university of toronto trinity college essay

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"MY EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE AT TRINITY HELPED AFFIRM MY CALL TO MINISTRY IN THE CHURCH.

I was not sure what to expect coming to Trinity College, but I am so glad I took the leap because some of my best years were at this school and with this community. I am so thankful for the people I have met throughout the program. And even after graduation, I have felt supported by them.” – The Rev. Roshni Jayawardena, Class of 2018, Master of Divinity.  >> Click here to learn more about theological studies at Trinity College

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The Living Trinity Campaign is an extraordinary effort to make strategic investments to support students, enhance academic programming and build a new landmark building that will transform our historic campus. Join us as we ensure that the benefits of Living Trinity continue for generations of Trinity students to come. Visit the Living Trinity Campaign website at livingtrinity.ca to learn all about our exciting plans for Trinity’s future and how you can get involved.

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I love the sense of community at Trinity – it’s amazing.

The friends I’ve made are unlike any other – they are compassionate and passionate. At Trinity, there’s a lot of opportunities to make connections and to network with older students. It’s a gold mine for opportunities.

- Danielle Pal, Class of 2018, Bachelor of Science (double major in Environmental Studies and Psychology)

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Trinity College 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Action/Decision: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Feb 1

Trinity College 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 essay of 300 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Community   

Please consider writing an additional optional essay that focuses on your specific interest in Trinity College. In 300 words or less, please write an essay about the following prompt. 

The identities you claim, the challenges you face, and the successes you enjoy shape the background for your college experience to come. what is an aspect of your background that you are excited to share and/or explore as a member of the trinity community and why.

Trinity College wants to accept students from a range of backgrounds who will be actively engaged in their community, so tell admissions about what makes you you and how you will be a meaningful addition to the student body. Think about times when people have been intrigued by or curious about your identity, upbringing, or background. And remember: the best way to answer this prompt is by showing, not telling. Maybe your parents came to the US from Venezuela but were reluctant to talk about their home country, so you hope to join student groups and take classes to educate yourself. Perhaps you have lived with a physical disability for as long as you can remember, and the ways you move through the world and take up space impact how you interact with your surroundings and vice versa. What do you hope to share with others about your lived experience? How will you explore your identity at Trinity? The most impactful essays will reference specific aspects of Trinity’s course offerings, student groups, or religious foundations to show how you will make an impact in their community. 

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Varonika Ware is a content writer at Scholarships360. Varonika earned her undergraduate degree in Mass Communications at Louisiana State University. During her time at LSU, she worked with the Center of Academic Success to create the weekly Success Sunday newsletter. Varonika also interned at the Louisiana Department of Insurance in the Public Affairs office with some of her graphics appearing in local news articles.

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Trinity College is a private liberal arts college located in Hartford, Connecticut. It has an acceptance rate of 36% and is relatively small with a little over 2,000 undergraduate students. Since this school is selective, you should do your best on the Trinity College supplemental essays. Get started on your essay with this guide!

Trinity College supplemental essay prompt

Trinity offers only one essay prompt to applicants, but it’s beneficial to complete it even though it’s optional. The admissions office cares about what makes you the person you are and how that fits in with Trinity College. Don’t be afraid to share something new or interesting to improve your chances of admission.

“ Optional: The identities you claim, the challenges you face, and the successes you enjoy shape the background for your college experience to come. What is an aspect of your background that you are excited to share and/or explore as a member of the Trinity community and why? (up to 300 words).”

Trinity College is telling applicants exactly what they value with this prompt, which is creating a diverse and vibrant community. The emphasis on your personal story and how you will interact with and contribute to the Trinity community is clear.

Start your essay by telling the admissions office about what shaped you into who you are. Next, think about what special traits you possess that you can share. Admissions want to know that your unique experiences will help make Trinity a more diverse place to learn and thrive.

Questions to consider:

• What is unique about the background that shaped you?
• What do you most enjoy talking about in regard to the world you grew up in? 
• How are you going to get involved in the Trinity College community?

