It shows how that experience changed what the applicant thinks, does or notices, with evidence rather than a claim. |
| What classmates will gain | It makes clear what the applicant would bring to conversations, classes or campus life because of it. |
| Dartmouth's ask | It connects the answer to Dartmouth's community and does every part of what Dartmouth's question asks. |
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Questions
More on Dartmouth and this kind of question
- Harvard: Life experiences you will contribute · 150 words
- Yale: Essay: your personal experience · 400 words
- Princeton: Your voice: lived experience · 400-500 words
- Columbia: Your lived experience · 150 words
- Brown: An aspect of your growing up · 150-250 words
- Cornell: Engineering: your contribution and voice · 100 words