350 word college essay examples

350 Word Essay Topics & Examples

Essays are a vital part of every student’s academic activity. Professors require learners to compose various essay types, from descriptive to argumentative to narrative to persuasive, seeking to check their understanding of the learned material and academic writing skills.

Thus, you may receive a 350-word assignment in many cases:

• A discussion board or position paper (200-400 words)
• A book report (200-500 words)
• A brief essay of any type (350+ words)

Here are some helpful tips and prompts to jumpstart your writing process and simplify it at all stages. If you’re looking for more ideas, check the page with free essays online for students !

• 💭 Essay Examples on Air Pollution
• 🎧 Online Education Essay Topics
• 🏥 Essay Examples on Health
• 📖 Narrative Essay Topics
• ⚖️ Compare & Contrast Essay Prompts
• 📺 Influence of Media Essay Examples
• ✏️ How to Write a 350-word Essay
• 👔 350-word Essays on Management
• 🔀 Life-changing Experience Essay Topics
• 🧠 Essay Examples on Psychology
• 💡 Prompts for an Essay about Myself

💭 Essay on Air Pollution 350 Words: Best Examples

• Are Electric Vehicles Better for the Environment? This article reviews and evaluates the energy efficiency and environmental impact of electric vehicles with rechargeable batteries. Electric cars meet these requirements and provide opportunities for people to create transport that is safe for the […]
• Carbon Offsets: Combatting Environmental Pollution I think that using other organizations or projects to offset an entity’s carbon footprint avoids the main goal of any present environmental protection efforts sustainability.
• Environmental Legislation: Texas Clean Air Act Texas Clean Air Act was established in 1965 by the Texas House of Representatives Committee following the rise in air pollution due to the massive industrialization of the state.
• Air Pollution in China: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics One of the most acute environmental problems in China is air pollution, which the authorities are trying to solve, but still, many people, factories, and active processes of globalization do not allow environmental programs to […]
• Air Pollution and Health Issues in the US The industry of health care is closely connected to the industrial activities sector, which has the largest impact on the atmosphere through polluting the air, soil, and waters.
• Monitoring of Potential Air Pollutants There are regulations on the allowed concentration of these pollutants in the ambient air. It is associated with politics and ignorance; however, efforts are still made to acknowledge the numerous dangers of air pollution.
• The Level of an Important Environmental Pollutant Therefore, one of the considerations that can be incorporated in the study is evaluating people’s backgrounds to establish the characteristics that made them a vulnerable group to which the burdens of environmental issues are not […]
• Susceptibility to Environmental Toxicants Children less than two years of age are a group that is at a greater risk of exposure and susceptibility to environmental toxins.
• Air Quality Improvement: Issues and Solutions According to Tatchell, the air is slowly changing because the level of oxygen in the air is dropping due to the air pollution.

🎧 Online Education Essay 350 Words: Topic Ideas

• The use of interactive boards in online education.
• What are the most efficient feedback forms in online classrooms?
• Data mining : applications in online learning.
• How can online student collaboration be organized the best?
• Role of learner autonomy in academic achievement.
• What self-regulated learning strategies are effective online?
• The dynamics of student engagement in online classrooms.
• Does online learning reduce the standard of student competency?
• Introduction to the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) concept.
• Does online education promote gender equity?
• The role of online education in making knowledge more accessible.
• Evolution of teacher efficacy in the online classroom.

🏥 300-350 Words Essays on Health & Medicine

• Blood Donation Advantages and Disadvantages Advantages of blood donation include stimulation of the body to manufacture more blood, opportunity to save people’s lives, and health benefits.
• Sore Throat Differential Diagnosis The following paper is intended to cover differential diagnoses that can also be considered as a sore throat. Such illnesses as diphtheria, epiglottitis, scarlet fever, and other diagnoses with similar issues and symptoms can be […]
• Waxing Teeth Procedure and Preparation Such movements must be constantly controlled to ensure the proper clearance of the developed DB and MB embrasures. The most difficult part is working on M and D marginal ridges.
• Nutritutional Environment for Young Children The need to have a healthy and brilliant future generation is the principle behind good nutrition for young children. It is the duty of teachers to ensure that young children stay in a clean and […]
• HIV/AIDS Prevention by Anti-Retroviral Drugs Thus, the research became the breakthrough of the year as it shifted the previous misconceptions about HIV/AIDS prevention by proving the effectiveness of ARVs in reducing transmission.
• Nursing Care Priorities: Juan Carlos’ Case In the presented case of a diabetic foot ulcer, part of nursing care planning work is identifying connections among various elements of the patient’s treatments, such as pathophysiological patient experiences, causes and risk factors, and […]
• Asbestos Removal and Health Threats In effect of the proposed study, it is expected to contribute to both theory and practice of health care by reflecting the most relevant aspects related to asbestos removal.
• Patient With Menopause: Symptoms and Treatment Before deciding on the most appropriate medication and treatment plan, it is important to focus on such variables as the patient’s past medical history, recently worsened vasomotor symptoms, her blood pressure that is higher than […]
• Ethical Challenges in Developing Drugs for Psychiatric For instance, one of the daunting questions is whether it is, in fact, reasonable and rational from both the scientific and ethical points of view to prescribe medication to children that were tested on the […]
• Statistical Significance Versus Clinical Relevance This implies that the results of the research can be called statistically significant only under the condition that the compatibility with the null hypothesis is small.
• Pregnant Woman’s Asthma Case The case mentions the decreased effectiveness of the fluticasone MDI that she uses which can also be a clue to her condition. Her patterns of MDI use in the last two months and the bronchospasm […]
• Nursing Discourse: “Noise control” and “Wound Wise” In the article, the author highlights means to address these obstacles and compares the outcomes and the cost of the interventions.
• Healthcare: Clinical Roles and Social Identities For instance, a nurse plays the role of a caregiver who attends to patients in a caring and passionate manner. The latter is best suited in issues related to managerial care and cost requirement of […]
• Peculiarities of the Addiction Treatments The purpose to reduce the stigma of addition can be found in the stereotype of the addicted people who are different than normal people and can be dangerous.
• The Role of Melatonin in Determining the Sleep-Wake Cycle Melatonin plays a significant role in the circadian control of sleep as well as in restraining the development of malignant cells.
• Personal Body and Composition Chart A proper exercise on the other hand will help one be free from such chronic diseases as heart disease and being overweight.

📖 Narrative 350 Words Essay Topics

• The first time I drove a car.
• The feeling of strength and weakness I feel at school.
• My greatest life achievement.
• My personal strategies for managing high study workloads.
• The moment I felt utterly embarrassed.
• The teacher’s traits I hate.
• My trip to Asia last summer.
• How I use technology in life and education.
• My personal attitude to social media.
• My media use patterns.
• The evolution of my relationship with a sibling: from hate to love.
• The event that taught me what compassion is.
• My vital life lessons from a friend’s betrayal.
• A situation in which I overcame a learning difficulty alone.
• My attitude to foreign language learning.

⚖️ Prompts for a Compare & Contrast Essay in 350 Words

Besides an exciting set of topics, we’re willing to share extended prompts that give vital guidelines for content structuring. Use them as inspirational notes when you face your next 350-word essay assignment.

Printed Books Are Better Than E-Books Essay 350 Words

Discuss the differences and similarities of reading paper books versus e-books. Clarify your attitude to each form of reading. Talk about the benefits of reading in general and explore the factors that make people choose one book type over the other.

Online Shopping Is Better Than Traditional Shopping Essay 350 Words

Talk about the main features of traditional vs. online shopping . Compare and contrast these two activities in terms of convenience, 24/7 access to a huge number of stores, and payment methods. Explore the pleasure shoppers derive from each of the variants and name the one that you like more.

Refusing or Helping a Stranger Essay 350 Words

Strangers seeking help may emerge in everyone’s life, and any decision will have its implications. Refusing to help a stranger may result in a feeling of guilt, while agreeing to help a stranger may cause unexpected risks if the stranger is a criminal. Discuss the criteria by which one should decide in this situation.

📺 Influence of Media Essay 350 Words: Best Examples

• Positive & Negative Effects of Social Media on Teens Therefore, the topic raises a serious problem: the socialization of a teenager under the influence of the Internet environment. This paper reveals the positive and negative aspects of the influence of social networks on the […]
• Gender Inequality: The Role of Media The media plays a major role in gender socialization because of the ways it chooses to portray women. Shows such as Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Snow White are famous because they usher children […]
• Social Media Damages Teenagers’ Mental Health Thus, the selected social group that could help improve teenagers’ mental health is sports coaches and organizers of sports activities in schools.
• Teen Pregnancy Due to the Impact of Entertainment Media It can be concluded that entertainment does have a strong impact on teenagers, as their cognitive development is still in progress, and they are easily susceptible to the information they receive from the media.
• Attracting the Target Audience through Social Media One of the ways I could incorporate social media requires me to define my target audience and, in accordance with that, search for the websites and networks that they use more frequently.
• The Effect of Increased Median Age of Population on the Consumer Behavior Secondly, having no or fewer children allows people to spend more money on their own needs and increase the quality of childcare. Firstly, higher median age leads to more opportunities for people and increased diversity […]
• Human Consciousness: Impact of Social Media Now it is an integral part of the life of the average person. The concepts of consciousness and ethics are inextricably linked with each other.
• The Negative Effects of Screen Media on Young Children It is imperative for parents to moderate their children’s screen media type and time. Screen media in the classroom provide exposure to children and supplement their academic mastery.
• The Crime and Justice Impact on New Media The main factor here is that the media form the perception of people about the crime level in a community and police response to it.
• The New Media Role in Modern Society The control of social media users makes paid promotions more productive, considering that people’s online activity is being tracked and analyzed to define their interests, preferences, and desires.

✏️ How to Write an Essay of 350 Words?

Writing a short essay, no matter how simple it may seem at first, often poses unexpected challenges. Here are some vital tips and hacks to help you ace this assignment with ease.

350 Word Essay Outline

An outline is a great way to structure your writing and stay on topic throughout the whole process of working on your paper.

Even a small 350-word paper should include the following elements:

5 Tips for Writing an Excellent 350 Word Essay

Even if you’re a first-timer in 350-word essay writing, the following tips may help you out:

• Invest time and effort in topic selection. The topic you choose will determine the ease and joy of writing the entire essay. Thus, you should select an interesting and relevant subject if you have the freedom of choice. If you’re stuck formulating a title, check out this specialized topic finder for students.
• Don’t neglect thorough research. Even small essays can benefit from scholarly evidence and insightful research findings. So, we recommend taking your time and searching across the academic libraries to find credible data for spicing up your arguments and ideas.
• Use an outline. Outlines work as great supplements for all types of academic writing, as they give you a uniform feel of what the essay should be about. You won’t need to rewrite the off-topic parts if you follow the outline concisely. You might want to use the free outline generator we’ve developed to prepare a well-structured 350-word essay outline.
• Write every part carefully. The essay’s introduction, body, and conclusion should each contain a specific, pre-determined set of content elements. This is why you should dedicate enough time to each essay component and double-check whether all of them suit the standard essay structure.
• Do the editing and proofreading. Once the essay is ready, the temptation to submit it at once may be too high. However, we recommend taking a pause and revisiting your text in an hour or two. You’re sure to notice some typos or inconsistencies that could have caused a grade reduction without a careful review.

👔 350-word Essay Examples on Management

• Salespeople’s Effective Motivational Strategies Hence, the salespeople are motivated to increase the sales levels to increase their worth in the companies. The timing of rewards is an important factor in motivating the salespeople.
• Alibaba Group and Porter’s Generic Strategies Model Given the competition of Amazon.com and E-bay, are the key competitors of Alibaba Group) it may be recommended to attempt the price leadership strategy in the world market.
• Leadership in Action: Understanding Employee Motivation Besides, the article argues that motivation is one of the most complex functions of leaders and managers this is because the needs of the employees are constantly changing.
• Generations X and Y in the Professional Sphere The principal similarity between the people of Generation X and those, who belong to Generation Y, lies in the adjustment to the instability of the labor market.
• Direct Selling in Social Media Networks One of the benefits of utilizing social networks is the enhanced visibility and transparency that creates trust in the clients. In addition, the accessibility accelerates the process of providing the information for both consumers and […]
• Snow White Company’s Legal and Ethical Issues The company is financially strained and may not be in a position to pay Happy for the extra hours spent at work.
• Principles of Innovation and Measuring Success Although it is commonly considered that the major barriers to success in business are hidden in poor management and bad strategies, Christensen argues that the inability to fight non-consumption and the focus on the high […]
• Business Climate in United Arab Emirates In the region, more than anywhere else in the world, business is conducted on the basis of mutual trust and personal relationships.
• BP Company’s Resolusion of Gulf Coast Oil Spill Although BP had encountered many oil spills, it did not implement measures that could prevent the occurrence of the Gulf Coast oil spill.
• American, German and Indian Management Features Having considered the interview questions and having conducted the research in the sphere, it may be concluded that the globalization of business has led to the situation that many countries use similar management strategies that […]
• Human Resource Management in Australia This poses new challenges for managers as they seek to avoid age discrimination in the process of hiring and at the workplace.
• Effective Leadership and Coworker Communication Gaining attention of the audience especially the co-workers or peers in order to attain the desired outcome is one of the challenging tasks.
• Riordan Manufacturing Company Internal and External Environment A poor economic climate on the sales and marketing of Riordan’s products will obviously demoralize employees and eventually lead to downward trend in innovation.
• Red Bull Company Marketing Strategies The ad will involve a young man and his girlfriend travelling in a plane. Then the young man will remember his Red Bull can and fish it out of his bag.
• The Impact of Structure on an Organization The impacts of structures in an organization are dependent on the reporting structure in a company. An appropriate company structure helps in the development of a healthy organizational culture.
• Human Resource Management Performance Appraisal Performance appraisal is the process of evaluating the performance of employees within a certain time frame. The best performance appraisal to be used in evaluating the performance of a secretary is the graphical rating scale […]
• Participative and Relationship Theories When the employees are given the chance to express their ideas concerning the improvement of the organization, there is a high probability of the relationship between the employees and the management to be improved.
• Foundation of Human Resource Management A job design should match the tasks and the responsibilities of the task to the skills, education background, and experience of an employee.
• The Difference Between Traditional and High-Performance Workplaces Most of the high performance work places have several ways of adapting to the continuous changes in the commerce industry, whereby the traditional workplace ever remain stuck to those challenges.
• Importance of Marketing and Advertising during Economic Recession The strategy is justified because “those businesses that make a decision to advertise in the face of adversity capture the hope of new customer”.

🔀 Topics for a Life-changing Experience Essay 350 Words

• An event that made me rethink my life values completely.
• An incident that made me understand we’re not immortal.
• The experience of losing my grandmother.
• Moving to a new country as a cultural change and a life-changing event.
• My path to study-life balance .
• Losing a friend: an event that made me rethink my values.
• A book that changed my perception of life.
• The film watching which made me a different person.
• The art of forgiveness and how I learned it.
• The life-changing experiences of high school.
• My most valuable childhood lesson that made me who I am.
• Family traditions that changed my life.
• The situation in which I felt weak and its implications for my life.

🧠 350 Words Essay Examples on Psychology

• Educational Psychology Theories for Nurses The major educational psychology and learning theories are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism. Educational and learning theories help nursing educators to enhance their students’ learning outcomes through the use of the most effective strategies that improve […]
• Early vs. Late Selection Theories of Attention A disadvantage associated with the theory is that it does not exhaust the rational interpretations of attention and awareness that have to be understood.
• Two-factor vs. Appraisal Theory of Emotion Two significant aspects, namely, what is believed to be the basis of the event and whether the events are interpreted as either being bad or good for the participants, are considered significant in this theory.
• Gestalt Theory as a Psychological Perspective The strengths of Gestalt in counseling include its provision of flexible and phenomenological diagnoses that are focused on the identification of patterns and themes that are specific and unique to an individual client.
• Anxiety Influence on Studies and Concentration It is a proven fact that anxiety has a negative influence on cognition, which is the ‘information processing’ of a person.
• Perception and Decision Making Connection Another possible factor that enhances the role of perception in decision-making is time. Perception can affect people’s lives because of their relationships with each other, as seen in the example with friends.
• Psychology: Behavior Theory and Therapy Besides, the ability of a criminal to rehabilitate after the release is also largely dependent on the success of behavior therapy.
• Protective Factors Promoting Mental Health The protective measures include an understanding of the gender, social-economic factors, cultural practices, working place and how these experiences predispose people to higher risks of mental health.
• Social Psychology: Attitude Change Approaches The approach involves the analysis of whoever is communicating, the type of persons the communication is envisioned for, and the quality of communication.
• Moral Development and Aggression The reason is that children conclude about the acceptability of aggressive or violent behaviors with reference to what they see and hear in their family and community.
• Motivation Theories and Definition The first type of motivation was fear: Aron was afraid that if he did not get out of the trap, he would not be able to see his family. The father’s dynamics involve distraction, a […]
• Self-Awareness and Personal Development Theories Killen and Smetana lend support to Skinner’s view of the concept of self by analyzing the societal and biological factors in the development of morality as an integral concept of self.
• Labeling in Psychology: Pros and Cons In psychology, many specialists utilize specific terms to describe a patient’s diagnosis, which is considered ‘labeling.’ The purpose of this paper is to review the positive and negative aspects of labeling in psychology and medicine […]
• Individual Computerized Intelligence Tests For example, a person who has a wide experience in doing aptitude tests may excel in an intelligence test, not because he or she is intelligent but the exposure of questions asked.
• Psychology of Implicit Attitudes In addition, the responses enable individuals to be sensitized about the nature of implicit attitudes that able people have towards people with disabilities.
• Creative, Fair-minded and Emotional Thinking When one is thinking on an issue, it is usually good to accommodate new ideas and visualize the possible consequences of a problem that may arise and thus prepare for means of minimizing the negative […]
• The Trends of Courtesy in Different Parts of the World This article is discussing the trends of courtesy in different parts of the world, and the author examines how humans around the world are cultured.

💡 Prompts for an Essay about Myself 350 Words

Since a 350-word essay is often used for application essays or personal statements, your task may be to write about yourself and some aspects of your life. Here are some prompts to consider when facing such a task.

Personal Failure Essay 350 Words

Talk about a situation in which you failed to meet your own goals or other people’s expectations. Discuss your feelings and self-perception in the moment of failure and examine what life lessons that situation taught you. Reflect on the effective ways of addressing a personal failure without losing the desire to try something new.

My Best Friend Essay 350 Words

Describe your best friend and your story of acquaintance and relationship. Explore the key traits you respect in your friend and look into some mutual challenges and joys you’ve gone through. Reflect on the meaning of true friendship in your life and the techniques you use to keep that relationship alive.

A Frightening Experience Essay 350 Words

Recollect a situation of feeling fear or threat; describe the situation in detail to show the cause of fear and its objective seriousness. Talk about how you addressed that situation on all levels, whether you’ve managed to escape the danger, and what lessons you derived from that scenario.

My Dream Job Essay 350 Words

Dwell on the dream job you want to pursue after graduation. Why do you want to work in that position? What life events and values have brought you to it? How do you plan to contribute to your employing organization or develop as a professional and a person in that job?

📌 350 Word Essay: Answers to the Most Pressing Questions

📌 350 word essay is how long.

How many pages is 350 words of academic text? According to the guidelines of all the key citation styles, one page should contain approximately 250 words (12-point Times New Roman, double-spaced). If you follow these guidelines, your 350-word essay will be 2 pages. If you make it single-spaced, it will take one page.

📌 How Much Is 350 Words in Paragraphs?

How many paragraphs is a 350-word essay? Since a typical paragraph in academic writing contains 50-100 words, an essay of 350 words will consist of 4 to 6 paragraphs.

📌 350 Words Is How Many Sentences?

How many sentences is a 350-word essay? A typical sentence in academic writing consists of 15-20 words. So, 350 words are not less than 18-21 sentences.

📌 How to Write a 350-Word Paper Outline?

A 350-word essay outline usually follows a standard five-paragraph structure. Start your paper with a short introduction that includes an attention-grabber, some background information, and a thesis. Then add three body paragraphs that focus on your arguments. Finish your 350-word paper with a conclusion that contains a restated thesis and a summary of your ideas.

📌 How Fast Can You Write a 350 Word Essay?

How long does it take to write a 350-word essay? It will take you 7-14 minutes to type 350 words on your keyboard (the total time will depend on your typing speed). Writing an academic paper will take more time because you’ll have to research, make an outline, write, format, and edit your text. It would be best if you planned to spend not less than an hour for a 350-word paper.

📌 What Does a 350 Word Essay Look Like?

