Comet Bootcamp: Writing Your Best "Why" Essay

Apr 24

As you finish up your main personal statement for the Common Application, feel free to stretch out and take a break -- you deserve it! But...deep breath...many colleges add their own supplemental questions to the Common App.

As you add your colleges to your dashboard and browse their requirements, you’ll notice sections called “writing”, “essay questions” or “supplemental questions”. There, you’ll find prompts asking all sorts of questions and text boxes of varying lengths -- some are 50 words (oh, cool!) and some are 650 (oh, no).

Colleges aren’t doing this to torture you, we promise! It’s just another way they can get to know you and compare you directly with other applicants. It also gives them assurance that you really are interested in attending.

She saw there were six 250-word supplements and she’s still applying? She must really love us!

Try to see supplements as an opportunity to show more facets of your personality, or to illustrate more of your big accomplishments. When you’re ready to dive in, read on about one of the most common types of supplements: the “why” essay.

There are many colleges out there, and admissions officers are looking for the students who will really make the most of their experience. Colleges can assess your excitement and “fit” in many ways: did you attend their webinar? Did you visit campus? Have you clicked open all the emails and links they’ve sent you? Did you opt in for the optional interview? (Yes, you should do all of those things!)

Some colleges choose to assign an essay for this purpose: the “why” essay. Here are some examples:

University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (550 words)

University of Southern California: Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words)

Purdue University: How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (100 words)

How should I approach the “Why” essay?

The purpose of this essay is for you to demonstrate why you would be a good fit for this college, not why the college would be a good fit for you. Think of it as a point-by-point analysis as to why every choice you’ve made in high school aligns with what this college offers.

Essentially, you will be matching your own interests, involvements and goals to the unique opportunities this college has to offer. What classes, clubs, research opportunities, internships, conferences, professors, and resources at this college will allow you to continue pursuing the interests and experiences you had in high school? Moreover, how have your current involvements and interests prepared you to take full advantage of those opportunities? And, lastly, how will those opportunities help you reach your goals?

How do I get started?

Actually, before you start, you’ll need to get clarity for yourself:

What are my interests and goals? These will usually revolve around your major and career plan because that’s what the prompt will ask (see the prompts from USC and Michigan above). However, there are some prompts (like Purdue’s above) that’s more open. In this case, you can write down any interest that you’ve pursued wholeheartedly, from knitting to marching band.

What involvements illustrate that I have pursued those interests and am heading toward my goals? These will be your bright, shiny resume items like summer programs, clubs, and service opportunities related to your major and career plan.

If you’re not sure what your major/career plans are, that’s okay! You can discuss multiple interests and potential pathways as long as you can explain why you are interested and what else you would like to learn.

Okay, got it. What’s the next step?

Next, it’s time to do your research. You’ll need to explore your college’s website to discover any and everything relevant to your interests/involvements/goals noted above. Take a look at:

Unique classes
Unique clubs
Unique majors, including special programs like dual majors
Research facilities/projects
Special programs or initiatives
Special resources or labs
Special conferences or events

Take notes as you go and save the links in case you have to go back.

How do I know if the things I’m finding are unique or special?

It’s a bit difficult to determine what’s unique when you first get started. Every college offers a similar slate of majors and activities, as well as similarly amazing professors and facilities. However, once you’ve researched multiple colleges, you’ll start to see for yourself what stands out (we promise).

If this is the first college you’re researching, we recommend you take a look at the college’s admissions blog or attend some of their events. You’ll notice that the admissions reps discuss particular aspects of the college often: the new lab, the new major, the unique housing situation, the cool first-year program, the career and internship services. Sometimes, the aspects the officers discuss are not tangible, but rather include some key words: diversity, service, innovation. These are the things that the college values, and thus these are the values they are searching for in their students.

If you know someone who attends the college you’re considering, it wouldn’t hurt to reach out to them and see: what do you think is fun/interesting about your college? What are most people involved in? Alternatively, hit platforms where real students are reviewing their colleges and posting content that will help you see what a day in the life is like. We really like Campus Reel.

Ugh, this college website is confusing. I can’t find anything!

