uconn supplemental essays

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Essays and Documents

Essays and other documents may be required for admission to the program. All essays and documents must be uploaded to the online application in . doc, .pdf, or .txt, formats. Please limit your essays to 600 words.

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Apply to UConn School of Pharmacy

The UConn School of Pharmacy provides students the opportunity to pursue highly regarded degrees, focus in the concentrations they want, and continue learning though dynamic graduate programing, all within a vibrant and diverse community. Deadlines for applications are outlined below. Please email [email protected] with any questions.

Application Instructions

Pre-professional program for incoming first-year students fall 2024.

Priority First-Year Application Deadline for Merit Scholarship and Honors Consideration: December 1, 2023

All other applications deadline: January 15, 2024

High school students interested in pharmacy should apply through UConn's undergraduate admissions office . You will have an opportunity to select a B.S. in Pharmacy Studies major.

Apply to UConn

Pharm.D. for Fall 2024

If you are already at UConn and interested in applying to our professional program in fall 2024 please apply using the PharmCAS portal. PharmCAS is the Pharmacy College Application Service. If you are a transfer applicant please submit an undergraduate transfer application  to UConn  and submit to PharmCAS . The PCAT test is not required.

Deadline: The deadline for all students applying to the UConn School of Pharmacy's professional program is March 1, 2024. All applicants should submit applications using the PharmCAS portal. If you are a transfer, your additional undergraduate transfer application is due to UConn April 1.

UConn's School of Pharmacy offers rolling admissions.

You are eligible to fill out the application for the Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) Professional Program upon meeting the following criteria:

• Complete required prerequisite courses by the end of the spring semester.
• Submit a valid TOEFL IBT with a total score of 102 or higher, and with a speaking sub-score of 25 or higher, or an International English Language Testing System (IELTS) speaking band score of 7.5 or higher, if English is not your native language or primary language of secondary instruction.

Please email us if you need any guidance, [email protected] . We are here to help!

M.S. or Ph.D. in the Pharmaceutical Sciences

Commonly asked questions about your application to our graduate program.

We offer rolling admissions for both semesters. Applicants will be reviewed upon receipt of application.

For Fall 2024 Entry -

Applications open: September 11, 2023

Department preferential review deadline: December 18, 2023

Applications close: July 24, 2024

For Spring 2024 Entry - Ph.D. only

First day to submit an application: Monday, January 29, 2024

Last day to submit an application and pay fee: Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Apply to the Graduate School

Additional Information

Detailed information for transfers to our programs.

The UConn School of Pharmacy welcomes applications to the first professional year of the Pharm.D. program. A transfer applicant is someone who has never been enrolled at UConn, has completed post-secondary coursework at institutions outside of UConn, and is seeking direct admission to the Doctor of Pharmacy Professional Program. Applicants who have received prior degrees from institutions other than UConn are considered to be transfer students under this definition and MUST complete an undergraduate transfer application with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

To be eligible, transfer students must have completed their pre-professional/pre-pharmacy curriculum at regionally accredited, degree-granting institutions of higher education and must have met all application requirements for both the School of Pharmacy and University of Connecticut.

Transfer students should submit their application with the University of Connecticut’s Office of Transfer Admission by April 1.

If you have any questions regarding the transfer application or would like to apply to UConn, please contact the Undergraduate Admissions Office:

Phone: 860-486-3137 E-Mail: [email protected] Website: admissions.uconn.edu

You may apply for transfer admission to UConn using the online application. Be prepared to submit the following supplemental documentation along to the Undergraduate Admissions Office by the April 1 deadline:

· Application Fee

· All official post-secondary transcripts from each institution attended

· Official High School Transcripts or GED records (special guidelines exist for home schooled applicants)

See Transfer Application Details for special guidelines and instructions for the following:

· Military Credit

· Toefl or IELTS scores

· Permanent Resident Card

Please Note: Your application to UConn is a separate process from your PharmCAS application to the School of Pharmacy.

Transfer Course Equivalencies for Coursework Taken at Connecticut Institutions

The University’s Undergraduate Transfer Admission Office is responsible for transfer credit evaluations. From the Transfer Course Equivalencies website you may select a Connecticut institution from a list to search for transferable courses.

For Transfer Students to the Pre-Professional Undergraduate Program

If you have already met pharmacy program prerequisites, you are not eligible for admission to the pre-professional program. Transfer applicants to the pre-professional program should have completed no more than one year of college-level study in pharmacy program prerequisites:

· General Chemistry 1 & 2 (with labs)

· Foundations in Biology (organismal)

· College writing

Please note that admission to transfer students to the B.S. in Pharmacy Studies pre-professional program, or to UConn ACES, is not a guarantee of eventual admission into the School of Pharmacy.

Application Elements: Personal Statement, Transcript and Recommendations

Personal Statement Your personal statement should be an essay, clearly and concisely written, articulating your educational and professional pharmacy goals. You are limited to approximately 1 page (4500 characters, including spaces).  The personal statement is an important part of the application process because it can add a dimension that cannot be obtained from transcripts, application forms, or recommendation forms. A well-written personal statement is an opportunity for you to convey a more complete view of who you are as an individual. Include your background and past experiences that relate to the professional pharmacy program. The Admissions Committee is looking for evidence of commitment, motivation, and compatibility with the goals of our professional program.  (Please see PharmCAS Instructions for further detail.)

Official Post Secondary Transcripts You must submit transcript(s) of all collegiate work completed to date, including a UConn transcript and official transcripts for work completed at other institutions (including college courses taken during high school) through the fall semester.  It is strongly recommended to submit your official transcript during the fall semester and then update once it becomes final, so not to miss important deadlines. Any applicant who has completed coursework at an international university or college MUST have their foreign transcripts evaluated by one of the foreign transcript evaluation services.  DO NOT send foreign transcripts directly to the School of Pharmacy.

Recommendation Forms Two recommendation forms are required as part of your application and are available as part of your PharmCAS application.  At least one of the two recommendations must be from an academic professor or teaching assistant.

The PCAT test is not required or considered.

English Proficiency Examination Scores (IELTS and/or TOEFL) All applicants whose native language is not English, or whose primary language of instruction while in high school was not English, must submit official scores from either the academic version of the IELTS (International English Language Testing System) or the TOEFL.  A minimum score of 7.5 is required on the IELTS. Information regarding this test may be found on the IELTS website. The minimum acceptable score on the TOEFL (internet-based) is within the range of 102-109, with a minimum speaking sub-score of 25.  Applicants who declare on the application that English is not the Native Language or the Primary Language of Instruction and who do not take either the IELTS or TOEFL, or who do take these tests and receive scores below the minimum requirement, will not be considered for admission to the professional program.

What We Look For

Admission to the School of Pharmacy is considered holistically and is based upon the following criteria:

• Cumulative GPA in the math and science prerequisites
• Overall academic performance
• Non-academic experiences (e.g. organizations, healthcare / science / clinical – related experience, certifications, licenses, work experience, etc.)
• Outreach and service
• Recommendations
• Personal statement

Additionally, we look for demonstration of any of the following:

• Personal insight
• Responsibility and initiative taken for learning and growth
• Communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills
• Creativity, curiosity, and innovative thinking
• Flexibility and adaptability
• Serving others and the greater good

Background Checks

Criminal background checks are conducted on all students accepted to the Pharm.D. program. This is because of the nature of pharmacy work in the community. In some cases, applicants may want to contact the  National Association of Boards of Pharmacy to determine if their criminal offense(s) will prevent them from participating in curriculum-based pharmacy practice experiences or from obtaining a license to practice pharmacy in a particular state.

