Auburn University supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Honors College goals essayup to 600 words · Program essay

   “Describe your academic and/or professional goals and the experiences that have shaped them. How will your participation in the Honors College at Auburn University further your education, help you pursue these goals, and prepare you for your next steps? In your response, explain how you plan to engage with the academic opportunities and challenges offered by the Honors College and what you hope to contribute to the Honors community.”

   What it's really asking

   Why this specific program at Auburn University, and whether you understand what it adds beyond the regular degree. Honors and scholar programs read these for fit with how they teach, not for how impressive you are.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Treating it as another "why us" or restating your transcript. Not mentioning anything the program actually does.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Name one thing the program does that the regular path doesn't (seminars, research, cohort, a specific project) and connect it to something you've already done. Show you'd use it, not just qualify for it.

2. Honors essay 2 option A (choose one)up to 600 words · Leadership

   “Tell us who you are, and who you want to become, by describing in detail a material object that holds personal significance to you or someone close to you. What stories, memories, or meanings does this object carry? How have those influenced the person you are becoming?”

   What it's really asking

   Not your title but a moment where you changed what a group did. Auburn University reads "leadership" broadly; the youngest sibling organising a family can answer this as well as a club president.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the role instead of a decision. "As president, I led the team to success" contains no information. Taking credit for a group's work.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One situation, one decision you made that others didn't have to accept, how you got them to, and what happened. Include what it cost you or what you'd do differently.

3. Honors essay 2 option B (choose one)up to 600 words · Why us

   “The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi used the word 'flow' to describe a state of deep immersion in an activity. Describe an activity that can put you into this flow state, when your attention, energy, and sense of self align. What draws you to this experience? What does it reveal about who you are, how you think, or how you engage with the world?”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Auburn University good" but "what will you do here that you can't do elsewhere, and what in your past proves you'll actually do it." The reader already knows the school is good.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Opening with the campus, the ranking or the "world-renowned faculty." Every sentence that would survive with another school's name swapped in is wasted. Listing three programs with no explanation of any of them is the second trap.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start with the specific thing you've already been doing. Name one or two concrete Auburn University resources (a course, a lab, a program, a professor's actual work) and say what you'd do with each. End on the next step, not on a compliment.

4. Honors essay 2 option C (choose one)up to 600 words · Program essay

   “Each year, the Honors College selects a quote to exhort the incoming cohort to aspire to the ideals of the college. Select a quote that deeply resonates with you and explain why it matters to you. How does this quote reflect your self-understanding, values, or way of thinking? How has it shaped your perspective, decisions, or sense of purpose?”

   What it's really asking

   Why this specific program at Auburn University, and whether you understand what it adds beyond the regular degree. Honors and scholar programs read these for fit with how they teach, not for how impressive you are.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Treating it as another "why us" or restating your transcript. Not mentioning anything the program actually does.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Name one thing the program does that the regular path doesn't (seminars, research, cohort, a specific project) and connect it to something you've already done. Show you'd use it, not just qualify for it.

Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.

A self-check before you submit

Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Auburn University) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.