Wake Forest University's wording, checked October 26, 2026“Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person’s dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou’s powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community?”
How to approach it
- 1Quote it accurately and briefly.
- 2Spend the words on your experience, not on the quote.
- 3Connect to Wake Forest's community.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The quote, briefly.
- 2The experience it speaks to.
- 3How it shapes what you would bring to Wake Forest.
Where the 300 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| The moment or example | about 120 |
| What it shows or changed | about 110 |
| Why it matters, or what you bring | about 80 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Explaining the quote instead of your life.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Wake Forest 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.
| 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. |
| Wake Forest's ask | Names the Maya Angelou quote and ties it to lived experience or a contribution to Wake Forest. |
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Questions
More on Wake Forest 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