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Your pathway to UConn Nation starts here. First-year applicants must complete either the Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir . Admission notification begins March 1 for fall applicants.

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enrolled first-year Huskies

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first-year applicants, all campuses

first-year Huskies are ethnic and racial minorities

of Huskies are first-generation students

Institutional Codes SAT - 3915 ACT - 0604

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*Middle 50% of Enrolled Students

Standardized test ranges represent fall 2022 applicants who elected to submit test scores as part of their application materials. UConn is a test-optional institution through Fall 2026.

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Supplemental Essay Guide 2023-24

What do the 2023-24 supplemental essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA's experts are here to break them all down.

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Agnes Scott College 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Alvernia University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide  

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2023-24 supplemental essay guide, smith college 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, soka university of america 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, southern methodist university 2023-24 supplemental essay guide, st. john’s college 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, stanford university 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, stonehill college 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide  , swarthmore college 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, syracuse university 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, texas a&m university 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, texas christian university 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, the college of idaho 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide  , the george washington university 2023-24 supplemental essay guide, the new school 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, trinity college 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, tufts university 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, tulane university 2023-24 supplemental essay 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charlotte 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of north carolina at greensboro 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of notre dame 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of oklahoma 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide , university of oregon 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of pennsylvania (upenn) 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of pittsburgh 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide , university of richmond 2023-24 supplemental essay guide, university of san diego 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide , university of san francisco 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of southern california (usc) 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of texas at austin 2023-24 essay prompt guide, university of tulsa 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of vermont 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, university of virginia (uva) 2023-24 supplemental essay prompt guide, 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Honors admissions.

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Incoming First-Years

You will automatically be considered for admission to the Honors Program as a first-year undergraduate applicant to UConn Storrs, UConn Stamford, or UConn Hartford. There is no separate Honors Program application for entering first-year applicants. Your UConn application will be thoroughly reviewed through a holistic approach, both for admission to UConn and for admission to the Honors Program. If you are admitted to the Honors Program, your invitation to join the Honors Program will be posted to your UConn applicant portal as part of your UConn admissions decision.

We highly recommend that entering first-years apply by December 1 – UConn’s Priority Application Deadline for Merit Scholarships & Honors Consideration.

For more general information on first-year application dates & deadlines, visit the UConn Office of Undergraduate Admissions .

Current UConn or Transfer Students

Current undergraduates from any UConn campus may seek admission to the Honors Program after the first year. Transfer students may apply to the Honors Program as they separately apply to UConn, or wait to apply as a current UConn undergraduate. The Honors application for current UConn undergraduates and transfer students can be found here and should be submitted according to the Honors application timeline .

Your admission to the Honors Program will consider your college academic record and your time to graduation with your undergraduate (or Pharm.D.) degree. If you have three or more years until graduation, your Honors admission will consider available space in the Honors Program. If you plan to graduate in two years or less , you will need to connect with a departmental Honors academic advisor in your major to discuss your pathway through Honors and submit an approved  Honors Plan  of Study .

Readmitted UConn Students After a Leave of Absence

If you’re returning to UConn after a leave of absence, you may seek readmission to the Honors Program upon readmission to UConn. We encourage you to connect with the Dean of Students Office for more information and support. Details about the Honors Readmission process can be found here .

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write the UPenn Supplemental Essays 2023-2024

Founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin, the University of Pennsylvania is one of America’s eight Ivy League institutions. Its beautiful campus features unique red-and-green-brick buildings, gorgeous tree-lined paths, and lots of tributes to Ben Franklin. UPenn is known for its premier academics, but also for its thriving student life (it’s called “the social Ivy,” and has a strong Greek life).

UPenn also enjoys the benefits of being situated in the heart of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — it’s just a stone’s throw from myriad museums, gardens, cathedrals, and historic sites, including Independence Hall. Students typically describe UPenn as having a highly “pre-professional” mindset, with a large cultural focus on internships, school jobs, and career preparation. All in all, it’s the perfect city refuge for ambitious, can-do students who want to maximize their college experience.

Composite Schools: Depending on their fields of study, students at UPenn will be applying to different colleges that make up the school. Undergraduate education at Penn is separated into four distinct schools: the School of Arts & Sciences, Wharton School of Business, the School of Engineering & Applied Sciences, and the School of Nursing. 

Admissions Rates and Resources: UPenn is a tiny bit easier to get into than more in-demand Ivies, but still enjoys a reputation of exclusivity. In its most recent admissions cycle, UPenn accepted 6% of undergraduate applicants. 

Now, onto the essays! Below, you can see a list of all the prompts we’re going to cover. All applicants must submit the two required essay prompts, listed first. Below these, we’ll break into the supplemental essays for various optional programs open to applicants. 

Read these UPenn essay examples to inspire your own writing.

UPenn Supplemental Essay Prompts 

All applicants.

Prompt 1: Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)

Prompt 2: How will you explore the community at Penn? Consider how this community will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape this community. (150-200 words)

School-Specific Prompts

College of Arts and Sciences: The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150-200 words)

School of Engineering and Applied Science: Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology, by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics, exploration in the liberal arts, and depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you hope to explore your engineering interests at Penn. (150-200 words)

School of Nursing: Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science and promoting equity. What do you think this means for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? (150-200 words)

The Wharton School: Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it. (150-200 words)

The Huntsman Program

The huntsman program supports the development of globally-minded scholars who become engaged citizens, creative innovators, and ethical leaders in the public, private, and non-profit sectors in the united states and internationally. what draws you to a dual-degree in business and international studies, and how would you use what you learn to make a contribution to a global issue where business and international affairs intersect (400-650 words), the digital media design program, why are you interested in the digital media design (dmd) program at the university of pennsylvania (400-650 words), the life sciences and management program.

Prompt 1: The LSM program aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the life sciences and their management with an eye to identifying, advancing and implementing innovations. What issues would you want to address using the understanding gained from such a program? Note that this essay should be distinct from your single degree essay. (400-650 words)

The Jerome Fisher Management and Technology Program

Prompt 1: Explain how you will use the M&T program to explore your interest in business, engineering, and the intersection of the two. (400-650 words)

Prompt 2: Describe a problem that you solved that showed leadership and creativity. (250 words)

The NETS Engineering Program

Describe your interests in modern networked information systems and technologies, such as the internet, and their impact on society, whether in terms of economics, communication, or the creation of beneficial content for society. feel free to draw on examples from your own experiences as a user, developer, or student of technology. (400-650 words), the nursing and healthcare management program, discuss your interest in nursing and health care management. how might penn’s coordinated dual-degree program in nursing and business help you meet your goals (400-650 words), the viper program, how do you envision your participation in the vagelos integrated program in energy research (viper) furthering your interests in energy science and technology please include any past experiences (ex. academic, research, or extracurricular) that have led to your interest in the program. additionally, please indicate why you are interested in pursuing dual degrees in science and engineering and which viper majors are most interesting to you at this time. (400-650 words), the bio-dental program.

Prompt 1:  Please list pre-dental or pre-medical experience. This experience can include but is not limited to observation in a private practice, dental clinic, or hospital setting; dental assisting; dental laboratory work; dental or medical research, etc. Please include time allotted to each activity, dates of attendance, location, and description of your experience. If you do not have any pre-dental or pre-medical experience, please indicate what you have done or plan to do in order to explore dentistry as a career. (250 words)

Prompt 2: Do you have relatives who are dentists or are in dental school? If so, indicate the name of each relative, his/her relationship to you, the school attended, and the dates attended. (250 words)

Prompt 3: Describe any activities which demonstrate your ability to work with your hands. (250 words)

Prompt 4: What activities have you performed that demonstrate your ability to work cooperatively with people? (250 words)

Prompt 5: Please explain your reasons for selecting a career in dentistry. Please include what interests you the most in dentistry as well as what interests you the least. (250 words)

All Applicants, Prompt 1

Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (we encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience) (150-200 words).

