Many colleges require you to discuss a community you are involved in, details about that community, and more. In most cases, “the community essay” refers to supplemental essays that you must write in order to gain admission to a particular college. Most schools that require community essays are more selective than colleges that do not require the community essay, but that is not always the case.

Knowing that, let’s discuss the community essay, a potential sample question, and some community essay examples. You can do this and do it well, and there is an easy reason for that: You know your communities intimately, and all you have to do is share them.

What is a Community Essay?

Many colleges and universities ask you to write a community essay, which will give you a word count limit and a question you will need to craft regarding a community you interact with in depth. 

For example, here is Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)’s Common App community essay through the Common App: MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds together to collaborate, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to lending a helping hand. Describe one way you have collaborated with others to learn from them, with them, or contribute to your community together.

It is a great question, isn’t it? It encourages you to share with the admission committee a community that is important to you and also shows how you will interact with the MIT community once you get to campus. You will likely also see further instructions, including word count.

Learn more about Common App essay tips and how to describe activities on the Common App.

What Are Colleges Looking for in a Community Essay?

This is a great question. If only you could reach into the head of an admissions reader! However, you have got the next best thing when it comes to community essay examples — our years of experience at Campus to Career Crossroads! 

Colleges are looking for deep — not superficial — involvement on your part. They do not want to read about you volunteering once a year at a homeless shelter. They want you in the homeless shelter community, serving bread and soup, talking with the homeless, learning their stories, and actively making an impact. They want to hear how you invited a homeless person to your table for Thanksgiving! (By the way, we are not saying you have to do that!)

In other words, do not write about a community unless you have deep, sustained involvement in it. (Oh, and also, if you have already written your personal statement essay on the community essay topic you are thinking of writing about, steer clear and choose another community.)

How to Write a Community Essay

What are the steps to writing not just a good community essay — an excellent community essay? Let’s walk through four steps so you can take to hit it out of the park. We will also sprinkle community essay examples throughout, but do not forget to look into our college application mistakes.

Step 1: Carefully read the prompt. 

The community prompt can be a bit tricky. Ensure you read it over several times and make sure you understand it. Some community prompts ask you to name how you will make an impact in your future college community, while others ask you to write about how you make an impact on a particular community right now. 

You do not want to miss this nuance. In fact, pass it around at the dinner table and ask your family members to interpret the prompt. Ask your English teacher to help you analyze it. Ensure you look at it through several different angles, because it could be asking you to analyze a couple of different things at once!

Step 2: Make a list of communities you are involved in. 

Next, you will want to evaluate the communities you are involved in, and that starts by doing one of my favorite things: Making lists. In fact, take it a step further. You can make your list feel more exciting and dynamic. Instead of making a boring list of community involvements, think about Communities Where All the Excitement Began. That way, you are more likely to make lists of interesting, dynamic communities that impact you and others.

“It” (the community) can refer to many different communities, such as your:

• Family
• Neighborhood
• School
• Sports team
• Clubs or organizations
• Faith community or church
• Cultural or ethnic community
• Online community
• Artistic or creative group
• Volunteer group or service organization
• Workplace
• Academic program
• Social identity group (for example, if you’re part of a military family, you might identify with that social identity)
• Music or performance group
• Environmental or sustainability group
• Gaming community
• Advocacy or activist group
• Mentorship or leadership program
• Hobby-based community (like sewing, robotics, gardening, photography)
• Local business or entrepreneurship network
• Research or innovation lab
• Support group 
• Travel or exchange community
• Maker or DIY community
• Rural or farming community
• Immigrant or diaspora community

But treat it as an extremely exciting origin story by filling in the blanks: It all began in/at the _________ community, which changed my life or others’ lives.

You want to discuss an exciting environment or group where your values took shape, so think in terms of all different areas in your life. Think outside the box, beyond family, school, your culture, or your neighborhood. Can you think of communities within other communities? 

Just free write a few things here. This does not need to look beautiful, because you are not even writing the essay yet. You are just coming up with ideas.

Okay, so here is an example: The robotics community became my training ground for curiosity and creativity. Between late-night coding sessions and last-minute repairs before competitions, I learned how to turn frustration into persistence. 

Step 3: Write down how you showed up in that community.

After you choose your big, exciting community, write down how you showed up. And this should be HOW I SHOWED UP in a big way, not a small way. For example, it is better to write about how you became the president of your community’s junior civic organization and raised $500,000 for charity by recruiting sixty-five other students to your community. Choose SHOWING UP over playing last-chair oboe in the orchestra. 

In other words, choose a big, bold community choice and then show big, bold effort, initiative, and leadership. You want to show how this matters in your life. Again, this does not have to look beautiful. You are just free writing here, but try to infuse meaning in your writing.

Here is an example: In the robotics community, I showed up by turning a scattered group of curious students into a tight-knit team that believed in one another. I paired newcomers with mentors, celebrating every failure as progress, and making sure every voice mattered. Together, we built more than robots; we built trust, confidence, and a shared purpose, and most importantly, a wonderful group of friends.

