Essay Prompts
Below you will find the Class of 2025 essay prompts for the Common App and Coalition App as well as specific colleges. Scroll down to see the specific college supplemental essay prompts. We will add more college essay prompts as they are released.
2024-2025 Essay Prompts
Common Application Essays
In 250-650 words, respond to one of the following prompts:
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Coalition Application Essays
While there is no perfect length for an essay, we recommend that you aim for 500 to 650 words.
1. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
2. What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
3. Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
4. Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
5. What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
6. Submit an essay on a topic of your choice
American University students identify as changemakers and describe themselves as passionate. Describe a belief, hobby, idea, issue, or topic about which you’re excited. (250 words max.)
In addition to the essay you are writing as part of the Common Application, Amherst requires a supplementary essay from all applicants. There are three options for satisfying Amherst’s supplementary writing requirement: Option A, Option B or Option C. You may select only one of these options. Before deciding, carefully read the descriptions of all three options.
Option A: Choose one of the following quotations, and respond to the question posed, in an essay of not more than 350 words. It is not necessary to research, read, or refer to the texts from which these quotations are taken; we are looking for original, personal responses to these short excerpts. Remember that your essay should be personal in nature and not simply an argumentative essay.
· Prompt 1: “Amherst College is committed to learning through close colloquy and to expanding the realm of knowledge through scholarly research and artistic creation at the highest level. Its graduates link learning with leadership—in service to the College, to their communities, and to the world beyond.”
– from the Mission of Amherst College
Prompt 1 Question: What do you see as the benefits of linking learning with leadership and/or service? In your response, please share with us a time where you have seen that benefit through your own experience.
· Prompt 2: “We seek an Amherst made stronger because it includes those whose experiences can enhance our understanding of our nation and our world. We do so in the faith that our humanity is an identity forged from diversity, and that our different perspectives enrich our inquiry, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our community, and prepare students to engage with an ever-changing world.”
– from the Trustee Statement on Diversity and Community
Prompt 2 Question: In what ways could your unique experiences enhance our understanding of our nation and our world?
· Prompt 3: “Strong commitment to the freedom of inquiry lies at the heart of Amherst College’s mission to create a home in which the liberal arts may flourish. As a small residential liberal arts college that prides itself on the ability, curiosity, and diversity of its students, Amherst seeks to create a respectful environment in which members of its community feel emboldened to pursue their intellectual and creative passions.”
– from the Amherst College Statement of Academic and Expressive Freedom
Prompt 3 Question: Tell us about an intellectual or creative passion you have pursued; what did you learn about yourself through that pursuit?
Option B: Please submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay. If you have submitted an analytical essay in response to the “essay topic of your choice” prompt in the Common Application writing section, you should NOT select Option B.
Option C: If you are/were an applicant to Amherst’s Access to Amherst (A2A) program, you may use your A2A application essay in satisfaction of our Writing Supplement requirement. If you would like to do so, please select Option C. However, if you would prefer not to use your A2A essay for this purpose and you want to submit a different writing supplement, select either Option A or Option B. Option A, Prompt 2 is the same prompt as the A2A application essay; if you would like to submit an updated version of your A2A application essay, please choose Option A.
[Please note that Option C is available only to applicants to Amherst’s A2A program. Non-A2A applicants must choose either Option A or Option B.]1. The Babson education prepares students for all types of careers across business, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and more. Tell us about your interest in this area of study and in Babson specifically. (500 words maximum)
We invite you to submit your answer in either essay OR video format. If you choose to submit a video, please limit your response to a 1-minute video, which can be submitted via a shared link to YouTube or another video hosting website. Please ensure your video is set to public and is accessible to the Admission Committee.
2. A defining element of the Babson experience is learning and thriving in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives and interests. Please share something about your background, lived experiences, or viewpoint(s) that speaks to how you will contribute to and learn from Babson’s collaborative community. (250 words maximum)
1. Barnard College is an extraordinary community of women committed to fostering curiosity and the exploration of new experiences and ideas. By utilizing the resources of our campus, our Foundations curriculum, and New York City, our students expand their world and discover their own capabilities. How do you envision these intersecting components of Barnard shaping your academic and personal journey? (200 words max)
2. Barnard College students engage in the bold questions that define their generation. Choose one question that you have about the world around you, and explain why it matters to you. (150 words max)
3. In college, you will encounter others with diverse viewpoints and experiences. Describe an instance where you engaged with someone who held a different opinion and explain how it shaped your perspective on the issue. (150 words max)
(OPTIONAL) Design a new college course that responds to your desire to blend an area of business with the arts and sciences. Give your course an eye-catching title and describe the course content. Then explain why this course will set you up for career and life success. (250 words or fewer)
(OPTIONAL) Our students bring to campus a variety of experiences, cultures, and intersecting identities including race and ethnicity — aspects that are important to a rich educational experience and your success in college and beyond. You may use this section to discuss how race and ethnicity has affected your life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise. (250 words or fewer)
All applicants, except those applying for the Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) major, should respond to one of prompts #1-4 listed below. Students applying to the HCE major must respond to prompt #5 only.
The writing supplement topics for the 2024-2025 application cycle (400 word limit):
1. Each year at University Convocation, our incoming class engages in reflective dialogue with the author of a common text. What book by a living author would you recommend for your incoming class to read, and why would this be an important shared text?
2. At Boston College, we draw upon the Jesuit tradition of finding worthwhile conversation partners. Some support our viewpoints while others challenge them. Who fulfills this role in your life? Please cite a specific conversation you had where this conversation partner challenged your perspective or you challenged theirs.
3. In her November 2019 Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them?
4. Boston College’s founding in 1863 was in response to society’s call. That call came from an immigrant community in Boston seeking a Jesuit education to foster social mobility. Still today, the University empowers its students to use their education to address society’s greatest needs. Which of today’s local or global issues is of particular concern to you and how might you use your Boston College education to address it?
5. Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) Applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?
Boston University is dedicated to our founding principles: “that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community—local and international. These principles endure in the University’s insistence on the value of diversity in its tradition and standards of excellence and its dynamic engagement with the City of Boston and the world.” With this mission in mind, please respond to one of the following two questions in 300 words or less:
1. Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it?
or
2. What about being a student at BU most excites you? How do you hope to contribute to our campus community?
Generations of students have found connection and meaning in Bowdoin’s “The Offer of the College,” written in 1906 by Bowdoin President William DeWitt Hyde.
To be at home in all lands and all ages;
to count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
and Art an intimate friend;
to gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
and the criticism of your own;
to carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
to make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
to lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends –
this is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.
Which line from The Offer resonates most with you?
a. To be at home in all lands and all ages
b. To count Nature a familiar acquaintance…
c. …and Art an intimate friend
d. To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work and the criticism of your own
e. To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake
f. To make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life
g. To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends
Optional: The Offer represents Bowdoin’s values. Please reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you.
(Limit 250 words)
Brandeis was established 75 years ago to address antisemitism, racism, and gender discrimination in higher education, and today, the university remains dedicated to its founding values of inclusivity and justice. How has your educational experience shaped your perspective on these values? (250 words max.)
For International Students Only
What excites you the most about being an international student at Brandeis University? (250 words max.)
Three essays are required for all first-year and transfer applicants:
1. Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)
2. Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)
3. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)
First-year applicants are also asked to reflect briefly on each of the very short answer questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most.
– What three words best describe you? (3 words)
– What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)
– If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)
– In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)
Bryn Mawr students bring their authentic selves to campus. What do you know about yourself to be true—and what in your background or experience led you to that truth? (250-500 words)
Required STEM Academic Interest Question
Your STEM Future – STEM Academic Interests
Caltech has a rigorous core curriculum and students don’t declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore.
If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose?
*Note that you are under no obligation to follow this choice if admitted.
Why did you choose your proposed area of interest? If you selected ‘other’, what topics are you interested in pursuing? (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
Required Short Essay Questions
Your STEM Present – STEM Curiosity
Regardless of your STEM interest listed above, take this opportunity to nerd out and talk to us about whatever STEM rabbit hole you have found yourself falling into. Be as specific or broad as you would like. (Min: 50 / Max: 150 words)
Your STEM Past – STEM Experiences
At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. We are interested in learning more about your engagement with STEM.
Please share two STEM-related experiences:
1. Tell us how you initially found your interest and passion for science or any STEM topic, and how you have pursued or developed this interest or passion over time. (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
2. Tell us about a STEM-related experience from the last few years and share how and why it inspired your curiosity. (Min: 100 / Max: 200 words)
Creativity in Action Question
The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller-scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D-print dorm decor to experimenting in the kitchen. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (Min: 200 / Max: 250 words)
Caltech Values Question
Caltech’s values include respect for a diversity of thoughts and ideas. How have you cultivated this value in your own life? (Min: 50 / Max: 200 words)
Optional Short Answer Questions
We know, we know … you see optional and start to wonder if we mean it. But in this section, we truly do! See these as completely optional opportunities to show us more of your personality.
Optional. We promise.
1. If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (Max: 150 words)
2. When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through coding marathons, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing, reading, yoga, playing musical instruments and theater arts, to solving puzzles, hiking, painting, and building or inventing new gadgets. We understand that everyone needs an outlet or two. What is a favorite interest or hobby, and why does it bring you joy? (Max: 200 words)
3. Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too. Tell us about another hobby or interest! (Max: 150 words)
Optional Academic Short Answer Question
OPTIONAL: Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection or disruptions), that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here.
1. Most students choose their intended major or area of study based on a passion or inspiration that’s developed over time – what passion or inspiration led you to choose this area of study? (300 word maximum)
2. Many students pursue college for a specific degree, career opportunity or personal goal. Whichever it may be, learning will be critical to achieve your ultimate goal. As you think ahead to the process of learning during your college years, how will you define a successful college experience? (300 word maximum)
3. Consider your application as a whole. What do you personally want to emphasize about your application for the admission committee’s consideration? Highlight something that’s important to you or something you haven’t had a chance to share. Tell us, don’t show us (no websites please). (300 word maximum)
Out of the thousands of universities and colleges, what excites you about attending Chapman University specifically? (200 words max.)
Chapman seeks to enroll a class of students that fosters a diverse, dynamic and welcoming campus community. To support this goal, we encourage you to discuss any aspect of your identity, which could include perspectives, experiences, and background, and how they have shaped who you are. With this in mind, please answer one of the following questions (200 words or fewer).
Choice 1: Personal Values
Our committee would like to hear about a personal experience or lesson that has helped you better understand who you are now and/or appreciate a perspective different from your own. How would you utilize this understanding to contribute to the values and welcoming fabric of our campus community?
Choice 2: Personal Growth
Part of the Chapman experience is to help students expand their perspectives. How will you grow personally and/or learn more about others throughout your time at Chapman?
Please answer the following questions in one word, phrase, or sentence. There are no right or wrong answers here. We hope you enjoy working on this section as much as we’ll enjoy reading it.
1. What is your dream job?
2. What song should we be listening to while reading your application?
3. Name one dish you would cook for our admission team.
4. What is the top thing on your bucket list?
5. If Chapman’s admission team came to visit your hometown, what site would you take them to?
6. What makes you happy?
7. What can you give a 30-minute presentation on without any preparation?
8. What are the best words of advice you have received?
9. What is a family tradition that you want to continue?
10. Where do you feel most at home?
Prompt 1:
On Colgate’s campus, students engage with individuals from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, and perspectives during the course of their educational and social experiences. In 250 words or less, please share the benefits you see in engaging with a diverse body of students, faculty, and staff as part of your Colgate experience.
Prompt 2:
Colgate students immerse themselves in social and intellectual pursuits that inspire them. Tell us in 250 words or less what inspires you and why you want to pursue that at Colgate.
Prompt 3:
Please complete the following so we can learn a bit more about you. Each response should be no more than 13 words.
– 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…
Why are you interested in The College of Wooster? (250 words)
1. List a selection of texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums and other content that you enjoy. (100 words or fewer)
2. A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. Tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia’s diverse and collaborative community. (150 words or fewer)
3. In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not predict or anticipate. It is important to us, therefore, to understand an applicant’s ability to navigate through adversity. Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have faced and discuss the personal qualities, skills or insights you have developed as a result. (150 words or fewer)
4. Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (150 words or fewer)
5. What attracts you to your preferred areas of study at Columbia College? (150 words or fewer)
Developing a strong, equitable, and inclusive community is important to us at Connecticut College. After all, camels live and work together in herds. In 150 words or less, please tell us who you are and what you will bring to the Conn community to help us grow into the best version of ourselves. You may choose to include details about how your background, identity, challenges, and lived experiences have shaped your accomplishments and potential contributions.
Any format is acceptable. You can write a few sentences, one run-on sentence, a short poem, or even a bullet-point list.
Cornell University Essay Question
We all contribute to, and are influenced by, the communities that are meaningful to us. Share how you’ve been shaped by one of the communities you belong to.
Remember that this essay is about you and your lived experience. Define community in the way that is most meaningful to you. Some examples of community you might choose from are: family, school, shared interest, virtual, local, global, cultural. (350 word limit)
College- and School-Specific Essay Questions
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Required: By applying to Cornell’s College of Agriculture of Life Sciences (CALS), you are also applying for direct entry into one of our 20+ majors. From here, you would be part of a community dedicated to purpose-driven science; working within your major and across disciplines to tackle the complex challenges of our time.
Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected and specifically, why do you want to pursue this major at Cornell CALS? You should share how your current interests, related experiences, and/or goals influenced your choice. (500-word limit)
Instructions: The optional short-answer questions invite you to share additional information about your background, interests, and experiences as they relate to aspects of the Cornell CALS mission. The content of any responses submitted will be included in the holistic review of your application (which is also the case for any optional additional information submitted as part of your Common Application or uploaded through your Cornell Application Portal once you’ve applied).
Optional: At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are passionate about serving the public good. Please elaborate on an experience where you were able to have a meaningful impact on people, a community, and/or an environment of importance to you. (100-word limit)
Optional: Cornell CALS is dedicated to purpose-driven study of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background or interest in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. An “agricultural entity” for the purpose of this question is defined as cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock (e.g., farm, ranch, greenhouse, vineyard, etc.).
Select all that apply:
– A primary source of income for my parent/guardian(s) comes from ownership of or employment by an agricultural entity.
– My extended family owns or operates an agricultural entity.
– I have experience working in an agricultural entity.
– I have interest in pursuing a career in an agricultural entity.
Please feel free to share additional details (optional). (100-word limit)
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues. (650 word limit)
College of Arts & Sciences
At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences. (650 word limit)
Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals. (650 word limit)
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration). (650 word limit)
College of Engineering
Instructions: All engineering applicants are required to write two long essays and four short essays.
Long Essay Responses (200 word limit)
– Question 1: Fundamentally, engineering is the application of math, science, and technology to solve complex problems. Why do you want to study engineering?
– Question 2: Why do you think you would love to study at Cornell Engineering?
Short Answer Responses (100 word limit)
– Question 1: What brings you joy?
– Question 2: What do you believe you will contribute to the Cornell Engineering community beyond what you’ve already detailed in your application? What unique voice will you bring?
– Question 3: What is one activity, club, team, organization, work/volunteer experience or family responsibility that is especially meaningful to you? Please briefly tell us about its significance for you.
– Question 4: What is one award you have received or achievement you have attained that has meant the most to you? Please briefly describe its importance to you.
College of Human Ecology
How has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE) been shaped and informed by your related experiences? How will what you learn through CHE and your chosen major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should demonstrate how your interests and aspirations align with CHE’s programs and mission. (Refer to our essay application tips before you begin.) (650 word limit)
School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School. (650 word limit)
1. Required of all applicants. Please respond in 100 words or fewer:
As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2029, what aspects of the college’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? How is Dartmouth a good fit for you?
2. Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:
A. There is a Quaker saying: Let your life speak. Describe the environment in which you were raised and the impact it has had on the person you are today.
B. “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.
3. Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:
A. What excites you?
B. Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta recommended a life of purpose. “We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things,” she said. “That is what we are put on the earth for.” In what ways do you hope to make—or are you already making—an impact? Why? How?
C. In “Oh, The Places You’ll Go,” Dr. Seuss invites us to “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” Imagine your anticipated academic major: How does that course of study sync with Dr. Seuss’s advice to you?
D. The social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees have been the focus of Dame Jane Goodall’s research for decades. Her understanding of animal behavior prompted the English primatologist to see a lesson for human communities as well: “Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” Channel Dame Goodall: Tell us about a moment when you engaged in a difficult conversation or encountered someone with an opinion or perspective that was different from your own. How did you find common ground?
E. Celebrate your nerdy side.
F. “It’s not easy being green…” was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity, outlook, or sense of purpose?
G. Buddy Teevens ’79 was a legendary and much-beloved coach at Dartmouth. He often told parents: “Your son will be a great football player when it’s football time, a great student when it’s academic time, and a great person all of the time.” If Coach Teevens had said that to you, what would it mean to be “a great person”?
– There are just under 4,000 four-year colleges and universities in the United States. Being as specific as possible, what interests you most about Davidson College? (250-300 word limit)
– Davidson encourages students to explore curiosities in and out of the classroom. What is a topic, activity or idea that excites you? Tell us why. Examples may include hobbies, books, interactions, music, podcasts, movies, etc. (250-300 word limit)
The following question is required for all 2024-25 applicants to Duke University:
– What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)
We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. Feel free to answer one or two if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application. Five optional questions are available – a maximum of 2 can be selected. (250 word limit)
– We believe a wide range of viewpoints, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to maintaining Duke as a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.
– Tell us about an experience in the past year or two that reflects your imagination, creativity, or intellect.
– We believe there is benefit in sharing or questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?
– Duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community.
– We recognize that not fully “fitting in” a community or place can sometimes be difficult. Duke values the effort, resilience, and independence that may require. Feel free to share with us circumstances where something about you is different and how that’s influenced your experiences or identity.
1. What aspect of your identity do you find most meaningful, and why? (200 words max)
2. Name three songs from your perfect playlist.
3. Tell us your top 5. Take this opportunity to let Elon Admissions know more about you. Your top 5 should be something unique to you and will give us a glimpse of who you are. Be creative! You may choose any theme for your top 5. Do you love cooking? List your top 5 recipes. Are you enthusiastic about anime? Name your top 5 characters. Do you watch or participate in a lot of athletic events? Name your top 5 moments.
4. Explain why these are your top 5. (150 words max)
ACADEMIC INTERESTS
This question is required. (200 Words Recommended Length)
– What academic areas are you interested in exploring at Emory University and why?
GETTING TO KNOW YOU
In addition, answer one of the following questions. (150 Words)
– Which book, character, song, monologue, or piece of work (fiction or non-fiction) seems made for you? Why?
– Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness.
– Emory University’s unique mission calls for service to humanity. Share how you might personally contribute to this mission of service to humanity.
– Emory University has a strong commitment to building community. Tell us about a community that you have been part of where your participation helped to change or shape the community for the better.
You may choose to answer one (1) of the optional questions below. Keep in mind that your response is a maximum of 300 words. Choose the question that you think will help the admission committee get a better understanding of your unique perspective and potential contributions to our community.
– At Fordham, we expect students to care for and engage with their communities and be active citizens for positive change. Please share an experience you had that caused you to develop a new perspective, change your point of view, and/or empower you to take an action or be courageous. Your response should include examples of your personal growth (e.g., what did you learn, did your point of view change, did you develop new skills or strengths?).
– Fordham, as a Jesuit university, recognizes the dignity, uniqueness and potential of each person. A Fordham education is student-centered and rooted in close collaboration among students, faculty, and staff. Describe how you would contribute to our campus community as an actively engaged learner and leader. Specifically draw on your personal story, identity, experiences, strengths, and perspectives.
– Our motto is “New York is my campus, Fordham is my school.” New York City is a diverse and global city that provides Fordham students with a special kind of educational experience, full of both challenge and opportunity. What has prepared you to embrace the unique opportunity of living and learning in New York City?
– Is there something that you are proud of that you would like to share with the Admission Committee?
Short Essay
Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
_________________________________________________________
Compose two brief essays (approximately one page, single-spaced each) on the topics given below. Essays should be typed.