Regardless of the exact word count, a well-written essay meets several characteristics. It should cover the assigned topic, answer the research question, and follow the standard structure. A 350-word essay outline usually consists of an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

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Free 350-Word Essay Samples

2643 samples of this type

A 350-word essay is a short piece. It might be assigned by a school teacher to test the student’s knowledge of the topic and their ability to formulate thoughts concisely. The most common genres for texts of 350 to 400 words are a discussion board post and a personal statement for a college application.

Healthy People 2020 and Comprehensive Health Assessment

Ladies and gentlemen, the Healthy People 2020 program can inform every aspect of a comprehensive health assessment (CHA). A CHA is an examination of the behavioral, social, and economic aspects dictating the lifestyles of family members, caregivers, and patients (Aschengrau & Seage, 2013). The CHA evaluates the cultural needs, strengths,...

Research Methodology of Family Studies

Qualitative and quantitative methods are similar in their reliance on research questions and selected data collection and analysis tools. In terms of differences, qualitative methods are non-representative, based on the textual information, and conducted to examine the phenomenon in detail. In contrast, quantitative methods are objective, findings can be discussed...

Postpartum Depression: Evidence-Based Care Outcomes

PICOT Question 1: Females 18-35 years of age discharged from the hospital after child birth (p) who participate in a nurse practitioner home visit educational and assessment program (i) as opposed to non-participation in the nurse practitioner home visit educational and assessment program (c) have a decreased incidence of postpartum...

Marketing Mix in Coca-Cola, Pepsi, and Dr. Pepper

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola’s product portfolio is extensive, including over 500 brands. The most popular of these are Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite, Diet Coke, Fresca, and Simply Orange. Regarding the place component, the vast distribution system of the company allows it to sell its products in over 200 countries. The prices are low...

Managerial Team’s Training & Development in Poland

Training and development are vital in the modern world when the market has become competitive. As such, I need to equip my team of managers traveling to Poland with the necessary skills so that they handle their operations in the foreign location successfully. Before visiting any new field, individuals must...

How Many Pages Is a 350-Word Essay?

A 350-word text usually takes about 1,5 pages. All the major citation styles assume that an essay will take approximately 250 words per page. The most common format is double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt. The details might differ – for instance, in MLA 9 and APA 7, Calibri and Arial are also accepted. However, 12-point Times New Roman remains preferable.

How Many Paragraphs Is a 350-Word Essay?

A 350-word essay should include 2 to 4 paragraphs. In academic writing, a paragraph should contain at least 50 words and three sentences.

350-Word Essay Structure

The easiest way to organize a 350-word essay is to use a standard 5-paragraph structure. The paper should start with an introduction: a hook, some background data, and a thesis statement. Then come three body paragraphs, each focused on one argument. The concluding paragraph is to contain a summary and a restated thesis.

How Long Does It Take to Write a 350-Word Essay?

Typing 350 words on a keyboard usually takes 7 to 14 minutes, depending on your typing speed. However, if you need to write an academic paper, add time for research, formatting the text, and preparing graphic materials. You’ll need at least 1 hour for 350 words.

How Many References Are in a 350 Word Essay?

The final number of references that you should include in an essay of 350 to 400 words will depend on the assignment’s genre and complexity. For instance, on middle-school level, you’ll have to add 2 references on average. A bachelor-level assignment of 350 words will require 4 references, while a graduate-level paper should refer to at least 7 sources.

Corporations’ Impact on the US Clinical Practice

Introduction The purpose of healthcare organizations is to provide patients with highly qualified medical care. Clinical practice is based on a systematic review of evidence and includes recommendations for proper organizing and optimizing the process of work. Nowadays, there is a tendency to modernize the implementation of medical services and...

Trait Approach and Skills Approach to Leadership

Leadership is an influential process that enhances performance and allows an individual to execute fundamental processes within organizations. Leadership provides groups with incentives and guidelines that empower groups to attain set goals. Trait and skills approaches are crucial in the quest for improved leadership. Comparison Trait and skills approach proffer...

Analysis of “Surah al-Ikhlas” in Qur’an

This paper targets to analyze Surah 112 of the Qur’an, which consists of 4 verses. It is relatively short, yet considered to be one of the most significant. It goes under the name “Surah al-Ikhlas,” which in translation from Arabic means “The Purification” or “The Unity”. It contains many fundamental...

“Big Fish” by Daniel Wallace Review

In Daniel Wallace’s Big Fish, the main character Edward Bloom is obsessed with water throughout his life. Water is the central theme of the novel, and it symbolizes the abundant life in which there are numerous possibilities of places to explore, challenges to face, people to meet, and ways to...

The Structure of “California Girls” by the Beach Boys

Organization and Structure of Musical Ideas The song’s organization and form reflect its character and goal to deliver the message and make it easy to remember and follow. The song “California Girls” by the Beach Boys has a verse-chorus form that is the most famous pop music structure. It has...

Human Rights and Gender Issues: “The Love Suicides at Amijima” & “Tale of Kieu”

The issue of human rights, as well as gender-related inequalities, has been on the cultural agenda of humankind for a while. Comparing “The Love Suicides at Amijima” by Chikamatsu Monzaemon and “Tale of Kieu” by Nguyễn Du, one will realize that the two works, while representing different time periods, address...

Serial, Parallel, and USB Communication

Currently, laptops, as well as desktop computers, are equipped with a large number of high-speed data transfer ports – the most common are USB and FireWire (IEEE1394 or iLink). With the development of these peripheral tires, manufacturers have switched to a consistent architecture. To transmit information in a parallel architecture,...

The Warehousing of Tomatoes

Warehousing is an essential element of the supply chain, and its significance increases when it comes to perishable goods. It is so because inadequate warehousing conditions decrease the products’ quality and shorten their shelf life. Thus, organizations should draw much attention to ensure that they store their goods properly. The...

“The Forces That Are Transforming How Products Are Made” by Ambruch

At present times, the global industry undergoes a fundamental transformation in terms of altering ways of conceiving, designing, producing, and selling the products. During the preceding seven years, more than 70 percent of manufacturers experienced transformation (Ambruch, 2013). This transformation also affected the quality of produced services and goods. According...

The King Kong Movie Poster Examination

The King Kong movie poster contains a picture of a giant gorilla holding a woman while standing at the top of a skyscraper. It is also attempting to grab a jet flying close to it. Furthermore, a vintage color scheme has been used. Overall, the King Kong poster explicitly sells...

Assessment of Policymaking: Healthcare

Governmental establishment of any policy includes several stages: building, formulating, adoption of the law system, implementation, evaluation, and termination. Policy implementation is a variety of actions made to put a federal legislative decision into effect by the local authorities and organizations (Gholipour, 2016). It often leads to changes in broader...

The Main Flaw in the Quantitative Study

While quantitative studies provide valuable information for further research and clinical practice, they might contain some serious flaws. Out of all questions related to the study’s credibility, the article by Sand-Jecklin and Sherman (2014) contained the answers only for the six of them. On the one hand, four positive answers...

Correlation Between Ethnic Activism and Scholarships

Introduction In recent years, more and more scholars who research the ethnic diversity of countries have been engaged in ethnic activism. Historians, sociologists, and anthropologists have found and continue to improve activities aimed at restoring and increasing the visibility of small ethnic groups. NAES provides an interdisciplinary forum for scholars...

The Problem of Unreliability of Eyewitness Memory

Eyewitness accounts tend to be valuable strengths of a case, but it is vital to question their credibility because of how memory functions and its associated problems. Even though the eyewitness stories may be reliable, as most people believe, in some instances, they are slightly accurate or, at times, wrong...

“My Dungeon Shook”: The Open Letter by James Baldwin

James Baldwin is known to compose a collection of essays addressed to the white people, expressing his grievances about racial injustice. “My Dungeon Shook” is an emotional letter demonstrating Baldwin’s anger on the topics of racism and the political situation in the country, which subsequently made him famous. The letter...

• Communication

Social Inequality: “The Notebook” by Nick Cassavetes

Social inequality is a form of differentiation in which individuals, social groups, and classes are at different levels of the vertical social hierarchy having unequal chances and opportunities to satisfy needs. Researchers note that the social structure is determined by the differences between people generated by public factors, such as...

Public Schools in “Bad Boys” Article by Ferguson

The topic of this week’s course is education and the educational system. One of the articles for this week deals directly and theoretically with this topic. This article is “Bad boys: Public schools in the making of black masculinity” by Ferguson. Ferguson discusses the education system in the 1990s that...

Health Information Systems: Using and Importance

Health information systems (HIS) are unique technological solutions that have been created for specific medical processes. They replace paper patient records and bulky file folders and speed up information transfer inside and outside the hospital. In this case, the problem is not the knowledge to use technology, but the ability...

Spiritual Considerations in the Context of a Disaster

Natural and manmade disasters can cause substantial challenges in the context of health service delivery. Such events are often associated with particular spiritual considerations due to their strong relation to such concepts as suffering and death. As people reflect on the nature and purpose of their existence, community nurses, as...

Nephrotic Syndrome: Diagnosis and Nursing Care

Nephrotic Syndrome refers to the condition of collective symptoms caused by kidney damage such as the presence of proteins in the urine, reduced albumin levels in the blood, increased lipids, and noticeable swelling. The condition occurs as the patient loses 3 grams of proteins in a day through the urine...

Companies’ Reputation and Artificial Intelligence

Companies with reputations as good places to work have generated superior financial performance Reputation plays a vital role in the success of any business, both external and internal. As an organization, it must initially establish its purpose and values to define the nature of the inner workforce, gaining the status...

“I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype” TED Talk by Canwen Xu

Most of the time, Canwen Xu was the only Asian among her peers. Hence, she was facing a lot of stereotypical judgments from her peers. The difficulty in the reconciliation of her Chinese heritage with her American identity is that everyone around her would only notice her Chinese origins. It...

Cinderella Syndrome’s Impact on Sustainable Fashion

In the article, Dana Thomas mentions Cinderella syndrome – a disastrous phenomenon promoted by social media that contributes to fast fashion and its negative impact on the economy and environment (Chua, 2019). In general, it implies a whole culture that forces people to get rid of clothes after a few...

Lee Boyd Malvo: Life Sentence Case

Lee Malvo, who is currently 34 years old, was only 17 when he and his counterpart John Allen Muhammad killed more than ten people in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Colombia through sniper attacks. This led to John Allen Muhammad’s death sentence in which he was executed in 2009,...

Analyzing Social Problems – Case Study: Jake Levy

During the last therapy meeting, Jake Levy was talking about his emotional fixation on an email he got lately, about his comrade committing suicide. He expressed deep remorse for the gruesome statistics that every day, “22 veterans commit suicide in the US” (Laureate Education, 1:47). This occurrence led him to...

• Discrimination
• Social Media

MGM Resorts International’s Business Strategy

MGM Resorts International is a holding company that owns and operates casino resorts. It offers gaming, hotels, conference rooms, restaurants, entertainment venues, shops, and other resort amenities. The company is widely represented in Las Vegas but also develops in Atlantic City, Mississippi, Maryland, Detroit, and other gambling zones in the...

New Technology in the Air Cargo Industry: Artificial Intelligence

The YouTube video is titled “Transport logistic: Artificial Intelligence at Air cargo.” It discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) will revolutionize the air cargo industry. It discusses two major developments being implemented. It was published by Transport Logistics on May 23, 2019. The logistics sector forms an important component of the...

A Single-Story Perception – “The Danger of a Single Story”

Today, many people consume information online, which leads to a distortion of their understanding of certain events because social media tend to channel one-sided perspectives. In her speech “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie contends that being familiar only with one aspect of complex phenomena entails negative...

Communication Problems in a Workplace

Many people had once faced situations at work when a misunderstanding interfered with work and entailed harmful consequences. Problems are associated with internal communication in the workplace and seriously affect the effectiveness of all processes. It is necessary to solve it promptly by forming a team spirit, and the manager...

The Price Discrimination Strstegy

Why Firms Use Price Discrimination Price discrimination acts as a pricing technique adopted by companies to charge different prices to dissimilar consumers on the same services and commodities due to demand differences. The pricing strategy is utilized across the various industries in the market and occurs in the forms of...

Understanding Performing Arts and Their Literary Origins

The modern-day art scene is broad and interchangeable; however, it might approach each individual differently considering the creative tactics applied. Theatrical arts might be particularly overwhelming when they are accompanied by literature or cinematography. On the other hand, such diversity in experiencing one play in different forms might lead to...

Safer Opioid Use: Simulation Exercise

Overuse of prescription pain medications among patients is a common problem in medical practice. A patient’s description of pain is often determined by one’s cognitive perception, resulting in drastic variation in ache tolerance (Edelman et al., 2014). Although various relief measures are available, patients with a significantly high level of...

Implying Evidence-Based Practice Successfully

It is well known that evidence-based practice (EBP) is an indispensable part of health care and plays a critical role in reducing practical variability, enhancing health care quality, perfecting the health care system, improving patients’ outcomes, and decreasing costs (Fu et al., 2020). It is proved by multiple researchers, such...

Trends Influencing Crime Rates

Crime is widely considered a failure in the social system and therefore is to be addressed from the perspective of the social construct operation and the trends existing there. Hence, along with solving crimes, the goal of specialists is to identify and hijack the risks associated with such movements and...

The Affordable Care Act Replacement Efforts

The Affordable Care Act has established itself as one of the pillars of the healthcare system of the United States for a long time. Since its introduction, the ACA has had a direct positive impact on health insurance coverage in this country. From one perspective, it improved the access to...

• Relationship

Does Shakespeare Matter in Modern Times?

Introduction William Shakespeare was a famous British poet and playwright whose talent is recognized by critics and connoisseurs of poetry around the world. Over the years of creative activity, many literary masterpieces have come out from the author’s pen. The British poet did not fixate on any genre. Instead, the...

Immigration System Complexity at US-Mexico Border

The immigration system at the U.S.-Mexico border has been known for its complexity and reliance on restriction and inflexibility. With its catch and release policies, the “prevention through deterrence” program, and the border’s increasing militarization, the system at the southern border has started to function as a labyrinth (Chambers et...

The Borders Company’s Strategic Management Mistakes

Despite the fact that the company Borders was one of the leading companies in the book business, it collapsed because of strategic management mistakes. Analyzing the company’s annual report, we can conclude that the main failure was poor adaptation to the online business. Borders was unable to compete with companies...

Patient Engagement and Population Management

Patient participation is an essential part of healthcare and is increasingly recognized as an important part of delivering safe and people-centred services. Patients who are actively participating in care can make more informed decisions about treatment options. In addition, resources can be better used when they are in line with...

Super Size Me and Jogn Cisna Experiments

In comparison to Super Size Me, the experiment of John Cisna immediately stands out with a positive attitude towards fast food. It is fascinating how John Cisna addressed the question of choice in his experiment, and his enthusiasm to demonstrate the impact of the right choice was energizing. On the...

Observing Harmony in Our Life During Covid-19 Pandemic

During the pandemic, there have been many reasons to reflect upon the essence of the never-ending sequence of challenges that form the sequence of our lives. I had time to search for answers to many related questions. What is the sense of Covid-19 for humanity? What can this challenge bring...

Simone Rocha Brand’s Porter’s Five Forces Analysis

Buyer Power Simone Rocha benefits from the large UK market, which gives it a wider reach. However, the retailer faces competition from established brands such as Zara. Considering this level of competition, consumers have diverse choices when making purchase decisions (Binet et al., 2019). Most of Simone Rocha’s customers are...

The Story About Joseph: God Always Has a Plan

Joseph was one of Jacob’s twelve sons and the most loved ones, so his father gave him a beautiful colorful coat. Joseph’s brothers became jealous of him and decided to sell him as a slave. He was taken to Egypt and started to serve the Potiphar, who was a Pharaoh’s...

PTSD Treatment: Evidence-Based Practice

Treating PTSD: A Review of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy Interventions Watkins, L. E., Sprang, K. R., & Rothbaum, B. O. (2018). Treating PTSD: a review of evidence-based psychotherapy interventions. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 12, 258. Web. Summary: The article reviews recent guidelines for PTSD treatment and discussed each methodology through evidence-based analysis....

Community Services for Family Support in Fort Lauderdale

Promoting family support and resource organization plays an important role in any community. People who live in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, have access to several services offered by such organizations as Broward Community & Family Health Center, United Way, and the Center for Independent Living of Broward. Family caregiving is a...

• Advertising
• Environment

Race Prejudice and Group Position

This paper analyzes the article “Race Prejudice as a Sense of Group Position” By Herbert Blumer. The author of the article on racial prejudice believes, contrary to the established opinion, that they are not taken from various negative feelings but group positions or, in other words, stereotypes (Blumer 3). Working...

The Normal Aging Process and Its Genetic Basis

When a person ages, their skin becomes less smooth and firm, body parts begin to ache, muscles lose their strength, and other issues like forgetfulness or inability to do daily activities with ease may appear. Overall, since it is impossible for all living creatures to avoid aging, people’s purpose is...

Corporate Social Responsibility for Attracting Consumers

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is an idea created outside the directorial experience and contains inflexible implications that lack transparency and relevance. Corporate social responsibility is simplified into four categories: environmental, philanthropic, ethical, and economic responsibility (Salvioni & Gennari, 2017). Several studies tell how CSR elements drive customers majorly through a...

Cereals: Nutritional Value and Price

Cereals are one of the leading human food products, which have many nutrients and vitamins that represent the product’s nutritional value. Parallels between nutritional value and food value have been drawn since the last decade using the USDA food database for research (Drewnowski, 2010). However, a deeper analysis of cereals...

Intention Statement: Abstaining from Shopping

Many psychologists claim that people who shop forget about their problems for a while. Their mood lifts, they become livelier, and they look at the world differently. However, the question of whether this process is a cure or a problem remains to this day. Some doctors consider addiction to shopping...

Ornithology: Annotated Bibliography

Gammon, D. E., & Tovsky, A. C. (2021). A cross-sectional field study of fall song in Northern Mockingbirds Mimus polyglottos. Journal of Ornithology, 162(2), 461-468. There are several reasons why the current article can be considered a reliable source for my project. First of all, the Journal of Ornithology is...

Earthquakes: Determination of the Risk

Although experts state that the San Joaquin Valley area rarely experiences earthquakes of more than M4.5+, it is an area that has experienced several earthquakes in the past. Some of these earthquakes were devastating as they were above Mw 7.0. For instance, in 1857, Fort Tejon in the area experienced...

The Motivation of Scientists

Nowadays, science is developing thanks to scientists and profile specialists rapidly. Amazingly, new treatment methods appear, people know how to defend themselves during the pandemic, and multiple innovations are implemented in ordinary life. Moreover, seismologists learn various reasons for natural disasters, earthquakes, climate change, and other phenomena. Due to the...

Aspects of the Science of Persuasion

The science of persuasion is an interesting reading that illustrates the necessity to use six techniques to persuade people rather than depending on one’s ability to convince others. Individuals follow the principle of reciprocity. In this instance, a person is more likely to say yes to a person they owe...

Creation of Wakanda by the Filmmakers

Wakanda as an idea is a place where the cultures of different African countries come together and coexist in peace and harmony. The filmmakers created an imaginary copy of the African continent in order to redefine its history. Wakanda honors traditional customs and rituals, but the country also has advanced...

• Intelligence
• Historical Figures

Defining Race in Brazil and Racism Reducing

Race appears to be an easy concept to grasp when mentioned in other countries. However, it is more complex in Brazil to define race after the government introduced some physical features that define the concept. The implication is that skin color is not the only aspect of physical differences used...

The Canvas “The Red Studio” by Henri Matisse

The standard way of thinking about representing the three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional surface is that the one-point linear perspective is the most common tool. It was discovered in 1420 in Florence by Filippo Brunelleschi to create the illusion of reality. However, the early 20th century artists seemed to dismantle...

The Nuclear Family: Benefits and Disadvantages

Introduction The nuclear family has been considered a necessary feature of society for an extended period. People assumed having a complete family to provide sufficient care and support for their children. Indeed, there is an opinion that the notion of a typical family is fading away (Luscombe, 2014). Certainly, it...

Food Deserts and Related Challenges

Food Deserts Food is one of the basic needs of humanity and it determines a people’s health and wealth. However, society comprises individuals from different backgrounds, cultural practices, and social statuses, all of which determine their eating habits. Food deserts, which serve a community with non-fresh food products, have continued...

The Sins Invalid Performance Project by Lam & Berne

The film evoked a wide range of emotions in me, and I felt both shocked and enlightened while watching it. I was surprised by how Lamm and Berne (2013) expressively revealed the topic of sexuality in the film. This approach and style are quite extraordinary and brave for modern cinematography....

The Industrial Revolution: Key Factors

The Industrial Revolution is a developmental period characterized by the transformation from the rural and agrarian way of being to modernized and industrial. An industrial revolution depends on four key factors: natural resources, capital resources, human resources, and entrepreneurship. The combination of these factors allows a nation or a region...