As you’ve gone through high school, you’ve likely received help from all kinds of people. UPenn wants to give you a chance to practice gratitude and acknowledge a specific person who has positively impacted your high school journey. 

There are two main parts to this prompt: picking the person to thank and writing the note .

Who should you pick? Some commonly-influential folks include:

• Mentors or older students
• Family members
• Religious leaders
• Managers/bosses

If you’re having trouble thinking directly of people, you may want to consider thinking of experiences that shaped who you are and the person most directly involved in that . In fact, this may be more effective. There will probably be thousands of thank you notes written to parents, for example. This is great—no problem there—but execution matters. It’s too easy to fall into the trap of writing a generic note thanking this person for “supporting you no matter what” and for “believing in you.”

This brings us to part two of this prompt: writing the note. Instead of generic pleasantries, you want to share specific experiences where this person really made a difference in your life. How did they support you? How did they show they believed in you? How did this impact you? 

For example, say you want to thank your mother for her support. You might share how she woke up at 6am to run with you each day so you could get extra miles in and work towards your goal of making cross country states (while you didn’t make it, you did place in regionals for the first time!). Or, maybe you want to thank your history teacher for pushing you. You should share how he worked with you individually after school when you were initially struggling to write the AP Euro DBQs, and how this encouraged you to start tutoring others in math when you say how effective this individual help was. 

Since this essay is only 150-200 words, you likely only have space for 1-2 anecdotes, so choose the ones that stick out to you most (and ones that add additional info to your application rather than repeating it). Unlike your other essays, this one doesn’t need to be a narrative format, and you should simply address the person you’re thanking. Write as if you’re actually writing a regular thank you note to them —no need to be super formal, and do include jokes if that’s how you’d normally interact!

If you do share your note with the person you’re thanking, you don’t have to reflect on the experience in the essay, unless you want to. If you do, save about one-third to one-fourth of the space for your reflection (about 50-60 words). How did it make that person feel? How did it make you feel? How was the experience meaningful for both of you?

The goal of this essay is to see which students are self-aware and humble , so as long as you approach this essay with genuine intentions of thanking this person, you should have a strong response. 

All Applicants, Prompt 2

How will you explore the community at penn consider how this community will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape this community. (150-200 words).

Use this short essay to showcase the best parts of yourself outside of the classroom. This doesn’t mean you can’t mention your academic interests, but if you mention the same subject as you did in the first prompt, you should dramatically recontextualize it or illuminate a new aspect of it. 

The word community appears three times – so address your philosophy of community. Do some thinking about what “community” means to you, and what kind of group setting is your ideal. Is it small? Large? Gentle? Raucous? If you have an original, thought-provoking, or culturally-informed definition that you love, feel free to include it. The best essays will be about a deeper topic than simply extracurriculars or collaborative research.

Be specific, and do your UPenn research . Maybe you bring musical talents and want to join the student orchestra. Perhaps you are a Hispanic student who wants to revitalize others’ awareness of their cultural heritage. Poke around UPenn’s website to find specific groups or initiatives that address something you enjoy. As always, if you can use past accomplishments or experiences to illustrate your point, it will be more powerful. For instance, if you have led your soccer team’s community outreach efforts, talk about how the skills you learned on the team will make you better at building a relationship between UPenn and the city of Philadelphia.

Don’t just name-drop an activity. For example, “UPenn’s Black student center, Makuu, is something that interests me” shows a bit of research, but not a lot. It also does not connect the research to the applicant as an individual, or hit on the larger theme of community. A better approach is to be hyper specific: “Because I’m interested in Black literary studies, as well as crossover between literature and history, I’m captivated by the way UPenn’s Makuu house brings together young Black academics from various disciplines. As I delve into my field of interest — Black and African modernist poetry — I would love to draw on the knowledge of my colleagues to enrich my work. I’m a firm believer that the more paths we can create between different disciplines of Black studies, the easier it is to explore.” This answer is specific to the applicant, establishes an ethos for research, and addresses Makuu as more than a name.

Identify a challenge you want to pose yourself. Look at the prompt again — the verb “shape” is another word that gets repeated, and it’s backed up by “learning” and “growth.” This prompt is asking about development, so you should identify an area in which you want to evolve, grow, and improve. Ideally, think about a certain foible that challenges you and keeps you from fulfilling your potential — maybe it’s a fear of public speaking, an apathy towards volunteering, or a tendency to seek out echo chambers. Why do you feel you need to change, and what communities at UPenn could push you out of your comfort zone?

For example, I could plot out my essay like this: 

I’m not an effective writing mentor. I can be too harsh and too direct with my feedback. I can intimidate people I intend to help.

I need to work on my “bedside manner” as a writing mentor. I need to acquire effective strategies and principles to inform me, and I need to work with more mentees to practice.

The student essay tutors program at UPenn’s library will offer me training to improve as a tutor, and by working there I can gain repeated experience in coaching others’ writing.

I will end up as a better communicator, and I can help writers feel confident, an essential skill for an aspiring editor like myself. 

If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas. Ask yourself these questions:

• When was a time I was challenged in an activity? What challenging moments would I want to repeat?
• Look up Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences . These are various kinds of astuteness Garnder posited exist in students to different extents. Is there an intelligence in which I’m lacking, which I want to strengthen? Which activities would help me build this intelligence?
• When have I grown as an individual? How did I change?
• What’s a club or group where I could use my skills for a greater good? 

College of Arts and Sciences

The flexible structure of the college of arts and sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. what are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences (150-200 words).

This prompt doesn’t leave you with a lot of space to communicate why you are pursuing your major of choice , so being concise is key. In the limited space available, you need to communicate your interest in the area of study and explain the resources and opportunities at UPenn that will allow you to indulge your curiosity and grow your passion.

When it comes to communicating your interest, there are a few ways you could go about it. A tried and true method is to rely on an anecdote to show the admissions committee either how your interest in the subject matter began or how you engage with the topic in your current life. Remember, anecdotes need to communicate your emotional attachment to your interest by drawing on thoughts, feelings, and physical expression.

You can also demonstrate your interest with specific examples. For example, a student interested in pursuing music could write a sentence about each instrument they play and what excites them about each one. Another tactic you might employ is to share your inner monologue. This might look like a student detailing the conversation in their head when they are researching astronomy topics and how they jump from one subtopic to another.

While expressing your interest in your major is important, the second half of this essay requires you to turn towards UPenn’s offerings. Start scouring the website and look for unique opportunities and resources that not only relate to your interests, but will also help you grow and achieve your goals. Below are a few ideas to inspire your research:

• Look at the course roster and find classes in your major (don’t just pick Biology 101; the more specific, the better!)
• Find professors in your department and the research they conduct
• Explore unique clubs and extracurriculars that align with your interests (there is a finance club on every campus but Penn’s Marketing Undergraduate Student Establishment is highly specific)
• Look into special programs or centers (ie. Center for Particle Cosmology or Linguistics Data Consortium)
• Research Penn-specific study abroad programs and destinations

Especially given the limited amount of space in this prompt, quality over quantity is extremely important; pick one or two opportunities and go into depth about why they excite you, how they relate to you, and what you hope to get out of them rather than name dropping four or five.                                 