Essay One
ALL APPLICANTS: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief personal or creative essay which you feel best describes you and reflects on your own background, identity, skills, and talents.
Essay Two
APPLICANTS TO THE COLLEGE OF ARTS & SCIENCES: Founded in 1789, the Georgetown College of Arts & Sciences is committed to the Jesuit traditions of an integrated education and of productive research in the natural sciences, humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Describe your interest in studying at College of Arts & Sciences. Applicants interested in the sciences, mathematics, or languages are encouraged to make specific reference to their choice of major.
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF NURSING: Georgetown University’s School of Nursing is committed to the formation of ethical, empathetic, and transformational nursing leaders. Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying Nursing at Georgetown University.
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH: Georgetown University’s School of Health was founded to advance the health and well-being of people locally, nationally, and globally through innovative research, the delivery of interdisciplinary education, and transformative engagement of communities. Describe the factors that influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University, specifically addressing your intended related major: Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science.
APPLICANTS TO THE WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders with the foundational skills to address global issues. Describe your primary motivations for studying international affairs at Georgetown University and dedicating your undergraduate studies toward a future in global service.
APPLICANTS TO THE MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business provides graduates with essential global, ethical, analytical, financial, and diverse perspectives on the economies of our nation and the world. Describe your primary motivations for studying business at Georgetown University.
Other
Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight.
Why do you want to study your chosen major, and why do you want to study that major at Georgia Tech? (300 words)
Share with us why you are interested in LMU and/or why you chose your specific area of study or major. (500 words max)
The following required five short answer questions invite you to reflect on and share how your life experiences and academic and extracurricular activities shaped you, how you will engage with others at Harvard, and your aspirations for the future. Each question can be answered in about 100 words.
1. Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard? Max: 150 words
2. Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience? Max: 150 words
3. Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. Max: 150 words
4. How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? Max: 150 words
5. Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. Max: 150 words
1. At High Point University, we often describe our students as “doers.” Over 25% of your work as an HPU student will involve putting ideas and theory into practice. To help us understand your interest in this style of learning, please describe a hands-on project or experience that was meaningful to you. (50 Word Limit)
2. Our research shows that employers and graduate programs seek students who demonstrate life skills such as motivation, coachability, strong communication, emotional intelligence, a growth mindset, and many others. Many of these skills are related to how we connect with other people. Please share a story of a meaningful travel experience where you connected with people from a different background than your own. (50 Word Limit)
3. Inspired by our Innovator in Residence, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, we define creativity as doing things differently and innovation as doing things better. From what you’ve learned during your college search, where have you seen innovation at HPU, and why does that make you want to attend? (50 Word Limit)
Why Lafayette College? (20-200 words)
1. How did you first learn about Lehigh University and what motivated you to apply? (200 words max)
2. Our 10-year strategic plan, Inspiring the Future Makers, outlines three goals that articulate a vision for how we innovate, make an impact and do that work together—because together, we do better work. Reflect on how your personal background—be it academic, cultural, extracurricular, family, gender, racial, religious, or another aspect—will contribute to Lehigh’s aim to make it new, make a difference, (and/or) make it together. (300 words max)
Share with us why you are interested in LMU and/or why you chose your specific area of study or major. (500 words max.)
Macalester is one of a few highly selective liberal arts colleges located in the middle of a metropolitan area. Students benefit from the strong sense of community on campus and opportunities to engage in academic, social, and civic engagement options in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. In what ways might Macalester’s urban location enhance your academic, social, and/or community experiences? (300 words max.)
1. What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you. (100 words)
2. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (150 Words)
3. While some reach their goals following well-trodden paths, others blaze their own trails achieving the unexpected. In what ways have you done something different than what was expected in your educational journey? (200 Words)
4. 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.* (200 Words (Max 225))
5. How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?* (200 Words (Max 225))
In a world where disconnection seems to often prevail, we are looking for students who embody the qualities of bridge builders—students who can connect people, groups, and ideas to span divides, foster understanding, and promote collaboration within a dynamic, interconnected, and vibrant global academic community. We are eager to understand how your experiences have prepared you to build the bridges of the future. Please consider one or more of the following questions in your essay (250 words max):
– What personal experiences or challenges have shaped you as a bridge builder?
– How have you been a bridge builder in your school, community, or personal life?
– What specific actions have you taken to build bridges between diverse groups, ideas, or cultures?
– How do you envision being a bridge builder during your time at our university and beyond?
Explain why you selected the first choice academic program above and why you are interested in studying this at NC State. (250 words max.)
Discuss any other obstacles and/or hardships that you have encountered that have affected you personally or academically and how you dealt with them. (250 words max.)
The following question is required for all Common Application and Coalition with Scoir applicants (optional for QuestBridge applicants). Please respond in 300 words or fewer:
– We want to be sure we’re considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background (your identity, your school setting, your community, your household, etc.) have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?
We encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two of the following questions. Please respond in fewer than 200 words per question:
– Painting “The Rock” is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call “Purple Pride”), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?
– Northwestern fosters a distinctively interdisciplinary culture. We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of diverse ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?
– Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.
– Northwestern’s location is special: on the shore of Lake Michigan, steps from downtown Evanston, just a few miles from Chicago. What aspects of our location are most compelling to you, and why?
– Northwestern is a place where people with diverse backgrounds from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to this diversity of perspectives in Northwestern’s classrooms and around our campus?
Please answer one of the following questions (200 – 250 words):
A. Why are you applying to Occidental? Why do you think Occidental, and our location in Los Angeles, is the right place for you to pursue your interests?
B. Occidental’s central mission emphasizes the value of community amidst diversity. What do you value in a community and how do you see your perspectives and life experiences enhancing it?
C. Research is an integral part of an Occidental education. Completing a senior comprehensive is a requirement of every Occidental student and there are a myriad of opportunities for research throughout your four years. Imagine you were just awarded one of our research grants for a project of your choice. What are you researching and why?
This is your opportunity to share something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records. Tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State.
While the Personal Statement is not required, it is highly encouraged.
Pepperdine is a Christian university where all are welcomed and encouraged to challenge each other in the pursuit of truth. Students, faculty, and staff members from all backgrounds participate in conversations of faith inside and outside of the classroom. Considering that Pepperdine is a Christian university, why are you interested in attending and how would you contribute to conversations of faith on campus? (500 words max)
Please choose one of the following three prompts to respond to with an essay of no more than 150 words.
1. At Pomona, we celebrate and identify with the number 47. Share with us one of your quirky personal, family or community traditions and why you hold on to it.
2. What item are you excited to bring with you to college?
3. Describe a time when you felt empowered or on top of the world.
Please choose one of the following three prompts to respond to with an essay of no more than 250 words.
1. In the past few years, is there something you have changed your mind about? Why?
2. Reflecting on a community that you are part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?
3. What strength or quality do you have that most people might not see or recognize?
1. Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? (500 words or fewer)
2. Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (250 words or fewer)
3. Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!
– What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
– What brings you joy?
– What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
4. As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)
Princeton requires you to submit a graded written paper as part of your application. You may submit this material now or any time before the application deadline. If you choose not to upload the required paper at this time, you may mail, e-mail, or upload your paper through the applicant portal.
Should a student choose to complete an optional essay, they select one of the flowing prompts and limit their response to 250-500 words.
Providence College values each student’s willingness to embrace and learn from different viewpoints. What experiences or perspectives do you believe individuals from diverse backgrounds bring to a community or organization? And how will your unique background positively impact others at Providence College?
OR
Providence College thrives on the energy of those who seek. How will you contribute to our vibrant campus life and intellectual culture in the years ahead?
Respond in 250 words or fewer.
1. How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom?
2. Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected.
Why are you interested in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute? (250 words max.)
1. Please explain why you wish to study in the academic areas you selected. 150 word limit.
2. Based upon your exploration of Rice University, what elements of the Rice experience appeal to you? 150 word limit.
3. Please respond to one of the following prompts to explore how you will contribute to the Rice community:
– The Residential College System is at the heart of Rice student life and is heavily influenced by the particular cultural traditions and unique life experiences each student brings. What life experiences and/or unique perspectives are you looking forward to sharing with fellow Owls in the residential college system? 500 word limit.
– Rice is strengthened by its diverse community of learning and discovery that produces leaders and change agents across the spectrum of human endeavor. What perspectives shaped by your background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity inspire you to join our community of change agents at Rice? 500 word limit.
Rice Box
One of Rice’s long-standing traditions is “The Box,” a question on our application where we ask all of our applicants to share an image of something that appeals to them. The Box gives you the opportunity to present us with an image that shares something about yourself, your interests or what is meaningful to you. This image is not used for evaluative purposes in the application, but allows you to put your stamp on the application about who you are aside from what you have achieved. Be sure to choose an image that speaks for itself and does not need an explanation. The Box must be a two-dimensional image that is uploaded in the Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir, or uploaded in the Rice Admission Student Portal.
Please briefly elaborate on your community service or one of your extracurricular activities. (250 words max.)
1. Why are you interested in pursuing the [Division or Major] selected above? (50 words)
2. At Santa Clara University, we value our diverse and inclusive community. Our campus learning environment is enriched by the lived experiences of people from different backgrounds. What people, places, events, or circumstances have shaped the individual you are today and how you could contribute to our community? (150- 300 words)
3. At Santa Clara University, we push our students to be creative, be challenged, and be the solution. Think about an ethical dilemma that you care about that our society is currently facing. This can be something happening in your local community or more globally. How can an SCU education help you prepare for and address this challenge? (150- 300 words)
We know that there may be elements of who you are as a person and student that you may not feel are conveyed fully in the other sections of this application. If you wish to showcase a little more about your particular interest in Sarah Lawrence College, please select one of the prompts below and write your essay in the text box. If you do not wish to respond select the prompt “I will not be submitting this optional essay”. (250-500 words)
1. Sarah Lawrence students are often described as hyphenates: filmmaker-sociologist-historian, environmentalist-photographer, psychologist-novelist, economist-poet. In 250-500 words, tell us about seemingly disparate interests you have brought together, or hope to bring together at Sarah Lawrence.
2. Students at Sarah Lawrence are asked to design their own research questions directly with faculty, and then answer them through intensive semester-long projects that frequently inspire a blend of intellectual rigor and creativity. In 250-500 words, tell us about a text, problem or topic you would love to explore over a semester or a year, and what you would hope to achieve through that work.
3. In the syllabus of a 2023 majority decision of the Supreme Court written by Chief Justice John Roberts, the author notes: “Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university.” Drawing upon examples from your life, a quality of your character, and/or a unique ability you possess, describe how you believe your goals for a college education might be impacted, influenced, or affected by the Court’s decision.
4. Residential colleges and universities are opportunities to live and learn with peers from very different world views. Think about a time that you encountered someone with an opinion or a position that you felt was contrary to either your belief or understanding of a topic. Describe the situation, and if the encounter did not end with a mutually agreed upon resolution, how might it have?
5. I will not be submitting this optional essay.
1. SMU appeals to students for a variety of reasons. Briefly describe why you are interested in attending SMU and what specific factors have led you to apply. (250-word limit)
2. SMU is a diverse and welcoming learning environment shaped by the convergence of ideas and cultures. How will your unique experiences enhance the University, and how will you benefit from this community? (250-word limit)
1. What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words max)
2. How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words max)
3. What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words max)
4. Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words max)
5. List five things that are important to you. (50 words max)
6. The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (250 words max)
7. Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – get to know you better. (250 words max)
8. Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (250 words max)
Syracuse University is a place that seeks to be welcoming to all – and has been since our founding. Explain why you are interested in Syracuse University and describe a personal experience in which you persevered through adversity, rejected discrimination, learned a lesson, or were inspired by the courageous actions of others and how you will apply what you learned to our community in a positive way. (250 words)
Texas A&M requires students to answer a specific essay prompt and two short answer questions as part of the application process. Additional essays are not considered as part of your admissions evaluation.
If you have already answered a similar prompt via your Common App essay(s), please feel free to copy and paste your Common App essay(s) into the appropriate box.
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? (750)
Describe a life event which you feel has prepared you to be successful in college. (250)
Tell us about the person who has most impacted your life and why. (250)
If there are additional personal challenges, hardships, or opportunities (including COVID related experiences) that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials, which you have not already written about, please note them in the space below. (250)
1. Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? (800 words max.)
2. Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself. (800 words max.)
Every applicant can choose from one of the following two essay prompts to submit. (500 words or fewer)
Essay Prompt 1
At the George Washington University, our students frequently interact with policymakers and world leaders. These experiences and those of our alumni can shape the future of global affairs. If you had the power to change the course of history in your community or the world, what would you do and why?
Essay Prompt 2
The George Washington University encourages students to think critically and to challenge the status quo. Thus, civil discourse is a key characteristic of our community. Describe a time when you engaged others in meaningful dialogue around an issue that was important to you. Did this exchange create change, new perspectives, or deeper relationships?
Think outside the box as you answer the following questions. Take a risk and go somewhere unexpected. Be serious if the moment calls for it, but feel comfortable being playful if that suits you, too.
Applicants to the School of Arts & Sciences or the School of Engineering:
Please respond to one of the following three prompts in 200-250 words:
– It’s cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity and why?
– How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – shaped the person you are today?
– Using a specific example or two, tell us about a way that you contributed to building a collaborative and/or inclusive community.
Applicants to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts:
Please respond to the following prompt in 200-250 words:
– Art has the power to disrupt our preconceptions, shape public discourse, and imagine new ways of being in the world. What are the ideas you’d like to explore in your work?
In addition, we will ask all applicants to complete this sentence in 100 words or less:
“I am applying to Tufts because…”
Describe why you are interested in joining the Tulane community. Consider your experiences, talents, and values to illustrate what you would contribute to the Tulane community if admitted. (250 words)
Directions
– You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
– Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
– Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you. However, you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.
Keep in mind
– All questions are equal. All are given equal consideration in the application review process, which means there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.
– There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.
– Use the additional comments field if there are issues you’d like to address that you didn’t have the opportunity to discuss elsewhere on the application. This shouldn’t be an essay, but rather a place to note unusual circumstances or anything that might be unclear in other parts of the application. You may use the additional comments field to note extraordinary circumstances related to COVID-19, if necessary.
Questions and guidance
Remember, the personal insight questions are just that — personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC.
1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?
Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?
How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about it, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?
Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.
If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who you are today?
5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?
If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, “How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends or with my family?”
6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Things to consider: Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs — and what you have gained from your involvement.
Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or future career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that?
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place — like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?
Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?
8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
Things to consider: If there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better?
From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don’t be afraid to brag a little.
1. Why did you choose to apply to UCF? (250 words max.)
2. What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community? (250 words max.)
Question 1 (Required)
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay Option 1
We’re all familiar with green-eyed envy or feeling blue, but what about being “caught purple-handed”? Or “tickled orange”? Give an old color-infused expression a new hue and tell us what it represents.
– Inspired by Ramsey Bottorff, Class of 2026
Essay Option 2
“Ah, but I was so much older then / I’m younger than that now” – Bob Dylan. In what ways do we become younger as we get older?
– Inspired by Joshua Harris, Class of 2016
Essay Option 3
Pluto, the demoted planet. Ophiuchus, the thirteenth Zodiac. Andy Murray, the fourth to tennis’s Big Three. Every grouping has something that doesn’t quite fit in. Tell us about a group and its unofficial member, why (or why not) should it be excluded?
– Inspired by Veronica Chang, Class of 2022
Essay Option 4
“Daddy-o”, “Far Out”, “Gnarly”: the list of slang terms goes on and on. Sadly, most of these aren’t so “fly” anymore – “as if!” Name an outdated slang from any decade or language that you’d bring back and explain why you totally “dig it.”
– Inspired by Napat Sakdibhornssup, Class of 2028
Essay Option 5
How many piano tuners are there in Chicago? What is the total length of chalk used by UChicago professors in a year? How many pages of books are in the Regenstein Library? These questions are among a class of estimation problems named after University of Chicago physicist Enrico Fermi. Create your own Fermi estimation problem, give it your best answer, and show us how you got there.
– Inspired by Malhar Manek, Class of 2028
Essay Option 6
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
What do you hope to study, and why, at CU Boulder? Or if you don’t know quite yet, think about your studies so far, extracurricular/after-school activities, jobs, volunteering, future goals, or anything else that has shaped your interests. (max. 250 words)
Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity. (250 words max)
UF Honors College
As Albert Einstein once said, “The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” Reflecting on this, what academic subjects, learning opportunities, or extracurricular activities are you most excited to engage in during your college experience? How do you imagine or hope the UF Honors Program will help feed your curiosity and help you achieve your aspirations? (400 words)
The transition from middle to high school is a key time for students as they reach new levels of both academic and personal discovery. Please share a book (novel, non-fiction, etc.) that had a serious impact on you during this time. Please focus more on why this book made an impact on you and less on the plot/theme of the book itself (we are not looking for a book report).
We are not restricting you to the exact years of 8th-9th grades, but rather the general timeframe of the middle to high school transition, which can extend somewhat further than one year on each end. Feel free to use your discretion in your choice of the timeline focused on the shift to your high school years.
(200-300 words suggested)
To tell us more about yourself, please complete the following prompts using only the space provided (650 characters).
1. If I could travel anywhere, I would go to…
2. The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was…
3. In addition to my major, my academic interests include…
4. My favorite thing about last Friday was…
5. Something you might not know about me is…
6. In a few sentences, please describe how you have learned, grown, been inspired or developed skills through one or more components of diversity (includes but not limited to: racial, socio-economic, gender, geographical and sexual orientation)
1. Please tell us why you want to attend UMass Amherst? (100 words max.)
2. At UMass Amherst, no two students are alike. Our communities and groups often define us and shape our individual worlds. Community can refer to various aspects, including shared geography, religion, race/ethnicity, income, ideology, and more. Please choose one of your communities or groups and describe its significance. Explain how, as a product of this community or group, you would enrich our campus. (100 words max.)
3. Please tell us why you chose your major (100 words)
Located within one of the most dynamic cities in the world, the University of Miami is a distinctive community with a variety of cultures, traditions, histories, languages, and backgrounds. The University of Miami is a values-based and purpose-driven postsecondary institution that embraces diversity and inclusivity in all its forms and strives to create a culture of belonging, where every person feels valued and has an opportunity to contribute.
Please describe how your unique experiences, challenges overcome, or skills acquired would contribute to our distinctive University community.
(maximum 250 words)
1. Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/ maximum 300 words)
2. Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (Required for all applicants; minimum 100 words/ maximum 550 words)
Stephen M. Ross School of Business
1. Business Case Discussion
Choose a current event or issue in your community and discuss the business implications. Propose a solution that incorporates business principles or practices. The review panel will look for creativity, drawing connections, and originality. Your response should be limited to approximately 500 words.
This case discussion helps us learn more about your understanding of business. The topic should be unique to your interests, experiences, and knowledge. There is no “right” or “wrong” business situation to choose — it’s truly up to you. We encourage you to select a topic that you are passionate about, and not a global topic that you are disconnected from.
2. Artifact & Description
Upload a document or artifact that represents something significant about your life to show your learning in action. Describe how your artifact demonstrates your learning in action. This could be related to something inside or outside of the classroom (like an extracurricular accomplishment you’re particularly proud of). The goal is to give you the chance to showcase a unique aspect of yourself.
Artifact examples can include a:
– An academic project
– A community project
– Community newspaper article highlighting an important achievement
– Personal website
– Piece on a school, extracurricular, or community program/event that you were instrumental in creating or implementing
– High school or community award that was meaningful or prestigious
– Local, state, or national competition related to a club or school activity
– Picture of something of value to you
– A culminating event for an ongoing activity from high school
Please limit this response to approximately 250 words.
We’d like to know how you’d contribute to the Carolina community and ask that you respond to each prompt in up to 250 words.
1. Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged.
2. Discuss an academic topic that you’re excited to explore and learn more about in college. Why does this topic interest you? Topics could be a specific course of study, research interests, or any other area related to your academic experience in college.
The University of Notre Dame Writing Section consists of one (1) required short essay question and three (3) short-answer responses to questions you select from the options provided.
Please provide a response to the following question. The word count is a maximum of 150 words.
Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your “non-negotiable” factor(s) when searching for your future college home.
Please choose three questions from the options below. Your response to each short-answer question should be between 50-100 words.
1. How does faith influence the decisions you make?
2. What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community)? Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community?
3. Notre Dame’s undergraduate experience is characterized by a collective sense of care for every person. How do you foster service to others in your community?
4. What compliment are you most proud of receiving, and why does it mean so much to you?
5. What would you fight for?
As you’ve looked into what it will be like to attend Oregon, you’ve hopefully learned about what makes Ducks unique. No two are alike, though, so tell us what makes you who you are, and how that connects to our campus community. We are interested in your thoughts and experiences recognizing difference and supporting equity and inclusion, and choosing one of the two following options will guide you in sharing those thoughts. You can learn more about equity and inclusion at Oregon by visiting here.
Essay Topic: (250-500 words – choose one of the topics below)
Describe an experience with discrimination, whether it was fighting against discrimination or recognizing your contribution to discriminating against a person or group. What did you learn from the experience? In what ways will you bring those lessons to the University of Oregon?
OR
The University of Oregon values difference, and we take pride in our diverse community. Please explain how you will share your experiences, values and interests with our community. In what ways can you imagine offering your support to others?
Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)
How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (150-200 words)
College of Arts and Sciences
The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150-200 words)
School of Engineering & Applied Science
Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics with depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you plan to pursue your engineering interests at Penn. (150-200 words)
The Wharton School
Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it. (150-200 words)
School of Nursing
Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of a global, multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare through advancing science. How will you contribute to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare and how will Penn Nursing contribute to your future nursing goals? (150-200 words)
One essay response is required. Choose from the following prompts:
1. You have a platform to create change. What is an action or policy you might propose to address an issue of social injustice in your school or local community, or on a national or global scale?
2. Tell us about a time you learned something unexpected. What did you learn, and what happened next?
3. Richmond welcomes students from various backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. What is at least one way you will contribute to our community that is not already mentioned in your application?
Word Limit: Minimum 350. Maximum 650 words.
The University of Rochester benefactor, entrepreneur, photography pioneer and philanthropist George Eastman said, “The progress of the world depends almost entirely upon education.” In what ways do you envision using the curricular flexibility and co-curricular opportunities at the University of Rochester to promote progress and change within the communities you inhabit? (250 word limit)
First-Year applicants are required to answer the Mandatory First Year Essay Prompt and either Essay Prompt Option #1, #2, or #3.
Please note that the default word counter on our Common Application essay text boxes permit 350 words, but most applicants find they can answer these prompts in about 200 words.
Mandatory First Year Essay Prompt
For over 75 years, the liberal arts have been the cornerstone of the educational experience at USD. They help students explore the world, past and present, and lay the foundation for building inspired and meaningful lives. They also provide the skills and experiences students need to be successful in an increasingly changing and challenging world. Throughout the first year and beyond, we engage students in this exploration through our Core Curriculum and Learning Communities, connecting them with faculty who will guide them as they become global citizens. What excites you about the academic opportunities at USD?
Essay Prompt Option #1
Here at USD, we value the fact that our students come from all walks of life, have experienced different realities and bring with them an array of unique perspectives, including some that have often been underrepresented and underserved by higher education. Our Horizon Project is a call to action, ensuring that we are dedicating the time, energy and resources necessary to build an ever more diverse, inclusive and equitable campus community. What contribution have you made to your current school and/or local community that best exemplifies your awareness of and commitment to these ideals?
Essay Prompt Option #2
As a proud Changemaker Campus, the USD experience emphasizes changemaking through care for our common home, social justice efforts, civic engagement, social innovation, creativity and a global perspective. Write about one of the challenges facing humanity today. Why does it matter to you? What experiences or insights have you had that speak to the urgency of this issue.
Essay Prompt Option #3
Share some of your ideas about the role of faith or spirituality in your life or the life of someone you know. As a contemporary Catholic university, we welcome and celebrate students from every background and faith tradition, including those who do not identify with a faith tradition. We devote great time and energy to ensuring all students feel connected to the vibrant USD community, including opportunities to grow in their relationship with God while considering who they are, what they believe and who they are called to become.
1. Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words)
2. Describe yourself in three words.
3. What is your favorite snack?
4. Best movie of all time:
5. Dream job:
6. If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
7. Dream trip:
8. Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?
9. Favorite book:
10. If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?
1. ARTS & SCIENCES
USC Dornsife Applicants: Please provide an essay of no more than 250 words on the topic below. In your response, we encourage you to write about something that you haven’t already discussed elsewhere in your application.
For more information, please click here.
Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about – a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words max)
2. ENGINEERING
Your Unique Contributions to USC Viterbi
The student body at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering is a diverse group of unique engineers and computer scientists who work together to engineer a better world for all humanity. Describe how your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body may be distinct from others. Please feel free to touch on any part of your background, traits, skills, experiences, challenges, and/or personality in helping us better understand you. (250 words max)
The Engineering Grand Challenges
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and their 14 Grand Challenges go hand-in-hand with our vision to engineer a better world for all humanity. Engineers and computer scientists are challenged to solve these problems in order to improve life on the planet. Learn more about the NAE Grand Challenges at http://engineeringchallenges.org and tell us which challenge is most important to you, and why. (250 words max)
Essays
Please keep your essay between 500–650 words (typically two to three paragraphs).
1. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Short Answers
Answers are limited to no more than 40 lines, or about 250–300 words per prompt, typically the length of one paragraph.
1. Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?
2. Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why?
Optional Short Answer
Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance.
Answer one of the following questions. Approx. 500 words.
1. Why UVM?
2. Established in Burlington, VT, Ben & Jerry’s is synonymous with both ice cream and social change. The “Save Our Swirled” flavor raises awareness of climate change, and “I Dough, I Dough” celebrates marriage equality. If you worked alongside Ben & Jerry, what charitable flavor would you develop and why?
3. UVM is a community that celebrates the unique identity of every student, faculty and staff member.
3. Tell us how your identities have shaped the ways you interact with the world.
4. From the Green Mountains to Lake Champlain to our campus, UVM students are inspired by our location to think about their relationship to the environment. What does your relationship with your environment look like?
5. If you could pick one song to be the soundtrack of your life, what would it be? What is your connection to the song?’
6. What is your favorite sentence from your application essay?
What about your individual background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA? Feel free to write about any past experience or part of your background that has shaped your perspective and will be a source of strength, including but not limited to those related to your community, upbringing, educational environment, race, gender, or other aspects of your background that are important to you. (up to 300 words)
1. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
(650 words max)
2. Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the University of Washington. (300 words max)
Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest.
The maximum word count for each essay is 650, but we recommend planning for 300–500 words.
Vanderbilt University’s motto, Crescere aude, is Latin for “dare to grow.” In your response, reflect on how one or more aspects of your identity, culture, or background has played a role in your personal growth, and how it will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt.
Please provide your response in approximately 250 words.
For the Villanova-specific essay, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts, experiences, and opinions. Choose one of the five topics below and submit a written response in about 250 words.
Prompt One:
St. Augustine states that well-being is “not concerned with myself alone, but with my neighbor’s good as well.” How have you advocated for equity and justice in your communities?
Prompt Two:
What is a lesson in life that you have learned that you would want to share with others at Villanova?
Prompt Three:
“Villanova” means “new home.” Why do you want to call Villanova your new home?
Prompt Four:
As an Augustinian community, we value recognizing individuals for their true selves. Please share with us a time when you were misjudged based on your identity or background.
Prompt Five:
At Villanova, we often say “each of us strengthens all of us.” Please detail a time when someone has borrowed some of your strength in their time of need.
Each of the Ut Prosim Profile questions are required with a limit of 120 words in length per answer. Once you submit your application, your responses to the questions are final and cannot be updated.
1. Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?
2. Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination. Have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included? Did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources? Were you able to affect change and/or influence others? Did this experience change your perspective and if so, how?
3. Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?
4. Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal?
Required Supplemental Question:
Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution. (150 words)
Optional Supplemental Questions
– List five books you’ve read that have intrigued you.
– Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world’s complexity. This can include a work you’ve read, a project you’ve completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved (limit 150 words).
– 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? (limit 300 words)
– Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.) (limit: 100 characters per line)
Required Writing Supplement
A 200-word response to the question “Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why.”
Optional Writing Supplement
WashU is a place that values diversity of perspectives. We believe those perspectives come from a variety of experiences and identities. Respond to one of the following prompts to help us understand “Who are you?”:
– WashU supports engagement in the St. Louis community by considering the university as “In St. Louis, For St. Louis.” What is a community you are a part of and your place or impact within it?
– WashU strives to know every undergraduate student “By Name & Story.” How have your life experiences shaped your story?
Wellesley students actively seek ways to build bridges and to change the world for the better. Tell us about an experience working with and alongside people of different backgrounds and/or perspectives from your own. Why was this important to you, and what lessons from this will you bring with you to Wellesley?
Please limit your response to two thoughtful paragraphs (minimum 250 words, maximum 400 words).
William & Mary is a community that fosters deep human connection. We reflect on the lessons of history to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. We engage diverse perspectives and seek wisdom in bridging differences. Together, we are unceasing in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in our communities, the state, the nation, and the world.
To help us learn more about you, we invite you to share additional information by answering up to two of these optional short-answer prompts. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy. (300 words max.)
1. Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?
2. Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.
3. How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?
4. What led to your interest in William & Mary?
5. Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.
6. If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?
Williams does not require a writing supplement. However, some students feel they do their best writing in an academic context rather than through narrative pieces like admission applications. If you are interested in submitting an example of your academic writing, you may share a 3-5 page paper written in the last year. The paper may be creative or analytical, can cover any topic, and need not be graded. Please include a description of the assignment or prompt and do not submit lab reports.
Yale Short Answer Questions
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application will respond to the following short answer questions:
– Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.
– Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
– What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)
Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received.
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):
– What inspires you?
– If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
– Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?
– What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?
Yale Essay
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer.
1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?
2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.
3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?
2023-2024 Essay Prompts
Common Application Essays
In 250-650 words, respond to one of the following prompts:
1. Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
2. The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
3. Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
4. Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
5. Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
6. Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
7. Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Coalition Application Essays
While there is no perfect length for an essay, we recommend that you aim for 500 to 650 words.
1. Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
2. What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
3. Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
4. Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
5. What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
6. Submit an essay on a topic of your choice
At American University, Inclusive Excellence is a cornerstone of the academic experience for our students, and we deeply value the learning that is inspired by the diversity of backgrounds and life experiences that all our community members bring with them. Please share why you would like to join this community. (150 words max.)
In addition to the essay you are writing as part of the Common Application, Amherst requires a supplementary essay from all applicants. There are three options for satisfying Amherst’s supplementary writing requirement: Option A, Option B or Option C. You may select only one of these options. Before deciding, carefully read the descriptions of all three options.
Option A: Choose one of the following quotations, and respond to the question posed, in an essay of not more than 350 words. It is not necessary to research, read, or refer to the texts from which these quotations are taken; we are looking for original, personal responses to these short excerpts. Remember that your essay should be personal in nature and not simply an argumentative essay.
· Prompt 1: “Amherst College is committed to learning through close colloquy and to expanding the realm of knowledge through scholarly research and artistic creation at the highest level. Its graduates link learning with leadership—in service to the College, to their communities, and to the world beyond.”
– from the Mission of Amherst College
Prompt 1 Question: What do you see as the benefits of linking learning with leadership and/or service? In your response, please share with us a time where you have seen that benefit through your own experience.
· Prompt 2: “We seek an Amherst made stronger because it includes those whose experiences can enhance our understanding of our nation and our world. We do so in the faith that our humanity is an identity forged from diversity, and that our different perspectives enrich our inquiry, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our community, and prepare students to engage with an ever-changing world.”
– from the Trustee Statement on Diversity and Community
Prompt 2 Question: In what ways could your unique experiences enhance our understanding of our nation and our world?
· Prompt 3: “Strong commitment to the freedom of inquiry lies at the heart of Amherst College’s mission to create a home in which the liberal arts may flourish. As a small residential liberal arts college that prides itself on the ability, curiosity, and diversity of its students, Amherst seeks to create a respectful environment in which members of its community feel emboldened to pursue their intellectual and creative passions.”
– from the Amherst College Statement of Academic and Expressive Freedom
Prompt 3 Question: Tell us about an intellectual or creative passion you have pursued; what did you learn about yourself through that pursuit?
Option B: Please submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay. If you have submitted an analytical essay in response to the “essay topic of your choice” prompt in the Common Application writing section, you should NOT select Option B.
Option C: If you are/were an applicant to Amherst’s Access to Amherst (A2A) program, you may use your A2A application essay in satisfaction of our Writing Supplement requirement. If you would like to do so, please select Option C. However, if you would prefer not to use your A2A essay for this purpose and you want to submit a different writing supplement, select either Option A or Option B. Option A, Prompt 2 is the same prompt as the A2A application essay; if you would like to submit an updated version of your A2A application essay, please choose Option A.
[Please note that Option C is available only to applicants to Amherst’s A2A program. Non-A2A applicants must choose either Option A or Option B.]Optional additional identity information
The questions below provide a space for you to share additional information about yourself. This information is used in the admission process to understand each applicant’s full context, as part of our whole-person review process. Your responses will be kept private and secure, and will not be used for a discriminatory purpose.
If you would like to share more about yourself that is not captured elsewhere in your application, please tell us more here. (Maximum: 175 words)
Optional Research Questions
If you have engaged in significant research in the natural sciences, mathematics, computer science, social sciences or humanities that was undertaken independently of your high school curriculum, please provide a brief description of the research project.
(Maximum: 75 words)
1. The Babson education prepares students for all types of careers across business, entrepreneurship, social innovation, and more. Tell us about your interest in this area of study and in Babson specifically. (500 words maximum)
We invite you to submit your answer in either essay OR video format. If you choose to submit a video, please limit your response to a 1-minute video, which can be submitted via a shared link to YouTube or another video hosting website. Please ensure your video is set to public and is accessible to the Admission Committee.
2. A defining element of the Babson experience is learning and thriving in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives and interests. Please share something about your background, lived experiences, or viewpoint(s) that speaks to how you will contribute to and learn from Babson’s collaborative community. (250 words maximum)
1. Our backgrounds and experiences shape how we navigate the world and see ourselves. Tell us about when, where, or with whom you feel your most authentic, powerful self. How might Barnard further cultivate this version of you? (Max: 250 words)
2. Barnard celebrates intellectual risk-taking, and we believe that academic inquiry starts with bold questions. What questions do you have about the world around you, and why do they matter to you? (Max: 250 words)
3. If you would like to respond to one of our optional questions, please choose from the selected prompts below (max. 250 words):
a. Barnard’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion mission statement says “Our commitment to diversity, inclusion, and equity has the potential to disrupt and transform entrenched practices and thinking.” In what ways have you challenged ideas, practices, or spaces? What did you learn from these experiences?
b. As a college for women, “Barnard embraces its responsibility to address gender issues in all their complexity and urgency to help students achieve the personal strength that will enable them to meet the challenges they will encounter throughout their lives.” How have you thought about gender in your academic life thus far and how has it shaped your learning experiences?
c. Pick one woman — a historical figure, a fictitious character, or a modern individual — who you’d like to converse with for an hour and explain your choice. Why does this person intrigue you? What would you talk about? What questions would you ask her?
1. (OPTIONAL) Please tell us specifically and in your own words which aspects of Bentley University prompted you to apply. In addition, if you are interested in a specific program/major, what attracted you to that program or area of study? (250 words or fewer)
2. (OPTIONAL) Our students bring to campus a variety of experiences, cultures, and intersecting identities including race and ethnicity — aspects that are important to a rich educational experience and your success in college and beyond. You may use this section to discuss how race and ethnicity has affected your life, be it through discrimination, inspiration or otherwise. (250 words or fewer)
All applicants, except those applying for the Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) major, should respond to one of prompts #1-4 listed below. Students applying to the HCE major must respond to prompt #5 only.
The writing supplement topics for the 2023-2024 application cycle (400 word limit):
1. Each year at University Convocation, our incoming class engages in reflective dialogue with the author of a common text. What book by a living author would you recommend for your incoming class to read, and why would this be an important shared text?
2. At Boston College, we draw upon the Jesuit tradition of finding worthwhile conversation partners. Some support our viewpoints while others challenge them. Who fulfills this role in your life? Please cite a specific conversation you had where this conversation partner challenged your perspective or you challenged theirs.
3. In her November 2019 Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them?
4. Boston College’s founding in 1863 was in response to society’s call. That call came from an immigrant community in Boston seeking a Jesuit education to foster social mobility. Still today, the University empowers its students to use their education to address society’s greatest needs. Which of today’s local or global issues is of particular concern to you and how might you use your Boston College education to address it?
5. Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) Applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?
Boston University is dedicated to our founding principles: “that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community—local and international. These principles endure in the University’s insistence on the value of diversity in its tradition and standards of excellence and its dynamic engagement with the City of Boston and the world.” With this mission in mind, please respond to one of the following two questions in 300 words or less:
1. Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it?
or
2. What about being a student at BU most excites you? How do you hope to contribute to our campus community?
Generations of students have found connection and meaning in Bowdoin’s “The Offer of the College,” written in 1906 by Bowdoin President William DeWitt Hyde.
To be at home in all lands and all ages;
to count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
and Art an intimate friend;
to gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
and the criticism of your own;
to carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
to make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
to lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends –
this is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.
Which line from The Offer resonates most with you?
a. To be at home in all lands and all ages
b. To count Nature a familiar acquaintance…
c. …and Art an intimate friend
d. To gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work and the criticism of your own
e. To carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake
f. To make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life
g. To lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends
Optional: The Offer represents Bowdoin’s values. Please reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you.
(Limit 250 words)
Brandeis was established 75 years ago to address antisemitism, racism, and gender discrimination in higher education, and today, the university remains dedicated to its founding values of inclusivity and justice. How has your educational experience shaped your perspective on these values? (250 words max.)
For International Students Only
What excites you the most about being an international student at Brandeis University? (250 words max.)
1. Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)
2. Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)
3. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)
4. Help us get to know you better by reflecting briefly on each of the questions below. We expect that answers will range from a few words to a few sentences at most.
What three words best describe you? (3 words)
5. What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)
6. If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)
7. In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)
I. Because of the rigorous courses in the core curriculum, Caltech students don’t declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore. (On the application you will have a drop down menu to indicate your first and second choice academic interests).
Why did you choose that area of interest?
(Max: 200 words)
II. At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years, either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further?
1. STEM experience/activity #1
(Max: 200 words)
2. STEM experience/activity #2
(Max: 200 words)
III. The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech’s students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars. But Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D print dorm decor. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life?
This question can be answered as a written response (200-250 words)
IV. Caltech’s mission – to cultivate learning, discovery, and innovation for the benefit of humanity – relies on its community members embracing our Mission-Based Values, which include:
1. Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged
2. Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we’ve had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal
3. Passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others
Choose one or more values to reflect on. Select all that apply:*
Value 1
Value 2
Value 3
Share what one or more of these values evokes for you (200 – 400 words)
Additional optional essays
I. If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (150 words max)
When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby, and why does it bring you joy? (100 words max)
II. Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (50 words max)
1. Most students choose their intended major or area of study based on a passion or inspiration that’s developed over time – what passion or inspiration led you to choose this area of study?
(300 word maximum)
2. Many students pursue college for a specific degree, career opportunity or personal goal. Whichever it may be, learning will be critical to achieve your ultimate goal. As you think ahead to the process of learning during your college years, how will you define a successful college experience?
(300 word maximum)
3. Consider your application as a whole. What do you personally want to emphasize about your application for the admission committee’s consideration? Highlight something that’s important to you or something you haven’t had a chance to share. Tell us, don’t show us (no websites please).
(300 word maximum)
Out of the thousands of universities and colleges, what excites you about attending Chapman University specifically? (Max: 200 words)
Chapman seeks to enroll a class of students that help create a diverse, dynamic and welcoming campus community. To support this goal, we encourage you to discuss any aspect of your identity. This can include race, unique perspectives, experiences and background, and how those aspects of identity have shaped who you are. We are committed to creating a welcoming university where all of our students can fully participate, reach their potential, and benefit from living, learning, and socializing with people different from themselves. With this in mind, please answer one of the following questions (200 words or fewer).