Corporate Culture: The Role in Organizational Success

The discussion post states that culture has become an essential aspect of any organization due to globalization, and I agree with this opinion. Indeed, with increasing multiculturalism in the workplaces, neighborhoods, and schools, people have to enhance their interpersonal communication skills. According to the United Nations, over 232 million people...

Major Contemporary and Modern Art Movements

Art is a dynamic field that encompasses various movements and artists. The modern art movement encompasses creative work created between the 1860s and the 1970s, and it symbolizes the techniques and ideologies of the art created throughout that time period (Russell, 2020). The concept is typically linked with artwork in...

The Electronic Health Records Implementation

The implementation of electronic health records (EHR) is among the US priorities to accomplish healthcare reforms. An electronic health record is a digital representation of a client’s health history which is kept up to date over time by the health professional. It could comprise all of the imperative medical data...

Self-Control in Early Childhood

The self-control concept in children is the ability to express and cope with deep emotions correctly. The concept mentioned above also entails children having to tell apart the impulses they have to act on, which influences the development of thinking skills in childhood. The ability to sustain the concept of...

• Comparative Literature
• Performance

Unintended Awareness During General Anesthesia

The clinical problem selected is awareness during anesthesia in the operation room (OR). Cardinale et al. (2019) state that one of the unforeseeable problems when performing surgical operations is unintended awareness during general anesthesia (UAGA), which is the maintenance of consciousness and explicit recollection while undergoing treatment modalities that should...

Advocating, Politics, and Policy Making in Nursing

Introduction The nurse-patient ratio in a health institution is the number of nurses to that of patients. Nurses should always be enough to cover the needs of all patients within the institution at a particular time. In case of shortages, there can be serious consequences, ranging from worsening illnesses to...

Critical Thinking Applied to Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

Proponents of the chaos theory hold that despite the randomness of any action, there is an organized pattern behind them. Consequently, Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk gives a story of a narrator who is seemingly trapped in an apparent disordered series of domino effects. As he moves from a corporate...

Foundations in Early Childhood Education

The formation of a new educational environment is built on a fundamentally new basis – a multidimensional understanding of life and is accompanied by the creation and improvement of a variety of school educational systems. The educational environment is a surrounding or a child, which accompanies his learning activities and...

International Policies and Healthcare Access in France and Italy

International economic policies have a significant impact on the ability of countries like France and Italy to ensure universal coverage for healthcare services. These policies can either facilitate or hinder the provision of affordable and accessible healthcare services to all citizens. One of the ways in which international economic policies...

Using Facebook’s Current E-Commerce Offerings

Introduction Using Facebook, consumers may face the privacy concerns such as invasion of privacy, stalking, illegal discrimination, harassment, and phishing. Facebook is actively and continuously “experimenting with many different features” and collects information about consumer behavior trends based on Facebook likes and connections (Reynolds & Stair, 2017). In some ways,...

Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm and Growth Analysis

Jan C. LaRue’s “Guidelines for Style Analysis” is a comprehensive tool for listening to music in a systematic and comparative way. The SHMRG categories (Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Growth) provide a framework for breaking down and analyzing various aspects of a piece of music. Sound encompasses the overall sound...

Social Psychology and Health Issues

Social psychologists respond to health issues taking into account people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. Patients and their relations with others are examined. Social psychologists look at the issue from the mental perspective. They evaluate consumers’ interactions and their influence. The traditional approach to healthcare delivery is based on clinical and...

Central Bank’s Communications Strategy

The main issue covered by Graham Smart’s article is that the set of genres and wide range of meditating technologies associated with the Canadian Central bank’s communications strategy can be perceived as portions of local organization action. As he attempts to prove his point, Smart explores two aspects of the...

Statistics for Professional Psychologists

Statistics plays an important role in the professional expertise of a psychologist. It is a necessity for a psychologist to possess at least a basic understanding of statistics in order to comply with the ethical duty of competence, even if they do not use statistics in their daily work. Without...

• Evidence-Based Practice

Effective Attributes of an Expert Teacher

Becoming an expert teacher has never been an easy task since it requires a lot of practice and readiness to engage in continuous learning instead of resting on one’s laurels. Despite multiple difficulties associated with gaining helpful experience and growing as a professional, specialists in education are expected to travel...

Differences Between Job-Order Costing and Process Costing Systems

To create a viable pricing strategy, an organization has to be fully aware of the unique characteristics of the product or service that it is selling. As a result, a choice between a job-order costing framework and a process-costing system can be made. The uniqueness of a product quickly becomes...

Security Jobs Network Website Review

There are many jobsites that list job openings from the old favorites such as Careerbuilder, Craiglist and Monster etc. So if you are not happy with your current job and want to explore new opportunities or you just want to keep up with current changes in your career this might...

New Approaches in Teaching to Enhance Teaching

Contemporary education places biases in terms of the efficacy of testing because of the increased pressure on teachers. Testing restricts creative and innovative approaches to delivering knowledge to students. Therefore, “teaching to the test” excludes improvements in teaching approaches. To eliminate a test focus approach, an opposite strategy is introduced...

Fiscal Policy Conceptual Study

What Is Discretionary Fiscal Policy? The fiscal policy itself deals with government spendings and tax levels to manage the country’s economy and can be of several types. Discretionary fiscal policy is the policy where the government itself changes the tax rates and its’ spendings according to a specific goal. These...

The Interview About Sports and Media

Summary of the Interview Through which channels do you follow the team? Answer: personal contact is always essential in sports where athletes struggle to win. The management department must use a multi-factor communication model, namely written and oral communication, to establish trust and deliver information. We speak every day during...

Sensor Technologies of Unmanned Maritime Systems for Search and Rescue

Unmanned Maritime Systems (UMS), when used for search and rescue, require specialized applications and approaches to be used as people’s safety is the crucial point to consider while operating. The chosen system includes the integrated components for assisted rescue and crewless search operations and is called the ICARUS project. Its...

Medical Facility: The Transformational Leadership Model

Any health care facility is a system where everything is functioning to deliver safe and high-quality care. Therefore, mission-oriented culture is the best characteristic of the health care organization (Sherwood & Barnsteiner, 2017). On this assumption, it would be highly useful to apply the transformational leadership model to a medical...

Chris Gardner in the Movie “The Pursuit of Happiness” by Muccino

Each person sooner or later faces financial, personal, or family crises. Chris Gardner is an American businessman and public speaker who inspired the main character in The Pursuit of Happiness. This 2006 biopic, directed by Gabriele Muccino, reveals the thorny path to financial independence and social well-being. The central character...

Spain Cultural Traditions and Perspectives

Spain is the country associated with love, passion, and bold fashion choices that have been transforming throughout many centuries. Despite everyone’s beliefs of France, being the main center of fashion, Spain and its unique culture has been at the forefront of this industry since the 16th century. Traditional Spanish culture...

• Christianity
• Ancient History

Community Service Requirement for Graduation

The community service requirement for graduation has extensive benefits beyond the school perimeter. The article, “Why is Community Service Important?” by Florida National University explores some of these advantages. Students who commit to volunteering in society gain exposure to people from diverse cultural backgrounds and ages. Those who opt to...

System Identification and Parameter Estimation for a First-Order System: DC Motor

Abstract This report covers the exploration of system identification and parameter estimation for a first-order system. The choice of a system is justified by the use of the first-order differential equations. They are necessary to determining time constant ???? and steady-state gain ????. Throughout the experiment, static, frequency response, and...

The Bust of Queen Nefertiti

The statue of Queen Nefertiti is one of the most famous examples of ancient art, depicting the image of one of the most beautiful women of antiquity. It was created in Egypt, circa 1345 BC, by the sculptor Thutmose, who was the official court sculptor of the Pharaoh Akhenaten, and...

Communication Links in Nursing

Academic works and evidence-based projects in the nursing sphere are an essential part of the profession. However, there are several difficulties both in receiving and sharing the latest information concerning significant issues. It is possible to assume that the awareness of healthcare workers has a direct impact on the level...

“Lady Lazarus” by Sylvia Plath: The Theme of Death and Resurrection

Sylvia Plath’s “Lady Lazarus” is a poem published in 1965, two years after the poet’s suicide. It is considered to be one of the most illustrative examples of Plath’s artistic style and explores the topic of death. The purpose of this short essay is to analyze how the author develops...

Jenifer Wofford “Flor 1975” Poster

Jenifer Wofford, a contemporary artist from San Francisco, has created a series of works dedicated to Flor Villanueva, an imaginary immigrant from the Philippines. The drawings were initially outlined in ink and later colored and positioned in a photo editor. They show a Filipino nurse who moved to the US...

The Cancellation of Colin Kaepernick

In his article, Ta-Nehisi Coates (2019) writes about the “cancel culture” that existed for a long time but became popular in the last few years. As an example, he takes the cancellation of Colin Kaepernick, an American football player, and civil rights activist. The main idea of the article is...

The Wife of Bath’s Prologue

Relationships The affair between the Wife of Bath and different spouses greatly influenced the development of her character. Of her five husbands, she admits that the first three were good mainly because they were rich, old, and submissive. Being the dominant partner in these relationships, she happily recounts how torments...

Reporting Behavior Among Victims of Crime

The reporting behavior among victims of crime remains relatively low despite the availability of critical infrastructure. According to Boateng (2016), satisfaction level in police operations is among the prominent predictors of crime reporting by the victims. For instance, where the degree of trust in law enforcement is low, the offended...

The Metabolism of Saccharomyces and Two Non-saccharomyces Wine Yeast Strains

In the article “Melatonin and Derived L-Tryptophan Metabolites Produced During Alcoholic Fermentation by Different Wine Yeast Strains,” Fernández-Cruz et al. (2017) considered the pathway of melatonin in wine yeasts of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces strains. The study aimed to: Investigate whether the strains under examination can produce indolic compounds derived from...

• Globalization
• Climate Change
• Stereotypes

Fundamentals of Market Planning

A marketing plan is essential for marketers and companies in general. Setting sales targets gives employees and employers a common goal, which can ensure greater harmony in the workplace. Additionally, such a strategy facilitates the efficient allocation of resources. For instance, once it is drafted, the company can determine how...

Post-traumatic Stress and Growth

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a mental condition that arises after a person is exposed to extremely distressing circumstances. In addition to military combat, other events that can cause PTSD among adults and children are sexual assault, domestic abuse, and traffic accidents. The symptoms of PTSD are several and they...

Aspects of Mass Wasting

Mass wasting refers to the downhill movement of soil and rock due to gravity. Most of the time, mass wasting is commonly associated with a landslide (Shi et al., 2016). However, a landslide is a general term under mass wasting characterized by a quick movement of geological elements. During a...

Chomsky’s “Media Control” Rhetorical Analysis

In the Media Control: The Spectacular Achievements of Propaganda article, the author Noam Chomsky begins by analyzing two models of democracy. One of the models is in which the public is governed and another in which the public is actively involved. Further, the theme of democracy and other political systems...

Return on Investment (ROI) and Economic Value Added (EVA)

Although ROI and EVA are the techniques used to evaluate a company’s performance, comparing and contrasting them can help understand why managers choose one over the other depending on particular situations. Both approaches measure organizations’ profitability and value, vital in making the decisions related to planning management incentives, compensation strategies,...

Researching of Irish Immigration to the United States

Describe The Historical Event That You Selected. Why is This Event Significant? Immigration is a valuable part of each country’s history because it influences the culture, economy, and society by forming new traditions, providing a workforce, and building connections between people. The arrival of the Irish to the United States...

The Problem of Using Animals in Experimentation

The debate over the use of animals for medical research is still heated and seems to be everlasting. Some suggest that this practice is morally wrong, while others oppose them, arguing there is no better option. Testing on animals in the lab provides researchers with valuable knowledge regarding a particular...

Voluntarism and Labor Unions

In the United States, labor unions still remain one of the main bulwarks capable of protecting workers’ rights, wages, and working conditions through collective bargaining. Their influential significance is primarily due to the support of the legislation. Nevertheless, at the turn of the 20th century, most unions adhered to the...

Abolition Period in American North and South

North-South Comparison Chart North South Population (people) 19,127,948 12,315,373 Functioning Railroads (miles) 22,000 9,500 Industrial Output Leather goods Firearms Pig iron Railroads Water transportation Agricultural Output Wheat Oat Cotton Tobacco Corn Sugarcane Population It is necessary to point out that the abolition period in the US history is characterized with...

Noise Pollution: Potential Solutions

After finding out that all types of noise in living areas have an immeasurably negative impact on people’s health, work efficiency, and daily life activities, I see that the potential solutions to the problem of noise pollution are to either control its level by the government or allow people to...

• Artificial Intelligence

The Civil War and the Status of African Americans

One of the conflicts, which led to the Civil War in the 19th century, addressed the existence of slavery on the territory of the United States. Although, according to the Constitution of that time, slavery was considered to be legal, president Abraham Lincoln comprehended that it presented a pressing concern....

Gender Dysphoria in Adolescents

For the past several decades, scholars in queer studies have made significant progress in understanding the interpersonal relationships of queer people with their gender. Many transgender and non-binary people tend to experience gender dysphoria. According to Zucker et al. (2016), gender dysphoria is a disorder that describes the person’s dissatisfaction...

Communication and Organizational, Interpersonal, and Language Barriers

It is possible to state that non-verbal communication is a significant part of all interactions, and it is especially vital to encode the messages appropriately to ensure that the receiver obtains exact information. Sometimes, non-verbal communication is not deprived of noises that make the meaning of a message unclear, deteriorating...

Waiting for “Superman” Movie Analysis

Waiting for “Superman” is a film that reveals the problems of education in the United States that are known to many people and those rarely discussed by the public. I find that showing these issues through ordinary people’s stories makes it more personal and understandable for viewers. Consequently, Waiting for...

Lemon Coffee Trend on TikTok Shouldn’t Be Done Health Experts

The author’s goal of the analyzed news article Lemon coffee trend on TikTok shouldn’t be done, health experts say, is to convey information to readers that refute the viral trend on the social network. The article cites expert nutritionist opinions to boost audience confidence and open their eyes to the...

Negative Impact of Media Attention to School Shooting

Schools are anticipated to provide children with maximum physical and emotional safety and foster their full-fledged development. Thus, school shooting incidents are taken as unbearable tragedies, leading to substantial media attention. From my perspective, active attempts to rationalize and explain mass murderers’ behavior by attracting attention to their personal lives...

The United States and Panama: Comparing Economic Variables

The less favorable economic situation of Panama compared to the United States is seen from their GDP and GDP Per Capita. Thus, according to Country Economy (n.d.), the former’s corresponding indicators are $52,938 million and $12,373 million as of 2020, respectively. Meanwhile, in the United States, these numbers are $22,993,500...

Ethical Issues in Social Work With Children

The case of 33-year-old Janie presents a situation where a social worker needs to make a sensible decision. Janie, who had mental problems for the first time, was moved to an outpatient by her psychiatrist. At the same time, the hospital’s risk management director claimed that I needed to communicate...

Personal Experience: How Being Bullied Shaped Me

In my life, I have experienced many challenges and opportunities which have shaped my religious views, spirituality, and personhood. What I am is a sum of experiences that I have gone through. Some of the times I thought were the worst built character traits and values that are beneficial to...

Restrictions on Media Advertising

Media advertising is an industry with a high level of competition among advertisers. Needless to say that advertisers are ready to use any means of promotion in order to increase product sales. This results in the usage of unfair methods of promotions, and that is why the government must regulate...

• Entrepreneurship
• Immigration

Gender Inequality at Google Inc.

Prior to reading the given article, I was not even thinking of the scale of gender inequality in Google. However, this problem is inherent to the majority of modern companies, not only Google. For example, England et al. (2020) argue that the last decade has been marked by a significant...

What About Gender Is Most Interesting to Sociologists?

Before the emergence of the discipline of gender studies, there was an understanding that the social is biologically determined; that is, boys and girls are like that because they were born like that. The understanding that the dual division of norms constructed by society does not coincide with the biological...

Depression and Anxiety Among African-American Children

Place your Research Topic below: African American Children Suffering from Anxiety and Depression Place your Thesis Statement below: Depression and anxiety are common among African-American children and adolescents, but they face significant barriers to receiving care and treatment due to their age and race. Place your Follow-Up Statement/s below (be...

The Structure of the Atmosphere

The troposphere begins at the surface of the Earth and can go up to five or nine miles. This area of the atmosphere has the highest density and a lot of weather. As you go higher in the troposphere, it gets colder; the temperature can be an average of 62°F...

Intercultural Communication in Real Life Situations

Introduction Respect and empathy are paramount for society to function and progress. Intercultural communication has helped me to realize how differences in cultural backgrounds can affect human interactions in both negative and positive ways. Now I know that proper cultural etiquette does not only allow people to be integrated into...

The Radisson Hotel Group’s Strategy of Reinforcing a Power

At present, the Radisson Hotel Group is rightfully considered one of the most powerful competitors in the hotel hospitality segment. Indeed, the worldwide presence of the hotel, along with the product diversity, accounts for a solid corporate and organizational culture. The primary mission of the company is to become the...

United States Progressive Era

The Progressive Era in the United States was a period known for industrial and political changes that took place from the 1890s until the 1920s. This era marked a rise in suffrage and improvement in women’s rights, leading to the Nineteenth Amendment, which was passed in 1919 and gave women...

Healthcare Trends and Innovations

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Free Essays by Words

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350-Word Essay Examples

Mccarthy and the red scare.

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Yertle The Turtle Book Analysis

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Monna Giovanna: A Complex Character Analysis

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What Is a 350-Word Essay?

It is a concise piece of writing that aims to convey a clear message or argument within a limited word count. It is a brief composition that requires students to effectively express their thoughts and ideas on a specific topic while maintaining a concise and focused approach. In such essay, students should strive to present a well-structured and coherent piece of writing. Also, it is crucial for students to prioritize the most important information and eliminate any unnecessary or repetitive content. They shouls use clear and concise language, and avoid excessive details or lengthy explanations.

How Long is a 350-Word Essay?

A 350-word essay is relatively short and typically spans approximately three-quarters of a page, depending on factors such as font size, spacing, and formatting.

Where Students Can Find a Sample of 350-Word Essay?

Students can find 350-word essay samples from various sources like educational websites, writing blogs, and online writing communities as they offer sample essays across different word counts and various topics. Students can search for specific topics or explore essay samples in their desired word count range. However, when using sample essays, it's important for students to remember that they should serve as a reference and source of inspiration. Plagiarism is strictly prohibited, so students should always ensure that their own work is original and properly cited when incorporating ideas or information from other sources.

How Many Supporting Points You Can Include in a 350-Word Essay?

It is advisable to include two to three well-developed supporting points in a 350-word essay. Each point should be supported by evidence and analysis to strengthen your overall argument.

Can You Adequately Develop Your Ideas in a 350-Word Essay?

Yes, a 350-word essay provides enough space to develop a focused argument or discuss a specific topic. However, it requires concise and efficient writing to ensure clarity and coherence.

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20 Successful College Essay Examples + Why They Worked (2023)

Today I'm going to show you 20 essays that worked that will help inspire you and start you on your way to writing your own successful essays.

In this post, I've included:

• Personal Statement examples
• Supplemental essay examples
• University of California essays
• Links to hundreds more essay examples

If you're looking for college essay examples, you've found the right place.

Let's get started.

Writing your college essays can be challenging.

And in 2023, with many schools dropping test scores from their application, your college essays are one of the most important parts of your application if you want to get accepted.

That means there's a whole lot more opportunity for students without the best SAT or ACT scores to boost their chances of admission by writing outstanding essays.

20 of My Favorite EssaysThatWorked

One of the best ways to write your own successful essays is to read and learn from past essays that worked.

Here's 20 of our favorite college essays examples. From Personal Statement examples to "Why this college?" supplements, find any type of essay you're looking for.

I've chosen these examples because they represent almost every type of essay you'll need to write.

Plus, they are all high-quality examples that have an authentic voice , one of the most important parts of a great essay.

Table of Contents

Personal statement essay examples.

• 1. The Itch
• 2. Paint Dance
• 3. Football Manager
• 4. Restaurant Job

Additional Personal Statement Examples

Additional Common App Essay Examples

University of California Essay Examples

• 5. Summer Counselor
• 6. Teaching Talent
• 7. Linguistics
• 8. Linguistics Society
• 9. New Perspectives

Supplemental Essay Examples

• 10. Fermat's Last Theorem
• 11. Bug Fixing
• 12. Why UPenn?
• 13. Story of My Name
• 14. Ideal College Community
• 15. Why Computer Science
• 16. Volunteering at Hospital
• 17. Why Carnegie Mellon
• 18. Why NYU?
• 19. Moving Places
• 20. Double Major

Ready to get inspired to write the next great admissions essays?