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Next steps for applicants

Now that you’ve completed your Trinity College supplemental essays, let’s check some other things off your college to-do list. You should prioritize scheduling a campus tour and fortunately, Trinity College offers both virtual and in-person tours. After you submit your application and plan your campus tour, you’re halfway there!

Make the most out of your time before college by staying on top of deadlines , figuring out your major , and participating in summer experiences like internships or work opportunities. Whatever you decide on, try to make your time off memorable!

The art of the college essay

Chances are, the Trinity College supplemental essay will only be one of many college essays you write over the course of your application. Luckily, we can help out with all of them! Check out our college essay database for guides to a great many colleges’ supplemental essay prompts. On top of that, you might find our Common App essay guide to be useful, as well as our guide on how to write an essay about yourself . Finally, don’t miss our guide on what looks good in a college essay , and pointers for how to adapt your writing to 250 or 500 word limits.

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Introductions and Conclusions

Introductions and conclusions play a special role in the academic essay, and they frequently demand much of your attention as a writer. A good introduction should identify your topic, provide essential context, and indicate your particular focus in the essay. It also needs to engage your readers' interest. A strong conclusion will provide a sense of closure to the essay while again placing your concepts in a somewhat wider context. It will also, in some instances, add a stimulus to further thought. Since no two essays are the same, no single formula will automatically generate an introduction and conclusion for you. But the following guidelines will help you to construct a suitable beginning and end for your essay.

Some general advice about introductions

• Some students cannot begin writing the body of the essay until they feel they have the perfect introduction. Be aware of the dangers of sinking too much time into the introduction. Some of that time can be more usefully channeled into planning and writing.
• You may be the kind of writer who writes an introduction first in order to explore your own thinking on the topic. If so, remember that you may at a later stage need to compress your introduction.
• It can be fine to leave the writing of the introduction for a later stage in the essay-writing process. Some people write their introduction only after they have completed the rest of the essay. Others write the introduction first but rewrite it significantly in light of what they end up saying in the body of their paper.
• The introductions for most papers can be effectively written in one paragraph occupying half to three-quarters of the first page. Your introduction may be longer than that, and it may take more than one paragraph, but be sure you know why. The size of your introduction should bear some relationship to the length and complexity of your paper. A twenty page paper may call for a two-page introduction, but a five-page paper will not.
• Get to the point as soon as possible. Generally, you want to raise your topic in your very first sentences. A common error is to begin too broadly or too far off topic. Avoid sweeping generalizations.
• If your essay has a thesis, your thesis statement will typically appear at the end of your introduction, even though that is not a hard-and-fast rule. You may, for example, follow your thesis with a brief road map to your essay that sketches the basic structure of your argument. The longer the paper, the more useful a road map becomes.

How do I write an interesting, effective introduction?

Consider these strategies for capturing your readers' attention and for fleshing out your introduction:

• Find a startling statistic that illustrates the seriousness of the problem you will address.
• Quote an expert (but be sure to introduce him or her first).
• Mention a common misperception that your thesis will argue against .
• Give some background information necessary for understanding the essay.
• Use a brief narrative or anecdote that exemplifies your reason for choosing the topic. In an assignment that encourages personal reflection, you may draw on your own experiences; in a research essay, the narrative may illustrate a common real-world scenario.
• In a science paper, explain key scientific concepts and refer to relevant literature. Lead up to your own contribution or intervention.
• In a more technical paper, define a term that is possibly unfamiliar to your audience but is central to understanding the essay.

In fleshing out your introduction, you will want to avoid some common pitfalls:

• Don't provide dictionary definitions, especially of words your audience already knows.
• Don't repeat the assignment specifications using the professor's wording.
• Don't give details and in-depth explanations that really belong in your body paragraphs. You can usually postpone background material to the body of the essay.