Choice 1: Personal Values
Our committee would like to hear about a personal experience or lesson that has helped you better understand who you are now and/or appreciate a perspective different from your own. How would you utilize this understanding to contribute to the values and welcoming fabric of our campus community?
Choice 2: Personal Growth
Part of the Chapman experience is to help students expand their perspectives. How do you plan to develop yourself during your time at Chapman?
Please answer the following questions in one word, phrase, or sentence. There are no right or wrong answers here. We hope you enjoy working on this section as much as we’ll enjoy reading it.
1. What is your dream job?
2. What song should we be listening to while reading your application?
3. Name one dish you would cook for our admission team.
4. What is your favorite subject?
5. What is the top thing on your bucket list?
6. If Chapman’s admission team came to visit your hometown, what site would you take them to?
7. What makes you happy?
8. What is something you have always wanted to learn but never had the chance to?
9. What can you give a 30-minute presentation on without any preparation?
10. What are the best words of advice you have received?
11. What is a family tradition that you want to continue?
Why are you interested in The College of Wooster? (250 words)
1. List a selection of texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums and other content that you enjoy. (100 words or fewer)
2. A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. Tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia’s diverse and collaborative community. (150 words or fewer)
3. In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not predict or anticipate. It is important to us, therefore, to understand an applicant’s ability to navigate through adversity. Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have faced and discuss the personal qualities, skills or insights you have developed as a result. (150 words or fewer)
4. Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (150 words or fewer)
One of the short answer questions will not appear until you have selected Columbia College or Columbia Engineering in the “Academics” section of Columbia’s application questions.
Columbia College
What attracts you to your preferred areas of study at Columbia College? (150 words or fewer)
Columbia Engineering
What attracts you to your preferred areas of study at Columbia Engineering? (150 words or fewer)
Writing Question 1
In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, Ezra Cornell wrote, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” For over 150 years, Cornell University has remained deeply committed to Ezra’s vision. Explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a learning community devoted to “…any person…any study.” We encourage you to think broadly about your life experiences, including how local (e.g., family, school, neighborhood) or global communities you’ve been part of have helped shape your perspective.
Max: 350 words
Writing Question 2
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals?
Max: 650 words
College of Architecture, Art and Planning
How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA) or urban and regional studies (URS)? B.Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.
Max: 650 words
College of Arts and Sciences
At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences.
Max: 650 words
Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.
Max: 650 words
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
What kind of business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).
Max: 650 words
Engineering
All Engineering applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. Each has a limit of 250 words. Essay 1 is required of all applicants. For Essay 2, you must choose between Question A and Question B.
Essay 1:
How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about.
Essay 2:
Choose either Question A or Question B.
Question A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem.
Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?
College of Human Ecology
How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major.
Max: 650 words
Industrial and Labor Relations
Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.
Max: 650 words
Dartmouth’s writing supplement requires that applicants write brief responses to three supplemental essay prompts as follows:
1. Required of all applicants. Please respond in 100 words or fewer:
Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2028, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, and/or campus environment attract your interest? In short, why Dartmouth?
2. Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:
A. There is a Quaker saying: Let your life speak. Describe the environment in which you were raised and the impact it has had on the person you are today.
B. “Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself.
3. Required of all applicants, please respond to one of the following prompts in 250 words or fewer:
A. What excites you?
B. Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta recommended a life of purpose. “We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things,” she said. “That is what we are put on the earth for.” In what ways do you hope to make—or are you already making—an impact? Why? How?
C. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” As you wonder and think, what’s on your mind?
D. Celebrate your nerdy side.
E. “It’s not easy being green…” was the frequent refrain of Kermit the Frog. How has difference been a part of your life, and how have you embraced it as part of your identity and outlook?
F. As noted in the College’s mission statement, “Dartmouth educates the most promising students and prepares them for a lifetime of learning and of responsible leadership…” Promise and potential are important aspects of the assessment of any college application, but they can be elusive qualities to capture. Highlight your potential and promise for us; what would you like us to know about you?
1. There are just under 4,000 4-year colleges and universities in the United States. Being as specific as possible, what interests you most about Davidson College (250-300 words)
2. Davidson encourages students to explore curiosities in and out of the classroom. What is a topic, activity or idea that excites you? Tell us why. Examples may include hobbies, books, interactions, music, podcasts, movies, etc. (250-300 words)
Drexel is committed to preparing each new generation of students to become productive, professional and civic-minded members of the community while continuing to focus on how we can contribute to solving some of society’s greatest challenges. What do you view as a challenge facing society that you would like to contribute to solving? How would a Drexel education aid you in taking the first step toward a solution? (250 words or less)
1. What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)
2. We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. Feel free to answer them if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application. Five optional questions are available – a maximum of 2 can be selected. (250 word limit)
a. Perspective response
We believe a wide range of personal perspectives, beliefs, and lived experiences are essential to making Duke a vibrant and meaningful living and learning community. Feel free to share with us anything in this context that might help us better understand you and what you might bring to our community.
b. Intellectual experience
Tell us about an intellectual experience in the past two years that you found absolutely fascinating.
c. Beliefs & values
We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?
d. Being different
We recognize that “fitting in” in all the contexts we live in can sometimes be difficult. Duke values all kinds of differences and believes they make our community better. Feel free to tell us any ways in which you’re different, and how that has affected you or what it means to you.
e. Orientation, identity, expression
Duke’s commitment to inclusion and belonging includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Feel free to share with us more about how your identity in this context has meaning for you as an individual or as a member of a community.
THINK FAST
Answers to these questions are meant to be brief. Be inventive and thoughtful. Most importantly, be yourself. This is a chance to tell us more about who you really are in a fun, concise manner.
Who are you? Describe yourself. (Max: 200 words)
Name three songs from your perfect playlist.
We’re in your hometown. Where should we go and what should we do?
This is a chance to tell us more about your hometown. Our staff may even take your suggestions when they are in the area! (Max: 75 words)
Tell us your top 5.
Take this opportunity to let Elon Admissions know more about you. Your top 5 should be something unique to you and will give us a glimpse of who you are. Be creative! You may choose any theme for your top 5. Do you love cooking? List your top 5 recipes. Are you enthusiastic about anime? Name your top 5 characters. Do you watch or participate in a lot of athletic events? Name your top 5 moments. Explain why these are your top 5 (Max: 150 words)
What cultural traditions, experiences or celebrations are important to you? How have they influenced your understanding of self? (Max: 200 words)
1. What academic areas are you interested in exploring at Emory University and why? (Max: 200 words)
2. Please answer one of the following questions:
a. Which book, character, song, monologue, or other creative work (fiction or non-fiction) seems made for you? Why?
b. Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness.
c. Emory University aspires for all students to flourish on campus. Reflect on what flourishing at Emory means to you.
d. Emory University’s core mission calls for service to humanity. Share how you might personally contribute to this mission.
e. Emory University has a strong commitment to building community. Tell us about a community you have been part of where your participation helped to change or shape the community for the better.
f. Reflection is a central tenet of Emory University’s values. Craft a personal email giving advice to yourself in your first year of high school.
Max: 150 words
You may choose to answer one (1) of the optional questions below. Keep in mind that your response is a maximum of 300 words. Choose the question that you think will help the admission committee get a better understanding of your unique perspective and potential contributions to our community.
a. At Fordham, we expect students to care for and engage with their communities and be active citizens for positive change. Please share an experience you had that caused you to develop a new perspective, change your point of view, and/or empower you to take an action or be courageous. Your response should include examples of your personal growth (e.g., what did you learn, did your point of view change, did you develop new skills or strengths?).
b. Fordham, as a Jesuit university, recognizes the dignity, uniqueness and potential of each person. A Fordham education is student-centered and rooted in close collaboration among students, faculty, and staff. Describe how you would contribute to our campus community as an actively engaged learner and leader. Specifically draw on your personal story, identity, experiences, strengths, and perspectives.
c. Our motto is “New York is my campus, Fordham is my school.” New York City is a diverse and global city that provides Fordham students with a special kind of educational experience, full of both challenge and opportunity. What has prepared you to embrace the unique opportunity of living and learning in New York City?
Special Talents
250 words maximum
ALL APPLICANTS: Please elaborate on any special talents or skills you would like to highlight.
Short Essay
Approximately one-half page, single-spaced
ALL APPLICANTS: Briefly discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
Essay One
Approximately one page, single-spaced
ALL APPLICANTS: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief personal or creative essay which you feel best describes you and reflects on your own background, identity, skills, and talents.
Essay Two
Approximately one page, single-spaced
APPLICANTS TO GEORGETOWN COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: A liberal arts education from the College of Arts & Sciences involves encounters with new concepts and modes of inquiry. Describe something (a class, a book, an event, etc.) that changed your thinking. (Applicants to the sciences, mathematics, public policy or languages are encouraged to include examples related to that field.)
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF NURSING: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying your intended major, Nursing.
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care at Georgetown University. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science).
APPLICANTS TO THE WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: The Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders to solve global problems. What is motivating you to dedicate your undergraduate studies to a future in service to the world?
APPLICANTS TO THE MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Please discuss your motivations for studying business at Georgetown.
Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech? (max 300 words)
1. Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard? Max: 200 words
2. Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you. Max: 200 words
3. Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are. Max: 200 words
4. How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future? Max: 200 words
5. Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. Max: 200 words
Why do you want to attend High Point University? (50 Word Limit)
Students identify Lafayette as an excellent fit for countless reasons. In your response, be deliberate and specific about your motivation for applying to Lafayette.
Why Lafayette? (20-200 words)
How did you first learn about Lehigh University and what motivated you to apply? (Max: 150 words)
An LMU education forms ethical leaders compelled to tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. How do your personal experiences and educational goals align with this mission? (Max: 500 words)
Macalester is one of few highly selective liberal arts colleges located in the middle of a metropolitan area. Students benefit from the strong sense of community on campus and opportunities to engage in academic, social, and civic engagement options in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Have you thought about how Macalester’s location might impact your experience? If so, in what ways?
Max: 300 words
1. What field of study appeals to you the most right now? (Note: Applicants select from a drop-down list.) Tell us more about why this field of study at MIT appeals to you.
2. We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.
3. How has the world you come from—including your opportunities, experiences, and challenges—shaped your dreams and aspirations?
4. 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.
5. How did you manage a situation or challenge that you didn’t expect? What did you learn from it?
Depending on the question, we’re looking for responses of approximately 100–200 words each. There is also one final, open-ended, additional-information text box where you can tell us anything else you think we really ought to know.
We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators – Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.
a. “We’re used to people telling us there are no solutions, and then creating our own. So we did what we do best. We reached out to each other, and to our allies, and we mobilized across communities to make change, to benefit and include everyone in society.” Judith Heuman, 2022 NYU Commencement Address
b. “I encourage your discomfort, that you must contribute, that you must make your voice heard. That is the essence of good citizenship.” Sherilynn Ifill, 2015 NYU Commencement Address
c. “If you know how to fly but you never knew how to walk, wouldn’t that be sad?” Lang Lang, 2015 NYU Honorary Degree Recipient
d. “You have the right to want things and to want things to change.” Sanna Marin, Former Prime Minister of Finland, 2023 NYU Commencement Address
e. “It’s hard to fight when the fight ain’t fair.” Taylor Swift, Change, Released 2008, 2022 NYU Commencement Speaker
f. Share a short quote and person not on this list, and why the quote inspires you.
Explain why you selected the academic program(s) above and why you are interested in studying these at NC State. (Max: 250 words)
Discuss any other obstacles and/or hardships that you have encountered that have affected you personally or academically and how you dealt with them. (Max: 250 words)
The following question is required for all Common Application and Coalition with Scoir applicants (optional for QuestBridge applicants). Please respond in 300 words or fewer:
We want to be sure we’re considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background, your identity, or your school, community, and/or household settings have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?
2. The following questions are optional, but we encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two. Please respond in fewer than 200 words per question:
A. Painting “The Rock” is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call “Purple Pride”), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?
B. Northwestern fosters a distinctively interdisciplinary culture. We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of diverse ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?
C. Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.
D. Northwestern’s location is special: on the shore of Lake Michigan, steps from downtown Evanston, just a few miles from Chicago. What aspects of our location are most compelling to you, and why?
E. Northwestern is a place where people with diverse backgrounds from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to this diversity of perspectives in Northwestern’s classrooms and around our campus?
1. Why are you applying to Occidental? Why do you think Occidental is the right place for you to pursue your interests? (150 – 200 words)
2. Please answer one of the following questions (200 – 300 words):
A. Oxy’s central mission emphasizes the value of community amidst diversity. What do you value in a community and how do you see your perspectives and life experiences enhancing it?
B. Briefly describe a current event or social movement that is affecting a place that is important to you. Describe its significance to you and the future implications for that community. How do you anticipate an Oxy education helping you better understand and respond to that event/movement?
C. Research is an integral part of an Oxy education. Completing a senior comprehensive is a requirement of every Oxy student and there are a myriad of opportunities for research throughout your four years. Imagine you were just awarded one of our research grants for a project of your choice. What are you researching and why?
Please tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State. This is your opportunity to tell us something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records. We suggest a limit of 500 words or fewer.
The Schreyer Honors College Essay Prompts
The Schreyer Honors College first-year application will have two essay questions, in addition to several shorter prompts. These questions change on a yearly basis and are meant to elicit well-written, comprehensive responses. Each essay response has a maximum word count of 800 words.
– Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma – anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could take to identify a solution.
– Isaac Asimov wrote: “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” Do you agree? Is such censorship ever justified? If not, explain why. If so, who or what should determine which books are read and which books are forbidden.
Pepperdine is a Christian university where all are welcomed and encouraged to challenge each other in the pursuit of truth. Students, faculty, and staff members from all backgrounds participate in conversations of faith inside and outside of the classroom. Considering that Pepperdine is a Christian university, why are you interested in attending and how would you contribute to conversations of faith on campus? (300 – 500 words)
1. Please choose one of the following three prompts to respond to with an essay of no more than 150 words.*
A. At Pomona, we celebrate and identify with the number 47. Share with us one of your quirky personal, family or community traditions and why you hold on to it.
B. What item are you excited to bring with you to college?
C. Describe a time when you felt empowered or on top of the world.
2. Please choose one of the following three prompts to respond to with an essay of no more than 250 words.*
A. In the past few years, is there something you have changed your mind about? Why?
B. Reflecting on a community that you are part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?
C. What strength or quality do you have that most people might not see or recognize?
Your Voice
Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? (500 words or fewer)
Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (250 words or fewer)
More About You
Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!
What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
What brings you joy?
What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
ACADEMICS: DEGREE-RELATED QUESTIONS
Which degree would you most likely pursue at Princeton? Your choice is not binding in any way:
– A.B.
As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)
– B.S.E.
Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in, or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)
– Undecided
As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)
The Committee on Admission will discover much about you through the Common Application, but we are always interested in learning more! While optional, the following essay prompts are used to help us understand your personal background, fit to our campus community, and interest in Providence College. Please choose one of the following topics and answer the prompt in 250 – 500 words.
A. Providence College values each student’s willingness to embrace and learn from different viewpoints. What experiences or perspectives do you believe individuals from diverse backgrounds bring to a community or organization? And how will your unique background positively impact others at Providence College?
B. Providence College is a place for those who are motivated and purposeful. How do you exemplify those attributes and in what ways do you feel Providence College will help you reach your goals?
1. How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (Respond in 250 words or fewer.)
2. Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (Respond in 250 words or fewer.)
1) Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences (Max: 300 words)
2) Why are you interested in Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute? (Max: 250 words)
The Admission Committee is interested in getting to know each student as well as possible through the application process. Please respond to each of the following prompts.
1. Please explain why you wish to study in the academic areas you selected above. (Max: 150 words)
2. Based upon your exploration of Rice University, what elements of the Rice experience appeal to you? (Max: 150 words)
Please briefly elaborate on your community service or one of your extracurricular activities. (Max: 250 words)
For applicants who might wish to share a little more about how Sarah Lawrence fits into the next stage of their education, we invite you to respond to one of the following three essay prompts:
– Sarah Lawrence students are often described as hyphenates: filmmaker-sociologist-historian, environmentalist-photographer, psychologist-novelist, economist-poet. In 250-500 words, tell us about seemingly disparate interests you have brought together, or hope to bring together at Sarah Lawrence.
– Students at Sarah Lawrence are asked to design their own research questions directly with faculty, and then answer them through intensive semester-long projects that frequently inspire a blend of intellectual rigor and creativity. In 250-500 words, tell us about a text, problem, or topic you would love to explore over a semester or a year, and what you would hope to achieve through that work.
– In a 2023 majority decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote, “Nothing prohibits universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, so long as that discussion is concretely tied to a quality of character or unique ability that the particular applicant can contribute to the university.” Drawing upon examples from your life, a quality of your character, and/or a unique ability you possess, describe how you believe your goals for a college education might be impacted, influenced, or affected by the Court’s decision.
1. SMU appeals to students for a variety of reasons. Briefly describe why you are interested in attending SMU and what specific factors have led you to apply. (250-word limit)
2. SMU is a diverse and welcoming learning environment shaped by the convergence of ideas and cultures. How will your unique experiences enhance the University, and how will you benefit from this community? (250-word limit)
STANFORD SHORT QUESTIONS
1. What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (Max: 50 words)
2. How did you spend your last two summers? (Max: 50 words)
3. What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (Max: 50 words)
4. Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (Max: 50 words)
5. List five things that are important to you. (Max: 50 words)
STANFORD SHORT ESSAYS
1. The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (Max: 250 words)
2. Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – get to know you better. (Max: 250 words)
3. Please describe what aspects of your life experiences, interests and character would help you make a distinctive contribution as an undergraduate to Stanford University. (Max: 250 words)
Please be sure to respond to both parts of the following question:
Syracuse University is a place that seeks to be welcoming to all – and has been since our founding. Explain why you are interested in Syracuse University and describe a personal experience in which you persevered through adversity, rejected discrimination, learned a lesson, or were inspired by the courageous actions of others and how you will apply what you learned to our community in a positive way. (Max: 250 words)
Describe a life event which you feel has prepared you to be successful in college. (max: 250 words)
Tell us about the person who has most impacted your life and why. (max: 250 words)
Essay Prompt: Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
Engineering Application Essay Prompt: Describe your academic and career goals in the broad field of engineering (including computer science, industrial distribution and engineering technology). What and/or who has influenced you either inside or outside the classroom that contributed to these goals?
Texas Tech University does not require that you submit an essay, however, it is highly recommended that you submit at least one. There are two recommended essay topics that you may choose from on the ApplyTexas application.
Topic A: Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
Topic B: Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. Tell us about yourself.
Do not exceed 500 wds.
Every applicant can choose from one of the following two essay prompts to submit. (500 words or fewer)
Essay Prompt 1
At the George Washington University, our students frequently interact with policymakers and world leaders. These experiences and those of our alumni can shape the future of global affairs. If you had the power to change the course of history in your community or the world, what would you do and why?
Essay Prompt 2
The George Washington University encourages students to think critically and to challenge the status quo. Thus, civil discourse is a key characteristic of our community. Describe a time when you engaged others in meaningful dialogue around an issue that was important to you. Did this exchange create change, new perspectives, or deeper relationships?
Applicants to the School of Arts & Sciences and the School of Engineering:
Please respond to one of the following three prompts in 200-250 words:
– It’s cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity?
– How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – shaped the person you are today?
– Using a specific example or two, tell us about a way that you contributed to building a collaborative and/or inclusive community.
Applicants to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts:
Please respond to the following prompt in 200-250 words:
Art has the power to disrupt our preconceptions, shape public discourse, and imagine new ways of being in the world. What are the ideas you’d like to explore in your work?
In addition, we will ask all applicants to complete this sentence in 100 words or less:
“I am applying to Tufts because…”
Describe why you are interested in joining the Tulane community. Consider your experiences, talents, and values to illustrate what you would contribute to the Tulane community if admitted.
This statement should be 250 words at most; however, it is neither necessary nor expected that you reach this maximum length.