Let's jump right in.

Part 1: Personal Statements That Stand Out

Your Personal Statement essay is arguably the most important essay you'll write.

Since it's sent to every college you apply to, you need to carefully choose how you use your 650 words.

In this section, I'll show you several examples of successful Common App essays accepted into the most selective colleges.

Let’s dive right in.

Most students write their personal statement essay on their Common Application.

That's why it's called your Common App essay .

If you're having trouble starting your essay, be sure to check out some Common App inspiration .

Here are some of the best Common App essay examples that have gotten students into top colleges.

Below are some of our favorite personal statement essay examples from the Ivy League and other top-20 colleges.

College Essay Example #1: The Itch

This Common App personal statement was accepted into Stanford University .

Common App Prompt #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. (250-650 words)

Slowly, my passion emerged from pretense and envy into reality.

Why This Essay Works:

This essay is all based upon the metaphor of "the itch" representing a desire to understand the world. By using a central theme, such as a metaphor, you can create a thread of ideas that run throughout your essay. If you want to use a metaphor, make sure it clearly relates to the idea you're trying to express, rather than choosing one just because it is a creative or unique approach. In this case, there is perhaps no better metaphor than "the itch" which would capture their main idea, so it works well.

Instead of "telling" their ideas, this essay does a lot of fantastic "showing" through specific anecdotes. Sentences like "I learned to sing the blues before I knew the words..." capture a lot about the author's character and background without having to say it outright. By showing the reader, you allow them to draw their own conclusions rather than just having to accept what you're telling them. Using specific language also creates a more vibrant and interesting essay. Rather than saying "I loved learning as a kid," this student shows it using a concrete example: "my favorite book was an introduction to fulcrums".

Writing about other people in your essay can be a great way to tell things about yourself. Known as a literary "foil," by describing other people you can show your own values without stating them plainly. In this essay, the author shows their value (of being passionate about learning) by first recognizing that value in somebody else, "Kikki" in this case. By writing about people in your life, you can also create a sense of humility and humanity. Nobody is an "island," meaning that everyone is influenced by those around us. Showing how you draw inspiration, values, or lessons from others will show more about your character than simply telling admissions would.

In general, listing activities in your essay is a bad strategy, because it is repetitive of your activities list and comes across boring. However, this essay manages to list their activities in the 3rd-to-last paragraph by connecting them to a central idea: how their newfound passion for learning sparked all these new engagements. Listing activities can be okay, but only if they have a clear purpose in doing so. In this case, the purpose is to show how these activities are representative of their new passion for learning. But the purpose for listing activities could also be to show a specific value, provide examples for your idea, demonstrate your new perspective, etc.

College Essay Example #2: Paint Dance

This Common App personal statement was accepted into Williams College .

Common App Prompt #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? (250-650 words)

This student uses figurative language, particularly personification, which makes their writing more engaging. Rather simply telling a story plainly, implementing aspects of creative writing such as metaphors, personification, and symbolism, can engage the reader in your story.

This essay deals with their struggles—particularly in overcoming fear of failure while painting. By showcasing your challenges, you not only create a more relatable persona, but it makes your successes far more impactful. Everyone has struggles, and reflecting upon those challenges is what will help you convey self-growth.

What They Might Improve:

Although this student reflects on the concept of fear, they don't go much deeper than surface-level reflections. This essay does pose some interesting questions, like "Why was I afraid of something I had not yet encountered?" but these questions are cut short and not satisfyingly explored. Admissions officers are impressed with genuine, deep reflection. To get there, you need to push past surface-level takeaways and try taking your ideas always one step further.

"Fear" is a central theme of this essay, but the main idea of overcoming fear is repeated excessively, without adding new ideas. It is important that your essay "goes somewhere" and doesn't stay stuck at the surface of your ideas. You want to go deep into your ideas, which means avoiding repetition at all costs, and only referencing a previous idea if you're adding something new: a new perspective, context, nuance, broader application, etc.

College Essay Example #3: Football Manager

This Common App personal statement was accepted into the University of Pennsylvania .

Common App Prompt #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. (250-650 words)

This essay has lighthearted moments in it, such as recognizing how being a football manager "does not sound glamorous" and how "we managers go by many names: watergirls..." Using moments of humor can be appropriate for contrasting with moments of serious reflection. Being lighthearted also shows a sense of personality and that you are able to take things with stride.

The reflections in this essay are far too generic overall and ultimately lack meaning because they are unspecific. Using buzzwords like "hard work" and "valuable lessons" comes off as unoriginal, so avoid using them at all costs. Your reflections need to be specific to you to be most meaningful. If you could (in theory) pluck out sentences from your essay and drop them into another student's essay, then chances are those sentences are not very insightful. Your ideas should be only have been able to been written by you: specific to your experiences, personal in nature, and show deep reflection.

Although this essay uses the topic of "being a football manager," by the end of the essay it isn't clear what that role even constitutes. Avoid over-relying on other people or other's ideas when writing your essay. That is, most of the reflections in this essay are based on what the author witnessed the football team doing, rather than what they experienced for themselves in their role. Focus on your own experiences first, and be as specific and tangible as possible when describing your ideas. Rather than saying "hard work," show that hard work through an anecdote.

More important than your stories is the "So what?" behind them. Avoid writing stories that don't have a clear purpose besides "setting the scene." Although most fiction writing describes people and places as exposition, for your essays you want to avoid that unless it specifically contributes to your main point. In this essay, the first two paragraphs are almost entirely unnecessary, as the point of them can be captured in one sentence: "I joined to be a football manager one summer." The details of how that happened aren't necessary because they aren't reflected upon.

In typical academic writing, we're taught to "tell them what you're going to tell them" before telling them. But for college essays, every word is highly valuable. Avoid prefacing your statements and preparing the reader for them. Instead of saying "XYZ would prove to be an unforgettable experience," just dive right into the experience itself. Think of admissions officers as "being in a rush," and give them what they want: your interesting ideas and experiences.

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College Essay Example #4: Restaurant Job

This Common App personal statement is an accepted Tulane essay .

Common App Prompt #5: Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others. (250-650 words)

Piano Man plays on repeat in Used To Be’s Island Eatery, a high-volume bar and restaurant in the town of [Location] on the Jersey shore. Balding men and blonde women sway to the song as they sit on the wooden barstools, chatting and laughing about their lives.

Rather than "telling," it's important to always back up your points by "showing." This means using anecdotes, examples, and specific references to help the reader come to the same conclusion as you. Anybody can "tell" things, but by showing them you are giving proof, which makes your points more convincing and compelling.

An effective strategy for having interesting ideas is to reflect upon what you've learned as the result of an activity or experience. Lessons are important because they show self-growth, which admissions officers are looking for. It can also be a good idea to compare and contrast your lessons with other areas of your life. For example, how do your lessons from an extracurricular activity differ or translate over to your academics? Or vice versa?

One of the most common "mistakes" in essays is to not go deeper into your ideas. Most students gravitate towards surface-level ideas, which can be a good starting point, but should ideally be taken further. Admissions officers have read thousands of essays, so it's important that your ideas are unique, specific to you, and interesting. To get to those "deeper" ideas, keep asking yourself questions. For example, if you start with the idea of "positivity is key for this job," then keep asking yourself "Why?" Repeat that process many times and think critically, and eventually you'll come to more interesting and compelling ideas.

Avoid writing like fiction books, which have lots of descriptions that build a world or environment. Instead, only describe the things that matter to your main point. Since you have a limited number of words to use, it is vital that each sentence has a clear purpose. In this essay, many descriptions are ultimately unnecessary to their main point. Does it matter that "balding men and blonde women sway to the song as they sit on the wooden barstools"? No, and this only distracts from what is ultimately more valuable: your ideas and reflections.

Want to read more Common App essay examples?

If you're looking for more outstanding Common App essays, check out our Common App guide with examples.

For more, check out our list of top personal statement examples .

Part 2: UC Personal Insight Questions

Your UC essays are more important in 2022, now that UC's have dropped SAT and ACT scores from your application.

And if you're looking to write great UC essays, the best place to start is by learning from essays that worked in the past.

If you're looking for tons of UC essay examples, you're in the right place.

Every student applying to University of California must write four Personal Insight Questions. Each short essay must be fewer than 350 words each.

Check out our guides and examples for UCLA essays and UC Berkeley essays .

Within those posts, you'll be able to read dozens of the best UC Personal Insight Questions.

College Essay Example #5: Summer Counselor

This essay was accepted into UCLA .

UC PIQ #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. (350 words max)

Each summer for the last eight years, I have attended a four-week residential summer camp on Orcas Island, first as a camper and more recently as a staff member. As a counselor-in- training last summer, my role shifted from one centred around my own enjoyment to one catering to the fulfilment of others. I welcomed this change of pace gladly, as the ability to positively impact the next generation of campers in a similar way to how my own counselors impacted mine thrilled me.

At first, I was unconvinced that I was being the role model I had envisaged of myself, as I was daunted by my new responsibility as staff. However, my uncertainty dissipated when one of the campers I had worked closely with in the sailing classes I taught wrote me a heartfelt letter towards the end of the session claiming that spending time with me had been one of the highlights of his summer. This small affirmation struck me deeply, and I was incentivised to continue putting all my energy into hopefully similarly affecting as many others as I could.

One of the most challenging parts of the summer was when I acted as an assistant counselor to a group of six 2nd-grade boys for a week, living with and supervising them for the whole time. I recall one particular moment when all six started yelling over the minor grievance of whose turn it was to take the dirty dishes back to the kitchen that meal. I tried diffusing the situation peacefully but, in the end, it required a firmer stance to get them to calm down. It was tough for me to take a harder line with them, but it was a valuable lesson that being assertive, yet still kind, is an effective method for future situations.

I cannot wait to apply for a full counselor position next summer, as each year I learn more from camp about what it is to be a compassionate leader, a convincing role model, and a team player.

• Specific Example : For UC essays, it's important to directly and clearly answer the prompt. This student does a good job of using a specific moment that clearly answers the prompt.
• Honest About Challenges : You don't have to present yourself as a perfect human being. Instead, by showing your flaws and challenges, it makes you more relatable. This student does that well by admitting: "I was unconvinced that I was being the role model I had envisaged of myself."

What They Might Change:

• Give More Details : In addition to stating "...it required a firmer stance to get them to calm down," it's better to show this. How did you act in that moment? How can you illustrate that assertiveness, without just stating it?

College Essay Example #6: Teaching Talent

UC PIQ #3: What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? (350 words max)

My greatest talent is teaching. I love the opportunity to help others and seeing them develop and improve as a result of my input is always so rewarding.

My principle teaching outlet is as a diving coach. My favourite part about this job is that it is so dynamic, and each session is different. Some days the divers are in a great mood, dive impressively, and will jest with you nonstop which, being extroverted, fills me with energy and is a genuinely enjoyable evening. These sessions are so easy to coach as you can present yourself as a friend to the divers and deepen the trust that exists between you. However, other nights the kids are tired and unenthusiastic and coaching becomes far more challenging. I have to be stricter with them while simultaneously finding ways to motivate them, such as introducing little competitions or rewards for training hard. Over time, I have gotten much more confident at adjusting my coaching attitude towards the signals I pick up from the divers and it has made my job significantly easier.

This year, I have taken on the additional responsibility of leading the Learn to Dive squad, the largest group of divers at my club. At first, it was tough for me to adjust to my new role as it entailed more work with other coaches, helping them to develop their own coaching ability and monitoring the progression of their divers, as well as with kids of my own. However, I have grown to love this new element of my job, despite the challenge of instructing coaches older than myself, as it has forced me to develop my teaching ability in new ways. I have had to analyse my own teaching methods in order to explain them to other coaches and this both helped them to understand how to improve, but also allowed me to refine and develop how I coach my own divers.

Teaching is such an important part of my life because it allows me to learn and increase my own knowledge while making a positive impact on others.

College Essay Example #7: Linguistics

This Personal Insight Question essay was accepted into UCLA among others.

UC PIQ #6: Think about an academic subject that inspires you. Describe how you have furthered this interest inside and/or outside of the classroom. (350 words max)

While reading Tolkien's The Silmarillion , I was struck by the elegance of the Elvish script he included. Upon further research, I discovered that he had created an entire language – Quenya – to accompany the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The idea that a language could be crafted and cultivated like a piece of art was both illuminating and inspiring to me. I had heard of Esperanto previously, but I believe Tolkien wasn’t trying to change the world with his creation. His goal was simply to create a language for the pleasure of it, and to enrich his storytelling and worldbuilding.

The revelation that language could be more than just a tool for communication triggered a love for linguistics that persists to this day. I voraciously tore through reference grammars and college textbooks alike, including An Introduction to Historical Linguistics by Lyle Campbell.

I even tried to emulate Tolkien and create a language of my own. Whether at school taking classes in Spanish, French, Italian, Latin, and Ancient Greek, or at home studying the phonology of Brazilian Portuguese on my own, languages excited and motivated me to learn more. I was awarded the Arthur Beatty award for outstanding linguist in the year as a result of my dedication to the language program at school.

Watching Game of Thrones reintroduced me to conlanging in the form of Dothraki and rekindled my interest, prompting me to write my IB extended essay on the historical etymology of Spanish. It was a challenging project, but I loved every minute of my research. While my friends were lamenting their boredom at poring over endless journals on topics they didn’t enjoy, I was studying a subject for which I am truly passionate. I hope to continue my study of language in university, and one of my goals in life is to be trilingual. I have no doubt that languages will continue to inspire me throughout life, and I hope to be able to share some of this passion with others along the way.

College Essay Example #8: Linguistics Society

Here's another UCLA essay that worked.

UC PIQ #7: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (350 words max)

Throughout my time at school, I have tried to share my passions and interests with others in various ways.

With the help of a friend, I reinvigorated and reinvented the school linguistics society, transforming it from a dull discussion of past exam questions to a seminar-style session where I have presented and analysed various interesting aspects of language. We have covered topics ranging from phonetics to historical sound change, and it has attracted a loyal troop of linguists who relish the weekly meetings almost as much as I do.

I have also channelled my passion for teaching into volunteering as a Spanish teacher at another local elementary school. Leading a class of thirty students can be a challenge, mainly as that many students are often hard to control. Nevertheless, I have planned and carried out lessons there each week for the last three years and have learnt a lot from it. I have found that as my confidence has grown, so the students have started to listen to and respect me more. They gain more from the lessons, as is evident from their progress at the end of each semester, and my enjoyment and fulfilment has risen. I am glad to have had a positive impact on their learning, and that I have been able to teach a subject that genuinely interests me.

Finally, I was appointed as a school prefect for senior year. In this role, I have been involved with a number of charity initiatives, such as organising bake sales and sponsored sporting events to raise money for the Make a Wish foundation, as well as various pastoral activities such as mentoring incoming freshman and guiding prospective parents around the campus. I love being a prefect as it allows me to give something back to the school that has been a huge part of my life for the last several years. I hope my legacy is that students feel more comfortable and confident in the school environment, and that they are inspired to become leaders as I have been to give back to the community in turn.

College Essay Example #9: New Perspectives

This essay was accepted into UC Berkeley .

Seconds after our teacher announced our project groups ​I heard the familiar, pitchy voice of the most irritating person in the class yell my name. Just like my worst nightmare, I had been put in a group to work with Eva; the annoying girl who had a weird obsession with horses. At that moment, I knew that it was going to be the longest project of my life.

Eva was extremely difficult to work with; she would always interrupt me, stubbornly stuck to what she wanted, and did not listen to a thing I said. Two weeks of tension and no progress flew by until one day during class, Eva went on another ramble about her horses.

Although I wasn't ready to hear her talk about horses again, I let her continue. What was another rant about horses turned into a conversation about the mental disorders Eva faced and how she relied on horse riding as therapy. After that conversation, our progress took a complete 180. I was eager to learn more, and we finished the project with more purpose and meaning. My perspective changed entirely.

I was moved by Eva’s passion for horse riding and encouraged her to start a club on campus where she could share her passion with others. Beyond this project, I helped Eva defend her riding center during city council meetings because it was on the verge of being shut down. In exchange, working with Eva taught me how to be more open-minded, more patient, more understanding; values of which I personally lacked my entire life. ​I began to cooperate with people with a more accepting and considerate mentality, understanding that people work in different ways.

I’m glad I chose to work through the project with Eva because I grew as a leader in a way that I would have never expected. I know I could have easily done the project by myself, but instead, I worked through our disagreements and bickering. S​haring this experience with Eva unearthed my ability to lead using patience and understanding, which are now essential assets to my leadership capabilities.

Part 3: Supplemental Essay Examples

Many top colleges require students to supplemental essays.

Each school may ask different prompts or none at all. And often your answers will be more specific and directly about the school.

In this section, you'll find supplemental essay examples from top universities. I've included a variety of prompts to cover common supplemental prompts, from "Why this college?" to major and area of study questions

Let's jump into the essays.

In addition to the your personal statement or statement of purpose (SOP), many colleges also require supplements.

These supplemental essays are often specific to the school and ask you to answer a specific question, such as "Why this college?" or "Why this major?"

In this section, you'll find supplemental essay examples from top universities. I've included a variety of prompts to cover common supplemental prompts that you may encounter.

College Essay Example #10: Fermat's Last Theorem

This supplemental essay was accepted into Cornell University .

Prompt: Cornell Engineering celebrates innovative problem solving that helps people, communities…the world. Consider your ideas and aspirations and describe how a Cornell Engineering education would allow you to leverage technological problem-solving to improve the world we live in. (250-650 words)

For "Why Us?" college essays, one of the most important parts is to show ways you imagine being involved on campus. This student does a great job of showing that they've done their research about Cornell, by connecting their passion for studying heart disease to specific initiatives already taking place on campus. Try researching what events, research, or programs are being conducted. By referencing those specifics, you can create convincing reasons of why this school is fit for you.

When discussing your intended area of study, one effective strategy is to identify a problem that you see. This problem can be in the field itself, your community, or the world. Then, you can connect this problem to yourself by showing how you'd want to help solve it. Don't try to tackle it entirely yourself, but show how you'd "take bites" out of this larger problem. It is also important that you identify potential solutions to the problem. You definitely don't (and shouldn't) have all the answers, but what do you see as potential steps for combatting the issue?

Using technical language, such as referencing "semi-elliptical curves" and "modular form" in this essay, will help show your in-depth knowledge and passion. Don't be afraid to use technical jargon like this, and don't worry if admissions officers may not know all the terms. As long as they have context and knowing the terminology isn't critical to understanding your point, including "nerdy" language will make your essay more engaging and demonstrate your intelligence.

If you have personal connections to the school you're applying to (such as legacy, family members who work there, students or faculty you're close with), it can be a good idea to reference those connections. Showing personal connections to the school makes admissions think, "They're already practically one of us!" Just make sure that these connections aren't contrived: only write about them if you have a clear purpose within your essay for introducing them. In this essay, the student references their brother who attended Cornell, but does so in a way that naturally ties into the rest of their reasons for "why Cornell."

College Essay Example #11: Bug Fixing

Here's another Cornell essay that worked .

Prompt: Describe two or three of your current intellectual interests and why they are exciting to you. Why will Cornell's College of Arts and Sciences be the right environment in which to pursue your interests? (650 words max)

College Essay Example #12: Why UPenn

If you enjoyed the UPenn Common App essay , here's a supplement that was also accepted into the University of Pennsylvania .

Prompt: How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying. (650 words max)

This essay does a great job of conveying a thoughtful and candid applicant. Their phrasing, although verbose in some places, comes across genuine because the author walks you through how they learned about the school, what they're looking for in a school, and why the school would offer those specific things. Phrases like "I didn't know if I could honestly see myself studying that" are conversational and natural-sounding, which help create a sincere tone.

By referencing specific programs, like "Penn in Washington" as well as various minors and concentrations, it is clear this student has done their research about the school. One of the most important aspects for a "Why Us" essay is to find specific and unique opportunities and name them in your essay. These could be things like specific professors and their work, campus and its location, interesting classes, unique internship/study-abroad/job programs, special events, and many more. The key is referencing things that are entirely unique to the school and not many other schools too. Avoid broad terms like "renowned faculty" or "interdisciplinary studies" because virtually all colleges offer things like this, and these are some of the most over-used and artificial reasons used in "Why Us" essays.

This essay has many moments of repetition that are unnecessary. In general, avoid repeating your ideas and when editing, ask yourself of each sentence: does this add something distinctly new and important to my essay? There are two common mistakes that often create repetition: prefacing your ideas and summarizing your ideas. Unlike academic writing, you don't need to "prepare" the reader for what you're going to say, and you don't need to conclude it with a summary. By doing so, you only create unnecessary repetition and take up words which could otherwise be used to include new specific details or ideas.

