Dartmouth College's wording, checked October 26, 2026“Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta recommended a life of purpose. "We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things," she said. "That is what we are put on the earth for." In what ways do you hope to make—or are you already making—an impact? Why? How?”
How to approach it
- 1Show one impact you have made with specifics.
- 2Explain the why, then the next how.
- 3The prompt asks three things: in what ways, why and how. Give each its own sentences.
- 4Impact on a few people, described precisely, is stronger than impact on the world described vaguely.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The need you noticed, in one concrete scene.
- 2What you did or are doing about it, with specifics: who, how often, what changed.
- 3Why this problem and not another: the personal reason.
- 4How you would carry it forward, in terms as concrete as the start.
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
- Big promises with no current action.
- Quoting Dolores Huerta back to the reader. They wrote the prompt.
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. |
| The community, concretely | The community is defined by a detail only a member would know (a place, a ritual, a person), not a label. |
| Your part in it | What the applicant personally did or does in it is on the page, with "I" statements. |
| What it gave you and what you will bring | It says how the community shaped the applicant and connects that to how they will take part in the college's community. |
| 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
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- Caltech: Collaboration: STEM as shared learning · 200 words