Directions
– You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
– Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
– Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you. However, you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.
Keep in mind
– All questions are equal. All are given equal consideration in the application review process, which means there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.
– There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.
– Use the additional comments field if there are issues you’d like to address that you didn’t have the opportunity to discuss elsewhere on the application. This shouldn’t be an essay, but rather a place to note unusual circumstances or anything that might be unclear in other parts of the application. You may use the additional comments field to note extraordinary circumstances related to COVID-19, if necessary.
Questions and guidance
Remember, the personal insight questions are just that — personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC.
1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?
Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?
How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about it, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?
Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.
If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who you are today?
5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?
If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, “How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends or with my family?”
6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Things to consider: Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs — and what you have gained from your involvement.
Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or future career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that?
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place — like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?
Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?
8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
Things to consider: If there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better?
From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don’t be afraid to brag a little.
Why did you choose to apply to UCF?
(Max: 250 words)
What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community?
(Max: 250 words)
Question 1 (Required) – (250-500 words)
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one) – (Around 650 words)
Essay Option 1
Exponents and square roots, pencils and erasers, beta decay and electron capture. Name two things that undo each other and explain why both are necessary.
– Inspired by Emmett Cho, Class of 2027
Essay Option 2
“Where have all the flowers gone?” – Pete Seeger. Pick a question from a song title or lyric and give it your best answer.
– Inspired by Ryan Murphy, AB’21
Essay Option 3
“Vlog,” “Labradoodle,” and “Fauxmage.” Language is filled with portmanteaus. Create a new portmanteau and explain why those two things are a “patch” (perfect match).
– Inspired by Garrett Chalfin, Class of 2027
Essay Option 4
A jellyfish is not a fish. Cat burglars don’t burgle cats. Rhode Island is not an island. Write an essay about some other misnomer, and either come up with and defend a new name for it or explain why its inaccurate name should be kept.
– Inspired by Sonia Chang, Class of 2025, and Mirabella Blair, Class of 2027
Essay Option 5
Despite their origins in the Gupta Empire of India or Ancient Egypt, games like chess or bowling remain widely enjoyed today. What modern game do you believe will withstand the test of time, and why?
– Inspired by Adam Heiba, Class of 2027
Essay Option 6
There are unwritten rules that everyone follows or has heard at least once in their life. But of course, some rules should be broken or updated. What is an unwritten rule that you wish didn’t exist? (Our custom is to have five new prompts each year, but this year we decided to break with tradition. Enjoy!)
– Inspired by Maryam Abdella, Class of 2026
Essay Option 7
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
Please share a bit more about your academic interests. What do you hope to study at CU Boulder? What has inspired your interests in this area? Or if you are undecided, what area(s) of study are you considering?
Think about your prior/current coursework, extracurricular activities, work/volunteer experiences, future goals, or anything else that has shaped your interests. (250 words)
Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity.
Max: 250 words
UF Honors Program
American novelist Henry Miller once said, “My hunger and curiosity drive me forward in all directions at once.” Students in the University of Florida Honors Program are known for pursuing multiple interests and passions.
Tell us about a subject or topic that you find intellectually stimulating and are curious to learn more about while in college. Which direction(s) do you imagine your hunger for that subject or topic will take you while at UF? How do you envision the honors program’s academic and extracurricular resources will support you along the way?
Please use a maximum of 400 words in your essay for full consideration.
The transition from middle to high school is a key time for students as they reach new levels of both academic and personal discovery. Please share a book (novel, non-fiction, etc.) that had a serious impact on you during this time. Please focus more on why this book made an impact on you and less on the plot/theme of the book itself (we are not looking for a book report).
We are not restricting you to the exact years of 8th-9th grades, but rather the general timeframe of the middle to high school transition, which can extend somewhat further than one year on each end. Feel free to use your discretion in your choice of the timeline focused on the shift to your high school years.
Max: 350 words
1. Explain, in detail, an experience you’ve had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else.
2. Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
At the University of Maryland, we encourage our students to go beyond the classroom to engage in opportunities that further both their academic and personal growth.
To tell us more about yourself, please complete the following prompts using only the space provided (650 characters).
– If I could travel anywhere, I would go to…
– The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was…
– In addition to my major, my academic interests include…
– My favorite thing about last Thursday was…
– Something you might not know about me is…
– Because we know that diversity benefits the educational experience of all students, the University of Maryland values diversity in all of its many forms. This includes (but is not limited to) racial, socio-economic, gender, geographical, and sexual orientation. We are interested in hearing about your own individual life experiences. In a few sentences, will you please describe how you have learned, grown, been inspired or developed skills through one or more components of diversity.
1. Please tell us why you want to attend UMass Amherst?
(Max: 150 words)
2. At UMass Amherst, no two students are alike. Our communities and groups often define us and shape our individual worlds. Community can refer to various aspects, including shared geography, religion, race/ethnicity, income, ideology, and more. Please choose one of your communities or groups and describe its significance. Explain how, as a product of this community or group, you would enrich our campus.
(Max: 100 words)
If applying for Spring or Fall 2024, you will be required to submit a supplemental essay of 250 words.
Located within one of the most dynamic cities in the world, the University of Miami is a distinctive community with a variety of cultures, traditions, histories, languages, and backgrounds. The University of Miami is a values-based and purpose-driven postsecondary institution that embraces diversity and inclusivity in all its forms and strives to create a culture of belonging, where every person feels valued and has an opportunity to contribute.
Please describe how your unique experiences, challenges overcome, or skills acquired would contribute to our distinctive University community.
1. Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (Required for all applicants; 300 word limit)
2. Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (Required for all applicants; 550 word limit)
Stephen M. Ross School of Business
1. Business Case Discussion
Choose a current event or issue in your community and discuss the business implications. Propose a solution that incorporates business principles or practices. The review panel will look for creativity, drawing connections, and originality. Your response should be limited to approximately 500 words.
This case discussion helps us learn more about your understanding of business. The topic should be unique to your interests, experiences, and knowledge. There is no “right” or “wrong” business situation to choose — it’s truly up to you. We encourage you to select a topic that you are passionate about, and not a global topic that you are disconnected from.
2. Artifact & Description
Upload an artifact that represents something significant about your life and shows how you’ve put learning into action. This could be related to something inside or outside of the classroom (like an extracurricular accomplishment you’re particularly proud of). The goal is to give you the chance to showcase a unique aspect of yourself.
For the UNC-specific part of the Common Application, you’ll respond to the following prompts in up to 250 words:
1. Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community.
2. Discuss an academic topic that you’re excited to explore and learn more about in college. Why does this topic interest you?
The University of Notre Dame Writing Section consists of responses to two (2) brief essay questions and three (3) short-answer responses to questions you select from the options provided.
Please choose two questions from the options below. Your brief essay response to each question should be no more than 150 words.
1. Notre Dame fosters an undergraduate experience dedicated to the intellectual, moral, and spiritual development of each individual, characterized by a collective sense of care for every person. How do you foster service to others in your community?
2. What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community, etc)? Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community?
3. Describe a time when you advocated for something you believed in and influenced others through thoughtful discourse to promote a deeper understanding of a difficult situation.
Please choose three questions from the options below. Your response to each short-answer question should be no more than 50 words.
1. Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your “non-negotiable” factor(s) when searching for your future college home.
2. What brings you joy?
3. What is worth fighting for?
4. What is something that genuinely interests you, and how does this tie to the academic area you hope to study at Notre Dame?
5. How does faith influence the decisions you make?
As you’ve looked into what it will be like to attend Oregon, you’ve hopefully learned about what makes Ducks unique. No two are alike, though, so tell us what makes you who you are, and how that connects to our campus community. We are interested in your thoughts and experiences recognizing difference and supporting equity and inclusion, and choosing one of the two following options will guide you in sharing those thoughts. You can learn more about equity and inclusion at Oregon by visiting here.
Essay Topic: (250-500 words – choose one of the topics below)
Describe an experience with discrimination, whether it was fighting against discrimination or recognizing your contribution to discriminating against a person or group. What did you learn from the experience? In what ways will you bring those lessons to the University of Oregon?
OR
The University of Oregon values difference, and we take pride in our diverse community. Please explain how you will share your experiences, values and interests with our community. In what ways can you imagine offering your support to others?
Robert D. Clark Honors College
Please tell us about a specific enthusiasm that showcases your curiosity and intellectual engagement with the world. Your chosen enthusiasm or passion can be from any domain—academic, artistic, scientific, cultural, or any other area that has captivated your interest. Be thoughtful and provide concrete examples to support your response.
Please limit your response to a maximum of 500 words.
1. Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)
2. How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (150-200 words)
College of Arts and Sciences
The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150-200 words)
School of Engineering & Applied Science
Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology, by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics, exploration in the liberal arts, and depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you hope to explore your engineering interests at Penn. (150-200 words)
School of Nursing
Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science and promoting equity. What do you think this means for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? (150-200 words)
The Wharton School
Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it. (150-200 words)
Seven Year Bio-Dental Program (Bio-Dent)
Bio-Dent Prompt 1: Please list any predental or premedical experience. This experience can include but is not limited to observation in a private practice, dental clinic, or hospital setting; dental assisting; dental laboratory work; dental or medical research; etc. Please include time allotted to each activity, dates of attendance, location, and a description of your experience. If you do not have any predental or premedical experience, please indicate what you have done or plan to do in order to explore dentistry as a career. (250 word limit)
Bio-Dent Prompt 2: Do you have relatives who are dentists or are in dental school? If so, indicate the name of each relative, his/her relationship to you, the school attended, and the dates attended. (250 word limit)
Bio-Dent Prompt 3: Describe any activities which demonstrate your ability to work with your hands. (250 word limit)
Bio-Dent Prompt 4: What activities have you performed that demonstrate your ability to work effectively with people? (250 word limit)
Bio-Dent Prompt 5: Please explain your reasons for selecting dentistry. Please include what interests you the most about dentistry as well as what interests you least. (250 word limit)
DMD: Digital Design Media
DMD Prompt: Why are you interested in the Digital Media Design (DMD) program at the University of Pennsylvania? (400-650 words)
The Huntsman Program in International Studies
Huntsman Prompt: The Huntsman Program supports the development of globally-minded scholars who become engaged citizens, creative innovators, and ethical leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the United States and internationally. What draws you to a dual-degree in business and international studies, and how would you use what you learn to make a contribution to a global issue where business and international affairs intersect? (400-650 words)
The Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management (LSM)
LSM Prompt: The LSM program aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the life sciences and their management with an eye to identifying, advancing and implementing innovations. What issues would you want to address using the understanding gained from such a program? Note that this essay should be distinct from your single degree essay. (400-650 words)
The Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology (M&T)
M&T Prompt 1: Explain how you will use the M&T program to explore your interest in business, engineering, and the intersection of the two. (400-650 words)
The Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in Networked and Social Systems Engineering (NETS)
NETS Prompt: Describe your interests in modern networked information systems and technologies, such as the Internet, and their impact on society, whether in terms of economics, communication, or the creation of beneficial content for society. Feel free to draw on examples from your own experiences as a user, developer, or student of technology. (400-650 words)
Nursing and Health Care Management (NHCM)
NHCM Prompt: Discuss your interest in nursing and health care management. How might Penn’s coordinated dual-degree program in nursing and business help you meet your goals? (400-650 words)
The Roy and Diana Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER)
VIPER Prompt: How do you envision your participation in the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) furthering your interests in energy science and technology? Please include any past experiences (ex. academic, research, or extracurricular) that have led to your interest in the program. Additionally, please indicate why you are interested in pursuing dual degrees in science and engineering and which VIPER majors are most interesting to you at this time. (400-650 words)
One essay response is required. Choose from the following prompts:
– You have a platform to create change. What is an action or policy you might propose to address an issue of social injustice in your school or local community, or on a national or global scale?
– Tell us about a time you learned something unexpected. What did you learn, and what happened next?
– Richmond welcomes students from various backgrounds, perspectives, and lived experiences. What is at least one way you will contribute to our community that is not already mentioned in your application?
Word Limit: Minimum 350. Maximum 650 words.
PART 1:
The University of Rochester motto of Meliora – or “ever better” – deeply integrates critical core values into all that we do. These core values of equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect and accountability define not only who we are, but also who we hope to become. Please use the space below to highlight a time, creative idea or research experience when you put into action one or more of these characteristics in order to make yourself, your community or the world ever better. (250 word limit)
PART 2:
Please select one of the following prompts to respond to in 200 words or less.
A. American social reformer, abolitionist, writer and statesman Frederick Douglass said, “Some know the value of education by having it. I knew its value by not having it.” Explain ways in which your background, educational experience, and opportunities have directly influenced you and your ability to do good in the world. What specific moments of growth, lessons learned and resilience in your life have prepared you to promote positive change for your community and the world?
B. Dr. Donna Strickland, University of Rochester alum and 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Physics said, “There’s no point in me being anything other than me.” The University of Rochester encourages each student to embrace the intersectionality of their identity and create their own individual curricular path and experience. What qualities and experiences make you the best version of yourself? What unique elements of your background, perspectives, and experiences will you bring to our community?
C. Susan B. Anthony, champion of abolition and women’s rights, once said “Organize, agitate, educate must be our war cry.” As you look to join our community of doers and disruptors, in what ways do you envision using both the curricular flexibility and co-curricular opportunities to invoke change for marginalized groups? How has your unique lived experience shaped you and prepared you to be a changemaker here?
D. The University of Rochester benefactor, entrepreneur, photography pioneer and philanthropist George Eastman said, “What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.” How have the ways you’ve spent your time enabled you to grow as a person? What challenges have helped define you and your role within your many communities?
ESSAY #1
The University of San Diego offers diverse educational opportunities grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. First-year students are immersed in one of our five Living Learning Communities (LLC), with the themes reflecting the vitality of the liberal arts tradition: Advocate, Collaborate, Cultivate, Illuminate and Innovate. Select one of these five themes and describe how it resonates with you and why. (Please note that your response to this question will not impact any future LLC placement.)
Max: 350 words
ESSAY #2
Now choose one of the three prompts below to write about. Essays should be approximately 200 words in length.
Option #1) What contribution have you made to your current school and/or local community that best exemplifies your awareness of and commitment to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable community? Here at USD, we believe that our campus community and the communities we engage with are integral parts of who we are as a university. Our newly launched Horizon Project is a call to action, ensuring that we are dedicating the time, energy and resources necessary to build an ever more diverse and inclusive campus community. We value the fact that our students come from all walks of life, have experienced different realities and bring with them an array of unique perspectives, including some that have often been underrepresented and underserved by higher education.
Option #2) Use this space to write about one of the challenges facing humanity today. Why does it matter to you? What experiences or insights have you had that speak to the urgency of this issue. As a proud Changemaker Campus, as designated by Ashoka U, the USD experience emphasizes changemaking through social justice efforts, civic engagement, social innovation, creativity and a global perspective.
Option #3) Share some of your ideas about the role of faith or spirituality in your life or the life of someone you know. As a contemporary Catholic university, we welcome and celebrate students from every background and faith tradition, including those who do not identify with a faith tradition. We devote great time and energy to ensuring all students feel connected to the vibrant USD community, including opportunities to grow in their relationship with God while considering who they are, what they believe and who they are called to become.
Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words)
USC Dornsife
Many of us have at least one issue or passion that we care deeply about – a topic on which we would love to share our opinions and insights in hopes of sparking intense interest and continued conversation. If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words or less)
USC Architecture
All applicants to the Bachelor of Architecture and the B.S. in Architecture + Inventive Technologies programs are required to submit a portfolio described as follows. Please submit the portfolio by the University’s application deadline.
PORTFOLIO FORMAT
The portfolio submission should consist of a minimum of 6 and up to 12 digital image files uploaded online by December 1, 2023 if applying for first-year merit scholarship as well as regular decision consideration. Other electronic formats, or CD/DVD submissions will not be accepted. Please do not send original or bound materials. Please do not send more than one online submission.
Submit your portfolio online via the SlideRoom link provided in the Common Application.
The School of Architecture is committed to sustainable design practices and discourages the use of excessive printing, binding and shipping processes.
RELATED LINK: How to Curate a Strong Portfolio as a Freshman Candidate
ARCHITECTURE WRITING & VIDEO SUPPLEMENT FOR THE BACHELOR OF ARCHITECTURE (B.ARCH)
1) Our school views architecture as a “human right,” and that design should exhibit “social consciousness.” How do you think architecture can contribute to the greater social consciousness?
2) At USC Architecture we will teach you to become strong critical thinkers. With that in mind please tell us about a piece of architecture that you’ve personally experienced and how its design resonated with you.
3) Please produce a video that presents what you consider to be your favorite project in your portfolio and why. Try to be as informative and concise as possible when you’re speaking about the project but also remember to be yourself. We are looking for students that are passionate with a keen curiosity about architecture and design.
ARCHITECTURE WRITING & VIDEO SUPPLEMENT FOR THE B.S. IN ARCHITECTURE + INVENTIVE TECHNOLOGIES
1) Given our program’s stated commitment to educating students through the multiple lenses of architecture, technology and entrepreneurship please let us know why you’re interested in exploring those design intersections.
2) At USC Architecture we will teach you to become strong critical thinkers. With that in mind please describe an architectural product or material that you’ve personally experienced and how its design resonated with you.
3) Please produce a video that presents what you consider to be your favorite project in your portfolio and why. Try to be as informative and concise as possible when you’re speaking about the project but also remember to be yourself. We are looking for students that are passionate with a keen curiosity about architecture and design.
The admission committee will review these statements and video as a measure of your awareness, determination and vision. Your responses should no more than 200 words in length for each written question. The video should be no more than 30-60 seconds.
Submit your Portfolio and the Architecture Writing & Video Supplement online via the SlideRoom link provided in the Common Application.
PORTFOLIO REQUIREMENTS
We are interested in seeing evidence of your creativity and curiosity. Work selected for inclusion should demonstrate the breadth and diversity of your creative interests and need not be limited to architectural work (if included at all). Drawing, sketching, painting, graphic design, photography, video, web design, sculpture, ceramics, fashion design and furniture design are just some examples of the types of work that may be included. Work may be produced digitally and/or by hand, for school courses, extracurricular activities or independently. Do not include technical drafting, unless you designed the content of the drawing. Your portfolio should be limited to your strongest work. Avoid including too many pictures of the same piece. If the work was part of a group effort, please indicate your specific contribution. As you upload an image of work, you will be prompted to add descriptions to each piece.
Essay Topic (500-700 words)
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
Short Answers (250-300 words each)
Complete all three short answer prompts:
– Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?
– Describe how your experiences, perspectives, talents, and/or your involvement in leadership activities (at your school, job, community, or within your family) will help you to make an impact both in and out of the classroom while enrolled at UT.
– The core purpose of The University of Texas at Austin is, “To Transform Lives for the Benefit of Society.” Please share how you believe your experience at UT-Austin will prepare you to “Change the World” after you graduate.
Optional Short Answer Question (250-300 words)
Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance.
If you would like an opportunity to further present yourself to the Admissions Committee, you may submit a response to ONE of the following prompts. ~500 words
1. Why UVM?
2. Established in Burlington, VT, Ben & Jerry’s is synonymous with both ice cream and social change. The “Save Our Swirled” flavor raises awareness of climate change, and “I Dough, I Dough” celebrates marriage equality. If you worked alongside Ben & Jerry, what charitable flavor would you develop and why?
3. UVM is a community that celebrates the unique identity of every student, faculty and staff member. Tell us how your identities have shaped the ways you interact with the world.
4. From the Green Mountains to Lake Champlain to our campus, UVM students are inspired by our location to think about their relationship to the environment. What does your relationship with your environment look like?
5. If you could pick one song to be the soundtrack of your life, what would it be? What is your connection to the song?
In around 250 words (max 300), please answer the following question.
What about your background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA? Feel free to write about any past experience or part of your background that has shaped your perspective and will be a source of strength, including but not limited to those related to your community, upbringing, educational environment, race, gender, or other aspects of your background that are important to you.
School of Nursing (250 words or less)
Describe a health care-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing.
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Max: 650 words
Short response
Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the University of Washington.