See how deep that is and how obvious this writer loves her robotics community? See how she showed up for her people? Incredible stuff.

Step 4: Write down the passion or drive that connected you to that community.

What was the spark that kept you going in that community, even on the toughest days? Why was it worth it? What made it incredible for you and your community? Write down the passion and drive that connected you to that group. What was the curiosity? What was the calling? 

Here is another community essay example, again, with free writing:

Robotics did not just center on competing; it was watching ideas come alive through teamwork. Even on nights when circuits failed and code crashed, curiosity pulled me back. I was driven by the belief that our creations could inspire others to see technology as a tool for change, not just as another robotics project. What made all of it incredible wasn’t the trophies. The laughter, late nights, and shared belief that we were building something bigger than ourselves made it worth it.

Step 5: Write down an obstacle.

Every good story has an obstacle, and a community essay should not be an exception. When an obstacle or moment began shaping your community’s growth, what was the turning point? What did you face head-on — ideally, together? 

Again, just get it down. It does not have to flow lyrically, just write it down so you have a summary in front of you. Here is a community essay example:

When our robotics team lost our funding midway through the season, it felt like everything we’d worked for was slipping away. We didn’t have money for new parts, and that moment became our turning point.

Instead of giving up, I pulled our team together and decided to host community workshops teaching kids basic coding for a small fee. Parents and local businesses noticed, and donations started coming in. By the time competition season arrived, we’d raised enough to rebuild our robot — and, more importantly, we rebuilt our sense of purpose.

Facing that obstacle together changed how we saw our community. We were not just a team trying to win. We were problem-solvers who could inspire others to create solutions, too.

Now, you might be thinking, “But I have never had an obstacle in my community.” Trust us — the best stories have an obstacle. Is there another community you belong to that did have an obstacle?

Learn more: Why This Major? Essay

Step 6: Pull it all together. 

Now, pull all these ideas together:

• Where it Began
• How I Showed Up
• What Sparked Me
• The Moment that Mattered
• Bring it Home

Here is what it might look like in a community essay example: 

The robotics community became my training ground for curiosity and creativity. Between late-night coding sessions and last-minute repairs before competitions, I learned how to turn frustration into persistence.

In the robotics community, I showed up by turning a scattered group of curious students into a tight-knit team that believed in one another. I paired newcomers with mentors, celebrating every failure as progress, and making sure every voice mattered. Together, we built more than robots; we built trust, confidence, and a shared purpose, and most importantly, a wonderful group of friends.

Our robotics didn’t just focus on competing; it was watching ideas come alive through teamwork. Even on nights when circuits failed and code crashed, curiosity pulled me back. I was driven by the belief that our creations could inspire others to see technology as a tool for change, not just as another robotics project. What made all of it incredible was not the trophies. The laughter, late nights, and shared belief that we were building something bigger than ourselves made it worth it.

When our robotics team lost our funding midway through the season, it felt like everything we’d worked for was slipping away. We didn’t have money for new parts, and that moment became our turning point.

Instead of giving up, I pulled our team together and decided to host community workshops teaching kids basic coding for a small fee. Parents and local businesses noticed, and donations started coming in. By the time competition season arrived, we would raised enough to rebuild our robot — and, more importantly, we rebuilt our sense of purpose.

Facing that obstacle together changed how we saw our community. We weren’t just a team trying to win. We were problem-solvers who could inspire others to create solutions, too.

Here is how you might finish off the essay:

The robotics team means so much to me. What started as building robots turned into building people, including myself. I left with more than skills; I left with a purpose to keep turning curiosity into change and enjoy every person involved along the way. 

Because you have just been throwing ideas on here, you will need to pare it down, edit it, and make it fit the word count.

By the way, should you use ChatGPT or another AI tool to write your essay? No. You can use it to formulate your ideas, but you may not use it to write your essay for you. 

Do Not Keep it to Yourself

Finally, do not try to go it alone. You need to involve someone else who can spy the strengths and weaknesses in your essay. For example, you may want to share it with a teacher or someone else who has strong writing skills. At Campus to Career Crossroads, we have essay expertise on our staff. We will work with you to come up with the ideas, concepts, and other factors that make a winning essay. We have seen a lot of essays come through our inboxes here!

These are short essays, so you only have a little bit of space to write a comprehensive, thoughtful essay. As you can see, the one above might have to shrink, depending on the university’s word count requirements.  

FAQs 

Read on to learn more about some frequently asked questions clients ask us about community essays and information about community essay examples.

What is the importance of a community essay?

The community essay is a great way for colleges to evaluate how you will get involved in the community in college. They can literally see how you navigate, influence, and inspire others in your current communities and how you might continue that in college. It is a perfect opportunity for them to get a sense of your hopes and values. 

What should I do if I do not have communities to write about?

Our advice would be to dig a little deeper. Everyone has communities they belong to, whether it is a family, a classroom in school, or another type of community. You may not even think about it, but hobbies may also give you an outlet to write about! Reach out to us at Campus to Career Crossroads to allow us to brainstorm with you. 

Learn more: What Looks Good on College Applications