This essay spends nearly half of its words explaining the "interdisciplinary" opportunities at UPenn. However, this reason is quite superficial and not at all unique to Penn, as almost all colleges offer some sort of interdisciplinary study (i.e. combining your interests or studying multiple fields). Talking about "interdisciplinary study" is one of the most common reasons students use in their "Why Us" essay, and it often comes across as generic and unoriginal. Instead, look for offerings that no other (or very few other) schools provide. Narrow down your reasons "why" to make them more specific to the school, even if they are smaller scale. You can mention things like "interdisciplinary studies" or "diverse student body" briefly as a reason why, but don't make them one of your primary reasons why, unless you have something particularly unique about it.

College Essay Example #13: Story of My Name

This interesting essay is a Dartmouth essay that was admitted. Enjoy!

Prompt: The Hawaiian word mo’olelo is often translated as “story” but it can also refer to history, legend, genealogy, and tradition. Use one of these translations to introduce yourself. (250-300 words)

My name is Eoin Hourihane and my entire life, no one has ever pronounced my name correctly. My genealogy is Irish and my name is spelled this way because every male in the Hourihane family, for the past seven generations, has been named John. Since my older brother's name is John, my dad decided to honor his heritage, which gives me my dual citizenship, and name me the old Gaelic for John: Eoin.

I am the youngest of six which brings with it the never-ending comparisons, teasing, and constant bickering; add to that being small for my age until the age of twelve, and you can imagine my household. We have all been raised to be independent, to love nature (except Princess Ali), and to work our hardest at everything we do.

I have always loved math, playing hockey (ice or floor), matzah ball soup, the Beatles and Queen. As a kid, I was into Percy Jackson and a series of books with titles that all ended in “-ology,” the churros at the hockey rink in Jamestown, Bang party snaps, t-shirts by Tobuscus, and my two stuffed cats - one with a mortarboard, and the other with a Star of David on its front left paw. I have dreamt of being a biomedical engineer and creating a glass eye that can see, knowing the intricacies of the human body and its responses to environmental and internal stimuli, and performing surgery on the brain.

I have celebrated Chanukah and Christmas, honoring my Jewish mother and my Catholic father, but not truly affiliating with either. I am a liberal thinker who follows current events closely, and I am eager to explore the world outside of Buffalo, NY, participate in an academic environment that will challenge me, and live among a community of learners.

College Essay Example #14: Ideal College Community

This supplement was accepted into Columbia University .

Prompt: List a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. (150 words max)

Filled with activity around the clock. A place to come home to.

Trying to get past locked doors (literal and metaphorical).

Offering intellectual freedom and curiosity, without forcing specialization. Accommodating students who are unwilling to wait to make a difference. Willing to look critically at itself.

Socially conscious and politically active.

Never taking its eye off the national or global stage.

Buzzing with so much life it flows beyond the campus into the outside world.

So much life that sometimes it intimidates, that it yearns for more hours in the day. With too many options to choose from, Too much to do in four years.

Filled with clever eyes that see new ideas in the lessons of history.

Diverse of origin, of culture, of opinion, of religion, of personality, Diverse like an international center of thought and ideas and passions. An urban wonderland.

Supporting of extraordinary ambitions.

College Essay Example #15: Why Computer Science

This essay was accepted into Columbia University . To read more exceptional Columbia essays, be sure to check out our list for more Columbia essay examples .

Prompt: For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. (300 words max)

Studying computer science gives me the opportunity to be in a field that evolves so quickly I can always be on the forefront and do cutting-edge work. This summer at an ad-tech company, I moved the data science team’s analysis programs to a novel cluster-computing engine (Kubernetes), which can manage and distribute tasks across thousands of computers at once. Kubernetes is so new that barely any information has circulated about it. Because of this novelty, I was able to publish the first existing documentation of a data science pipeline in Kubernetes.

Computer science can also automate the manual drudgery of life. For example: to manage my clubs, I’ve written a program that checks for emails from members with excuses for missing meetings and automatically logs their absences.

Since computers have become the platform for every science, coding allows me to contribute to numerous fields. When I started at Einstein College of Medicine last year, I knew nothing about computational biology. Our project showed me that basic programming was all I needed to find fascinating results in the mostly unstudied mountains of genomic data.

As a person, I’m drawn to seemingly impossible challenges, in particular, the quest to teach machines and create mechanical consciousness. When I started taking online courses in AI, I became fascinated by the gradient descent method in machine learning. The method casts complex input data (e.g. photos) as thousand-dimensional surfaces and attempts to descend to the lowest points (minima) of those surfaces. It works best on data with underlying patterns, like pictures of human faces. This indicates that, in some way, the very nature of what a ‘face’ is, what unique structure is shared by nearly all faces, is found in the minima that AI models descend towards. My dream is to do foundational artificial intelligence research.

College Essay Example #16: Volunteering at Hospital

This essay was accepted into the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill . Want to read more UNC essay examples? Check out our list of the best UNC essays for this year.

Prompt: We hope you’ll share with us the activities that you’ve found especially worthwhile. We also hope you won’t feel compelled to tell us everything you’ve ever done or, worse yet, to do things that mean little to you just because you think we expect them.

Low-profile pursuits can be just as meaningful as ones that draw more attention, and fewer activities can be just as good, and sometimes even better, than more activities. For example, although starting a new club can be a great experience and helpful to others, so can caring for siblings, parents, or grandparents, working outside the home to put food on the table, or being a good and caring friend.

For these reasons, although we’re glad to receive complete résumés, we don’t require or encourage them. Instead, if you choose to submit something that goes beyond what you’re providing through your Common Application, keep it brief; focus less on including everything and more on choosing and explaining the things that have meant the most to you; and upload it here. (650 words max)

Everywhere I looked, I saw a sea of white coats and scrubs; there was constant beeping of the heart monitors, and the smell of disinfectant was strong.

There I stood - a diminutive, awkward high school kid - lacking in experience and confidence, ready to begin volunteering at Vidant Medical Center. Perhaps the very same qualities that made me nervous were what put patients at ease. Many patients, especially younger ones who were uncomfortable speaking with medical professionals, seemed much more comfortable in my presence. I have learned this quality is how I have been able to make a difference - by connecting with many of the younger patients who were nervous just like me. I’ll always remember the two eight-year-old brothers who were waiting as their father got an MRI.

In some ways, they were also like me - they loved sports, and had an interest in math and science. As they were waiting, we talked about everything, from who they thought would win the NBA championship title to me giving them tips on how to remember their multiplication tables. This interaction put them at ease and kept them from becoming restless.

Every time I step into the hospital, I strive to connect with people. I find that I am able to make a difference not strictly due to my tasks of escorting and discharging patients but because of connection and rapport that I establish with them.

My initial nervousness about whether or not I would be able to assist sick and injured patients soon gave way to relief and gratification as I learned that I was indeed able to help them, by bringing a smile to those I escort, discharge, or deliver meals . I’ve met people I might never have met otherwise, and we’ve shared our thoughts and talked about our experiences. I have come to look forward to their company, who, despite their conditions, are still able to smile every day and enjoy engaging in conversation with me - and vice versa.

Even when volunteering in areas of the hospital where I’m not in contact with patients as often, such as doing food preparation, I always make sure to visit the patients I escort after my shift, to talk to them and uplift their spirits. Volunteering at a hospital reminds me every day how fortunate I am to be in good health and of the rewards of helping those who aren’t. While my job as a volunteer at the hospital may not result in the discovery of a cure for cancer, I am happy to have had an opportunity to contribute to improving the experiences of the children and young adults coping with their hospital stays.

College Essay Example #17: Why Carnegie Mellon

This essay was accepted into Carnegie Mellon University . Want to read more essays that worked for CMU? Check out our list of Carnegie Mellon essays that worked .

Prompt: Why Carnegie Mellon? (650 words max)

With a strong background in computer science and communications, I hope to incorporate both into a future career of building data systems, conducting research, and consulting for organizations that serve underrepresented citizens.

Specific details and anecdotes will almost always be more compelling than less specific ones. In this essay, the student does a great job of including specific, "nerdy" details, such as "an association test between melanoma associated variants and survival outcome." These details demonstrate your in-depth knowledge of an area and make your essay more engaging.

This essay does a fantastic job of addressing real-world problems and emphasizing the "bigger picture" impact of their studies. Rather than just explaining what they want to study, this student explains how their education will help them have an impact on the world. Make an argument for what problems you see in the world and how you could potentially help solve them.

For "Why Us?" college essays, one of the most important parts is to reference unique aspects to the school. Almost all colleges have strong academics, great faculty, etc. So instead of referencing those points, reference what makes the school unique and different. In this essay, the student talks about "CMU's Technology Consulting in the Global Community" program, which is both highly specific to CMU and relevant to their own interests.

In general, you should avoid simply listing your achievements. This student has many remarkable activities and experiences, but it comes across less interesting because the first half of the essay is simply describing these accomplishments.

For "Why Us?" essays, it is also a good idea to reference the values the school represents. Each school has a different "culture" and type of student body, and admissions wants to know how you will fit in.

College Essay Example #18: Why NYU?

This essay was accepted into New York University . Writing your NYU essays doesn't have to be stressful if you get inspired by these examples.

Prompt: Why NYU?

We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. What motivated you to apply to NYU? Why have you applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and or area of study? If you have applied to more than one, please also tell us why you are interested in these additional areas of study or campuses. We want to understand - Why NYU? (400 words max)

Living in a suburb my whole life, I've always felt as if I lived in a two-dimensional plane. I can go left, right, forward, and backward.

In a suburb, however, it is nearly impossible to get any meaningful altitude. Upon visiting New York City during the summer before my senior year, however, I found myself gazing up at the skyscrapers soaring high above me. I've always loved the views mountains and buildings; both from above and below. I also have spent time studying Mandarin, and Shanghai would offer a unique opportunity to further my linguistic studies while engaging in cultural immersion.

Beyond settings, NYU has the capacity and the resources available for me to engage in research in quantum computation. Playing video games got me into math and science beyond just playing with my calculator as a baby. There were practical applications of the numbers, and I wanted to understand how it all worked in order to get the best equipment and maximize ammo efficiency. I would watch "Mythbusters" and try to come up with my own hypothesis and see if it matched their conclusion.

In 8th grade, I figured out that I loved science along with math, but I didn't exactly know what science I loved. At the time I was in "physical science" and I did enjoy the class a lot, but I always thought of physics as "speed distance time" triangles which were no fun at all. I was convinced to take AP Physics in my junior year with my friends, and I loved it. It was almost every week we would learn something that completely altered my perception of the universe.

Once I learned about quantum physics and how it basically destroys our understanding of everything, I knew I wanted to pursue it further, and be at the forefront of quantum research.

At NYU, not only can I take courses to learn about the subject, but I can also participate in research through the "Center for Quantum Phenomena". Taking advanced courses and conducting research in a new setting, such as New York or Shanghai, can offer me a new perspective and a breath of fresh air. Conversely, I can help over NYU a new perspective on critical thinking and problem-solving. I chose to apply to NYU because NYU is fit for me, and I am fit for NYU.

College Essay Example #19: Moving Places

This essay was accepted into Pomona College . Check out this Pomona supplement that worked.

Prompt: For Pomona students, the College’s location in Southern California is integral in shaping their experience. Tell us about a location, real or fictional, that has shaped you in a meaningful way. (650 words max)

In supplements where they aren't specifically asking you to write about the school, it can still be a good idea to connect to the school subtly. In this prompt, Pomona isn't asking for "Why Pomona," but the author still manages to imply their interest in the school by referencing Pomona's location near the "San Gabriel Mountains" and "East L.A." This is a subtle way of making the essay feel targeted for Pomona specifically, rather than this essay being reused for other schools, without answering the prompt in a way they aren't looking for.

This essay starts off with a strong metaphor, comparing a "Swiss Army knife" to blankets, which implies the many uses of blankets. This is a captivating hook because it is creative and makes sense when thought about, but isn't something immediately obvious. Throughout the essay, "blankets" become a symbol of being able to adapt to new locations and environments. By using "blankets" as a common thread through the essay, it makes their writing about various locations still feel connected. Even though the prompt is asking for "a location," this manages to work because "blankets" becomes the unifying symbol that ties together multiple locations.

By describing the luxurious-sounding places they've traveled, this essay could come across as privileged. Although coming from privilege isn't necessarily a bad thing for applying to colleges, emphasizing that privilege (especially nonchalantly) could come across as "entitled." This essay doesn't necessarily come across that way, but over-emphasizing your privilege could come across as not recognizing that privilege or "out of touch" with others who may come from less privilege. Instead, it may be better to acknowledge your privilege and show gratitude—emphasizing how those opportunities have allowed you to make a positive impact on others.

College Essay Example #20: Double Major

Here's another liberal arts essay that worked, again for Pomona College .

Prompt: Most Pomona students enter the College undecided about a major, or they change their minds about their prospective major by the time they graduate. Certainly we aren’t going to hold you to any of the choices you’ve made above. But, in no more than 250 words, please tell us why you’ve chosen the academic programs (or undecided!) that you have listed. (250 words max)

I’m sitting backstage at my first international piano competition, anxiously awaiting my turn to perform. Unconsciously, I massage my right wrist, still recovering from a recent injury. The young man beside me feels my nervousness and starts a conversation.

As we whisper, I notice him rub his hands together uncomfortably. “What’s wrong?” I ask, quickly leaving my own wrist alone. He suppresses a nervous laugh, then quietly details the long and unsuccessful surgery that shattered his dream of becoming a professional musician. His hands were permanently damaged.

“Alessandra Fang,” the judges call. I stand up, walk to the main stage and look back to see him encourage me with a stiff, crooked thumbs-up. As my fingers dance on the keys, I observe the fragile muscles and ligaments under my skin.

I realize in that moment that it is not in a massive concert hall where I wanted to change people’s lives, but on a smaller stage: an operating room. As an artist who has had her share of painful, music-related injuries, my goal is to become a musician’s physician, and blend my greatest two passions so that I might bring relief to those around me, while understanding their musical and anatomical plight.

I wish to pursue both Biology and Music programs at Pomona College. I want to become a hand surgeon while still developing my artistry on the piano. After all, surgery also has its own cadence, complexity and composition.

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In this article and on our site, we've compiled hundreds of successful college essay examples so that you can see how other students got accepted and learn exactly what to do in order to help make your application a success too.

In this post you can learn from successful essays from Ivy League universities and other top schools like:

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People love to ask why. Why do you wear a turban? Why do you have long hair? Why are you playing a guitar with only 3 strings and watching TV at 3 A.M.—where did you get that cat? Why won’t you go back to your country, you terrorist? My answer is... uncomfortable. Many truths of the world are uncomfortable...

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Her baking is not confined to an amalgamation of sugar, butter, and flour. It's an outstretched hand, an open invitation, a makeshift bridge thrown across the divides of age and culture. Thanks to Buni, the reason I bake has evolved. What started as stress relief is now a lifeline to my heritage, a language that allows me to communicate with my family in ways my tongue cannot. By rolling dough for saratele and crushing walnuts for cornulete, my baking speaks more fluently to my Romanian heritage than my broken Romanian ever could....

UPenn Admitted Essay

A cow gave birth and I watched. Staring from the window of our stopped car, I experienced two beginnings that day: the small bovine life and my future. Both emerged when I was only 10 years old and cruising along the twisting roads of rural Maryland...

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College Application Essay Writing

College Application Essay Examples

College Application Essay Examples for 2024

21 min read

Published on: Feb 12, 2021

Last updated on: Apr 18, 2024

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Crafting a standout personal essay for college applications can be a daunting task. Students often struggle to create a compelling story that effectively showcases their abilities and aspirations.

Many young individuals find themselves unsure of how to navigate these expectations, resulting in anxiety and uncertainty.

However, if you are a student, stop worrying more about your college applications. This blog presents over 20 college application essay examples, carefully selected to inspire and guide applicants. 

Let's now dive into the world of impactful essays that have secured coveted spots at esteemed institutions.

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College Application Essay Example 250 Words

Some colleges require short essays of around 250 to 300 words. Writing these essays can be arduous as short essays need only important details about you, your objectives, and your accomplishments.

Carefully examine the example provided.

Sample College Application Essay 250 Words

College Application Essay Example 500 Words

If you are required to provide an essay of about 500 words, it means you have to share details about yourself. Sticking to the word count is as important as any part of your college essay.

For a 500-word college application or supplemental essay, a student can write about:

• Intellectual challenge
• Research query
• Ethical dilemma

However, it depends on the essay prompt and personal preference.

Observe how a successful college application essay of 500 words is written effectively through the example provided.

Sample College Application Essay 500 Words

College Application Essay Example About Yourself

A college application essay can be written using different prompts. One very common college application essay prompt is writing about yourself. In this, an applicant is asked to shed light on his background identity, interest, or talent that is meaningful to them.

The committee wants to know the applicant’s real personality, thinking, objectives, and achievements. Therefore, drafting an essay about yourself will be a good idea.

Sample College Application Essay About Yourself

College Application Essay Example For Harvard

Every university has its criteria for granting admission to students. For this purpose, the application essays vary as well. If you wish for admission to Harvard University, observe the college essay presented below.

Sample College Application Essay for Harvard

College Application Essay Example for Johns Hopkins

To understand how to answer the essay prompt for Johns Hopkins, an example is provided. Carefully observe the sample to draft your personal statement in an effective way.

Johns Hopkins College Application Essay

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‘Why Us’ College Application Essay Example

Another common prompt that colleges require their students to use in their application essay is ‘Why Us’. Just as the name suggests, this prompt attempts to know the writer’s reasons for “why that specific college”.

Analyze how to accurately and appropriately answer the ‘Why us’ prompt in your college essay in the example below.

Sample College Application Essay on 'Why Us'

Engineering College Application Essay Example

Apart from general personal statements , some colleges require application essays specific to the field. For example, if you are to pursue your dream of doing engineering, you will be writing an essay related to that.

Sample Engineering College Application Essay

Computer Sciences College Application Essay Example

If you apply to a college for a degree in computer sciences, below is the example provided. It will help you draft your application essay successfully.

Graduate College Application Essay Examples

The college application essay is a difficult part of the admissions process, and it can be tough to come up with something original. Luckily for you, we have compiled some great examples, so your essay will stand out!

College Application Essay Example 300 Words

Nursing College Application Essay Examples

The purpose of a nursing application essay is to show that you are the best candidate for the nursing program. We've collected some great examples that will help you write a great essay. 

Nursing College Application Essay Example

Honors College Application Essay Examples 

The following is an example of an honors application essay. You can use this as inspiration for your own project or just get an idea of what kind of thing might work best with the prompts that you're given. 

Honors College Application Essay Example

College Application Essay Writing Tips

A college application essay or a personal statement is a writing drafted by a student when applying for a college education. Being the most important part of the admission process, the essay should be written professionally.

To help you draft your essay correctly, expert writers of CollegeEssay.org have presented some tips to follow.

• Come up with compelling ideas for your essay. Think of catchy openers and a brilliant insight for the essay.
• Think of an interesting topic idea that makes you lose all track of time
• Write about the time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure that made you learn important life lessons.
• Reflect if you ever challenged a belief, a question solved, or a problem resolved.
• Share about your growth in personality as well as in your career to impress the audience.
• Be specific and clear about the essay. No matter which approach you are using to write a college essay, be explicit, clear, and focused.
• The committee officers want to know about the applicant and how he feels about different things. Do not go for monotonous resume descriptions and high school transcriptions.
• You should seem real from the essay content. The material you use in the text should be accurate enough for the readers to believe and get inspired.
• Before working, go through some existing examples to observe how winning documents are written. Moreover, the examples will let you decide on the structure and format for your essay.
• Always proofread and revise your essay after writing it. Revision makes the essay flawless, making the document appealing to the audience.

These incredible tips can do wonders for your college essay. Follow them to get admission to fulfill your dream of studying in college. 

Small elements can either make or break your essay. This essay type must be drafted correctly and professionally if you desire to study in a dream college. This essay requires a writer to be good at self-evaluation. Also, impress the committee with his personality and knowledge. 

A college essay is your only chance to get admission, so get it right with an AI writing tool . 

Or get help from professional essay writing services such as CollegeEssay.org. It is a writing company that provides college essays, research papers, term papers, and any other writing type students want. 

Hire an essay helper at the most reasonable price today!

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How to Write a Great 250-Word Essay

David Dec 14, 2017

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In college, there are many instances where you may be required to write a 250-word essay – your application, exam questions, small writing prompts, etc. A 250-word limit may seem like a novel to some, but others find it difficult to get their point across with so few words. In this guide, we will look at a 250-word essay example, along with tips on how to write a great 250-word essay.   Bonus: Need to write a longer essay? See this guide on how to write a 500-word essay

The Basic Format of a 250-Word Essay

All essays consist of the same three parts: an introduction with a thesis, a body paragraph or body paragraphs that support the thesis, and a concluding paragraph that summarizes the overall essay.

