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Colgate  /  Essays  /  Prompt 3

Colgate: The 13 Short Answers

13 words maximum per response

Please complete the following so we can learn a bit more about you: I am fascinated by; My favorite book, movie, or television show is; The person I admire most is; In the future, I hope to; One historical figure I would like to meet is; My favorite food is; One thing I would change is; My favorite place is; I am the best version of myself when; Something that has changed my perspective is; I am seeking a community that; My favorite family/community/cultural tradition is; I am drawn to Colgate University because.
What it’s really asking

Thirteen fill-in-the-blank statements, each capped at 13 words. This is a personality test in miniature. Colgate wants quick, specific, surprising glimpses of who you are, and the last one ("I am drawn to Colgate University because") is your shortest Why Colgate. Officially optional; answer all 13.

Why they ask it

In 13 words you can't hide behind polish, so these answers reveal taste and texture fast. Colgate uses them to feel out personality and fit, and to see whether you can be specific under pressure. The final line tests whether your interest is real and researched.

Three ways in
Specific over impressive

For each blank, pick the most oddly specific true answer instead of the most impressive-sounding one.

Show range across the set

Let some answers be funny, some sincere, and none generic, so the thirteen together feel like a whole person.

Make the last line Colgate-only

Write the final answer so concretely that it could only ever be about Colgate.

✕  Weak opening

“My favorite food is pizza. My favorite place is my hometown. I am fascinated by learning new things.”

✓  Strong opening

“My favorite food is my grandmother's khachapuri, eaten standing at the stove before anyone else wakes up.”

✦ Annotated example · 13 short answers. Written by EssayLens to teach, not a real applicant’s essay. Tap a highlighted line →
I am fascinated by: how old maps quietly decide where towns are still allowed to grow.1My favorite book, movie, or television show is: The Control of Nature, by John McPhee.2The person I admire most is: my uncle, who reopened the grocery after the flood.In the future, I hope to: redraw floodplain maps so fewer families rebuild in danger.3One historical figure I would like to meet is: Gladys West, who helped make GPS possible.My favorite food is: my grandmother's lentil soup, made thicker every year on purpose.One thing I would change is: how rarely we ask who drew a boundary.4My favorite place is: the gravel bend where the creek used to run.I am the best version of myself when: I am explaining something I just figured out.5Something that has changed my perspective is: realizing property lines are arguments with rivers.I am seeking a community that: stays small enough to disagree with the same people.6My favorite family tradition is: walking the old county line every Thanksgiving morning.I am drawn to Colgate University because: the Upstate Institute lets me study my own watershed.7
  1. 1Each answer must stand alone under 13 words. This one is specific and curious, echoing a destination rather than a hobby list.
  2. 2Names a real, non-obvious nonfiction choice that signals intellectual taste without trying to impress.
  3. 3Connects the small answers into a coherent person; the future goal lines up with the fascination above.
  4. 4Keeps the through-line tight while staying well inside the word cap, showing discipline.
  5. 5Self-aware and warm; reveals temperament (a teacher's instinct) in very few words.
  6. 6Quietly references Colgate's scale and the diversity-essay theme, tying the application together.
  7. 7Closes with a precise, school-specific reason that matches the longer essays, reinforcing one consistent applicant.
Stuck? Start here
  • For each blank, what is the truest answer, not the most impressive one?
  • Which of my answers would make a stranger smile or lean in?
  • Does my final line reference something only Colgate has, like its size or the number 13?
Before you submit
  • Is every answer 13 words or fewer, and free of filler?
  • Do the 13 answers show range (some funny, some sincere) instead of one flat tone?
  • Is the last line concrete and clearly about Colgate, not transferable to any school?

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