Some general advice about conclusions

• A conclusion is not merely a summary of your points or a re-statement of your thesis. If you wish to summarize—and often you must—do so in fresh language. Remind the reader of how the evidence you've presented has contributed to your thesis.
• The conclusion, like much of the rest of the paper, involves critical thinking. Reflect upon the significance of what you've written. Try to convey some closing thoughts about the larger implications of your argument.
• Broaden your focus a bit at the end of the essay. A good last sentence leaves your reader with something to think about, a concept in some way illuminated by what you've written in the paper.
• For most essays, one well-developed paragraph is sufficient for a conclusion. In some cases, a two-or-three paragraph conclusion may be appropriate. As with introductions, the length of the conclusion should reflect the length of the essay.

How do I write an interesting, effective conclusion?

The following strategies may help you move beyond merely summarizing the key points of your essay:

• If your essay deals with a contemporary problem, warn readers of the possible consequences of not attending to the problem.
• Recommend a specific course of action.
• Use an apt quotation or expert opinion to lend authority to the conclusion you have reached.
• Give a startling statistic, fact, or visual image to drive home the ultimate point of your paper.
• If your discipline encourages personal reflection, illustrate your concluding point with a relevant narrative drawn from your own life experiences.
• Return to an anecdote, example, or quotation that you introduced in your introduction, but add further insight that derives from the body of your essay.
• In a science or social science paper, mention worthwhile avenues for future research on your topic.

How does genre affect my introduction or conclusion?

Most of the advice in this handout pertains to argumentative or exploratory academic essays. Be aware, however, that different genres have their own special expectations about beginnings and endings. Some academic genres may not even require an introduction or conclusion. An annotated bibliography, for example, typically provides neither. A book review may begin with a summary of the book and conclude with an overall assessment of it. A policy briefing usually includes an introduction but may conclude with a series of recommendations. Check your assignment carefully for any directions about what to include in your introduction or conclusion.

Written by Leora Freedman and Jerry Plotnick, University College Writing Centre

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UT Toronto Applications for Trinity, Victoria, University?

<p>Anyone out there know what the applications for residency ask for? My son has not submitted the application yet, so he doesn’t have access to the res stuff. Are there essays to be written? How many? What do they ask for?</p>

<p>I don’t think there is. Just the ranking of preferred colleges.</p>

<p>There’s definitely two essays for Trinity. Still don’t know for the others.</p>

<p>As I recall, they want short essays. The deadline is in March, I believe. Also, those two are the most sought-after (i.e. competitive). I am not sure you can actually apply to both (again from my recollection). Trinity requires you to list them as first choice, or you will not get in. I seem to recall Victoria does as well. You can go to the individual college sites to see, I think. That bureaucratic “Common Application” is a bit of a nightmare. I think each college may have its supplement on its individual website. I am sorry I am not more helpful- it is all from memory.</p>

<p>The “Student Profile” that must be filled out is available here:</p>

<p><a href=“ Admission Information » Victoria College ”> Admission Information » Victoria College ;

<p><a href=“ How to Apply - Trinity College ”> http://www.trinity.utoronto.ca/prospective/admission-info/apply.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt ;

<p>I hope these help. Note that, indeed, only students that choose these colleges as their first choice college will be considered for acceptance (i.e. they only love those who love them!); precluding an applicant from applying to both of them (at least applying with an expectation of being accepted by the one listed as “second choice”).</p>

<p>Yes, thanks. We are trying to find the actual essay questions that must be completed, but unfortunately, they are not visible until you commit the res rankings, submit the app, pay the fee. So, we would like to see the essays before ranking the colleges, because if it requires really extensive (1000+ words) essays in a short amount of time, we just can’t do it. I was hoping someone who has been through this could shed some light on the requirements for each res, so that we can rank accordingly.</p>

How many essays do I need to write for my UofT application?