In 250 words, you will most likely have 3-4 paragraphs in total, each with 50-100 words. This will allow for 3-5 concise but detailed sentences per paragraph.

A Step-by-Step 250-Word Essay Example

To help visualize this process, let’s go ahead and write a simple 250-word essay.  You’ll see our writing sample in green and our explanation of what we did (and what can be done) with each section in normal text.

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Without further ado, let’s get started on our essay!

TOPIC:  How has your family upbringing influenced your educational goals?

Step 1 – Write Your Thesis

Your thesis is the first thing you should consider in your essay. Simply put, it’s the main idea of your essay that will control everything else you write. If you could summarize the question in just one sentence, how would you do it?

For our topic   How has your family upbringing influenced your educational goals?  our thesis will be:

My parents saw little value in a formal education. It was their lack of passion that led me to my educational goals.

Step 2 – Write Your Introduction

In the introduction, the first sentence can be a broad or general statement that sets the tone for the piece. It is usually supported by a second sentence that leads into the thesis. The optional third sentence may pose a question that the thesis aims to answer, or it may prompt the reader to think about the topic in a different light. The final sentence of the intro paragraph clearly establishes the thesis.

As a general rule of thumb, the introduction should go from broad to specific, sentence by sentence, gradually leading up to your thesis. Here’s a sample example of an introductory paragraph.

Parents are supposed to push you past your goals, or at least, that’s what I always believed. I was raised in the generation of “you can do anything if you put your mind to it.” My parents did not follow that philosophy, and they saw little value in a formal education. It was their lack of passion that led me to my educational goals.

Word count:  Introductory paragraph, 64 words.

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Step 3 – Write The Body Paragraph(s)

Next, we’ll continue with the body paragraph. Remember, body paragraphs should support the thesis and be about 3-5 sentences or 50-100 words long. In a short essay you may opt for only one body paragraph but in a longer one you may need more.

So how should your body paragraphs support your thesis? Think of each body paragraph as an argument that supports it.

Working with our thesis   “My parents never saw the value of formal education and that’s what lead me to my educational goals” , then each paragraph could be about   how not seeing the value of formal education led to the writer pursuing it.

For example, maybe the writer didn’t want to end up in the same work as their parents. Or maybe it was the parents’ lack of belief in the writer that pushed them to pursue a better future.

Let’s have a look at what a body paragraph can look like for our 250 word essay.

From as far back as I can remember, I knew I didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of my parents, at least not when it came to work. My father had worked on the family farm all his life and my mother had been a housewife since graduation. They were both content with the simplicity of their lives and wanted the same for me. I remember my father telling me that college was “expensive and a waste of four years”.  I knew however, that I wanted a career in the city that would be more challenging than simple farm life could provide. The only way to make that possible would be through formal education and a college degree. 

Word count:  Body paragraph 119 words. Total essay is now 181 words.

Step 4 – Summarize with a Conclusion

The final paragraph is the conclusion. You may start this paragraph with “To summarize,” “As evident by X, Y, and Z,”  or a similar statement that highlights the biggest points in your essay. Use the conclusion paragraph to sum up the main point of your essay using different words. The last sentence can be something broad that leaves the reader wondering. Let’s see how we can write a conclusion for our sample essay.

While my parents may not understand the value of formal education, I know it is essential for my future. This has helped me immensely, by making me realize that without strong parental support, I’m the only one who’s responsible for my own goals. In a way this has been the strongest source of motivation. And for that, I am forever grateful.  

Notice how we summarize the main point of the essay in the first sentence. We then connect the first sentence to the a conclusion we arrive at. Finally we end in an optimistic tone by stating how this has been helpful and we are grateful. Unlike the introduction paragraph, which flows from broad sentences to specific, a conclusion generally flows the opposite way, from specific sentences to broader concepts.

Word count: Concluding paragraph 61 words. Total essay is now 242 words. 

Sure, we came up 8 words short. But being that close should not be considered an issue. If for some reason you are required to write 250 words minimum, you can make the essay longer by sprinkling in a few extra words.

The Entire 250-word Essay  Altogether

Parents are supposed to push you past your goals, or at least, that’s what I always believed. I was raised in the generation of “you can do anything if you put your mind to it.” My parents did not follow that philosophy, and they saw little value in a formal education. It was their lack of passion that led me to my educational goals. From as far back as I can remember, I knew I didn’t want to follow in the footsteps of my parents, at least not when it came to work. My father had worked on the family farm all his life and my mother had been a housewife since graduation. They were both content with the simplicity of their lives and wanted the same for me. I remember my father telling me that college was “expensive and a waste of four years”.  I knew however, that I wanted a career in the city that would be more challenging than simple farm life could provide. The only way to make that possible would be through formal education and a college degree.  While my parents may not understand the value of formal education, I know it is essential for my future. This has helped me immensely by making me realize that without strong parental support, I’m the only one who’s responsible for my own goals. In a way this has been the strongest source of motivation. And for that, I am forever grateful.  

Should I Write More Than 250 Words or Less Than 250 Words?

When a professor or college entry application asks for a “250 word essay,” 250 words is generally a rough guide. No one is going to fail you if you go over or under the limit by a few words. We’d say a good gauge is plus or minus 50 words. As a general rule of thumb though, try to stay as close to 250 words as possible without going too far over or under.

Essay Writing Tips

Here are some quick tips for writing a great 250-word essay:

• Write the first draft from start to finish without any pauses. This will make the writing sound fluid, and you can make adjustments after that.
• Avoid over-editing your work. Ideally, you should take a long pause between editing sessions so you can clear your head and come back with a fresh perspective.
• Try not to think about the word count too much. Once you get in the habit of writing four 3-5 sentence paragraphs, you’ll find your words naturally get close to 250.
• Don’t throw fluff sentences in your essay. Professors see right through those. Instead, think of an additional sentence to enhance the support in your body paragraphs.
• If you feel like you have concisely and sufficiently answered the question below the word count, trust your gut. Most instructors will value quality over quantity.

The more 250-word essays you write, the easier they will become. Feel free to practice with free essay prompts online to train your brain to write with this rhythm. You’ll soon be able to whip out 250 words without checking your word count!

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How to Write the “Greatest Talent or Skill” UC Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Vinay Bhaskara in a CollegeVine livestream. You can watch the full livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

Avoid re-stating your resume, how to choose your talent or skill, look for unconventional uses of your skill, how to structure this essay, notice overlaps with other essays.

The third University of California personal insight question asks students to respond to the following prompt: 

“What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time? (350 words)”  

For this question, your response is limited to a maximum of 350 words. In this article, we will discuss how to avoid the most common pitfall, choosing a topic that makes your essay stand out, and structural considerations. 

For more information on University of California’s other supplemental essays and writing dos and don’ts, check out our posts on how to write University of California essays and on great University of California essay examples . 

The most common pitfall for the third University of California (UC) personal insight question (PIQ) is that students just restate their resumes rather than discussing why the activity matters and how it has impacted them. This also commonly happens in PIQ # 1, the “leadership” essay, but PIQ #3 is by far the most notorious for this mistake.

Students will often provide a list of things they did in a particular activity like they would on a resume, but, unfortunately, this can make for an incredibly boring college essay. The good news is that there are several strategies that students can use to write a strong response to this prompt that strengthens their admission prospects.

One way to write a unique and engaging response to this prompt is by choosing to focus on an intangible talent or skill. 

Typically, when people think of talents, they think of things they are good at like math, debate, journalism, writing, or even something sports related like jumping – all of which are tangible hard skills. But intangible soft skills, such as interpersonal skills, can make for strong essays particularly because they are not one of the expected, common responses.

Admissions Officers frequently see essays centered around skills like science, research, or coding. In contrast, essays about intangible skills, like resolving conflict or persevering in the face of challenges, provide students the opportunity to write an unexpected and interesting response, as well as a more deeply personal essay that highlights success strategies that boost a students performance.

Highlight Your “Spike”

This essay is a great chance to highlight your “spike” , or a specific field or domain that you are passionate about and skilled in. Students with spikes are seen as the individuals who will be leaders in their fields, demonstrating and deepening their talents and interest in their spike throughout their academic career. 

When doing this, it’s important to explore why you have built that talent, or that spike, and why you’re passionate about it. What makes this essay strong is not that you have a spike, but instead, why the topic related to your spike is interesting to you and why you enjoy it.

Another potential way to make your essay stand out is by writing about a smaller, unconventional way that you use your skill.  

For example, if research was the talent you chose, you could write about a typical use of that skill, like doing scientific or medical research. Alternatively, you could instead write about an unconventional use of that skill, like leveraging research skills to help a family member navigate the immigration system. 

This can be especially strategic if you already have more conventional examples of that skill on your resume, as this essay can then demonstrate another side of you.

As you structure this essay, it can be helpful to write about one anecdote while weaving in examples of how you built up your talent over time.

Some students choose to write about multiple shorter anecdotes for this PIQ, but this structure often does not work for a 350-word essay. This is because much of the allotted space is used to establish the plot of the multiple anecdotes, leaving not enough room remaining for the most important part: personal reflection.

Using multiple anecdotes can work better for longer essays, like the Common App personal statement which has a word limit of 650 words.

This particular prompt shares similarities with some other college essay prompts, most notably Common App Prompt #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.”

Depending on the schools you are applying to, you may find that you can successfully overlap parts of a UC PIQ #3 response with an essay for Common App Prompt #1, but keep in mind that you will not be able to write both essays identically due to the differences in the prompts and word limits.

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How to Start a College Essay: 5 Effective Techniques

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Impressionable Openers

Descriptions and demonstrations, show vulnerability, be authentic, stay personal, fun & quirky, common mistakes to avoid in your college essay.

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Frequently Asked Questions About Starting a College Essay

College essays are a huge part of your college career. If not huge, one of the biggest, and for someone who has been there and done that, I know the amount of pressure the beginning of a college essay, as well as the entire essay, can put on your shoulders.

Not only are you trying to juggle things like word count and grammar errors, but you're also trying to create the perfect college essay introduction that will attract admissions officers to your application or professors to your writing skills. And that, itself, can feel impossible, fill you with dread and self-doubt, but just breathe. I am here to help all present and future students know how to start a college essay.

Today is all about starting a college essay. I have come up with five easy and effective techniques that will help you create essays so good you're going to leave your readers wanting more , starting with your opening sentence! So, this is for all college students and college applicants. Stress no more! This guide was created to help you write a successful college essay. Let's get into it.

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The beginning of your essay should, first and foremost, always have a strong opening sentence . This sentence sets the tone for not only your readers but for the entire essay. Having a wobbly, almost interesting opener can steer an admissions officer and/or professor away, so you want it to be strong. And it doesn't have to be complicated! Less is more in this situation. Here are a couple of ways you can accomplish this.

• Look within and be relatable
• Use your real life for inspiration
• Think about ways to evoke emotion

Here are some examples of impressionable openers:

• Example 1: When I was 11 years old, my mother told me she had cancer over breakfast.
• Example 2: Maybe yellow isn't my favorite color.
• Example 3: I sat next to this girl in class who made me feel stupid.

DISCLAIMER : your opener should ALWAYS adhere to the essay prompts. These are just a few examples that can capture your reader's attention almost immediately.

In order to keep readers interested, visuals are key . Image-based descriptions will not only add value to your writing, it will give your readers front seats to your essay's journey. These descriptions let actions speak for themselves.

Here is an example of a description and demonstration in an essay:

• Example 1: "I was sitting on a bar stool when the word 'cancer' hit me like the smell of her coffee brewing on the stove. The Rice Krispies were popping in my cereal bowl, and MTV Jams was playing in the background, yet all I could hear was the sound of doom all around me. The lips of my mother were moving, but I was frozen, crumbling on this stool like my mother's health. She was sick, and I didn't know how sick or what that even meant, and that terrified me."

Why This Works:

Here you can clearly feel the writers emotional state: shocked, still, scared. Not only is this moment at breakfast traumatic, you feel frozen in time with the writer. Using descriptions like this will evoke so much emotion and leave your reader wanting more.

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Something one of my teachers told me in high school was any good essay will have personal elements in it, no matter the topic. That always stuck with me and became the way I approached my college essays. Showing vulnerability in your writing will always guarantee interest. It also evokes emotion.

You can show vulnerability by:

• Being honest
• Explaining what's going on inside underneath the exterior
• Describe what's going on around you at the moment
• Letting go of the fear of being seen
• Connecting with the topic
• Being transparent about mistakes/flaws

Examples of showing vulnerability:

• Example 1 : My mother telling me she had cancer over breakfast was not on my bingo card this year.
• Example 2 : I never thought losing someone I love would change me.
• Example 3: I had to lose everything in order to gain everything.

I know being vulnerable can be tough for some , but showing this side of you to college admissions officers and/or professors will not only make you stand out, but it can also help free you of things that might be weighing on your mind. Not to sound corny, but it can be therapeutic and make you a better writer . Just make sure you are staying on track with the essay prompt, and you're set!

Whether it's believed or not, an admissions officer wants to see pieces of you in your personal statement, so starting your essay by showing authenticity is a major major key. Along with being vulnerable, there are a few ways you can achieve this.

• Reflect : Take the time to reflect on your experiences, values, and beliefs that have shaped who you are today. Let your values, passions, and interests shine through in your writing.
• Mind Your Voice : Write in your own voice and avoid trying to sound like someone you're not. Authenticity comes from being genuine and true to yourself.
• Tell Your Story : Share personal anecdotes and insights that show your unique perspective.
• Be True to You : Focus on what matters to YOU (as long as you're on topic!). Write about what is meaningful and important to you rather than what you think admissions officers want to hear.

Above all, be open . Showing introspection and self-awareness in your essay will show any admissions committee who you are beneath the surface, as well as your personal growth.

You can also begin your essay being as random and silly as you'd like . It goes hand-in-hand with other important factors like vulnerability and authenticity. But don't get too crazy . Beginning your essay with something strange will definitely draw readers in. Let me show you what I mean.

• Example 1 : I start my mornings off in silence and solitude to keep people away from me.
• Example 2 : Sometimes, I like to circle big words in complex articles to learn new words. Yeah, but to also keep one in my back pocket for later use.
• Example 3 : Being the youngest child means getting away with everything you want, and that's exactly how I like it.

Do you see how each sentence draws you in? Not only are they light-hearted, but they also make you want to know why you want to keep people away in the morning and what kind of weapon you're forming against others with new words. And every youngest sibling will attest to feeling that exact same way. All of these examples are sure to make your essay fun, show who you are, and leave readers wanting more.

Years of writing college essays have taken me through every high and low of the process possible. And when they're good, they're great! But for some reason, my mistakes stick out more than anything. So, I've compiled a list of common mistakes to avoid when writing your college essay .

• Avoid Being Cliche - While you want to be captivating, you want to avoid overly used syntax and phrases that could potentially lose your reader's curiosity. For example, "in today's day and age," "follow my heart," "don't judge a book by its cover," etc. are all cliches that can be avoided by thinking outside of the box.
• Using Vocabulary to be Impressive - I know you want to impress the admissions committees, but it's important to stick to what you know and not what you can allude to. That is, use verbiage that resonates with your personality. Using extravagant words can work against you, and they can also sound forced. College admissions officers want to see the real you, so show it to them.
• Steer Clear of Controversy - Though it's not said enough, your college essay should tell your personal story and not touch on things that can stir the pot. For instance, talking about politics and religious beliefs may not be the route you want to take UNLESS it's called for in the college essay topic. And if so, stay on track with the essay prompts.
• Procrastinating : Waiting until the last minute to start writing your essay will bite you in the butt. You will feel rushed and end up writing a poorly crafted piece. Give yourself enough time to complete an essay draft, edit the draft, and repeat this two-step cycle until your essay is complete.
• Lack of originality : This goes hand-in-hand with avoiding cliches. Your college essay should exude a lot of your personality, so show admissions officers and teachers who you are! Include your cultural background, test scores that you're proud of, any future aspirations, etc. This all depends on the essay prompts, of course, but in my experience, every essay topic has room to show who you are.
• Ignoring the prompt : This is a major key. STAY ON TRACK. Make sure to carefully read and understand the essay prompt, and write your essay accordingly. The last thing you want to do is write a college essay that has nothing to do with the prompt. Reading is essential here.
• Lack of focus : If you want to know how to start a college essay, that means knowing how to stay focused. Find a quiet space, turn off electronics, hide your phone, and really nestle into how you want to capture your reader's attention. This will help you use your five senses clearly, keep your writing strong and not write an overly wordy essay. Focus is the tool here.
• Poor organization : Make sure your essay has a strong structure with clear transitions between paragraphs. An outline will work best to accomplish this. If you go into starting your college essay without a plan, be prepared to hit all roadblocks.
• Neglecting to Revise and Edit : Like procrastinating, don't fail to revise and edit your work. Always, always, always proofread your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors , as well as clarity and coherence.
• Not Seeking Feedback : Listen, I know that completing an essay is an accomplishment in itself, and you immediately want to submit it, but it's so beneficial to have others read your essay for feedback. You can only spot so many holes in your work when your eyes are constantly reviewing it, so a second, third, or even fourth set of eyes can help point out areas for improvement.

Above all, trust the writing process. Though I do want you to be aware of your jargon, don't get too wrapped up in thinking you're making a mistake. That's what editing is for! Once you complete your college essay, you should always revise and edit accordingly . What you thought sounded good might make you edit it to sound great. Just keep in mind that many colleges are looking for honesty and authenticity vs how well you can sound on paper . So, if you're aware of these factors, you'll be good to go.

Ways to Overcome Writer's Block

Take it from someone who has suffered from chronic writer's block, it's a pain to get through . Imagine being on a writing streak so good that when you stop, the entire essay writing process stops as a whole. It's definitely a challenge, but after 10 years of writing essays and really honing my craft, I learned a few things that have helped me get through even the thickest of writer's blocks, and I want to share them with you. Check them out:

• Take a break : This works every single time. Take a short break and step away from your computer to clear your mind and come back with a fresh perspective. For me, 15 minutes is all I ever need. If you need more time, that's okay. Just try not to make your break a rest.
• Freewriting : Sometimes, I'd start writing without worrying about my structure or grammar to get the ideas flowing, and surprisingly enough, I found my essay taking a pleasant turn.
• Change your environment : Move around. Don't underestimate the effects of a different location or workspace to stimulate creativity. Try coffee shops, bookstores, a park, or a new room in your house. New environment, new energy.
• Set small goals : This one is actually the most important. Some people get overwhelmed with the word "essay" for things like lack of proper writing skills, pressure to write a great essay, etc. But if you try breaking down your writing task into smaller, manageable chunks to make it less overwhelming, it can help. For example, set a goal of three paragraphs one day, take a day to edit those paragraphs, two more the next day, and so forth. Find a formula that works for you.
• Brainstorming : Write down all your ideas--everything. No matter how small you think the idea is, write it down. Even if these ideas seem unrelated, they will help you generate new thoughts and connections.
• Read or listen to music : It took me a while to realize this helps, but engaging in other forms of art can inspire new ideas and break through mental blocks. And new creativity can lead you to impress admissions officers.
• Talk it out : As a writer, it's hard to let people in on the creative process, but discussing my ideas with a friend, family member, or colleague helped me gain new perspectives and insights.
• Relax and Meditate : Hear me out: it works! Practice deep breathing and/or meditation to reduce stress and anxiety that may be contributing to writer's block.

I won't sugarcoat it: the college application process can be intimidating , but it doesn't have to throw you off your game. When it comes to college essays, I see them as opportunities to be fun and expressive. Trust me when I say if you have fun with it, you'll attract the reader's attention , paint vivid details, and write an essay that will leave the admissions officer wanting you at their school. So, take it one step at a time and watch your personal statement come to life.

How can I make my college essay stand out to admissions officers?

Simply put, be yourself. As long as you stay on track with the essay's topic, showing pieces of yourself will allow admissions officers to know more about who you are. Essays are meant to show readers who you are, how you feel, and what you think naturally, not robotically, so be authentic in your writing, and you'll be sure to stand out amongst the rest.

What are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a college essay?

Some common mistakes to avoid in your essay are using cliches and boring wording. You also want to avoid procrastinating, wasting time, not focusing, not editing, etc. When writing your essay, you want to make sure you give your writing the time and attention it deserves, so make sure you're aware of what is pulling you away from your writing. This will help you stay focused. If you have any other doubts, refer to the section about mistakes in this article and let it guide you to success.

How important is the college essay in the admissions process?

Your college essay is key in the admissions process . It's an admissions committee's first impression of you as a writer and potential student, so it should be taken very seriously. Trying to cut corners or rush through the writing process will be obvious, and it will stand out more than things like test scores, academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and any other positive influence you've had in your life. So, don't take the easy way out and really work on your essay.