We know, right? Here are some tips:

Start with the “Admissions” page. You’ll find the college’s “pitch” to students here, where they advertise all their most interesting attributes and invite you to read more. You can usually find links to most of the other important pages from here.
Try the “About” page. Here you’ll find the mission/vision statement and some of those buzz words.
Visit the Department page for your major, as well the page for your specific major. Here you’ll find links to classes, faculty, special programs/affiliated clubs, and research opportunities directly related to your interests.
Use the “Student Life” or “Campus Life” page to find clubs and organizations, as well as information about resources.
Find the “Events” calendar to get an idea of the programming on campus. You might see a bunch of sporting events, a series of lectures, some service days, or art exhibitions -- all of which can give you a strong impression of what the college and its students prioritize.
Try searching “First Year Experience”. Many colleges have special and specific opportunities for first year students, so even if you don’t know what you want to do 5 years from now you can see what’s just on the horizon.
Check the “Housing” page to see if there are unique options like residential colleges (think: Harry Potter).

Nothing I’m finding is relevant to me and my interests. The few things that are relevant just aren’t unique enough to write about. What do I do?

If you’re not finding anything interesting, think about it: maybe this isn’t the right college for you after all. Some colleges might be highly ranked or well-known, but not for the major you’re planning to pursue. Fit is really important, so if you’re not finding any clubs or campus activities that you can see yourself participating in that’s a red flag. Remember you’re choosing where to apply, and it’s okay to change your mind!

If you’re sure you want to apply, you can still make this essay work with some vague ideas about the college -- as long as the writing you do about yourself and your future plans is engaging, and includes the college in that journey. For example, you can describe your interest and involvement in politics throughout high school, then point to wanting to study political science at this college so that you can achieve your future goal of making an impact through writing public policy.

The problem here is that every college offers political science, so it may seem like you just copy/pasted this sentence about University X and changed the name to University Y. Do your best to differentiate and make this essay a love letter to a particular college. Even just listing a few classes that seem interesting can make a big difference.

Okay, I wrote down my own interests/involvements/goals and found some relevant things at the college. How do I connect these together?

Now that you have all the information you need, it’s time to tell the college who you are now, who you want to be in the future, and how opportunities at the college can connect those two dots.

You’ll have to do this differently depending on what you already wrote in the main Common App personal statement (and other supplements for this college), the length of the essay and what the prompt is asking for.

Here is a common structure you can use as you write your draft:

Tell the origin story of your interest.

Talk about the ways you explored your interest so far (involvements).

How did that lead you to your future goal?

Say something like, University X is the perfect place for me to pursue that goal.

*Discuss an academic opportunity that builds on your previous explorations and gets you closer to your future goal.

*Discuss an extracurricular opportunity that builds on your previous explorations and gets you closer to your future goal.

Summarize and reiterate your points that prove UX is the perfect school for you.

The most important part of the essay is in the middle -- see the *s above -- where you will discuss opportunities and connect them to you. This is where you differentiate yourself from other applicants by showing your unique motivation, approach and plan.

Do you have any other pro tips for these “why” essays?

Read the question carefully. Some colleges are specifically asking about academic factors that draw you to the campus (see USC’s prompt). Some universities are asking about the resources at the specific school/college you are applying to (see Michigan’s prompt). Others are open-ended (see Purdue’s prompt). Make sure you aren’t just copy/pasting from one college to another.

Pitch yourself, not the college. Remember you are not trying to convince the college that it can help you; it’s not a service you’re buying, it’s an environment where you are going to live, learn and grow. You’re trying to convince the college that you will contribute something of yourself, fit into the environment, and take full advantage of their resources to become someone great.

For example, instead of “Yale’s astronomy major offers the perfect courses for me to learn more about challenging concepts in the field”, say, “My past experience combining physics concepts and practical programming skills at SSP will enable me to contribute to lab-based courses like PHYS 102.”

Personalize it. You need to make sure your essay sounds like it was written specifically for this college.

For example, instead of “Wake Forest provides the best campus environment for me” try, “As someone who has taken on a role in student government at my high school, I appreciate how Wake Forest involves students in decisions about everything from campus events to new policies.”

We hope this has been helpful to organize your thoughts and get started on your “why” supplements for your colleges. Remember to check out our guides to the UC Personal Insight Questions and the Common App personal statement for more advice from Comet.

Tony Flores https://tonyflores.co/