If you are able to seamlessly transition from discussing your personal history with your major of choice and the related opportunities at UPenn, you will have a strong essay. You also don’t need to know exactly what you want to study in college to successfully write this essay. If you are applying to Arts and Sciences undecided, these tips will help you respond to this prompt.

School of Engineering and Applied Science

Penn engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology, by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics, exploration in the liberal arts, and depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. please share how you hope to explore your engineering interests at penn. (150-200 words).

All this prompt boils down to is “ Why This Major? ”. The Penn admissions committee wants to know three main things:

1. What drew you to engineering?

2. What are your goals? (ie. become a leader in technology as stated in the prompt)

3. How will Penn help you further your interest and achieve your goals?

Let’s break this down step-by-step.

Just as in any “Why Major?” essay, you need to demonstrate your passion for your chosen area of study so admissions officers are confident that you will be a positive addition to the campus. But how do you show that?

The best way is to use anecdotes. College essays that read like stories are infinitely more engaging than ones that restate the prompt and tell the reader who the student is. We need to see it. Take a look at a few examples of the types of anecdotes you could use to demonstrate your interest in engineering:

“ Seventy degrees with partially cloudy skies, but no rain on the radar. Check. Twenty foot radius cleared of trees and shrubbery. Check. Adoring fans waiting with bated breath outside the launch zone. Check, if you count my mother glancing up from her phone every minute or so. Time to initiate the launch sequence. My dad’s voice boomed out the descending count as I looked over the two-foot-tall rocket. The nose curved for optimal aerodynamicity, the fins 10% smaller than last time to reduce drift, and the parachute stowed away that would surely deploy this time. My dad reached zero and we had liftoff!”

“Nothing beats a trip to my grandparents house. And it’s not the paletas my grandma stashes underneath the frozen vegetables or my grandpa’s hand carved chess board that draws me there. It’s the bridge we take to get there. Two miles long, eight lanes wide, and 400 feet in the air, it defies all natural laws. Sticking my head out the window like a puppy tasting the wind, I crane my neck to look at the suspension cables that effortlessly distribute thousands of tons. I want to close my eyes and imagine the barges and cranes flooding the river to construct such a masterpiece, but I can never take my eyes off of the bridge.”

2. What are your goals?

The second thing your essay needs to communicate is what your personal and career aspirations are, relative to engineering. In an essay this short, this doesn’t need to be more than a sentence or two, but including a forward-thinking mindset will show the admissions committee your dedication to the subject. Plus, Penn wants to admit students who will achieve great things, so let them know you have big plans in store!

You can weave your goals into your anecdote or allude to them when you are talking about the Penn resources you want to take advantage of, for example: “ After taking Nanoscale Science and Engineering, I will know the mechanisms needed to scale-down the facial recognition chip to fit it into wearable glasses, so even those with Alzheimer’s can recognize their loved ones. ”

In the prompt, they mention “Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology,” so if you can, try to demonstrate how you will be a leader within your engineering field when highlighting a goal of yours.

3. How will Penn help you?

Before you’re done with your essay, you need to connect yourself to UPenn. By this point in your essay, the admissions committee should see you are a passionate, driven, and ambitious student with a bright future ahead of you, but the question Penn admissions officers care about is why should that future be at Penn ?

You’ll need to now bring in a few Penn-specific resources and opportunities—and connect them to you—to seal the deal and demonstrate how you would make the most out of a Penn education.

When it comes to including school resources, we always recommend quality over quantity. Avoid name-dropping three classes, a professor, and two student organizations without any elaboration. Instead, for an essay with a limited word count, focus on one or two Penn resources that align with your passion and explain why you are excited to engage with that opportunity or how it will help you achieve your goals.

It’s a good idea to pick Penn offerings that align with the central theme or anecdote of your essay. For example, a student who’s anecdote was about programming a robot might write about their interest in joining Penn Aerial Robotics to explore the design behind UAVs since they want to go into military development. Another student who told a story about researching devices to cure obscure diseases might talk about the Penn Center for Health, Devices, and Technology and how they want to partner with faculty at the Center to develop new technology.

School of Nursing

Penn nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science and promoting equity. what do you think this means for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare (150-200 words).

Health equity has increasingly become an important topic of discussion in the public sphere, but especially in nursing and medical classes. This prompt is asking you to consider what health equity means to you and how you will play a role in creating a more fair healthcare system.

Some students might be tempted to treat this essay more like an argumentative essay you might submit in a class, but don’t forget that it’s still a college essay. That means we need to learn about you!

Yes, the admissions committee wants to hear why you think health equity is important, but they are also curious to see your experience with the topic in the past. If you’ve experienced discrimination in healthcare, witnessed a loved one or friend be disadvantaged because of a lack of equity, or worked to promote health equity within your community, they want to know. Even if you have previous experience promoting social justice and equality more generally, not necessarily in the healthcare field, that should be part of your essay.

For students who have direct experience with this topic, your essay should do these three main things:

1. Establish a connection to health equity. A good way to do this is through an anecdote or story about your previous experience. Show us how you were emotionally impacted by the existence of health discrimination or injustice. If you did work in high school to address the issue, let us know what attracted you to the topic in the first place and describe the impact achieving health equity had on you and others.

2. Explain how you will contribute to Penn’s mission . This part is a little more open ended because you can either interpret it as contributing to healthcare equality at Penn or after graduation, it’s up to you. Either way, it’s a good idea to bring in unique Penn resources that will further your knowledge of health equity or help you actively make a difference in the field. Explain why the particular opportunity you highlighted speaks to you and how it will help you grow in your career as a nurse. However, don’t forget to include what you can bring to the table, in whatever club or class you are in, too.

3. Reflect on the importance of health equity. You can weave this part throughout your essay, use it as an impactful hook or conclusion, or use it to emphasize the point of your anecdote. What’s important is to show the admissions committee your critical thinking and reasoning skills and discuss why we need equality in healthcare. What would hospitals look like? How would the patient experience be improved? Who would be impacted? How can incorporating equity make nursing more productive or enjoyable? You can really talk about any way that nursing and healthcare would be impacted, just as long as you zoom out and think about the bigger picture.

Maybe you don’t have any direct experience with this topic—that’s okay too! The structure suggested above can be modified so instead of establishing your connection to health equity with a personal anecdote, you can have a more generalized discussion about why it is important and how it makes you feel. Don’t hold back—tell us about the emotions, thoughts, and feelings you have on the topic. Describe your heartbreak and fear for yourself at hearing stories of women’s pain being dismissed. Express your hungry appetite for addressing social injustices and how you will never be satisfied until you make a difference.

The rest of the essay should be pretty similar with the Penn resources and the reflection on the future of nursing. If you don’t have any personal experiences, your essay might be a bit heavier on what you hope to learn at Penn and contribute in the future; there’s nothing wrong with that. 

Regardless of what your experience-level is like, it’s important that you are able to communicate in your response that you are a civically-minded person and that you are driven by a desire to improve the world around you. If you can demonstrate to the admissions committee that you are passionate about advancing health equity, your essay will be a success.

The Wharton School

Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a wharton education would help you to explore it. (150-200 words).

This essay follows the “ Global Issues ” essay archetype. For this type of essay, it’s extremely important that you pick an issue you are actually passionate about, rather than one you think will seem “impressive” to admissions officers. Your natural interest in the topic will make it easier to write and make the essay more engaging.