UofT is one of the largest and most prestigious universities in the world. Located in the heart of Toronto, UofT offers an exceptional educational experience with top-ranked programs in a wide range of disciplines. The application process is highly competitive, and prospective students will need to demonstrate strong academic performance, extracurricular involvement, and community service experience. In addition, UofT also considers personal qualities such as motivation, resilience, and leadership potential when making admissions decisions. As a result, UofT is an excellent choice for students who are looking for an academically rigorous and personally enriching university experience.

So, How many essays should you write for your UofT application?

The number of essays that you need to write for your UofT application will depend on the specific program to which you are applying. Some programs may require only a single essay, while others may require multiple essays. As a general guide, you should expect to write between two and four essays as part of your UofT application. However, it is always best to check the specific requirements of the program you are interested in to ensure that you submit the required number of essays. Keep in mind that the UofT application process is designed to give admissions committees a comprehensive understanding of your qualifications and potential, so be sure to put your best foot forward in all of your essays. With careful planning and attention to detail, you can craft a strong application that will increase your chances of being admitted to your top-choice program at UofT.

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How to Write the Trinity College Essays 2019-2020

Trinity had a 33% acceptance rate for the 2018-2019 admissions cycle, and prospective students had an average SAT score of 29.  This year, Trinity offers an optional supplemental essay with two options. If you’re hoping to snag a spot in next year’s freshman class, a strong essay will certainly help you stand out. Read on to learn how to answer the essay prompt for this year!

Optional: You may select one of the following two prompts and write an essay.

Option A: We live in an urban-global age with more than half of the planet’s people living in cities. Trinity College is an urban liberal arts college deeply engaged with the local community and committed to making an impact across the world. How do you aspire to use your education to impact local and global communities? (250-650 words)

This prompt asks you to reflect on your own aspirations and determine how they align with the university’s goal of impacting the communities around you. Consider how your education (i.e. your intended major, extracurricular interests, and professional coals) could be used to enact change on a local or even a global level.

 Keep in mind the urban element of this prompt, and if possible, focus on how you can help people in industrialized urban areas such as the one Trinity College is in. For example, if you’re an engineering major, you could discuss how you can use your education to create a sustainable and filtered water fountain that will help counter water pollution and promote public health. Or, if you’re a math major, discuss how you plan to give back to the community by tutoring students in STEM. Then, connect it to the global movement to make STEM accessible to students who are traditionally marginalized, such as students of color. 

Use your current experiences to inform your potential future impact. For example, are you passionate about sketching objects that don’t exist yet? Do you have experience tutoring younger students or your siblings? Thread your current interests and extracurriculars into your future ideals to make your response more genuine and specific to you.

Keep in mind that it is important to “show” and not “tell.” This phrase is thrown around frequently, but is easier said than done. A few things to keep in mind when showing rather than telling are vividness and authenticity, which can be created by invoking imagery and specific details. For example, rather than saying “I like tennis and the game has always fascinated me,” try conjuring an image in the reader’s mind such as “At the start of my first official match, I gripped my trusted red racquet tightly, swaying ever so slightly from foot to foot in the ‘ready’ stance that I had practiced for years.” While the first response may be true, it is generic and can apply to any tennis aficionado. The latter response better authenticates your experiences than the former, and demonstrates your sincerity to readers. 

One way to show rather than tell is to invoke imagery into your sentences – engage the five senses: touch, smell, taste, sight, and sound. Talk about these in the context of the moment you are describing. By opening with statements containing imagery, you can set a scene and draw readers into your story, framing yourself as an active figure, rather than simply telling what happened to you.

Another way to show is by being specific. Rather than saying you tutored a handful of elementary school students in math, focus in on your relationship with one in particular. For example – if your student, Keena, struggled with addition, talk through the specific ways you helped her remember how to count. Did you help her visualize numbers with pictures of her favorite cartoon characters, or make her a children’s abacus in her favorite colors? You can still mention that you had other students in passing, but this specificity and those little details will really come together to form a powerful narrative.