Max: 300 words
UW-Madison
Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest.
The maximum word count for each essay is 650, but we recommend planning for 300–500 words.
Please select one of the following short answer prompts:
Vanderbilt offers a community where students find balance between their academic and social experiences. Please briefly elaborate on how one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences has influenced you.
OR
Vanderbilt University values learning through contrasting points of view. We understand that our differences, and our respect for alternative views and voices, are our greatest source of strength. Please reflect on conversations you’ve had with people who have expressed viewpoints different from your own. How did these conversations/experiences influence you?
Please provide your response in approximately 250 words.
Min: 200 / Max: 400
Writing Supplement #1: Villanova Free Choice (2023-24)
For the first Villanova-specific essay, we hope to gain a deeper understanding of your thoughts, experiences, and opinions. Choose one of the four topics below and submit a written response in about 250 words.
Prompt One:
St. Augustine states that well-being is “not concerned with myself alone, but with my neighbor’s good as well.” How have you advocated for equity and justice in your communities?
Prompt Two:
As an Augustinian community, we believe that you should see people for who they are. Please share with us a time when you were misjudged based on your identity or background.
Prompt Three:
In the Villanova community, we learn from one another. What is a lesson in life that you have learned that you would want to share with others?
Prompt Four:
At Villanova, we often say “each of us strengthens all of us.” In a time of personal challenges, how do you borrow from the strength of others?
Writing Supplement #2: Why Villanova? (2023-24)
Prompt: Why do you want to call Villanova your new home and how will you become part of our community?
Please submit a written response of about 150 words.
1. Each of the Ut Prosim Profile questions are required with a limit of 120 words in length per answer. Once you submit your application, your responses to the questions are final and cannot be updated.
Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?
2. Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination. Reflect on a time when you were not able or allowed to express a different or diverse position or opinion (or you witnessed another person or group experience the same situation)? How did you respond or wish you would have responded? Did your viewpoint change in any way after this experience?
3. Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?
4. Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from as you work on this goal?
– Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution (limit 150 words).
– List five books you’ve read that have intrigued you.
– Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world’s complexity. This can include a work you’ve read, a project you’ve completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved (limit 150 words).
– 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? (limit 300 words)
– Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.) (limit: 100 characters per line)
Please tell us what you are interested in studying at WashU and why. (200 words max.)
When choosing a college, you are choosing an intellectual community and a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but it’s a good place to start. Visit the Wellesley 100 and select two items that attract, inspire, or celebrate what you would bring to our community. Have fun! Use this opportunity to reflect personally on what items appeal to you most and why.
Please limit your response to two thoughtful paragraphs (minimum 250 words, maximum 400 words).
William & Mary is a community that fosters deep human connection. We reflect on the lessons of history to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. We engage diverse perspectives and seek wisdom in bridging differences. Together, we are unceasing in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in our communities, the state, the nation, and the world.
To help us learn more about you, we invite you to share additional information by answering up to two of these optional short-answer prompts. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy.
1. Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful?
2. Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?
3. How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?
4. Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.
5. Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.
6. If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?
As a residential learning community, Williams believes that some of the most important experiences happen while living and learning alongside those different from oneself. Please describe a time when you learned or grew through the process of interacting with someone whose background, identity, lived experience, or perspective differs from your own. (150-300 words)
Short Answer Questions
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application will respond to the following short answer questions:
– Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.
– Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
– What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)
Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received.
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):
– What inspires you?
– If you could teach any college course, write a book, or create an original piece of art of any kind, what would it be?
– Other than a family member, who is someone who has had a significant influence on you? What has been the impact of their influence?
– What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?
Essay
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will respond to one of the following prompts in 400 words or fewer.
1. Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?
2. Reflect on your membership in a community to which you feel connected. Why is this community meaningful to you? You may define community however you like.
3. Reflect on an element of your personal experience that you feel will enrich your college. How has it shaped you?
2022-2023 Essay Prompts
Common Application Essays
In 250-650 words, respond to one of the following prompts:
Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Coalition Application Essays
While there is no perfect length for an essay, we recommend that you aim for 500 to 650 words.
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
What interests or excites you? How does it shape who you are now or who you might become in the future?
Describe a time when you had a positive impact on others. What were the challenges? What were the rewards?
Has there been a time when an idea or belief of yours was questioned? How did you respond? What did you learn?
What success have you achieved or obstacle have you faced? What advice would you give a sibling or friend going through a similar experience?
Submit an essay on a topic of your choice
American University Essay Prompt
Why are you interested in American University? (150 words max.)
Assumption University Essay Prompt
Please explain, in a few sentences, your answer to the question, “Who or what most influenced you to apply to Assumption University?” (125 words or fewer)
Babson College Essay Prompt
Your moment has arrived. Share with us the moments or experiences that have led you to apply to Babson College (500 words maximum).
We invite you to submit your answer in either essay OR video format. If you choose to submit a video, please limit your response to a 1-minute video, which can be submitted via a shared link to YouTube or another video hosting website.
Barnard College Essay Prompt
1. What factors encouraged your decision to apply to Barnard College, and why do you think the college would be a good match for you? (300 words max.)
2. At Barnard, academic inquiry starts with bold questions. What are some of the bold questions you have pondered that get you excited and why do they interest you? Tell us how you would explore these questions at Barnard. (300 words max.)
3. (Optional) Pick one woman — a historical figure, fictitious character, or modern individual — to converse with for an hour and explain your choice. Why does this person intrigue you? What would you talk about? What questions would you ask them? (300 words max.)
4. Use this space to share anything with the Admissions Committee that you feel provides additional context related to your background, experiences or identity. (300 words max.)
Bentley University Essay Prompt
(OPTIONAL) We invite you to share any additional information about why you would like to attend Bentley. (250 words or fewer)
Boston College Essay Prompts
All applicants, except those applying for the Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) major, should respond to one of prompts #1-5 listed below. Students applying to the HCE major must respond to prompt #6 only.
The writing supplement topics for the 2022-2023 application cycle (400 word limit):
1. Students at Boston College are encouraged to consider critical questions as they pursue lives of meaning and purpose. What is a question that matters to you and how do you hope Boston College will help you answer it?
2. In 2020, we faced a national reckoning on racial injustice in America – a reckoning that continues today. Discuss how this has affected you, what you have learned, or how you have been inspired to be a change agent around this important issue.
3. At Boston College, we hope to draw on the Jesuit tradition of finding conversation partners to discuss issues and problems facing society. Who is your favorite conversation partner? What do you discuss with that person?
4. Socrates stated that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Discuss a time when reflection, prayer, or introspection led to clarity or understanding of an issue that is important to you.
5. Each year at University Convocation, the incoming class engages in reflective dialogue around a common text. What book would you recommend for your class to read and explore together – and why?
6. For Human-Centered Engineering major applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?
Boston University Essay Prompt
What about being a student at Boston University most excites you? (250 words)
Bowdoin University Essay Prompt
Generations of students have found connection and meaning in Bowdoin’s “The Offer of the College,” written in 1906 by Bowdoin President William DeWitt Hyde.
To be at home in all lands and all ages;
to count Nature a familiar acquaintance,
and Art an intimate friend;
to gain a standard for the appreciation of others’ work
and the criticism of your own;
to carry the keys of the world’s library in your pocket,
and feel its resources behind you in whatever task you undertake;
to make hosts of friends…who are to be leaders in all walks of life;
to lose yourself in generous enthusiasms and cooperate with others for common ends –
this is the offer of the college for the best four years of your life.
Which line from The Offer resonates most with you?
Optional: The Offer represents Bowdoin’s values. Please reflect on the line you selected and how it has meaning to you.
(Limit 250 words)
Brandeis University Essay Prompt
The Brandeis community is a diverse group of critical thinkers defined by their ability to dive deeper into their learning by questioning, analyzing, evaluating, creating, critiquing and seeking other perspectives. Share an example of how you have used your own critical thinking skills on a specific subject, project, idea or interest. (250 words max.)
For International Students Only
What excites you the most about being an international student at Brandeis University? (250 words max.)
Brown University Essay Prompt
Essay Questions for First Year Applicants and Transfer Applicants
1. Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might use the Open Curriculum to pursue them while also embracing topics with which you are unfamiliar. (200-250 words)
2. Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)
3. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)
Essay Questions for PLME Applicants
Three essays are required for applicants to the PLME:
1. Committing to a future career as a physician while in high school requires careful consideration and self-reflection. How do you feel your personal background provides you with a unique perspective of medicine? (250 word limit)
2. Health care is constantly changing, as it is affected by racial and social disparities, economics, politics, and technology, among others. How will you, as a future physician, make a positive impact? (250 word limit)
3. How do you envision the Program in Liberal Medical Education (PLME) helping you to meet your academic, personal and professional goals as a person and as a physician of the future? (250 word limit)
Essay Questions for Brown|RISD Dual Degree Applicants
One essay is required for applicants to the Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program:
The Brown|RISD Dual Degree Program draws on the complementary strengths of Brown University and Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to provide students with the opportunity to explore diverse spheres of academic and creative inquiry, culminating in a capstone project that interrelates the content, approaches, and methods from two distinct learning experiences.
Based on your understanding of the academic programs at Brown and RISD and the possibilities created by the BRDD program’s broadened learning community, specifically describe how and why the BRDD program would constitute an optimal undergraduate education for you. As part of your answer, be sure to articulate how you might contribute to the Dual Degree community and its commitment to interdisciplinary work. (650 word limit)
Chapman University Essay Prompt
Out of the thousands of universities and colleges, what excites you about attending Chapman University specifically? (200 words max.)
Chapman University seeks to enroll students who bring a rich array of perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds to our campus community. We are committed to creating a welcoming university where all of our students can fully participate, reach their fullest potential, and benefit from living, learning, and socializing with people different from themselves. With this in mind, please answer one of the following questions (200 words or fewer).
CHOICE A: PERSONAL VALUES
Our committee would like to hear about a personal value, experience, or lesson that has shaped your identity, behavior, aspirations, or commitment to a sense of belonging. How did it develop and/or change over time and how would it add to the diverse and welcoming fabric of our campus community?
CHOICE B: PERSONAL GROWTH
Part of the Chapman experience is to help students evolve their perspectives. What types of personal growth do you hope to explore at Chapman and how can Chapman help in your growth?
Please answer the following questions in one word, phrase, or sentence. There are no right or wrong answers here. We hope you enjoy working on this section as much as we’ll enjoy reading it.
1. What is your dream job?
2. What are three words to describe yourself?
3. What song should we be listening to while reading your application?
4. Name one dish you would cook for our admission team.
5. What is your favorite subject?
6. What is the top thing on your bucket list?
7. What makes you happy?
8. If Chapman’s admission team came to visit your hometown, what site would you take them to?
9. What can you give a 30-minute presentation on without any preparation?
10. What is something you have always wanted to learn but never had the chance to?
11. Submitted by a prospective student for the class of 2023: What are the best words of advice you have received?
Colgate University Essay Prompts
Optional Supplemental Essays
Question 1:
On Colgate’s campus, students engage with individuals from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds, races, ethnicities, religions, and perspectives during the course of their educational and social experiences. In 200-250 words, please share the benefits you see in engaging with a diverse body of students, faculty, and staff as part of your Colgate experience.
Question 2:
Colgate students immerse themselves in social and intellectual pursuits that inspire them. Tell us in 200-250 words what inspires you and why you want to pursue that at Colgate.
Question 3:
Please complete the following so we can learn a bit more about you. Each response should be no more than 13 words.
– I am fascinated by…
– My favorite book, movie, or television show is…
– My role model 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…
– I am most challenged by…
– My favorite place is…
– I am drawn to Colgate University because…
College of Wooster Essay Prompt
Why are you interested in The College of Wooster? (250 words)
Columbia University Essay Prompts
1. List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)
2. We’re interested in learning about some of the ways that you explore your interests. List some resources and outlets that you enjoy, including but not limited to websites, publications, journals, podcasts, social media accounts, lectures, museums, movies, music, or other content with which you regularly engage. (125 words or fewer)
3. A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. Tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia’s diverse and collaborative community. (200 words or fewer)
4. Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (200 words or fewer)
5. In Columbia’s admissions process, we value who you are as a unique individual, distinct from your goals and achievements. In the last words of this writing supplement, we would like you to reflect on a source of happiness. Help us get to know you further by describing the first thing that comes to mind when you consider what simply brings you joy. (35 words or fewer)
Other
For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)
For applicants to Columbia Engineering, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)
Cornell University Essay Prompts
The primary focus of your college interest essay should be what you intend to study at Cornell.
In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below (maximum of 650 words) that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying.
College Interest Essays for Fall 2023 First-Year Applicants
Brooks School of Public Policy
Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Required: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals?
Optional: At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good. Please elaborate on an activity or experience you have had that made an impact on a community that is important to you. We encourage you to think about community broadly – this could include family, school, or local and global communities (300-word limit).
Optional: The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is dedicated to the exploration of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background in agriculture or are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture.
Select all that apply:
– My family owns or operates a farm
– I have experience working in agriculture
– I have interest in pursuing a career in agriculture
Please feel free to share additional details below (optional):
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
What is your “thing”? What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time? Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. What are yours?
College of Arts and Sciences
Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms Ezra Cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our College.
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).
College of Engineering
Instructions: All applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. Each has a limit of 250 words. Essay 1 is required of all applicants. For Essay 2, you must choose between Question A and Question B.
Essay 1
Required response (250 word limit)
How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about.
Essay 2
Choose either Question A and Question B. (250 word limit)
> Question A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem.
> Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?
College of Human Ecology
How has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology been influenced by your related experiences? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future?
School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.
Dartmouth College Essay Prompts
Dartmouth’s writing supplement requires that applicants write brief responses to three supplemental essay prompts as follows:
1. Required of all applicants. Please respond in 100 words or fewer:
Dartmouth celebrates the ways in which its profound sense of place informs its profound sense of purpose. As you seek admission to Dartmouth’s Class of 2027, what aspects of the College’s academic program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? In short, Why Dartmouth? Please respond in 100 words or fewer.
2. Required of all applicants. Please respond in 200-250 words:
“Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself in 200-250 words.
3. Required of all applicants. Please choose one of the following prompts and respond in 200-250 words:
A. Labor leader and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta recommended a life of purpose. “We must use our lives to make the world a better place to live, not just to acquire things,” she said. “That is what we are put on the earth for.” In what ways do you hope to make—or are you making—an impact?
B. What excites you?
C. In The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, William Kamkwamba ’14 reflects on constructing a windmill from recycled materials to power electrical appliances in his family’s Malawian house: “If you want to make it, all you have to do is try.” What drives you to create and what do you hope to make or have you made?
D. Dr. Seuss, aka Theodor Geisel of Dartmouth’s Class of 1925, wrote, “Think and wonder. Wonder and think.” What do you wonder and think about?
E. “Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced,” wrote James Baldwin. How does this quote apply to your life experiences?
Davidson College Essay Prompts
1. There are just under 4,000 4-year colleges and universities in the United States. Being as specific as possible, what interests you most about Davidson College (250-300 words)
2. Davidson encourages students to explore curiosities in and out of the classroom. What is a topic, activity or idea that excites you? Tell us why. Examples may include hobbies, books, interactions, music, podcasts, movies, etc. (250-300 words)
Duke University Essay Prompts
What is your sense of Duke as a university and a community, and why do you consider it a good match for you? If there’s something in particular about our offerings that attracts you, feel free to share that as well. (250 word limit)
We want to emphasize that the following questions are optional. Feel free to answer them if you believe that doing so will add something meaningful that is not already shared elsewhere in your application. Four optional questions are available – a maximum of 2 can be selected. (250 word limit per essay)
1. We seek a diverse student body that embodies the wide range of human experience. In that context, we are interested in what you’d like to share about your lived experiences and how they’ve influenced how you think of yourself.
2. We believe there is benefit in sharing and sometimes questioning our beliefs or values; who do you agree with on the big important things, or who do you have your most interesting disagreements with? What are you agreeing or disagreeing about?
3. What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?
4. Duke’s commitment to diversity and inclusion includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. If you’d like to share with us more about your identity in this context, feel free to do so here.
Elon University Essay Prompts
THINK FAST
Answers to these questions are meant to be brief – 3 sentences or less. Be inventive and thoughtful. Most importantly, be yourself. This is a chance to tell us more about who you really are in a fun, concise manner. We’re excited to get to know you!
Name three songs from your perfect playlist.
We look forward to creating a Spotify playlist from the submissions of our first-year class.
We’re in your hometown. Where should we go and what should we do?
Tell us about your hometown. Our admissions counselors may even take your suggestions when they are in the area! (50 words max.)
What three emojis/GIFs do you use most often? Why?
OK, we know not everyone uses emojis or GIFs – so if you don’t, tell us which three you would choose if you did! (30 words max.)
You are a superhero. What are your powers?
Be imaginative. What would you do with the powers you choose? (30 words max.)
Tell us your top 5.
Take this opportunity to let the admissions committee know more about you. Your top 5 should be something unique to you and give us a glimpse of who you are. Be creative! You may choose any theme for your top 5. Do you love cooking? List your top 5 recipes. Are you enthusiastic about anime? Who are your top 5 characters? Do you watch or participate in a lot of athletic events? Name your top 5 moments. Love to stream; what are you watching? You could even list your top five college tours – as long as Elon is #1!
Explain why these are your top 5: (250 words max.)
Emmanuel College Essay Prompt
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (500 words max.)
Emory University Essay Prompts
This question is required. Your response should be no more than 200 words.
– What academic areas are you interested in exploring in college?
Getting to Know You
In addition, answer one of the following questions. Your response should be no more than 150 words.
– Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness.
– When was the last time you questioned something you had thought to be true?
– If you could witness a historic event (past, present or future) first-hand, what would it be, and why?
– Share about a time when you were awestruck.
– Which book, character, song, monologue, or piece of work (fiction or non-fiction) seems made for you? Why?
Fordham University Essay Prompt
You may choose to respond to the optional question below.
At Fordham, we expect students to care for and engage with their communities. Please share a specific instance in which you challenged yourself or stepped out of your comfort zone in order to be an advocate for your community (for example, your family, friend group, high school, or town). Please provide an example that illustrates a facet of yourself that we would not find anywhere else in your application. (150 words max.)
George Mason University Essay Prompts
ESSAY REQUIREMENTS
What is your motivation for pursuing higher education? Why do you believe George Mason University is the right institution for you? (400 word limit)
Georgetown University Essay Prompts
ESSAY REQUIREMENTS
Short Essay
Briefly (approximately one-half page, single-spaced) discuss the significance to you of the school or summer activity in which you have been most involved.
Longer Essays
Compose two brief essays (approximately one page, single-spaced each) on the topics given below. Essays should be typed.
Essay One
ALL APPLICANTS: As Georgetown is a diverse community, the Admissions Committee would like to know more about you in your own words. Please submit a brief essay, either personal or creative, which you feel best describes you.
Essay Two
APPLICANTS TO GEORGETOWN COLLEGE: What does it mean to you to be educated? How might Georgetown College help you achieve this aim? (Applicants to the Sciences and Mathematics or the Faculty of Languages and Linguistics should address their chosen course of study.)
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF HEALTH: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major (Global Health, Health Care Management & Policy, or Human Science).
APPLICANTS TO THE SCHOOL OF NURSING: Describe the factors that have influenced your interest in studying health care. Please specifically address your intended major Nursing.
APPLICANTS TO THE WALSH SCHOOL OF FOREIGN SERVICE: The Walsh School of Foreign Service was founded more than a century ago to prepare generations of leaders to solve global problems. What is motivating you to dedicate your undergraduate studies to a future in service to the world?
APPLICANTS TO THE MCDONOUGH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS: The McDonough School of Business is a national and global leader in providing graduates with essential ethical, analytical, financial and global perspectives. Please discuss your motivations for studying business at Georgetown.
Other
Please indicate any special talents or skills that you possess.
Georgia Tech Short-Answer Question
Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech? (max 300 words)
Gonzaga University Essay Prompt
1. Please share an experience that made you feel uncomfortable or challenged, and then explain how you grew from that situation.