Pick an Issue Important to You

You’re given leeway in the prompt to pick any economic, political, or social issue that is close to your heart. Maybe there is one that immediately jumps out at you, or maybe you’re struggling to choose. If you need help narrowing down your choices, start by asking yourself these questions:

• What class are you more drawn to, economics or history/government?
• What type of news articles catch your attention?
• What causes or charities do you donate to or volunteer for?
• What’s a news story that has made you enraged? Upset? Motivated?
• What current events topics do you like to talk about with your friends?

We recommend picking a topic that relates to your interests and experiences that way you can incorporate stories into your essay. A student who is able to connect something they do on a local level to a larger national issue will show the admissions committee their appreciation of micro and macro perspectives. 

For example, a student who’s been volunteering as a tutor for low income elementary students throughout high school might choose public education funding as their topic because they have seen the disparity in resources available to students simply based on the property taxes in the district. Not only does this topic directly relate to their extracurricular interests, but it also provides the student with a chance to use stories and details from their personal experience.

Keep in mind that although Wharton is the business school, your issue does not have to be economically-related, nor do you need to explain the issue’s connection to business. Practically every global issue involves economic theory or the private sector, so it’s more important to pick an issue that is authentically you rather than one that seems better suited to the school.

Explain the Extent of the Problem and Your Connection

The first part of this is pretty straightforward: tell the admissions committee why they should care about this issue as much as you do. Pretend that your reader isn’t familiar with the issue and explain what is going on and why it is important to address it.

The more nuanced part is to explain why this issue is important to you.

This is where anecdotes and personal stories can come into play, but you need to make sure that through these stories you communicate your emotional attachment to the issue. Are you or your community personally affected? How has that impacted your lives? Maybe the issue is not directly related to you but it reminds you of something you’ve faced. In that case, how do you empathize with the people going through the situation?

Since this essay is pretty short, a good portion of the essay should be on your personal connection to the issue. 

How Will Wharton Help You Fix It

Of course since this is a college essay, the prompt doesn’t just want to know about a global issue you care about—it wants to know how you will utilize a Penn education to solve problems. Again, space is limited, so you don’t have the luxury to go into multiple resources that you hope to engage with on campus. Instead, hone in on one or two and make sure to explain their significance.

Whether it’s a professor, class, student organization, research topic, special center, study abroad program, etc, make sure to include how that opportunity will teach you something unique or equip you with specific skills that will allow you to address the issue in the future.

Huntsman Program Applicants

UPenn’s Huntsman Program is a dual degree track in International Studies and Business, which brings together the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School of Business. Its focus is global, and students learn target languages and study foreign affairs with an eye towards becoming internationally-involved, global citizens.

This is a meaty question, and we should break it down into a checklist of key items they’re asking you to identify. 

• What draws you to business (B) + international studies (IS)
• A global issue in B + IS
• What you want to learn about B + IS
• How that knowledge is applicable to the global issue 

A logical, competent way to structure this essay would be a narrative format: past to present. The items that compose the question naturally lend themselves to this timeline format, so lean into it if you choose. You can talk about your past interest in a problem, the current state of that problem, and how your collegiate experience in B + IS will make you a citizen better equipped to help solve that problem. 

As always, be specific. Pick not just a broad issue (“refugee crises”), but a subset of the issue that actually seems manageable (“connecting large corporate donors with small charities run by refugees themselves”). From there, look for potential classes offered at UPenn, and student organizations involved in similar missions. It may be worth citing how the Huntsman program has aided the students featured on its website , and discuss how those same opportunities would similarly provide you with a comprehensive education in B + IS.

Demonstrate your cosmopolitanism . If you have a family history that involves living in multiple countries or cultures, you may want to evoke it here. The same goes for any educational, service, or other time spent learning abroad. Even if you’ve never left your home country, demonstrate a keen knowledge of foreign affairs by citing events, specific leaders, certain charities or businesses, etc. 

That said, be wary of “factoids” and surface knowledge . The CollegeVine writer who broke down this prompt last year had a great piece of advice that’s worth emphasizing (and maybe tattooing?): 

“Don’t do what I did. In high school, I focused on international affairs a lot during debate. Unfortunately, I messed up an important interview by talking about a bunch of breaking news instead of tying those events back to the deeper insights I had been describing in my debates.

All this is just to say: don’t mistake superficial ideas for depth of interest. One quick way to test this is to try talking about your essay topic for three minutes. If you run out of things to say about the intersection of global issues and business, you probably are coming at the issue from the wrong angle [and you need to approach it from another direction: themes, morality, ethics, etc].”

What is the philosophy behind your international focus? In addition to showing your knowledge of IS, you should state why you enjoy the field, and why it’s necessary for the world right now. Has your understanding of “the world” and your “self” changed since you first became interested in B + IS? Your understandings of “community,” “collaboration,” “multiculturalism,” “aid,” etc? 

Think of it this way: the prompt asks “what” and “how,” but there’s also a hidden question: “why?”

Digital Media Design Program Applicants 

“ The Digital Media Design Program ,” writes UPenn, “was established in response to what we perceived as a growing rift within the computer graphics and animation industry.” UPenn is one of few schools to offer a specialized curriculum that combines fine arts with computer engineering. However, because the DMD program is so rare, it is also competitive. In this essay, show your interest in digital media design to be sustained rather than temporary.

This prompt is similar to the first UPenn prompt, discussed above with the hypothetical applicant Sam. It asks you 1) what your interest is, and 2) why you need to pursue it at UPenn and DMD specifically. To that effect, you can brainstorm using the T-chart format we covered there, with “DMD” in the column previously dedicated to a certain major. 

That said, there are some specific things you should mind. 

Why you NEED the interdisciplinary approach . DMD combines a lot of fields that you could study in isolation elsewhere. For a standout application, you need to show why you wouldn’t be content in just the School of Fine Arts or just the School of Engineering. Rather, you should describe the magnetic pull both design and computer sciences have on your mind, and how you’ve integrated them in the past, to the point where they’re inextricable for you.

A problem you can help address. Remember, this whole program was created to solve a perceived problem! Towards the end of your essay, identify a societal or industry-specific problem that the skills set you’d acquire at DMD would help ameliorate, whether it’s user interfaces for apps, computer models for statisticians, or how to make animated fish scales look really, really good. 

Do some digging about the program . Information about DMD is scattered in multiple places, so spend a good hour clicking around and exploring the Internet. There’s some student work on this webpage, a Youtube video , and a description of Penn’s computer graphics facilities . For a program this esoteric, it’s also worth your effort to send a polite email to the Computer Graphics Department at UPenn, asking if there’s any faculty or current students who’d like to chat or answer your questions about the program. This will give you a much more specific sense of how the program would fit your interests, what career resources are available for DMD students, etc. 

The message is the medium. Since this is a design program, convey your design preferences and unique style as much as possible. A successful essay not only convinces admissions officers that you are passionate about design; it gives them a sense of what aesthetics your designs will prioritize. For example, if your style is “minimalist,” you might want to experiment with a “minimalist” writing style: sentence fragments, short sentences, and clipped breaks. If your style is vivid and colorful, engage lots of sensory words, lush descriptions, and (obviously) words for all your favorite shades of colors. 

Life Sciences and Management Program Applicants

The Life Sciences and Management Program is a dual degree that ties together the biology majors in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wharton School of Business. Although it’s selective in the number of students it accepts (25), it’s broad in terms of focus: students pursue everything from agriculture to pharmaceuticals to bioengineering to finance. 