Feeling confident in your college essay skills and want to explore some other essay content? Explore our blog on the comma splice to enhance your technical writing skills!

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College Essays

Figuring out your college essay can be one of the most difficult parts of applying to college. Even once you've read the prompt and picked a topic, you might wonder: if you write too much or too little, will you blow your chance of admission? How long should a college essay be?

Whether you're a terse writer or a loquacious one, we can advise you on college essay length. In this guide, we'll cover what the standard college essay length is, how much word limits matter, and what to do if you aren't sure how long a specific essay should be.

How Long Is a College Essay? First, Check the Word Limit

You might be used to turning in your writing assignments on a page-limit basis (for example, a 10-page paper). While some colleges provide page limits for their college essays, most use a word limit instead. This makes sure there's a standard length for all the essays that a college receives, regardless of formatting or font.

In the simplest terms, your college essay should be pretty close to, but not exceeding, the word limit in length. Think within 50 words as the lower bound, with the word limit as the upper bound. So for a 500-word limit essay, try to get somewhere between 450-500 words. If they give you a range, stay within that range.

College essay prompts usually provide the word limit right in the prompt or in the instructions.

For example, the University of Illinois says :

"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."

As exemplified by the University of Illinois, the shortest word limits for college essays are usually around 150 words (less than half a single-spaced page). Rarely will you see a word limit higher than around 650 words (over one single-spaced page). College essays are usually pretty short: between 150 and 650 words. Admissions officers have to read a lot of them, after all!

Weigh your words carefully, because they are limited!

How Flexible Is the Word Limit?

But how flexible is the word limit? What if your poignant anecdote is just 10 words too long—or 100 too short?

Can I Go Over the Word Limit?

If you are attaching a document and you need one or two extra words, you can probably get away with exceeding the word limit by such a small amount. Some colleges will actually tell you that exceeding the word limit by 1-2 words is fine. However, I advise against exceeding the word limit unless it's explicitly allowed for a few reasons:

First, you might not be able to. If you have to copy-paste it into a text box, your essay might get cut off and you'll have to trim it down anyway.

If you exceed the word limit in a noticeable way, the admissions counselor may just stop reading your essay past that point. This is not good for you.

Following directions is actually a very important part of the college application process. You need to follow directions to get your letters of recommendation, upload your essays, send supplemental materials, get your test scores sent, and so on and so forth. So it's just a good general rule to follow whatever instructions you've been given by the institution. Better safe than sorry!

Can I Go Under the Word Limit?

If you can truly get your point across well beneath the word limit, it's probably fine. Brevity is not necessarily a bad thing in writing just so long as you are clear, cogent, and communicate what you want to.

However, most college essays have pretty tight word limits anyways. So if you're writing 300 words for an essay with a 500-word limit, ask yourself: is there anything more you could say to elaborate on or support your points? Consult with a parent, friend, or teacher on where you could elaborate with more detail or expand your points.

Also, if the college gives you a word range, you absolutely need to at least hit the bottom end of the range. So if you get a range from the institution, like 400-500 words, you need to write at least 400 words. If you write less, it will come across like you have nothing to say, which is not an impression you want to give.

What If There Is No Word Limit?

Some colleges don't give you a word limit for one or more of your essay prompts. This can be a little stressful, but the prompts generally fall into a few categories:

Writing Sample

Some colleges don't provide a hard-and-fast word limit because they want a writing sample from one of your classes. In this case, a word limit would be very limiting to you in terms of which assignments you could select from.

For an example of this kind of prompt, check out essay Option B at Amherst :

"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."

While there is usually no word limit per se, colleges sometimes provide a general page guideline for writing samples. In the FAQ for Option B , Amherst clarifies, "There is no hard-and-fast rule for official page limit. Typically, we anticipate a paper of 4-5 pages will provide adequate length to demonstrate your analytical abilities. Somewhat longer papers can also be submitted, but in most cases should not exceed 8-10 pages."

So even though there's no word limit, they'd like somewhere in the 4-10 pages range. High school students are not usually writing papers that are longer than 10 pages anyways, so that isn't very limiting.

Implicit Length Guideline

Sometimes, while there's no word (or even page) limit, there's still an implicit length guideline. What do I mean by this?

See, for example, this Western Washington University prompt :

“Describe one or more activities you have been involved in that have been particularly meaningful. What does your involvement say about the communities, identities or causes that are important to you?”

While there’s no page or word limit listed here, further down on page the ‘essay tips’ section explains that “ most essay responses are about 500 words, ” though “this is only a recommendation, not a firm limit.” This gives you an idea of what’s reasonable. A little longer or shorter than 500 words would be appropriate here. That’s what I mean by an “implicit” word limit—there is a reasonable length you could go to within the boundaries of the prompt.

But what's the proper coffee-to-paragraph ratio?

Treasure Hunt

There is also the classic "treasure hunt" prompt. No, it's not a prompt about a treasure hunt. It's a prompt where there are no length guidelines given, but if you hunt around on the rest of the website you can find length guidelines.

For example, the University of Chicago provides seven "Extended Essay" prompts . You must write an essay in response to one prompt of your choosing, but nowhere on the page is there any guidance about word count or page limit.

However, many colleges provide additional details about their expectations for application materials, including essays, on FAQ pages, which is true of the University of Chicago. On the school’s admissions Frequently Asked Questions page , they provide the following length guidelines for the supplemental essays: 

“We suggest that you note any word limits for Coalition or Common Application essays; however, there are no strict word limits on the UChicago Supplement essays. For the extended essay (where you choose one of several prompts), we suggest that you aim for around 650 words. While we won't, as a rule, stop reading after 650 words, we're only human and cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention indefinitely. For the “Why UChicago?” essay, we suggest about 250-500 words. The ideas in your writing matter more than the exact number of words you use!”

So there you go! You want to be (loosely) in the realm of 650 for the extended essay, and 250-500 words for the “Why UChicago?” essay.

Help! There Really Is No Guidance on Length

If you really can't find any length guidelines anywhere on the admissions website and you're at a loss, I advise calling the admissions office. They may not be able to give you an exact number (in fact, they probably won't), but they will probably at least be able to tell you how long most of the essays they see are. (And keep you from writing a panicked, 20-page dissertation about your relationship with your dog).

In general, 500 words or so is pretty safe for a college essay. It's a fairly standard word limit length, in fact. (And if you're wondering, that's about a page and a half double-spaced.) 500 words is long enough to develop a basic idea while still getting a point across quickly—important when admissions counselors have thousands of essays to read!

"See? It says 500 words right there in tiny font!"

The Final Word: How Long Should a College Essay Be?

The best college essay length is usually pretty straightforward: you want to be right under or at the provided word limit. If you go substantially past the word limit, you risk having your essay cut off by an online application form or having the admissions officer just not finish it. And if you're too far under the word limit, you may not be elaborating enough.

What if there is no word limit? Then how long should a college essay be? In general, around 500 words is a pretty safe approximate word amount for a college essay—it's one of the most common word limits, after all!

Here's guidance for special cases and hunting down word limits:

If it's a writing sample of your graded academic work, the length either doesn't matter or there should be some loose page guidelines.

There also may be implicit length guidelines. For example, if a prompt says to write three paragraphs, you'll know that writing six sentences is definitely too short, and two single-spaced pages is definitely too long.

You might not be able to find length guidelines in the prompt, but you could still hunt them up elsewhere on the website. Try checking FAQs or googling your chosen school name with "admissions essay word limit."

If there really is no word limit, you can call the school to try to get some guidance.

With this advice, you can be sure you've got the right college essay length on lockdown!

Hey, writing about yourself can even be fun!

What's Next?

Need to ask a teacher or friend for help with your essay? See our do's and dont's to getting college essay advice .

If you're lacking in essay inspiration, see our guide to brainstorming college essay ideas . And here's our guide to starting out your essay perfectly!

Looking for college essay examples? See 11 places to find college essay examples and 145 essay examples with analysis !

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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Your Definitive Guide to Supplemental College Application Essays

Including supplemental essay examples to inspire your own.

Supplemental college application essays come in a vast range of topics and sizes and are often the biggest challenge for students after getting through the grueling initial application stages. These essays are crucial in the admissions process, as they provide a more personal and detailed context of your candidacy. They allow you to speak about more specific topics than the more general and broadly-structured personal statement or Common App essay that you submit in your primary application.

In this blog, our college essay advisors go over the general categories and purposes for the various supplemental essays you may have to navigate, and offer examples of short, medium, and lengthy supplemental essays.

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Article Contents 25 min read

Why are supplemental college application essays so important.

Supplemental essay prompts are usually provided directly by colleges as part of the secondary application, after you’ve submitted your primary application. Some colleges ask for multiple essays of varying lengths while others may ask for just one long-form supplemental essay. The specific prompts and word count requirements vary widely between schools. Every admissions committee creates their own supplemental requirements, including secondary essay prompts, to help them form a holistic picture of the applicant and judge how well-suited they would be for their school.

At the outset, it’s vital to understand that the term “supplemental” does not mean optional or second in importance. A supplement fills or makes up for an absence or imbalance, and that’s precisely the role these essays play in your application. Think of it a bit like adding colored paint to a black and white drawing. Your high school resume , transcripts, and test scores have given admissions committees an initial sense of what your candidacy. Supplemental essays, when correctly attuned to the personal statement, create a more nuanced portrait of your as an applicant.

Supplemental essays present a unique challenge as they have to be written in a short period of time, typically in 2 weeks or a month. Colleges send out secondary applications only after receiving your primary application and they provide strict submission deadlines. Additionally, unlike your personal statement, it’s not always possible to write supplemental college essays in advance since colleges frequently change their exact prompts from one year to the next and secondary essays need to always be tailored in response to specific prompts. However, that doesn’t mean you have to wait till you actually receive your specific prompts to start work on the essays.

A good strategy to tackle advance work on supplemental college essays is to spend 2 to 3 weeks writing rough drafts of the most common supplemental college essay types. Depending on the colleges you’re applying to, you can focus on specific prompts they’ve frequently asked in previous years. You can also check out college essay examples to get a better idea of what kind of content you need to come up with.

As you’re working on your primary application in the summer before senior year of high school or in September/October of your senior year, you can spend a few minutes each day brainstorming ideas for the previous year’s secondary essay prompts from colleges you’re applying to and creating a few rough drafts. For instance, most colleges ask for the “why us” essay, so you should definitely brainstorm your answer to that question in advance for all the colleges you’re applying to.

The advantage of following this strategy is that you will probably be wrapping up your primary application, including your personal statement or Common App essay, just as you begin work on your secondaries. Writing an effective personal statement requires a lot of brainstorming, journaling, introspection, free writing, rough drafts, and revisions. In the process, you’re sure to have spent plenty of time identifying key experiences, events, incidents, and people in your life, and also thinking about your own strengths, weaknesses, motivations, ambitions, and failures. Not all of this would have made it into your personal statement, and you can re-use a lot of this rough material as inspiration for your supplemental essay content. Moreover, you would have already honed your structuring and writing skills working on your personal statement, and the basic written communication skills required for the secondary essays are the same.

The goal of this advanced writing process is to have ideas and inspiration ready for when you actually receive your specific essay prompts. All your pre-writing and brainstorming will give you plenty of base material to work with, and rather than starting from scratch, you can spend the critical time before your supplemental deadline tailoring your essays to respond to the specific prompts and word counts. Remember, this is going to be a very busy period for you: while different colleges have different supplemental application dates and timelines, they generally occur within a similar period of time, typically between October and November for early decision programs and December and January for regular applications. So, you’re bound to have some overlap between the secondary essay deadlines for different colleges you’re applying to. You might end up having to work on secondary essays for multiple colleges within the same 1 month period. That’s why it’s all the more important that you complete your brainstorming in advance and create a few rough drafts of essays in response to the most commonly expected prompts.

Now, let’s discuss some general trends and categories frequently used for supplemental college application essays.

How to Tackle Different Supplemental Essays Prompts

While these categories cover the general focus of most supplemental essays, it’s important to note that schools change their secondary and supplemental essay prompts regularly, sometimes every year, and as a result, topics and categories evolve over time. Nonetheless, these are the most common categories both historically and currently.

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind while working on any essay type:

The School-Specific Supplemental Essay

What is it?

As we mentioned previously, this is one of the most frequently used supplemental college prompts. These are typically between 250-350 words in length, although this varies widely from school to school. This is actually one of the easiest types of secondary college prompts to answer. Students don’t usually choose their undergraduate institutions randomly, rather, they make their choice after careful deliberation and research. To answer the school-specific essays, use that research! Schools want to know you’re engaged with their overall mission and clearly understand their place in the world, as well as what you specifically hope to get out of the campus experience aside from a Bachelor’s degree.

Sample essay prompts

Dartmouth : While arguing a Dartmouth-related case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1818, Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, delivered this memorable line: \"It is, sir,\u2026a small college, and yet there are those who love it!\" As you seek admission to the Class of 2026, what aspects of the College's program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? (maximum 100 words) ","label":"Dartmouth","title":"Dartmouth"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

How to write this type of essay

• Provide specific details that tie to an overarching theme : It’s very important to set up the connection between your academic ambitions and what the college has to offer. Think deeply about what you hope to achieve and why you’ve identified this specific college. Back up your thesis with specific details about the college. It’s not enough to say – “I love XYZ college, and I’d love to pursue ABC major there.” The why is crucial. Remember, in this essay, colleges don’t want to see you simply discuss you and your journey; they want to know how that journey led you to them. Back up your claims with details about what attracts you to them, which could be anything from the campus and famous alumni, to the college’s unique values, or their innovative curriculum.
• Go beyond the obvious : This type of essay is, crucially, asking you to do your research and go beyond the obvious. Don’t just talk about a school’s generally known reputation or what’s on their homepage. Instead, try to identify specific projects, academic opportunities, research avenues, extracurriculars, or faculty that interest you, and relate them to your goals.
• Consider what you can do for them : Think not only about why this college is a great choice for you, but why you are a great choice for them. Why do you think you’ll fit into their campus? Are there college traditions you would be proud to continue? Can you contribute to any on-going projects or initiatives on campus? Demonstrate why they should choose you by using a concrete example.

The Extracurricular Essay

In this essay, you may be asked to talk about a particularly meaningful extracurricular activity. You might have already covered the basic details of this activity in the activities section of your application, but supplemental essays dealing with your extracurricular activities get into more overtly personal territory. Remember, the intent here is not to simply get a rehash of your activities section or transcript; rather, in these essays, schools want you to get into the deeper aspects and psychological nuances of your involvement in those activities.

It’s important to keep in mind that most prompts will not directly reference extracurriculars, but the most likely answer to these kinds of prompt will include a discussion of an extracurricular activity. For instance, some colleges ask you to elaborate on an activity where you demonstrated leadership or what helps you explore your creative side.

University of California: 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. (maximum 350 words) ","label":"University of California 2","title":"University of California 2"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

• Pick the right activity : It’s important to pick the right activities to talk about in your supplemental essays. Research the school’s website and social media to see their mission, values, and what kind of qualities they value in their matriculants, and choose an activity that reflects these. While you obviously want to remain genuine in your essays, it does not mean you cannot be strategic. Choose an activity you know will resonate with the college you’re applying to. Another tip: If you’ve already discussed one activity in detail in your personal statement, avoid repeating that here. Additionally, don’t pick achievement-oriented activities just because you think this might impress the admissions committee. You’ve already communicated your achievements in the activities section – in this essay, you have a chance to share another side of your personality and show the admissions committee more of what makes you unique. So, you can either focus on activities you are passionate about but haven’t mentioned elsewhere, such as cooking, woodworking, non-competitive chess playing, and so on. Or pick a compelling angle for activities you’ve already mentioned. For instance, if you’ve noted being a musician in your application elsewhere, this essay would be an opportunity to discuss why and how it’s been meaningful in your life, and potentially the lives of others.
• Do not be repetitive : Think of the personal circumstances, feelings, failures, and learnings surrounding your extracurriculars and write an essay that elaborates on one of these aspects. For example, even if you do end up picking your top activity from your primary application to write about, make sure the essay you write covers a unique aspect of your experience that you haven’t discussed elsewhere in your application before. Continuing our previous example, don’t just cover the obvious aspects of musical performance, but get into the psychological impact of performing, and of what specific types or music have impacted you through immersive practice or playing. 

Check out this infographic:

This type of essay is often the hardest for students to navigate, and also comes with the longest minimum word count requirement, often 500 or more words. If you’ve had your head down in the grind of coursework and achievement-oriented activities for most of your time in high school, odds are, you haven’t had a lot of time to engage in community service or collective projects outside of school. In a sense, this is a supplemental essay that requires some advanced planning: volunteer or community service work is a widely-understood key to getting admitted to competitive universities, so you will need something to refer to in this regard. Moreover, in this essay more than any other, colleges want to see an account of meaningful experience rather than a mere description of activities performed. They’re looking for long-term involvement, thoughtful self-reflection, and a clear personal growth journey. It’s a lot to ask from a high school student writing a 500 word essay!

However, part of the brilliance of this type of essay is its flexibility. You don’t need to have built a new community center with your bare hands to have impacted your community. Maybe you’ve participated in a group project that benefitted other students, or maybe you took part in planning a school event. Even a part-time job likely had some impact on your neighbors and fellow citizens. You could also discuss “informal” activities, such as helping your elderly neighbor with her grocery shopping, helping your family with a cultural project, your background as a member of a minority group, and so on. Think creatively about the ways you’ve acted in the world, and from that, determine how those actions have impacted others.

MIT : At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world\u2019s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc. (200\u2013250 words) ","label":"MIT","title":"MIT"}]" code="tab3" template="BlogArticle">

• Find what makes you unique : If you’re having trouble identifying which communities you’ve been a part of, or which part of your identity to focus on, try the “what makes me unique?” angle. This is definitely something you would have brainstormed for your personal statement, so bring those notes out! We are all a part of various communities, whether we realize it or not, and we all contribute to them in our own unique way. You might have a unique skill or talent, or maybe it’s a personal quality that helped you deal with an issue in the community. Alternatively, maybe your background and identity are a key part of your life’s journey, and you have many experiences related to that. There’s no “wrong” community you could discuss, whether it’s a Dungeons and Dragons club you created with your friends, the ethnic community you’re a part of, or the neighborhood where you grew up. The key is to identify what makes you unique.
• Focus on your growth journey: The easiest way to discuss community engagement in a “meaningful” way is to focus on how you, individually, found growth and learning through your participation in a larger community, and how you simultaneously impacted them. No matter what the community is, the growth narrative is important. There has to be a clear two-way impact that demonstrates how your engagement and contributions affected those around you.

Create Your Own Class Essay

One of the more creative type of essays, these prompts ask students to come up with their own class, reimagine a whole department, conceptualize their ideal lecture series, and so on. This essay is your chance to show your creative and out-of-the-box thinking, while also expanding upon your academic interests and sharing your passions with the admissions committee. This essay is essentially a more creative alternative to the “why this major” essay.

Boston College : Boston College strives to provide an undergraduate learning experience emphasizing the liberal arts, quality teaching, personal formation, and engagement of critical issues. If you had the opportunity to create your own college course, what enduring question or contemporary problem would you address and why. (maximum 400 words) ","label":"Boston College","title":"Boston College"}]" code="tab4" template="BlogArticle">

• Get creative : You can really use this essay topic to stand out from the crowd. Come up with a creative answer and expand upon it with fun, yet thoughtful details that show your intellectual curiosity and unique perspective on the world.
• Align your answer with the college : Remember, you’re being asked to come up with a course for the specific college you’re applying to. What’s their mission? What kind of curriculum do they have? What type of learning do they value? Find out the answer to these questions and incorporate these details in your essay. For example, if the college you’re applying to values an interdisciplinary learning environment, try to come up with a course that incorporates both science and humanities concepts.
• Use your experience : This prompt is also the school’s way to learn more about your personal goals and experiences. Try to ground your motivation for creating this course in your own life. For example, if you want to create a curriculum that covers the influence of fashion on punk rock culture, try to connect it to your own interests or skills, such as a sewing hobby or your love of underground culture.

The Major or Field of Study Essay

This can be a tricky essay type to handle for college students who are still undecided about their major, which is very natural for high school students. Luckily, not all colleges ask for this type of essay. You can expect this essay mostly from colleges focused on a specific stream of study, who want to know why you’re attracted to that field. Some elite universities, like Ivy League schools , also ask this question because they want to see the applicants’ long-term academic ambitions and how well these fit in with their own mission.

Interested in learning more about how to gain acceptance to an Ivy League School? Check out this video!

