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Erasmus Rotterdam  /  Essays  /  Prompt 1

Erasmus Rotterdam: EUC Q1: Good candidate

~600 words total across all three questions; English; provided template, saved as PDF

I have spent two years arguing with myself across subjects that are not supposed to talk to each other. In our school's economics elective I modeled how a local bakery set prices; in history the same week I read how price controls shaped revolutions. I could not stop connecting them, and a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree is the first program I have found that treats that instinct as a method rather than a distraction. I am a good candidate because I work well in that crossover space: I taught myself basic Python to clean survey data for a student wellbeing project, then wrote the report that the school actually used to change its lunch schedule. I am comfortable being a beginner in a new field, which I think matters in a program where you will not always be the expert in the room. I read widely and unevenly, I ask questions until people are slightly annoyed, and I finish what I start. Those habits, more than any single grade, are why I would thrive in a small, discussion-driven program that expects students to build their own path across disciplines.
What it’s really asking

What makes you a good candidate for successfully pursuing a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree? They want evidence you can handle breadth, self-direction, and small-group discussion.

Why they ask it

EUC is a selective, intensive liberal arts and sciences college. They are checking whether you can thrive without a fixed single-subject track, contribute to seminars, and manage a self-built curriculum. This question is about temperament and working habits, proven with examples.

Three ways in
Connect two subjects

Point to a moment you connected two unrelated subjects and could not let it go, then name the skill that showed.

Show self-directed work

Describe self-directed work you chose, not work assigned to you, and what you produced.

Own being a beginner

Be honest about how you handle being a beginner, since breadth means constant new starts.

✕  Weak opening

“Ever since I was a child, I have been passionate about learning about everything around me.”

✓  Strong opening

“I have spent two years arguing with myself across subjects that are not supposed to talk to each other.”

✦ Annotated example · The crossover thinker. Written by EssayLens to teach, not a real applicant’s essay. Tap a highlighted line →
For two years I have been arguing with myself across subjects that are not supposed to talk to each other. 1In our economics elective I modeled how the bakery near school sets its prices; the same week in history I was reading how price controls helped spark a revolution. I could not stop laying the two on top of each other, and a Liberal Arts and Sciences degree is the first program I have found that treats that instinct as a method instead of a distraction. 2I am a good candidate because I do real work in that crossover space. I taught myself enough Python to clean the messy survey data for a student wellbeing project, then wrote the report that the school used to actually change the lunch schedule. 3I am comfortable being a beginner, which matters in a program where you will not always be the expert in the room. 4I read widely and unevenly, I ask questions until people are mildly annoyed, and I finish what I start. 5Those habits, more than any single grade, are why I would do well in a small, discussion-driven program that expects students to build their own path across disciplines.6
  1. 1Opens with a concrete, slightly unusual self-portrait instead of a thesis statement. EUC rewards plain, authentic voice, and 'arguing with myself' signals genuine intellectual restlessness rather than a polished brag.
  2. 2Two specific, paired examples from different disciplines show, rather than claim, the cross-disciplinary instinct EUC is built around. Naming the actual bakery keeps it grounded and self-written, not generic.
  3. 3Backs academic motivation with a finished, consequential example. The result (a changed schedule) proves follow-through, which the prompt's emphasis on examples rewards far more than adjectives about being 'passionate'.
  4. 4Frames a personal trait directly in terms of how EUC's seminar model works, where students constantly enter fields new to them.
  5. 5A short, honest list of working habits. The self-deprecating 'until people are mildly annoyed' keeps the voice authentic rather than salesy, which the school rewards.
  6. 6Closes by connecting personal habits back to the specific structure of EUC (small, discussion-driven, self-built path), reinforcing program fit without restating the opening.
Stuck? Start here
  • Name two subjects you connected on your own and the skill that connection revealed.
  • What self-chosen project did you produce, and what concrete result came from it?
  • How do you behave when you are the least knowledgeable person in the room?
Before you submit
  • I answered 'good candidate' with working habits and evidence, not adjectives.
  • I referenced the liberal arts and sciences model specifically.
  • The voice sounds like me and I could defend every line in an interview.

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