Option B: Our mission states: “Engage. Connect. Transform. As the preeminent liberal arts college in an urban setting, Trinity College prepares students to be bold, independent thinkers who lead transformative lives.” Keeping the three pillars of the mission in mind, how do you see yourself contributing to the Trinity community? (250-650 words)

This prompt asks you to dig deep into yourself and visualize how you will contribute to your college community based on your current and prospective skill set. Consider how you see yourself joining Trinity’s campus and integrating yourself into the existing dynamic. 

With strong action words like “engage,” “connect,” and “transform,” think about things you can do that will make a difference in lives other than your own. Think about community service, clubs, research, classes, or personal projects that could spur change within the student body. 

One valid research method is to peruse Trinity’s website and find classes and programs that stand out to you. Remember, however, that college isn’t only about academics, but also what you do outside of the classroom. You should also look into extracurriculars or clubs specific to Trinity that you would like to join, and tie them into your current interests. This is especially true for a prompt that specifically mentions the community. In fact, you could focus entirely on extracurriculars in this prompt because of its focus on the community.

Here’s an example:

As someone who is very environmentally conscious, I started a month-long educational initiative at my high school, during which we hosted workshops on how to live more sustainably. Some of my favorite topics were slow travel and how to reduce waste while eating out. At Trinity, I look forward to organizing and participating in sustainability initiatives like The Coop (the campus thrift store) and Dump and Run (a project aimed to reduce waste during move-in and move-out). After having taken a community center course on foraging, I also hope to begin a club dedicated to just that, both in urban and natural settings. The group would host walks, free to students and the public, where we would explore the city/surrounding nature and its wild edible plants. 

This is obviously not a full example, but it gives you an idea of how you can combine your existing interests with what Trinity offers. The student also suggests a new initiative they’d like to begin, which is within their scope based on their background/experience.

To make this example fuller, the student might share more details about the projects they led in high school and how they were meaningful to them. Some questions might be: What was the format of the workshops? What was the student’s role? What was the result of the events? They could also reflect on how the Trinity initiatives (both existing and proposed) would impact the community. Think back to the words “engage,” “connect,” and “transform.” How would your participation in the community do these three things? Maybe these specific initiatives would connect Trinity students and the outside community. Maybe they would engage students to live more eco-consciously. Or, maybe it would transform the campus into becoming more sustainable by reducing waste.

Whatever you choose to mention, be sure to root your interests in your previous experiences, and to share how your contributions would make a positive difference at Trinity.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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The Great fall of Trinity College and it's secret society

so we're just not going to talk about the fact that Trinity college's secret society got outed for being rac**t and was ordered to shut down? Surprised not to read anything about it here. a bunch of POC from trin outed some of the members from the secret society and called out their behaviour. This all went down on a facebook page that has now "vanished" into thin air (taken down by admin). I heard it was glorious, a bunch of badass POC taking names and coming out with the ways they've been mistreated by TRIN , and then a bunch of white rac*sts begging for forgiveness in the comments (too little too late). But hey, whose college is innocent in crimes of rac*sm right (looking at you st.mikes)

edit: i'm going to remove the line where I am asking for screenshots and hope this goes back up (it goes against community guidelines which i didn't know before my bad)

Edit part II: for those asking what happened basically a few BIPOC at trin called out systemic racist behaviour they experienced not just at the hands of admin but fellow students in different clubs at trin (like LIT), and other student led initiatives. The students they experienced racism from were student STUDENT LEADERS at trin , whose job it was to make trinity college more inclusive for other students. BIPOC spoke about how they were ignored in meetings, heard many racist jokes being made in their presence, and their calls towards equity related events at trin were ignored. so someone decided to call out the Pon student leaders at trin and confront them with the experiences of BIPOC (they literally started name dropping in the facebook comments). many of the leaders called out did apologize and some did not (lol im looking at you Male leaders of pon). some were half assed apologies, but you can see for yourself in the screenshots (the screenshots blur out names). Also the girl who spoke about her bad experiences with the trin student leaders is now getting harassed and threatened by anonymous emails... lol rich kids am i rite

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