2. Please share an experience you have had outside of the classroom that has contributed to your personal growth.
(no length, but “shorter” than 650 common app)
Harvard University Essay Prompts
You may wish to include an additional essay if you feel that the college application forms do not provide sufficient opportunity to convey important information about yourself or your accomplishments. You may write on a topic of your choice, or you may choose from one of the following topics:
– Unusual circumstances in your life
– Travel, living, or working experiences in your own or other communities
– What you would want your future college roommate to know about you
– An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you
– How you hope to use your college education
– A list of books you have read during the past twelve months
– The Harvard College Honor code declares that we “hold honesty as the foundation of our community.” As you consider entering this community that is committed to honesty, please reflect on a time when you or someone you observed had to make a choice about whether to act with integrity and honesty.
– The mission of Harvard College is to educate our students to be citizens and citizen-leaders for society. What would you do to contribute to the lives of your classmates in advancing this mission?
– Each year a substantial number of students admitted to Harvard defer their admission for one year or take time off during college. If you decided in the future to choose either option, what would you like to do?
– Harvard has long recognized the importance of student body diversity of all kinds. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, personal development or the intellectual interests you might bring to your Harvard classmates.
Harvey Mudd College Essay Prompt
1. “Scientific research is a human endeavor. The choices of topics that we research are based on our biases, our beliefs, and what we bring: our cultures and our families. The kinds of problems that people put their talents to solving depends on their values.” – Dr. Clifton Poodry
How has your own background influenced the types of problems you want to solve, the people you want to work with, and the impact you hope your work can have? (500 words max.)
2. Many students choose Harvey Mudd because they don’t want to give up their interests in the Humanities, Social Sciences and the Arts – or HSA as we call it at HMC. Briefly (in 100 words or less) describe what you’d like to learn about in your dream HSA class.
Optional: You may include examples of mathematical or scientific endeavors or research abstracts if relevant. Please limit your submission to two pages.
High Point University Essay Prompts
1. Describe any special interests or hobbies that you may have. (50 Word Limit)
2. Describe any meaningful travel experiences (both national and international). (50 Word Limit)
Indiana University Essay Prompt
Describe your academic and career plans and any special interest (for example, undergraduate research, academic interests, leadership opportunities, etc.) that you are eager to pursue as an undergraduate at Indiana University. Also, if you encountered any unusual circumstances, challenges, or obstacles in pursuit of your education, share those experiences and how you overcame them. (200-400 words)
This essay may be used in scholarship consideration.
Johns Hopkins University Essay Prompt
Founded in the spirit of exploration and discovery, Johns Hopkins University encourages students to share their perspectives, develop their interests, and pursue new experiences.
Use this space to share something you’d like the admissions committee to know about you (your interests, your background, your identity, or your community), and how it has shaped what you want to get out of your college experience at Hopkins. (300-400 words)
Lafayette College Essay Prompt
Students identify Lafayette as an excellent fit for countless reasons. In your response, be deliberate and specific about your motivation for applying to Lafayette.
Why Lafayette? (20-200 words)
Lehigh University Essay Prompts
1. How did you first learn about Lehigh University and what motivated you to apply? (150-word limit)
2. A compelling characteristic of Lehigh’s community is that our students want to be actively engaged in their learning, their community, and the world. Our students look to make a difference and have a real-world impact. We expect our community to challenge your viewpoint, your naturalized assumptions, and the way that you see the world around you. Lehigh University is committed to being an anti-racist institution. By this, we mean actively speaking out and addressing acts of racism, racist comments, racist practices, policies, and procedures.
What would you want to be different in your own country or community to further principles of equality, equity, or social justice? (300-word limit)
Loyola Marymount University Essay Prompt
Please briefly state your reason for wishing to attend LMU and/or how you came to select your major. (500 words)
As part of our holistic review process, it is critical that we understand the comprehensive experience of all applicants. Please provide a detailed explanation, in 250 words or less, regarding any break or interruption in your academic history throughout high school (secondary school) and beyond.
Lynn University Essay Prompt
Why are you applying to Lynn? (150 word limit)
MIT Essay Prompts
For the 2022–2023 application, we’re asking these short answer essay questions:
We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.
Describe the world you come from (for example, your family, school, community, city, or town). How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?
MIT brings people with diverse backgrounds and experiences together to better the lives of others. Our students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world’s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way you have collaborated with people who are different from you to contribute to your community.
Tell us about a significant challenge you’ve faced (that you feel comfortable sharing) or something that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation?
We’re looking for responses of approximately 200 words each. There is also one final, open-ended, additional-information text box where you can tell us anything else you think we really ought to know.
New York University Essay Prompt
NYU was founded on the belief that a student’s identity should not dictate the ability for them to access higher education. That sense of opportunity for all students, of all backgrounds, remains a part of who we are today and a critical part of what makes us a world class university. Our community embraces diversity, in all its forms, as a cornerstone of the NYU experience.
We would like to better understand how your experiences would help us to shape and grow our diverse community. Please respond in 250 words or less.
North Carolina State University Essay Prompts
Required Short Answer Questions
> Explain why you selected the academic program(s) above and why you are interested in studying these at NC State. (250 words)
> NC State University is committed to building a just and inclusive community, one that does not tolerate unjust or inhumane treatment, and that denounces it, clearly and loudly. Please describe what those words mean to you and how you will contribute to a more diverse and inclusive NC State environment. (250 words)
Northwestern University Essay Prompts
In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond.
Occidental College Essay Prompts
In the Short Answers section of the Common App, we ask you to respond to the following three prompts:
1. Why are you applying to Occidental? What are your academic interests and why do you think Occidental is the right place for you to pursue them? (150 – 200 words)
2. Please answer one of the following questions—your choice (200 – 300 words):
– Research is an integral part of an Oxy education. Completing a senior comprehensive is a requirement of every Oxy student and there are a myriad of opportunities for research throughout your four years. Imagine you were just awarded one of our research grants for a project of your choice. What are you researching and why?
– Briefly describe a current event or social movement that is affecting a place that is important to you. Describe its significance to you and the future implications for that community. How do you anticipate an Oxy education helping you better understand and respond to that event/movement?
– Oxy’s central mission emphasizes the value of community amidst diversity. What do you value in a community and how do you see your perspectives and life experiences enhancing it?
3. What is the first song you would play for your Oxy roommate on move-in day?
Penn State Essay Prompts
Please tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State. This is your opportunity to tell us something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records. We suggest a limit of 500 words or fewer.
Pomona College Essay Prompts
The Pomona-specific essay prompts for those applying for Fall 2023 admission include an academic interest statement (max. 150 words); a short-response essay (max. 150 words); and a longer-response essay (max. 250 words).
(1) Academic Interest Statement: What do you love about the subject(s) you selected as potential major(s)? If undecided, share more about one of your academic passions.
(2) Short-Response Essay: choose to respond to one of the following three prompts in 150 words or less:
– At Pomona, we celebrate and identify with the number 47. Share with us one of your quirky personal, family, or community traditions and why you hold on to it.
– What item are you excited to bring with you to college?
– Describe a time when you felt empowered or on top of the world?
(3) Longer-Response Essay: choose to respond to one of the following three prompts in 250 words or less:
– In the past few years, is there something you have changed your mind about? Why?
– Reflecting on a community that you are part of, what values or perspectives from that community would you bring to Pomona?
– What strength or quality do you have that most people might not see or recognize?
Princeton University Essay Prompts
Extracurricular Activity and Work Experience
Briefly elaborate on an activity, organization, work experience, or hobby that has been particularly meaningful to you. (Please respond in 150 words or fewer)
Your Voice
Please respond to each question in 250 words or fewer.
– At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future?
– Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals.
More About You
Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!
– What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
– What brings you joy?
– What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
Providence College Essay Prompts
Should you choose to complete an optional essay, please select one of the following prompts and limit your response to 250-500 words.
1. As a liberal arts school, Provide College provides students with the opportunity to explore several different academic areas. While you may not be ready to declare a major, what have you experienced, inside or outside of the classroom, that has led you to an interest in a particular field of study?
2. Dialogue, Inclusion and Democracy is a program on campus whose mission is to create a safe space that supports the development of well-informed and engaged students through civil discourse. There are several spaces on campus where students, faculty and staff can pose questions to the PC community and dialogue forms from there. One of the questions posted recently was “Name a time where you’ve felt empowered or represented by an educator.” What question would you like to post to the PC community and why?
3. If you could have a theme song, what would it be and why?
Purdue University Essay Prompt
1. Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (250 words or fewer)
2. How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)
3. Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)
Rice University Essay Prompts
The Admission Committee is interested in getting to know each student as well as possible through the application process. Please respond to each of the following prompts.
1. Please explain why you wish to study in the academic areas you selected above. (150 words max.)
2. Based upon your exploration of Rice University, what elements of the Rice experience appeal to you? (150 words max.)
Rollins College Essay Prompt
Please briefly elaborate on your community service or one of your extracurricular activities. (250 words max.)
Sarah Lawrence College Essay Prompts
The Common Application essay is an important way for us to get to know your voice, but we know there may be more you want to tell us that just didn’t quite fit into the rest of the application. For applicants who might wish to share a little more about how Sarah Lawrence fits into the next stage of their education, we invite you to respond to one of the following four essay prompts:
– Sarah Lawrence students are often described as hyphenates: director-playwright-sound designer, environmentalist-photographer, journalist-linguist, economist-poet. In 250-500 words, tell us about seemingly disparate interests you’ve brought together, or hope to bring together at Sarah Lawrence.
– Students at Sarah Lawrence are asked to design their own research questions and answer them during semester-long projects. In 250-500 words, thoughtfully respond to a prompt of your own creation.
– Sarah Lawrence College’s community places strong value in inclusion and diversity. In 250-500 words, tell us about what you value in a community and how your perspective, lived experiences, or beliefs might contribute to your College community.
– In her 2019 commencement address, journalist Maggie Haberman ’96 told the graduating class: “My time at Sarah Lawrence helped me understand the importance of patience, of assuming good faith in others, and of finding truth.” In 250-500 words, tell us about a time you spoke your own truth or found the importance in one of the values Maggie describes.
Southern Methodist University Essay Prompts
1. SMU appeals to students for a variety of reasons. Briefly describe why you are interested in attending SMU and what specific factors have led you to apply. (250-word limit)
2. SMU is a diverse learning environment shaped by the convergence of ideas and cultures. How will your unique experiences or background enhance the University, and how will you benefit from this community? (250-word limit)
St. John’s College Essay Prompt
Discuss a book that you would call a “great book.” We want to learn both about the ideas in the book and about you. What makes the book great in your view? What effect has it had on what you think or how you think? (Minimum 400 words)
Stanford University Essay Prompts
Short Questions
1. What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words max.)
2. How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words max.)
3. What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words max.)
4. Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words max.)
5. Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (50 words max.)
Short Essays
1. The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (250 words max.)
2. Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate – and us – get to know you better. (250 words max.)
3. Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (250 words max.)
Stetson University Essay Prompt
Please choose one of the following and upload your response:
– Submit a graded writing sample
– If you could live your life fighting for one cause, what would it be and why?
– Describe a time you did not meet expectations and what impact the experience had on you.
– What gives meaning to your life?
– If you wrote a letter to yourself to be opened in 20 years, what would it say?
– Discuss an issue of state, national, or global concern to you.
– Why write?
Syracuse University Essay Prompt
Why are you interested in Syracuse University and how do you see yourself contributing to a diverse, inclusive, accessible and respectful campus? (250 word limit)
The George Washington University Essay Prompts
Supplemental (Optional) Essay
Every applicant can choose from one of the following two essay prompts to submit. (500 words or fewer)
Essay Prompt 1
At the George Washington University, our students frequently interact with policymakers and world leaders. These experiences and those of our alumni can shape the future of global affairs. If you had the power to change the course of history in your community or the world, what would you do and why?
Essay Prompt 2
The George Washington University encourages students to think critically and to challenge the status quo. Thus, civil discourse is a key characteristic of our community. Describe a time when you engaged others in meaningful dialogue around an issue that was important to you. Did this exchange create change, new perspectives, or deeper relationships?
Tufts University Essay Prompts
Applicants to the School of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering, and 5-Year Tufts/NEC Combined Degree answer the following two questions:
1. Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your application? In short, “Why Tufts?” (100-150 words)
2. Now we’d like to know a little more about you. Please respond to one of the following three questions. (200-250 words):
A) It’s cool to love learning. What excites your intellectual curiosity?
B) How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – shaped the person you are today?
C) Where are you on your journey of engaging with or fighting for social justice?
Applicants to the BFA or 5-Year BFA+BA/BS Combined Degree at the SMFA at Tufts answer the following two questions:
1. Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompt your application? Why SMFA at Tufts? (100-150 words)
2. Art has the power to disrupt our preconceptions, shape public discourse, and imagine new ways of being in the world. What are the ideas you’d like to explore in your work? (200-250 words)
Tulane University Essay Prompts
1. Please briefly describe why you are interested in attending Tulane University.
This statement should be 500 words at most; however, it is neither necessary nor expected that you reach this maximum length. We strongly encourage you to focus on content and efficiency rather than word count. While submitting this prompt is optional, we recommend that all applicants do so.
2. Tulane values the lessons gained from pursuing an education alongside a student body that represents a wide range of experiences and perspectives and is reflective of our multicultural world. If you would like to share a perspective related to your family, cultural group, sexual or gender identity, religious group, or some other aspect that has shaped your identity, please do so here.
This statement should be 500 words at most; however, it is neither necessary nor expected that you reach this maximum length. If you choose to answer this prompt, we strongly encourage you to focus on content and efficiency rather than word count. Keep in mind this prompt will not apply to all applicants, and it is completely optional.
Other: If you would like to elaborate on one of your activities, you may do so briefly here. Max 250.
University of California Personal Insight Questions
Directions
– You will have 8 questions to choose from. You must respond to only 4 of the 8 questions.
– Each response is limited to a maximum of 350 words.
– Which questions you choose to answer is entirely up to you. However, you should select questions that are most relevant to your experience and that best reflect your individual circumstances.
Keep in mind
– All questions are equal. All are given equal consideration in the application review process, which means there is no advantage or disadvantage to choosing certain questions over others.
– There is no right or wrong way to answer these questions. It’s about getting to know your personality, background, interests and achievements in your own unique voice.
– Use the additional comments field if there are issues you’d like to address that you didn’t have the opportunity to discuss elsewhere on the application. This shouldn’t be an essay, but rather a place to note unusual circumstances or anything that might be unclear in other parts of the application. You may use the additional comments field to note extraordinary circumstances related to COVID-19, if necessary.
Questions and guidance
Remember, the personal insight questions are just that — personal. Which means you should use our guidance for each question just as a suggestion in case you need help. The important thing is expressing who you are, what matters to you and what you want to share with UC.
1. Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.
Things to consider: A leadership role can mean more than just a title. It can mean being a mentor to others, acting as the person in charge of a specific task, or taking the lead role in organizing an event or project. Think about what you accomplished and what you learned from the experience. What were your responsibilities?
Did you lead a team? How did your experience change your perspective on leading others? Did you help to resolve an important dispute at your school, church, in your community or an organization? And your leadership role doesn’t necessarily have to be limited to school activities. For example, do you help out or take care of your family?
2. Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
Things to consider: What does creativity mean to you? Do you have a creative skill that is important to you? What have you been able to do with that skill? If you used creativity to solve a problem, what was your solution? What are the steps you took to solve the problem?
How does your creativity influence your decisions inside or outside the classroom? Does your creativity relate to your major or a future career?
3. What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
Things to consider: If there’s a talent or skill that you’re proud of, this is the time to share it. You don’t necessarily have to be recognized or have received awards for your talent (although if you did and you want to talk about it, feel free to do so). Why is this talent or skill meaningful to you?
Does the talent come naturally or have you worked hard to develop this skill or talent? Does your talent or skill allow you opportunities in or outside the classroom? If so, what are they and how do they fit into your schedule?
4. Describe how you have taken advantage of a significant educational opportunity or worked to overcome an educational barrier you have faced.
Things to consider: An educational opportunity can be anything that has added value to your educational experience and better prepared you for college. For example, participation in an honors or academic enrichment program, or enrollment in an academy that’s geared toward an occupation or a major, or taking advanced courses that interest you — just to name a few.
If you choose to write about educational barriers you’ve faced, how did you overcome or strive to overcome them? What personal characteristics or skills did you call on to overcome this challenge? How did overcoming this barrier help shape who you are today?
5. Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement?
Things to consider: A challenge could be personal, or something you have faced in your community or school. Why was the challenge significant to you? This is a good opportunity to talk about any obstacles you’ve faced and what you’ve learned from the experience. Did you have support from someone else or did you handle it alone?
If you’re currently working your way through a challenge, what are you doing now, and does that affect different aspects of your life? For example, ask yourself, “How has my life changed at home, at my school, with my friends or with my family?”
6. Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom.
Things to consider: Many students have a passion for one specific academic subject area, something that they just can’t get enough of. If that applies to you, what have you done to further that interest? Discuss how your interest in the subject developed and describe any experience you have had inside and outside the classroom — such as volunteer work, internships, employment, summer programs, participation in student organizations and/or clubs — and what you have gained from your involvement.
Has your interest in the subject influenced you in choosing a major and/or future career? Have you been able to pursue coursework at a higher level in this subject (honors, AP, IB, college or university work)? Are you inspired to pursue this subject further at UC, and how might you do that?
7. What have you done to make your school or your community a better place?
Things to consider: Think of community as a term that can encompass a group, team or a place — like your high school, hometown or home. You can define community as you see fit, just make sure you talk about your role in that community. Was there a problem that you wanted to fix in your community?
Why were you inspired to act? What did you learn from your effort? How did your actions benefit others, the wider community or both? Did you work alone or with others to initiate change in your community?
8. Beyond what has already been shared in your application, what do you believe makes you stand out as a strong candidate for admissions to the University of California?
Things to consider: If there’s anything you want us to know about you, but didn’t find a question or place in the application to tell us, now’s your chance. What have you not shared with us that will highlight a skill, talent, challenge or opportunity that you think will help us know you better?
From your point of view, what do you feel makes you an excellent choice for UC? Don’t be afraid to brag a little.
University of Central Florida Essay Prompt
1. Why are you interested in UCF? (250 words max.)
2. Discuss your reasons for pursuing the academic program (major) selected above. (250 words max.)
University of Chicago Essay Prompts
Question 1 (Required)
How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.
Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)
Essay Option 1
Was it a cat I saw? Yo-no-na-ka, ho-ka-ho-ka na-no-yo (Japanese for “the world is a warm place”). Może jutro ta dama da tortu jeżom (Polish for “maybe tomorrow that lady will give a cake to the hedgehogs”). Share a palindrome in any language, and give it a backstory.
– Inspired by Leah Beach, Class of 2026, Lib Gray SB ’12, and Agnes Mazur AB ‘09
Essay Option 2
What advice would a wisdom tooth have?
–Inspired by Melody Dias, Class of 2025
Essay Option 3
You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they’re the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time?
—Inspired by Alexander Hastings, Class of 2023, and Olivia Okun-Dubitsky, Class of 2026
Essay Option 4
UChicago has been affiliated with over 90 Nobel laureates. But, why should economics, physics, and peace get all the glory? You are tasked with creating a new category for the Nobel Prize. Explain what it would be, why you chose your specific category, and the criteria necessary to achieve this accomplishment.
—Inspired by Isabel Alvarez, Class of 2026
Essay Option 5
Genghis Khan with an F1 racecar. George Washington with a SuperSoaker. Emperor Nero with a toaster. Leonardo da Vinci with a Furby. If you could give any historical figure any piece of technology, who and what would it be, and why do you think they’d work so well together?
-Inspired by Braden Hajer, Class of 2025/em>
Essay Option 6
And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!
University of Colorado Boulder Essay Prompts
Required Short Answer #1 (250 word limit) – At the University of Colorado Boulder, no two Buffs are alike. We value difference and support equity and inclusion of all students and their many intersecting identities. Pick one of your unique identities and describe its significance.
Required Short Answer #2 (250 word limit) – Please share a bit more about your academic interests. What do you hope to study at CU Boulder? What has inspired your interests in this area? Or if you are undecided, what area(s) of study are you considering? Think about your prior/current coursework, extracurricular activities, work/volunteer experiences, future goals, or anything else that has shaped your interests.