The LSM program aims to provide students with a fundamental understanding of the life sciences and their management with an eye to identifying, advancing and implementing innovations. What issues would you want to address using the understanding gained from such a program? Note that this essay should be distinct from your single degree essay. (400-650 words)

Wow! They already gave you a theme for this essay: innovation! That should make it easy, right? Well, maybe. By like 5%. Batten down the hatches.

We can break this prompt down into the central requirements, and all the attendant little words that feed into them. Those central requirements are:

• The issue you want to address
• LSM experience – “program,” “understanding,” “eye”
• “Innovation” – “identifying, advancing, implementing”

First, find an issue in the life sciences/life sciences business that speaks to you. This doesn’t have to be a specific problem: it can be an attitude that you feel needs fixing, a lack of collaboration, or an incorrect mindset or paradigm. However, you should have specific examples of personal experiences with it, either from your studies or some other aspect of your life. And you should demonstrate a thorough understanding of it, revealing that you’ve read widely and stayed updated. 

Second, talk about how LSM will help you become the solution . LSM provides its students with an incredible array of resources, including internships, connections, prizes, funds, and mentorship. You should discuss program-specific resources that either touch on the issue specifically or will give you the “eye,” the “understanding” mentioned in the prompt.

• Find granular examples of LSM resources . Their website is so expansive, and so full of student profiles and useful information, that we recommend spending about an hour clicking through and jotting down information that intrigues you. Find specific faculty who work in areas that interest you, or who are engaged in public work in a way you’d admire. Then connect these back to the “issue” you’ve mentioned.
• Justify your interdisciplinary needs . You need to prove that you wouldn’t be be happier in either management or bioscience — you need them both together. Good statements to have in pocket are “only through LSM,” “LSM specifically,” and “LSM’s unique X.” For example, check out LSM’s two program-exclusive courses . Citing these would be a great idea, as would clicking on the faculty links on the same page. 

Lastly, discuss your ideas of innovation. Don’t worry — they’re not expecting you to solve anything now. And actually, if you read the prompt closely, LSM wants their students to be skilled at “identifying, advancing and implementing” innovations, not necessarily inventing them. Here, it’s less important to propose a solution to your issue than it is to propose a road to that solution, an implementation plan for an extant solution, or a unique definition of “innovation.” You should focus on ideas that are key to management: how does innovation happen, how do we organize people to produce innovation, how do we establish cultures where collaboration is enjoyable? UPenn wants to learn about how you think, about your philosophy.

Jerome Fisher Management and Technology Program Applicants

The Jerome Fisher Management and Technology Program is a dual-degree program that allows students to select an interdisciplinary concentration that melds the schools of Business and Engineering. 

Note: The two essays have very different purposes, so be sure to write them with those distinct goals in mind.

• The first essay follows a similar archetype as the essay outlined under the first general UPenn prompt: the “why major” essay. Remember Sam and the T-chart? 
• The second essay is trying to learn how you think and act under pressure. Do you think like an engineer? Can you solve problems creatively? Do you take the lead when circumstances demand it?

M&T Program, Prompt 1

Explain how you will use the m&t program to explore your interest in business, engineering, and the intersection of the two. (400-650 words).

This prompt is similar to the first UPenn prompt, discussed above with the hypothetical applicant Sam. It asks you 1) what your interest is, and 2) why you need to pursue it at UPenn and M&T specifically. To that effect, you can brainstorm using the T-chart format we covered there, with “M&T” in the column previously dedicated to a certain major. 

Why you NEED the interdisciplinary approach . M&T combines a lot of fields that you could study in isolation elsewhere. For a standout application, you need to show why you wouldn’t be content in just the School of Business or just the School of Engineering. Rather, you should describe the magnetic pull both engineering and business have on your mind, and how you’ve integrated them in the past, to the point where they’re inextricable for you.

A problem or curiosity you can help address. Remember, the first words on M&T’s website are “ solving big problems ”! Towards the end of your essay, mention a societal or industry-specific problem that the skills set you’d acquire through M&T would help ameliorate, whether it’s user interfaces for apps or environmentally-friendly polymers.

Do some digging about the program . M&T’s website is vast, so spend a good hour clicking around and exploring, taking notes on details that appeal to you. This will give you a much more specific sense of how the program would fit your interests, what career resources are available for M&T students, etc. We suggest checking out the News section and Alumni profiles .

M&T Program Applicants, Prompt 2

Describe a problem that you solved that showed leadership and creativity. (250 words).

Finding an anecdote that fits the second essay is harder than it may seem. First, think back on times you have been a leader. This can be through some formal position you held, like club president, or it can be leadership in practice rather than in title. It also doesn’t have to strictly involve business and engineering, although it really helps if you’re able to creatively apply it back to your business/tech interests. You should think of this prompt as the short, fun, unbuttoned sequel to the previous one.

Here’s an example. Imagine Lucy is the lead singer in a band, but they’ve been having trouble booking gigs. So Lucy looks for venues they had not considered previously, going to chamber of commerce meetings. She finds out small business owners would like live music for events. Talks go well, and pretty soon, Lucy’s band is playing private events hosted by small businesses.

This anecdote makes a great fit for the essay prompt, because it expands on the idea of “business” without being stuffy or repetitious. It’s fresh, and can allow Lucy to talk about a real topic in business, relevant to M&T — seeking face-to-face connections and word-of-mouth recommendations.

CollegeVine’s breakdown of a Common App essay on problem-solving has some useful tips you can use here, too. For example:

1. Briefly reflect on the pros and cons of your solution! It takes a sophisticated essay to describe a solution, but also to reflect on some errors or things you’d do differently.

2. Brainstorm problems with solutions that you are particularly proud of or that you think are unique or exciting, then pick the most compelling one for M&T.

3. Use anecdotal color: dialogue, varied tone, emotions, jokes, asides. 

To which we should add that here, since you only have 250 words, be short, streamlined, and vivid. Use efficient, active verbs that will pack the maximum amount of punch into such a short passage. 

NETS Engineering Program Applicants

NETS is a unique program in Penn’s engineering school that foregrounds networks, huge systems, social media, modern computing, and economics.

UPenn really loves these meaty prompts, don’t they? This one needs to be broken down and analyzed, since there are a bunch of components.

Notice all the nouns? If you look closely at the prompt, almost all the words are nouns. That means the admissions readers for NETS are going to be on the lookout for applicants who name-drop specific terms, techniques, or systems — the bread-and-butter unit nouns of CS. When composing, you should take care not to sacrifice density of concepts and information for narrative flair, although…

You need to add that *narrative flair*. Since the prompt is mostly nouns, you’ll need to stir in your own action through verbbbbs. Make a list of all the actions you’ve performed while working on information systems. And keep in mind the UPenn example with Tarzan: the verbs should be as vivid as you can afford writing about CS. Did you “formulate” and “organize” an array, or did you “DREDGE” the data set and “FLOOD” the array with numbers and “CONSTELLATE” the data into “WHIRLING” patterns? Don’t be excessive, but liven up your prose to convey your enthusiasm. 

NETS’ website emphasizes creativity, brilliance, and sometimes genius . NETS has a little bit of a god complex: their ideal student is “one of the few” (as the NETS Program website tells us), an “extraordinary” thinker, not an “average mind.” So make sure to let your personality and uniqueness shine through. (Fun fact about the word genius : it comes from a Latin word indicating a unique, endemic spirit.) This means using vivid words and literary devices to showcase your free-thinking. And you can elaborate unabashedly about your accomplishments, as long as you do so with enthusiasm for the work itself, rather than pride in nominal awards. 