Sample essay prompt

MIT: Pick what field of study at MIT appeals to you the most right now, and tell us more about why this field of study appeals to you. (maximum 100 words) ","label":"MIT","title":"MIT"}]" code="tab5" template="BlogArticle">

• Include personal as well as college-specific details : Similar to the “why us” essay, you need to refer to specific details of the college program, faculty, academic curriculum, research opportunities, and campus life. Connect these details with your own experiences and passions and explain why this college or program aligns with your academic or professional interests. Think about key formative events and personal motivators for your interest. For example, if you’re applying to a top science, technology, engineering, or medicine (STEM) college such as MIT, you obviously have a specific passion for one of these subjects. While you can and should expand on your personal ambitions, don’t forget to explain why MIT is the best option to help you achieve them.
• Focus on the long-term : In a way, this type of essay is analogous to the “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” interview question. If you do have a clear plan of how you see your future academic and professional life developing, this essay is where you share it. However, you need to make sure you don’t just spin a beautiful story that isn’t based in reality. Your ambitions should be supported by thorough research, real-world industry knowledge, and a careful consideration of your own strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, don’t just include grand ambitions for the sake of sounding impressive – back them up with personal motivations, or better yet, include concrete, achievable goals. For instance, if you’re applying to the best undergrad business schools , your supplemental essay shouldn’t simply say “I want to be youngest CEO in the USA” or “I want to feature in a 30 under 30 article” – instead, it should focus on specific business interests and goals, for example – “I want to use my leadership skills, business training, and community engagement experience to eventually pay it forward by expanding the economic and business opportunities in my own community.”

The Quirky Essay

This type of essay is meant to catch you off-guard or ask you to write about something not often discussed in the context of admissions. These essays are often among the shortest in terms of length, and generally hope to evince some humor and self-awareness from the writers. Topics for these essays include odd talents, strange experiences, or hyper-specific situational questions like what superpower you’d choose if given the chance. They can also be quite general: Princeton, for instance, includes a prompt asking, simply, “what brings you joy?”.

Princeton: What brings you joy? (maximum 50 words) ","label":"Princeton","title":"Princeton"}]" code="tab6" template="BlogArticle">

• Keep the tone light : When responding to such prompts, don’t get too caught up in trying to be ultra-intellectual, serious, or different from the crowd. Be creative, have fun, and try and show a lighter side of your personality to the admissions committee. Match the tone of the question and don’t overthink this one too much!
• Be genuine : The tricky part about responding to these random and creative prompts is to make your answer humorous while also being as honest and genuine as possible. Sincerity is key – make sure you don’t pick an answer you think sounds funny, or impressive, but that isn’t strictly true and backed up by the rest of your application. For instance, if asked “what kind of bird are you”, if you respond with something like “eagle” and talk generically about your leadership qualities without any specific details, admissions committees will be able to tell you aren’t being genuine. You can give any answer you like here! The important thing is to justify it with real aspects of your personality that add some interesting color to your application.

Now, let’s look at how to structure essays depending on the length. We’ll also go over an example for each essay type. 

Short Supplemental Essay (250 Words or Fewer) Examples

According to our college admissions consulting experts, these can be quite dangerous for some students, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because an essay has a short word count, you don’t need to spend much time on it. This can actually be one of the toughest types of essays, since you have very limited space in which to capture the admission committee’s attention and make your point. When you start writing, you might find that by the time you’ve set up your premise, you’re already done with 80% of the available word count! The key here is to include crisp, well-structured sentences to directly address the question being asked. There’s not really any space for a “hook” here, such as a quote, story, or layered personal experience. Only include a story or a personal experience if the question explicitly asks you too. In just 250 words or less, you won’t be able to describe too complex an event or activity, so just cut straight to the point.

Recommended Structure

• Direct opening sentence : Your first sentence should clearly address the essay prompt and set up the topic. Don’t worry about this being a boring or straightforward strategy – that’s what you need here!
• Specific details to support the topic : Add personal details and self-reflections suitable for the prompt to support your opening sentence. Remember, every word is crucial here so leave out any unnecessary facts and descriptions – stick to what’s relevant. Try and focus on a single experience, reflection, opinion, or topic, as you really won’t be able to do justice to any more. At the same time, make sure you don’t sacrifice flow to brevity. Each sentence should connect smoothly to the next, setting up a logical pathway from your opening thesis to your conclusion.
• Conclusion : Add the key takeaway or reflection and tie it back to the prompt.

To see how a short essay should be structured, let’s take a look at this prompt from Brandeis :

“Justice Brandeis once said, ‘If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold.’ Tell us about something bold that you’ve recently done.”

Here’s a sample answer:

Although painting isn't itself an especially wild or bold activity, showing my art for the first time felt very bold indeed. As someone with a motor impairment, I've never been able to draw well, and found art classes throughout elementary school incredibly frustrating and embarrassing. However, discovering the wide and extremely varied world of abstract art a few years ago, I was finally bitten by the art bug, and began experimenting with acrylic paint. At first, I just learned how to operate the varying dilutions and textures of paint, but over time I became obsessed with the idea of color gradients and shading, and how the paint itself can do a lot of work that doesn't depend on a completely steady hand. I amassed a small stack of canvasses, and this past year asked around at the two art galleries in town to see if anyone was interested in putting some of my pieces up. Fortunately, and to my surprise, one independent gallery offered to show my entire collected work for a month. Not only did I receive a tonne of really positive and encouraging messages from visitors to the gallery, but I even sold 3 pieces! I was honestly terrified at every step of the way, but that first sale was about the most confidence-building event I've ever experienced. It felt bold, but also made me hungry to continue making art and sharing it with others. (237 words) 

Medium Supplemental Essay (250-500 Words) Examples

Shorter than your personal statement, longer than a short answer, these essays require you to balance a logical flow with a crisp central narrative.

While the basic structure of this essay can be similar to the long-form 650 word essay, you’ll need to make a few adjustments to suit the shorter length.

• Opening paragraph : You can choose to add an “anchor experience” for these essays, or you can write it in a more direct style, responding to the prompt and getting straight to the point. It depends on what you want to say and how you want to say it. For example, if your essay is focused on personal experiences, then an evocatively described personal experience could be a great hook. However, if the prompt asks you to provide your opinion about a specific issue or creatively imagine a specific scenario, then getting right to the point is a better idea.
• Main body : Here, you describe your central thesis and add further details to support it. You have to be very efficient with your choice of experiences and even with the details of any experience you chose to include. Each sentence should be in service of the essay prompt. Review this section with the questions “Is this related to the essay prompt? Does this help to answer the question being asked?”.
• Conclusion : The key to an efficient, memorable conclusion of a medium length supplemental essay is economy of words. In a single sentence, you should address the question being asked and also communicate your own central thesis, with a focus on what makes you special. Crafting this conclusion will take you time! First, identify the points you want to make, and then figure out a way to compress them into as few words as possible, without sacrificing clarity.

Let’s check out an example of this type of essay.

University of California: 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? (maximum 350 words)

Growing up as the precocious daughter of hard-working immigrant parents, academic excellence and achievements were always the two key cornerstones of my life. My parents inculcated the importance of doing well in school in me from a young age. After all, it was education that had enabled my parents to escape the poverty and trauma of their homeland and find refuge in this country. With a natural penchant for academics and a love for learning, I never had cause to question this life-long commitment – not until junior year of high school.

That was the year when my parents’ restaurant business took a huge hit, and from a regular middle-class American immigrant success story, we were brought to the brink of bleak poverty. It was a shock to our family that took us through some of the toughest times I’ve ever experienced. We all had to make sacrifices, and one of the most profound changes I experienced in that period was a total shift in my priorities, as I had to work at my parents’ restaurant every day after school to help keep the business afloat. From being a grade-A student, I became a struggling straggler who could barely keep up with tests and exams, much less take on extra credit projects. At one point, I even considered quitting school! The worst part was watching the pain in my parents’ eyes, knowing they couldn’t provide the ideal home environment they had envisioned for me, which they themselves had never received.

However, looking back, I consider that period one of the most significant learning experiences of my life. It tested my commitment to my academic interests, which had previously always been so easy to pursue, and I came through with a system that allowed me to contribute at home and also excel at school. It made me further appreciate the struggles my parents had gone through as immigrants juggling family, work, education, and a major cultural adjustment. And finally, it made me appreciate what a gift and privilege education truly is, and vow never to take it for granted. (347 words)

Want to know a surprising fact? You might actually find the long-form supplemental essays easier to write than their shorter counterparts! These essays are typically 500 to 650 words long, which means you have plenty of space to build a coherent narrative, expand on your thesis, and support it with relevant details. When writing a longer supplemental essay, you can actually re-use many of the same strategies you employed for your Common App essay or personal statement. The basic structure (which we’ll explain in a moment) will be similar, and you can even recycle some of your rejected personal statement ideas to write an exemplary supplemental essay.

You can go for the commonly used 3 to 5 paragraph essay structure here. Include the following:

• Introduction : For longer essays, it’s critical to have a strong opening that hooks the reader and draws them into your narrative immediately. Admissions committees are reading thousands of essays, so you want to shake them out of their “reading fatigue” by capturing their attention with story, personal experience, unique quote, etc. In this paragraph, you should also clearly set up the central thesis of your essay. Critically for supplemental essays, ensure that your central thesis directly addresses or answers the prompt. Tie the “hook” of your opening paragraph in with this central thesis.
• Body paragraphs 1/2/3 : While the 5-paragraph structure is the most commonly used essay format for long-form essays, you can include more or fewer, as per the requirements of your specific narrative. Remember to be selective when you choose the experiences to support your thesis. In these paragraphs, you build on the central narrative you set up in introduction, supported with your self-reflections and personal examples. Include only the necessary details that help to build the central theme of the essay. Your essay should be written in a natural, direct style, but you can try and include evocative details and personal reflections to help communicate your point.
• Conclusion : As with all other supplemental essays, the conclusion is critical. You must include a key takeaway, learning, or crisp one-liner to sum up your answer to the question being asked.

Harvard : 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. (maximum 650 words)

“It is the sandbox of men who care not where they are going; they merely want to know where everyone else has been.”

It’s a hot summer’s day, I’m red-faced, sweaty, and out-of-breath, hunched over a pile of earth, delicately brushing away tiny amounts of ancient mud, and John Bishop’s words suddenly pop into my mind. Our project director, Professor Saltzman, had led a brief session that morning concluding with this memorable quote, and it stayed with me for one clear reason: I felt it perfectly encapsulated my own journey, from a guy who cared too much about where he was going, to someone who now primarily cared about the business of these long, long, dead ancient women and their kitchen tools. The irony of the realization made me chuckle a little, disturbing the earth around the little kitchen mound I was excavating, and then I went back to my gentle brushing, once again fully absorbed.

It was simply not a picture of myself I could have believed merely months prior. From a very young age, I had a vision of myself as a lawyer. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather, carving an illustrious career that would begin, like theirs, at Harvard, and end with me on the Supreme Court. This dream hit a minor snag when, due to a medical absence is junior year, I missed my AP History exam. Mr. Griffin, my history teacher, suggested that I complete a summer archeology program he was affiliated with to make up the credit. And that was how this “minor snag” actually ended up diverting my passions, interests, and ambitions away from law and firmly into the field of archeology.

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight. I was resistant to what I perceived was a distraction from my true interest, the practice of law – I thought then I’d much rather be shadowing my father in a cushy air conditioned office than sweating it out in a desert, digging for broken bits of ancient pottery. But within a couple of days, I found to my surprise that I loved every second of it. The director of the program, Professor Saltzman, liked to walk us through our findings, however minor, at the end of each day. For the benefit of the younger students present, he often delivered lectures expanding upon the critical contextual history of that period. I was amazed at how these small, faded pieces of pottery could tell us so much about the socio-cultural norms of 8000 years ago; from which countries they traded with to what they ate, from their dominant gender roles to the kinds of currency they used.

Most amazing of all, at least to me, was how archeology could actually help envision the lived reality of these people from long ago. Our key findings in that dig were the kitchen utensils of a woman we nicknamed “Leda”, a widowed fisherwoman with two children. Every day, we would discover a new piece of evidence and spend hours classifying, dissecting, and contextualizing it to discover all it could tell us about how Leda lived her life. I realized that all the physical discomforts were worth the thrill of bringing these tiny pieces of history back to life.

In those 4 weeks, I experienced a kind of wonder, and joy in learning, and intrinsically motivated intellectual curiosity, that I had never experienced before in my life. With law, I was primarily attracted to all the perceived prestige and privileges that accrued to the profession; with archeology, the subject matter itself drew me onwards to push past my prejudices and discomforts. Today, I hope to continue to pursue my passion for archeology by continuing my work under Professor Saltzman as an undergraduate at Harvard, and hopefully discover the secret lives of many more Ledas in the future. (643)

The personal statement is a more general essay with a broader scope, typically submitted as part of your primary application, whereas supplemental essays respond to specific prompts and are submitted with your secondary application directly to each school. You only need to write one personal statement (such as the Common App essay) which goes out to all your colleges, and it should therefore never include any college-specific details. On the other hand, each college asks for their own set of supplemental essays, and they may often ask you to expand upon your interest in the specific college, program, or major you are applying to. A personal statement is a single long-form essay of 650 words or more, whereas colleges can ask for multiple supplemental essays that can range in length from 35 to 650 words.

The most commonly used supplemental college essay prompts are:

• The “why us” essay that asks you to discuss why you want go to a specific college
• The extracurricular essay that asks you to discuss your activities, talents, or skills
• The community essay that asks you to expand upon your identity, diversity, community engagement, and so on
• The “why this major” essay that asks you to discuss your specific academic interests
• The “create a class” essay that asks you to creatively design a major or come up with your own class
• The “quirky” essay that can include creative, zany, out-of-the-box, informal prompts

Supplemental college essays can range in length from 35 words to 650 words. Every college has their own prompts and requirements, so you should check the admissions website of your colleges to learn more.

The “why this school” college essay is one of the most common supplemental college essay types. It’s very important to be college-specific in this essay, and to include details of your special interest in the concerned college supported by your knowledge of their unique offerings. You will have to do some research on the college so you can make your essay as specific and unique as possible.

Yes, supplemental essays are a critical part of your application. They help to personalize and flesh out your application, building on your achievements, transcripts, and scores, to show the admissions committee a well-rounded, unique individual. Crucially, supplemental essays are a chance for you to show how well your thinking and experiences align with the college’s missions and values and why you would be an excellent candidate for their program.

A word count of 250 words or less can pose a significant challenge for students. To write an effective short answer, you need to be concise and direct, addressing the question asked while building a logical flow from introduction to conclusion. There’s no space in such questions for fancy opening hooks and elaborate narratives – just stick to the relevant experiences and reflections and always connect back to the prompt itself.

It depends on the topic! It’s not a good idea to copy paste the essay content for college-specific prompts such as “why us” or “why this major”, where the expectation is that you will talk in detail about the unique features of that college which attract you. However, for more generic topics like “what inspires you” or “how did you serve your community”, you can certainly re-use topics and themes between essays. Just make sure you edit each essay to meet the specific word count and include college specific details wherever possible. Additionally, you should always read and understand the prompt thoroughly before drafting your essay. Respond to the spirit as well as the letter of the prompts in your opening and concluding sentences, even if you’ve re-used most of the main body content from another similar essay.

Supplemental college essays certainly afford you greater room to be creative and informal than your personal statement. However, the extent to which this style of writing would be appropriate depends on the prompts. The short answer, zany, creative prompts, are the perfect place to show a lighter side of your personality and introduce a little humor in your application. But an essay about significant obstacles you’re overcome, or your long-term academic goals, might not be an ideal place to get overtly casual and humorous.

You will receive your secondary application directly from the college after you submit your primary application. The deadline to complete secondary applications varies from college to college. Most colleges ask you to submit your completed supplemental application, including essays, within 2 weeks or a month of receiving the prompts. This isn’t a lot of time, especially considering most colleges will be sending out secondary applications in the same rough time period and you’ll have to work on multiple applications at once. However, you can prepare in advance for your supplemental essays by brainstorming ideas and writing rough drafts in response to previous years’ prompts.

Every college has their own unique secondary application requirements. You should check the admissions websites of your colleges to learn more about their specific requirements. Some colleges may ask for just a single 650-word essay, while others may provide 5 or 6 prompts of varying lengths. Generally speaking, most colleges don’t ask for more than 1 or 2 long supplemental essays (500+ words), along with 2 or 3 shorter essays.

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Have a question ask our admissions experts below and we'll answer your questions.

Can extracurricular activities contain sth like assisting family ,and socal activities that doesn't encounter certificate?

BeMo Academic Consulting

Hello Phoebe! Thanks for your question. Yes, you can definitely consider these extracurriculars, depending on the activity you did. For example, if you assisted a family member after an illness or organized social activities like fund raisers.

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5 strategies to unlock your winning college essay.

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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - JUNE 29: People walk through the gate on Harvard Yard at the Harvard ... [+] University campus on June 29, 2023 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that race-conscious admission policies used by Harvard and the University of North Carolina violate the Constitution, bringing an end to affirmative action in higher education. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images)

The college application season is upon us, and high school students everywhere are staring down at one of the most daunting tasks: the college essay. As someone who has guided countless applicants through the admissions process and reviewed admissions essays on an undergraduate admissions committee, I've pinpointed the essential ingredient to a differentiated candidacy—the core of your college admissions X-factor .

The essential ingredient to your college admissions X-factor is your intellectual vitality. Intellectual vitality is your passion for learning and curiosity. By demonstrating and conveying this passion, you can transform an average essay into a compelling narrative that boosts your chances of getting accepted to your top schools. Here are five dynamic strategies to achieve that goal.

Unleash Your Authentic Voice

Admissions officers sift through thousands of essays every year. What stops them in their tracks? An authentic voice that leaps off the page. Forget trying to guess what the admissions committee wants to hear. Focus on being true to yourself. Share your unique perspective, your passions, and your values. Authenticity resonates deeply with application reviewers, making your essay memorable and impactful. You need not have experienced trauma or tragedy to create a strong narrative. You can write about what you know—intellectually or personally—to convey your enthusiasm, creativity, and leadership. Intellectual vitality shines through when you write with personalized reflection about what lights you up.

Weave A Captivating Story

Everyone loves a good story, and your essay is the perfect place to tell yours. The Common Application personal statement has seven choices of prompts to ground the structure for your narrative. The most compelling stories are often about the smallest moments in life, whether it’s shopping at Costco or about why you wear socks that have holes. Think of the Common Application personal statement as a window into your soul rather than a dry list of your achievements or your overly broad event-based life story. Use vivid anecdotes to bring your experiences to life. A well-told story can showcase your growth, highlight your character, and illustrate how you've overcome challenges. Intellectual vitality often emerges in these narratives, revealing how your curiosity and proactive approach to learning have driven you to explore and innovate.

Reflect And Reveal Insights

It's not just about what you've done—it's about what you've learned along the way. When you are writing about a specific event, you can use the STAR framework—situation, task, action, and result (your learning). Focus most of your writing space on the “R” part of this framework to dive deeply into your experiences and reflect on how they've shaped your aspirations and identity.

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The most insightful college-specific supplement essays demonstrate depth of thought, and the ability to connect past experiences with your future life in college and beyond. Reflecting on your intellectual journey signals maturity and a readiness to embrace the college experience. It shows admissions officers that you engage deeply with your studies and are eager to contribute to the academic community.

Highlight Your Contributions—But Don’t Brag

Whether it's a special talent, an unusual hobby, or a unique perspective, showcasing what you can bring to the college environment can make a significant impact. Recognize that the hard work behind the accomplishment is what colleges are interested in learning more about—not retelling about the accomplishment itself. (Honors and activities can be conveyed in another section of the application.) Walk us through the journey to your summit; don’t just take us to the peak and expect us know how you earned it.

Intellectual vitality can be demonstrated through your proactive approach to solving problems, starting new projects, or leading initiatives that reflect your passion for learning and growth. These experiences often have a place in the college-specific supplement essays. They ground the reasons why you want to study in your major and at the particular college.

Perfect Your Prose

Great writing is essential. Anyone can use AI or a thesaurus to assist with an essay, but AI cannot write your story in the way that you tell it. Admissions officers don’t give out extra credit for choosing the longest words with the most amount of syllables.

The best essays have clear, coherent language and are free of errors. The story is clearly and specifically told. After drafting, take the time to revise and polish your writing. Seek feedback from teachers, mentors, or trusted friends, but ensure the final piece is unmistakably yours. A well-crafted essay showcases your diligence and attention to detail—qualities that admissions officers highly value. Intellectual vitality is also reflected in your writing process, showing your commitment to excellence and your enthusiasm for presenting your best self.

Crafting a standout college essay is about presenting your true self in an engaging, reflective, and polished manner while showcasing your intellectual vitality. Happy writing.

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