Duke University's wording, checked October 26, 2026“We believe a wide range of viewpoints and experiences is essential to maintaining Duke’s vibrant living and learning community. Please share anything in this context that might help us better understand you and your potential contributions to Duke.”
How to approach it
- 1Use it only for something genuinely new: a perspective, background or experience the rest of the application does not show.
- 2Make it about your viewpoint in action: a conversation, a choice, a habit that comes from it.
- 3Link it to how you would take part in Duke's living and learning community.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The perspective, background or experience, shown in one situation.
- 2How it shapes what you notice or how you act.
- 3What it would add to a class discussion, a residence hall or a group at Duke.
- 4A closing line that looks forward, not back.
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
- Repeating your Communities answer from another angle.
- A list of identities with no story or effect.
- Writing it only because the box is there. It is optional, and leaving it empty costs nothing.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Duke 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. |
| Duke's ask | Adds something about the applicant's viewpoints or experiences not covered elsewhere in the application (the question is optional). |
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Questions
More on Duke 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
- Dartmouth: Let your life speak · 250 words