We live in a society. All right, gamers, it’s time to rise up and talk about societal issues that resonate with you. “Society” is mentioned twice, which offers you an opportunity to start with your personal experience, then broaden your focus to encompass wider issues. Describe how awareness of this context changed anything about your methods, ethics, or career goals: was there a service you stopped using or a technique you tried learning after reading a piece of news? 

“Draw on examples from your own experiences as a user, developer, or student of technology.” You should really involve all three. 

Conclude with your specific desires for college . Translate your interests into a college context, and state what kinds of coursework you want to do, and what kinds of pre-professional assistance would help you out. Lastly, bring back the “societal” need and identify how you want to contribute as a thinker. 

Nursing and Healthcare Management Program Applicants

NHCM is a dual degree between the Wharton School of Business and the Nursing School. 

This prompt follows a similar format as the first UPenn essay, in that it asks you to 1) identify your interest and 2) pair that interest with specific resources at UPenn — NHCM, specifically. So you may want to revisit that breakdown, the T-chart method we discussed, and the sample “Sam” essay. 

Why you NEED the interdisciplinary approach . NHCM combines a lot of fields that you could study in isolation elsewhere. For a standout application, you need to show why you wouldn’t be content in just the School of Business or just the School of Nursing. Rather, you should describe the magnetic pull both healthcare and business have on your mind, and how you’ve integrated them in the past, to the point where they’re inextricable for you.

A problem, curiosity, or goal you can pursue. Discuss how your personal experience has shaped your objectives in pursuing nursing — you have space to open in medias res with a personal story, if you want. Towards the end of your essay, mention a societal or industry-specific problem that the skills set you’d acquire through NHCM would help ameliorate, whether it’s how pharma companies can better incorporate the perspective of nurses or how businesses can succeed with their health initiatives.

Do some digging about the program . The NHCM website is very small, so be sure to poke around the internet exploring, taking notes on details that appeal to you. This will give you a much more specific sense of how the program would fit your interests, what career resources are available for NHCS students, etc. We suggest checking out the Admissions webinars offered by the UPenn school of nursing for opportunities to ask questions. You also might want to politely email the staff member listed under the “Who Can Apply?” section , and ask if there are any faculty or current students who would be open to talking about their experiences in NHCM.

VIPER Program Applicants

The Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research, or VIPER, is a rigorous program that emphasizes student research, publication, and involved mentorship opportunities with faculty.

This prompt is more like a python than a viper, in that it’s huge and has some additional prompts swallowed up inside. However, you should note that it follows a similar format as the first UPenn essay, in that it asks you to 1) identify your specific interests and ideal majors and 2) pair that interest with specific resources at UPenn — VIPER, specifically. And boy, do VIPER students not lack for resources. So you may want to revisit that breakdown and the T-chart method we discussed, and fill up the target panel with VIPER-specific programs, mentorship opportunities, awards, funds, and summer opportunities that call to you. 

Why you NEED the interdisciplinary approach . VIPER combines a lot of fields that you could study in isolation elsewhere. For a standout application, you need to show why you wouldn’t be content in just the School of A&S or just the School of Engineering. Rather, you should describe the magnetic pull both science and engineering have on your mind, and how you’ve integrated them in the past, to the point where they’re inextricable for you. Describing your dual passions can provide a meaningful segue into “previous research,” as per the prompt — you might have loved a setting in which you practiced both science and engineering, or you might have felt something was “missing” when you solely focused on one or the other. 

A problem, curiosity, or goal you can pursue in college. Discuss how your personal experience has shaped your objectives in pursuing engineering – you have space to open in medias res with a personal story, if you want. If one experience was particularly formative, eye-opening, challenging, or inspiring, this would be a great incident with which to open.

Follow a logical narrative organization. The prompt itself provides you with the easiest way to lay out your essay, and that is: 

Inciting or important experience 

Interest in energy/science as a subject

Further experience

Narrowed and refined interests;  awareness of large-scale dilemmas in the field

Desire for certain exploratory opportunities in college

VIPER programs that fit that desire

How VIPER programs will prepare me to address those large-scale dilemmas and research interests

Do some digging about the program . The VIPER website is huge and comprehensive, so be sure to reserve an hour or so for reading, exploring, and taking notes on details that appeal to you. This will give you a much more specific sense of how the program would fit your interests, what career resources are available for VIPER students, etc. We suggest checking out the information e-sessions offered by The VIPER for opportunities to ask questions. You also might want to politely email the staff member listed on the Prospective Students page if you have any questions, or if you want to ask if there are any faculty or current students who would be open to talking about their experiences in VIPER.

Bio-Dental Program Applicants

UPenn’s seven-year Bio-Dental Program is a rigorous and highly-structured regimen that puts students on track to complete a professional dental degree in an accelerated time-frame. This program emphasizes discipline, determination, and pure scientific competence. Your answers should be focused much more on skills and comprehension, although personal stories can still be important. But it’s advisable to take a clear, incisive tone instead of something more colorful or story-heavy.

Bio-Dental Applicants, Prompt 1

Please list pre-dental or pre-medical experience. this experience can include but is not limited to observation in a private practice, dental clinic, or hospital setting; dental assisting; dental laboratory work; dental or medical research, etc. please include time allotted to each activity, dates of attendance, location, and description of your experience. if you do not have any pre-dental or pre-medical experience, please indicate what you have done or plan to do in order to explore dentistry as a career. (250 words).

This is an expertise-oriented question; it’s very similar to a resume. However, since you’ll also be submitting a profile of your extracurriculars, and possibly a resume as well, you should use this brief essay to go more into depth and focus on your accomplishments. Skill, aptitude, and experience should be your foci here, and you should talk about specific techniques, tools, or procedures you learned. Don’t worry too much about telling a story or personal development. Stick to hard expertise.

If, as per the second option (no pre-dental or pre-med experience), you still need to keep the theme of “expertise” in mind. When UPenn asks you to “indicate what you’ve done,” they’re not looking for a personal epiphany or moving memoir about why you decided to go into dentistry. They’re more interested in the rigorous science and anatomy classes you’ve taken, science programs in which you’ve participated, etc. 

List your accomplishments in these classes, specifically your scores and achievements in areas relating to medicine and dentistry. (Hint: you’ll also get a chance to shine in the next prompt, which asks about manual skills.) For example, a relevant accomplishment might be a review of data you conducted in your AP Environmental Science class that focused on dental problems in areas with high erosion and airborne particles, and for which you earned a commendation at a local science club. 

Bio-Dental Applicants, Prompt 2

Do you have relatives who are dentists or are in dental school if so, indicate the name of each relative, his/her relationship to you, the school attended, and the dates attended. (250 words).

This is pretty simple and straightforward; there’s no need to go into detail about personal experiences. You don’t have to write complete sentences and can do a bullet-type list in a clear but informal format. 

For example: 

First and Last Name; Relation; School Attended; First Year-Last Year.

Bio-Dental Applicants, Prompt 3

Describe any activities which demonstrate your ability to work with your hands. (250 words).

Focus on motor skills and actions. Here you can be a bit more descriptive and evocative, although your focus should remain on what you can do, rather than your fascination with your activity or your emotional attachments to the work. “Thrilled and trembling with energy” might have been your reaction to welding in shop class, but it’s the last thing UPenn wants in an aspiring dental surgeon. Instead, list the operations you had to perform in welding, including the thinness of the wires, the delicacy of the projects, and any certifications you earned. A good way to summarize is in a technical but illustrative list. For example: “Advanced Jewelrymaking 302: form and solder 15-gauge wire into jump rings, create settings with various-sized burs, acquire working knowledge of a rotary precision motor.” 