University of Florida Essay Prompts
– Do you have any employment or family obligations that limit your participation in extracurricular activities. If so, please describe. (250 word limit)
– Have you participated in or been assisted in your college preparation and search by programs outside of classroom, such as Educational Talent Search, Take Stock in Children, Upward Bound, Boys and Girls Club, etc.?
If yes, please provide the name of the program, details/benefits of your involvement, and how long your experiences continued. (250 word limit)
– Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity. (250 word limit)
– Is there any other information or extenuating circumstances the Admission Committee should know when reviewing your application? (250 word limit)
University of Florida Honors Program
Why is applying for the UF Honors Program important to you? Which aspects of the program’s three pillars of opportunity, community, and challenge pique your interests? How would you engage with the program to exemplify these pillars yourself? How does the program factor into your long-term goals? (400 words max.)
University of Georgia Essay Prompt
The college admissions process can create anxiety. In an attempt to make it less stressful, please tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years that you have not already shared in your application. (200-300 words)
University of Illinois Essay Prompt
You’ll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you’ll answer will depend on whether you’re applying to a major or to our undeclared program, and if you’ve selected a second choice. Each response should be approximately 150 words.
If You’re Applying to a Major:
1. Explain, in detail, an experience you’ve had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else.
2. Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
If You’re Applying to Our Undeclared Program in the Division of General Studies:
1. What are your academic interests and strengths? You may also include any majors you are considering.
2. What are your future academic or career goals?
If You’ve Selected a Second-Choice Major (Including Undeclared):
1. Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.
University of Maryland Essay Prompt
At the University of Maryland, we encourage our students to go beyond the classroom to engage in opportunities that further both their academic and personal growth. To tell us more about yourself, please complete the following sentences using only the space provided (300 characters).
1. If I could travel anywhere, I would go to…
2. The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was…
3. In addition to my major, my academic interests include…
4. My favorite thing about last Wednesday was…
5. When I think of diversity, I think of…
University of Massachusetts Amherst Essay Prompt
Please tell us why you want to attend UMass Amherst? (100 words max.)
University of Miami Essay Prompt
If applying for Spring or Fall 2023, you will be required to submit a supplemental essay of 250 words or less in response to the following prompt:
The University of Miami’s official mascot is the ibis. Folklore maintains that the native marsh bird is the last to take shelter before a hurricane hits and the first to emerge once the storm passes, making it an apt symbol of courage and resilience.
Considering your ability to control your own motivation and behavior, how have past experiences helped build your courage and resilience to persist in the face of academic and life challenges so that, once these storms pass, you can emerge in continued pursuit of your goals?
University of Michigan Essay Prompts
1. Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups defined by (among other things) shared geography, religion, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, ideology, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities to which you belong, and describe that community and your place within it. (Required for all applicants; 300 word limit)
2. Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (Required for all applicants; 550 word limit)
University of North Carolina Essay Prompt
We’ve selected the following prompts for the UNC-specific portion for the first-year and transfer applications for 2022-2023. We aspire to build a diverse and inclusive community at Carolina and believe that students can only achieve their best when they learn alongside students from different backgrounds. In reading your responses, we hope to learn what being a part of the Carolina community would mean to you.
Short answer prompts
You’ll choose two of the following prompts to respond to in 200-250 words:
1. Describe a peer you see as a community builder. What actions has that peer taken? How has their work made a difference in your life?
2. Describe an aspect of your identity (for example, your religion, culture, race, sexual or gender identity, affinity group, etc.). How has this aspect of your identity shaped your life experiences thus far?
3. If you could change one thing to better your community, what would it be? Why is it important and how would you contribute to this change?
4. Former UNC-Chapel Hill employee, community service member, and civil rights activist Esphur Foster once said, “We are nothing without our history.” Her words are memorialized on the Northside Neighborhood Freedom Fighters monument. How does history shape who you are?
Fill-in-the-blank responses
You’ll complete all of the following fill-in-the-blank responses in 25 words each:
1. One family, friend, or school tradition I cherish:
2. If I had an extra hour in every day, I would spend it:
3. If I could travel anywhere, near or far, past, present or future, I would go:
4. The last time I stepped outside my comfort zone, I:
5. People who meet me are most likely to notice, and least likely to notice:
University of Notre Dame Essay Prompts
The University of Notre Dame Writing Section consists of one (1) essay response to a required question and one (1) essay response to a question you select from the options provided. In total, you will write two (2) essay responses. The word count is a maximum of 200 words per essay.
Please provide a response to the following question:
Notre Dame is a Catholic university, founded by members of the Congregation of Holy Cross, with a mission to educate the hearts and minds of students. What excites you about attending Notre Dame?
Please provide a response to ONE (1) of the following questions:
1. People in the Notre Dame community come from many different places, backgrounds, and walks of life. How is where you’re from a part of who you are?
2. Tell us about a time when you advocated for something you believe in.
3. If you were given unlimited resources to help solve one problem in your community, what would it be and how would you accomplish it?
4. What is the greatest compliment you have ever been given? Why was it meaningful to you?
University of Oregon Essay Prompt
Optional essay
As you’ve looked into what it will be like to attend Oregon, you’ve hopefully learned about what makes Ducks Ducks. No two are alike, though, so tell us what makes you you, and how that connects to our campus community. We are interested in your thoughts and experiences recognizing difference and supporting equity and inclusion, and choosing one of these two options will guide you in sharing those thoughts. You can learn more about equity and inclusion at Oregon by visiting the Equity and Inclusion website. Maximum statement length is 500 words. This statement is not required.
University of Pennsylvania Essay Prompts
1. Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)
2. How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape Penn. (150-200 words)
For students applying to the coordinated dual-degree and specialized programs, please answer these questions in regard to your single-degree school choice; your interest in the coordinated dual-degree or specialized program may be addressed through the program-specific essay.
Considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected, describe how you intend to explore your academic and intellectual interests at the University of Pennsylvania. (150-200 words)
University of Richmond Essay Prompt
Prompt 1
One essay response is required. Choose from the following prompts:
1. Tell us about the most unusual talent you have, and how you have made it useful.
2. Spiders are essential to the ecosystem. How are you essential to your community or will you be essential in your university community?
3. Please share one idea for actions or policies that you think would begin to address an issue of racial or social injustice.
Word Limit: Minimum 350. Maximum 650 words.
University of Rochester Essay Prompt
Prompt 1
The University of Rochester motto of Meliora – or “ever better” – deeply integrates critical core values into all that we do. These core values of equity, leadership, integrity, openness, respect and accountability define not only who we are, but also who we hope to become. Please use the space below to highlight a time, creative idea or research experience when you put into action one or more of these characteristics in order to make yourself, your community or the world ever better. (250 words or less)
You may answer one of three ways:
Prompt 1 Essay Response Option: Write an analytical or creative response of 200 words or less.
Prompt 1 Creative Response Option: Upload up to three works of your own art (e.g. pictures, video, performances, literary) and use the space below to provide a brief explanation as to how the art is tied to making the world, your community, and those around you “ever better.”
Prompt 1 Research Response Option: Upload an abstract describing your own related research and use the space below to provide a brief explanation as to how the research is tied to making the world, your community and those around you “ever better.”
Prompt 2
Please select one of the following prompts to respond to in 200 words or less.
Prompt 2 Option A: American social reformer, abolitionist, writer and statesman Frederick Douglass said, “Some know the value of education by having it. I knew its value by not having it.” Explain ways in which education has directly influenced you and your ability to do good in the world. How will you use the curricular flexibility and co-curricular opportunities of the University of Rochester experience to grow and to promote positive change for yourself, your community and the world?
Prompt 2 Option B: Dr. Donna Strickland, University of Rochester alum and 2018 Nobel Prize winner in Physics said, “There’s no point in me being anything other than me.” The University of Rochester encourages each student to embrace who they are and create their own individual curricular path and experience. How will you use the opportunities here to fully be who you are? What unique perspectives will you bring to our community?
Prompt 2 Option C: The University of Rochester benefactor, entrepreneur, photography pioneer, and philanthropist George Eastman said, “What we do during our working hours determines what we have; what we do in our leisure hours determines what we are.” Looking forward towards your college experience, what do you hope to do outside of the classroom at the University of Rochester that will enhance who you are as a person? How will specific academic and social opportunities here help you grow?
Prompt 2 Option D: Susan B. Anthony, champion of abolition and women’s rights, once said “Organize, agitate, educate must be our war cry.” As you look to join our community of doers and disruptors, in what ways do you envision using both the curricular flexibility and co-curricular opportunities to invoke change for marginalized groups?
Prompt 3
Are you interested in pursuing research while enrolled at the University of Rochester? If Yes, what field/area of study are you interested in researching? (20 words)
Combined Degree Program Applicants
What relevant experiences or insight have led to your interest in this particular program? Describe how Rochester’s resources: facilities, faculty, peers and research will meet your academic and personal ambitions. Describe how you see yourself contributing to the challenging field you want to enter as a Rochester graduate. (500 words)
University of San Diego Essay Prompt
First-Year applicants are required to answer the Mandatory First Year Essay Prompt and either Essay Prompt Option #1, #2, or #3.
Transfer applicants are required to answer the Mandatory Transfer Essay Prompt and either Essay Prompt Option #1, #2, or #3.
Please note that the default word counter on our Common Application essay text boxes permit 350 words, but most applicants find they can answer these prompts in about 200 words.
Mandatory First-Year Essay Prompt
The University of San Diego offers diverse educational opportunities grounded in the liberal arts and sciences. First-year students are immersed in one of our five Learning Communities (LC), with the themes reflecting the vitality of the liberal arts tradition: Advocate, Collaborate, Cultivate, Illuminate and Innovate. Select one of these five themes and describe how it resonates with you and why.
Essay Prompt Option #1
What contribution have you made to your current school and/or local community that best exemplifies your awareness of and commitment to creating a diverse, inclusive and equitable community? Here at USD, we believe that our campus community and the communities we engage with are integral parts of who we are as a university. Our newly launched Horizon Project is a call to action, ensuring that we are dedicating the time, energy and resources necessary to build an ever more diverse and inclusive campus community. We value the fact that our students come from all walks of life, have experienced different realities and bring with them an array of unique perspectives, including some that have often been underrepresented and underserved by higher education.
Essay Prompt Option #2
Use this space to write about one of the challenges facing humanity today. Why does it matter to you? What experiences or insights have you had that speak to the urgency of this issue. As a proud Changemaker Campus, as designated by Ashoka U, the USD experience emphasizes changemaking through social justice efforts, civic engagement, social innovation, creativity and a global perspective.
Essay Prompt Option #3
Share some of your ideas about the role of faith or spirituality in your life or the life of someone you know. As a contemporary Catholic university, we welcome and celebrate students from every background and faith tradition, including those who do not identify with a faith tradition. We devote great time and energy to ensuring all students feel connected to the vibrant USD community, including opportunities to grow in their relationship with God while considering who they are, what they believe and who they are called to become.
Mandatory Transfer Essay Prompt
How will USD help enhance your educational and professional goals beyond what your current institution offers?
University of Southern California Essay Prompts
Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (Approximately 250 words)
Starting with the beginning of high school/secondary school, if you have had a gap where you were not enrolled in school during a fall or spring term, please address this gap in your educational history. You do not need to address a summer break.
– Describe yourself in three words.
– What is your favorite snack?
– Best movie of all time:
– Dream job:
– If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
– Dream trip:
– What TV show will you binge watch next?
– Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?
– Favorite book:
– If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?
College-Specific Questions and Requirements
Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
USC School of Architecture
Roski School of Art and Design
Iovine and Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation
Marshall School of Business (World Bachelor in Business)
USC School of Cinematic Arts
Kaufman School of Dance
USC School of Dramatic Arts
Viterbi School of Engineering
Thornton School of Music
USC School of Pharmacy
University of Tampa Essay Prompts
Please write an essay on one of the following prompts or on a topic of your choice. There is an 800-word limit on essays submitted in this section of the Common App, however, you may choose to submit an essay of any length via the SpartanStart portal at www.ut.edu/spartanstart or by emailing your essay to [email protected].
– What are your three favorite words in the English language? Explain what they mean to you.
– Discuss your childhood neighborhood and how it shaped you as a person.
– Describe how you feel about the month of February.
– Imagine that you could have one superpower. What would it be and how would you use it? What would be your kryptonite?
University of Texas Essay Prompt
Essay Topic (500-700 words)
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
Short Answers (250-300 words each)
Complete all three short answer prompts:
Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?
Describe how your experiences, perspectives, talents, and/or your involvement in leadership activities (at your school, job, community, or within your family) will help you to make an impact both in and out of the classroom while enrolled at UT.
The core purpose of The University of Texas at Austin is, “To Transform Lives for the Benefit of Society.” Please share how you believe your experience at UT-Austin will prepare you to “Change the World” after you graduate.
University of Tennessee Essay Prompt
Optional Supporting Statement
UT has a competitive admissions process that primarily considers your experience and preparation in academic areas, as well as other individual factors. All aspects of your application will be evaluated. Submitting a supporting statement (while optional) can provide crucial information to aid the admissions staff in the decision-making process.
What should I include in my supporting statement?
If you were having a personal interview with members of our admissions staff, what information would you want them to know about you? You can include your academic interests, achievements, involvement in school and the community, important personal experiences, obstacles you’ve overcome, and other aspects of your background. (250-800 words)
University of Vermont Essay Prompts
Please answer one of the five questions: (500 word limit)
1. Why UVM?
2. Established in 1978 in a renovated gas station in Burlington, VT, Ben and Jerry’s is synonymous with the ice cream business. The company’s success and unique brand identity are due in part to their one-of-a-kind flavors. Which Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor (real or imagined) best describes you?
3. Whether they are constructing a robot, a stronger sense of community or an identity, UVM students are builders. What would you like to build?
4. At UVM, learning extends far beyond the walls of our classrooms. From student-led organizations, to internships and study abroad experiences, UVM students are encouraged to pursue knowledge in all environments. Describe a time when you’ve learned in a non-traditional setting.
5. Communities and organizations are stronger when they value diversity of thought. How do you create meaningful connections or conversations with others when they express opinions that differ from your own?
University of Virginia Essay Prompts
The first prompt is tied to the UVA school or college the student selects. Answer the prompt in around 100 words.
College of Arts & Sciences: If you could create a college course that all UVA students would take, what would it be about and why?
School of Engineering: How will you use an engineering degree to change the world for the better?
School of Architecture: Describe a significant experience that deepened your interest in studying in the School of Architecture.
School of Nursing: Describe a health care-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing.
Kinesiology Program: Describe an experience that has deepened your interest in studying kinesiology.
Students will then write responses to two prompts out of ten options. Answer in about 50 words each.
1. What’s your favorite word and why?
2. We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. What is one of your quirks?
3. About what topic could you speak for an hour?
4. Take us to your happy place.
5. You can wake up tomorrow and a skill you already have will become expert-level. What skill is that?
6. What is the last gift you gave something that wasn’t bought with money?
7. What website is the internet missing?
8. After a challenging experience, how do you recharge?
9. Tell us about a place you’d like to share with everyone, but also keep to yourself.
10. UVA students paint messages on Beta Bridge when they want to share information with our community. What would you paint on Beta Bridge and why is this your message?
University of Washington Essay Prompts
Freshman writing section
At the UW, we consider the college essay as our opportunity to see the person behind the transcripts and the numbers. Some of the best statements are written as personal stories. In general, concise, straightforward writing is best, and good essays are often 300-400 words in length.
Essay prompt [required]
Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
Maximum length: 650 words
Short response [required]
Our families and communities often define us and our individual worlds. Community might refer to your cultural group, extended family, religious group, neighborhood or school, sports team or club, co-workers, etc. Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the UW.
Maximum length: 300 words
Tip: Keep in mind that the UW strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values and viewpoints.
Additional information about yourself or your circumstances [optional]
You are not required to write anything in this section, but you may include additional information if something has particular significance to you. For example, you may use this space if:
– You have experienced personal hardships in attaining your education
– Your activities have been limited because of work or family obligations
– You have experienced unusual limitations or opportunities unique to the schools you attended
Maximum length: 200 words
University of Wisconsin Essay Prompt
All campuses use the following essay for the Institutional Application:
This part is all about you. Tell us about something you’ve done—academically or personally—and what you’ve learned from it. Was it a success or a challenge? Did it represent a turning point in your life? How did this particular moment in your life influence you, and how will it continue to influence you as you pursue your college education?
UW-Madison and UW-La Crosse require an additional essay:
UW-La Crosse
Please respond to ONE of the following: (1) How will your life experiences, commitments, and/or characteristics enrich the UW-La Crosse campus community? OR (2) Tell us why you are interested in attending UW-La Crosse and what aspects of the campus are especially important to you.
UW-Madison
Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest.
Vanderbilt University Essay Prompts
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (200-400 words)
Essay 1: Choose one of the five topics below and submit a written response in about 250 words.
1. St. Augustine states that well-being is “not concerned with myself alone, but with my neighbor’s good as well.” How have you advocated for equity and justice in your communities?
2. What is the truest thing that you know?
3. One of the themes in St. Augustine’s book, Confessions, is the idea of redemption. Tell us your story of being given a second chance.
4. In the Villanova community, we believe that we all learn from one another. What is a lesson in life that you have learned that you would want to share with others?
5. Augustine’s “Miracles are not contrary to nature but only contrary to what we know about nature.” Tell us about a societal issue that you believe the wonder of technology is well-poised to help solve.
Essay #2: Why Villanova?
Why do you want to call Villanova your new home and how will you become part of our community?
Please submit a written response of about 150 words.
The Ut Prosim Profile is required for all degree-seeking applicants. Each question has a word limit of 120 words for your response. The Ut Prosim Profile is your opportunity to let us get to know you beyond what is on your application or academic materials. We encourage you to use your own voice and answer each prompt as fully as possible. Once you submit your application, your responses to the Ut Prosim Profile questions are final and cannot be updated.
Please take your time to form responses that you feel confident about and help to support your application for admission.
1. Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?
2. Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time that you have exhibited resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience?
3. Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?
4. Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal?
– List five books you’ve read that have intrigued you.
– Explain how a text you’ve read – fiction, nonfiction, poetry, or literature of any kind – has helped you to understand the world’s complexity (limit: 150 words).
– What piques your intellectual curiosity, and why (limit: 150 words)?
– Give us your Top Ten list. (The choice of theme is yours.) (limit: 100 characters per line)
– Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution. (limit: 150 words
Please tell us what you are interested in studying at WashU and why. (200 words max.)
When choosing a college community, you are choosing an intellectual community and a place where you believe that you can live, learn, and flourish. We know that there are more than 100 reasons to choose Wellesley, but it’s a good place to start. Visit the Wellesley 100 and select two items that attract, inspire, or energize you. Have fun with this and use this opportunity to reflect personally on what items appeal to you most and why.
Please limit your response to the Wellesley College essay to two well-developed paragraphs (minimum 250 words, maximum 400 words).
Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? We know nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are. Anything goes! Inspire us, impress us, or just make us laugh. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy and with an attitude.
Yale University Essay Prompt
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application, Common Application, or QuestBridge Application will respond to the following short answer questions:
1. Students at Yale have time to explore their academic interests before committing to one or more major fields of study. Many students either modify their original academic direction or change their minds entirely. As of this moment, what academic areas seem to fit your interests or goals most comfortably? Please indicate up to three from the list provided.
2. Tell us about a topic or idea that excites you and is related to one or more academic areas you selected above. Why are you drawn to it? (200 words or fewer)
3. What is it about Yale that has led you to apply? (125 words or fewer)
Applicants applying with the QuestBridge Application will complete the questions above via the Yale QuestBridge Questionnaire, available on the Yale Admissions Status Portal after an application has been received.
Applicants submitting the Coalition Application or Common Application will also respond to the following short answer questions, in no more than 200 characters (approximately 35 words):
1. What inspires you?
2. Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What would you ask them to discuss?
3. You are teaching a new Yale course. What is it called?
4. What is something about you that is not included anywhere else in your application?
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