As mentioned before, this is a great place to shine if you don’t have as much pre-med or academic experience in health. An applicant who doesn’t have as many AP classes, but who has a proven track record of quality trade work and mechanical skills, may stand out more than a candidate with an outstanding academic record but little in the way of manual work. 

Don’t be afraid to mention less “hard” and “mechanical” subjects. Art is perfectly acceptable, as long as you can break it down to a technical level in terms of tools and minute detail. 

Also, focus on the small and precise! If you did lawn maintenance over the summer, leaf-blowing and lawn-mowing may not be very helpful to mention here. But if you had to mix precise ratios of concrete or resin, or caulk up a small crack in a fountain, these are good examples to list. 

Bio-Dental Applicants, Prompt 4

What activities have you performed that demonstrate your ability to work cooperatively with people (250 words).

Use a similar format as you did in the last prompt, relying on lists of tasks and accomplishments. Feel free to mention challenges you overcame and how: for example, “improved low member engagement by moving our NHS chapter onto a Slack channel.” 

Don’t fall into any traps, or think UPenn is looking for a certain type of club, leadership, or cooperation. Think about shifts at work, family, sports, projects, and other preoccupations.

Keep it results-focused. Don’t wax poetic about “community bonds,” “love,” or “family.” They’re less interested in how you bonded with your partners than in how you know how to work as a unit. If your emotional bonding helped you better function as a well-oiled machine, mention it in that context. Otherwise, concentrate on results and improvement, rather than feelings.

Bio-Dental Applicants, Prompt 5

Please explain your reasons for selecting a career in dentistry. please include what interests you the most in dentistry as well as what interests you the least. (250 words).

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, we’re advising once again that you take note of the technical tone. By asking “what interests you most in dentistry as well as what interests you the least,” UPenn is signaling that you can’t just be emotional about your reasons for liking dentistry. You have to include your thoughts on what technical area or sub-field you want to pursue. 

That being said, you do have space to include a personal connection or involvement, if you choose. But you need to bring your focus back, always, towards your knowledge of the field. For example, “seeing my grandmother’s confidence soar when she got dental implants” is a good start. However, you need to take the gesture to its logical conclusion: “Seeing my grandmother go from recluse to the life of the party, combined with what I learned about the emotional vulnerabilities of aging in AP Psych, inspired me to pursue geriatric dentistry in particular. Dental health, I’ve found, is central to the self-esteem and mental health of seniors, and training in this area would allow me to use my skills in a way that betters lives.” Note how the emotional subject matter is tempered by the applicant’s educational experience. Wisely, the applicant also demonstrates a priority for coursework and a career path — a clear trajectory moving forward.

For your non-interest, be tactful. This can be a stumbling block for applicants, as it’s a lot harder to talk about what you don’t want to study in a way that’s still positive and reflects well on your personality. As you’re writing this, you should put yourself in a “job interview” mindset — you don’t want to slip up, or say anything that could be used against you. Try not to use emotional words, like “boring” or “stressful” or “I don’t care.” It’s essential to be respectful and graceful instead. But don’t worry — you just need a little more planning. Here are some ideas:

1. Acknowledge your non-interest as a matter-of-fact sacrifice for your interest. Be brief and impartial. Don’t go into a lot of detail about why you don’t want to pursue orthodontics or cosmetic dentistry, etc. Just state that you have greater interest and motivation in other fields. Try, “As I focus my attention on geriatric dentistry, I expect to devote most of my coursework to implants and the aging dental structure, and anticipate spending less time on pediatric dental courses as a result.” Frame it as a trade-off or logical transaction, rather than you having an aversion to a certain area. 

2. Frame your “least interest” as a personal shortcoming that you need to overcome . For example, a student who’s never felt called to study dental office administration might acknowledge that this is probably not good for her in the long term. “I’ve never been interested in dental office management or secretarial work, but I’ve reflected, and I know that I’ll need a solid understanding of these things to be an effective practitioner. Therefore, I intend to immerse myself in more courses and programs that will increase my proficiency and maybe spark new interest.” This is good, because the student not only cites a deficient area, but she formulates a plan to remedy this blind spot in the future. She shows she’s someone who can bite the bullet, and put in the work even during periods of non-interest.

Where to Get Your UPenn Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your UPenn essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools.  Find the right advisor for you  to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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Want to see your chances of admission at Connecticut College?

We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.

Connecticut College’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Common app personal essay.

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

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The University of Connecticut is requesting $96 million in funding from the state for the upcoming fiscal year to supplement the school’s budget shortfall. 

Jeffrey Geoghegan, the executive vice president for finance and chief financial officer of UConn, said that if fulfilled, their request would offset UConn’s forecasted loss for the 2025 fiscal year, including almost $23 million in mitigation efforts and operating cost reductions. 

“That request of $96 million would fully cover all of the mitigation plans that we’re looking at right now,” Geoghegan said. “So when we do have the conversations, and we go down to Hartford to talk with the legislature, the discussion is about the full $96 million.” 

Geoghegan explained that the amount they requested was chosen to achieve a “break-even cash flow.” 

“We take all of the revenue sources of the cash coming in, subtract all of the payments that we have for the cash going out, and that started at a base of a $70 million loss,” he said. 

According to Geoghegan, the $70 million loss coupled with statewide renegotiation for state employee wages led to the total forecasted loss of $96 million that UConn is requesting from the state. He said that if the state fulfilled the request, it would alleviate the next fiscal year’s concerns and buy the school more time to adjust their budget plan. 

“Unless it’s a permanent increase to our budget, it’ll just kind of kick the can down the road, and we will have to revisit that five-year plan again next year,” Geoghegan said. 

Geoghegan said that the school would most likely hear from the Appropriations Committee this week. After the committee’s suggestions were released, Geoghegan said there would be a few more weeks of reconciling the suggestions with the governor’s office and legislators before a decision is made. 

Unless it’s a permanent increase to our budget, it’ll just kind of kick the can down the road, and we will have to revisit that five-year plan again next year Jeffrey Geoghegan, the executive vice president for finance and chief financial officer of UConn

“I wouldn’t expect to know the final number till the last week of April, first week of May,” he said. 

If UConn does not get the full funding that they are requesting, Geoghegan said that UConn would continue plans to cut ledger-2 funding. 

“Best case scenario is we get to defer those conversations for another year, because it’s been funded by the state. And, you know, worst case scenario, we have to implement everything right away,” Geoghegan said. “More likely than not, it might fall somewhere in between.” 

Geoghegan said that if the school only received a portion of the $96 million, the school would try to generate more revenue through the UConn Foundation and other revenue initiatives. 

According to Director of Operating Budget Kelly Wihbey, the Ledger-2 cuts will come out of operational administrative units as well as academic departments, if the cuts happen this year. Geoghegan said that UConn will present its final budget plan around mid to late June. 

“Any aspect where we can actually cover that reduction with new revenue is goal number one. And then after that, of course, everything else, we’re looking at the expenses, and overall staffing levels and things like that,” he said. 

Geoghegan said that even though there is a lot of support for public education funding, the state has to balance the interests of other educational institutions, such as other Connecticut state universities and the K-12 system. 

“There does seem to be a lot of support that is around for UConn and UConn Health so the university in total, but we were one of many that are asking for additional funds,” Geoghegan said. 

According to Geoghegan, UConn has been having “very good conversations in the legislature.” 

“We do have a lot of support, so we are very hopeful that we’ll get a good positive number when something does come out,” he said. 

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