University of Maryland supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Travel anywhere completionno stated word limit · Open prompt

   “If I could travel anywhere, I would go to…”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Maryland is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

2. Interesting research fact completionno stated word limit · Intellectual curiosity

   “The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was…”

   What it's really asking

   Whether you think about things when nobody is grading you. Maryland wants a specific idea, question or project and the way your mind moved through it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Name-dropping a big topic (AI, climate, quantum) and describing it instead of your own thinking about it. Essays that could have been written from the Wikipedia page.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One specific question or thing you made. The wrong turns and what you tried next. What you still don't know. Curiosity reads as unfinished; that's the point.

3. Academic interests beyond major completionno stated word limit · Why this major

   “In addition to my major, my academic interests include…”

   What it's really asking

   The moment this subject stopped being a class and became a question you couldn't drop. Maryland wants evidence you've chosen on purpose, not by default.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Turning it into a résumé: grades, awards and "I have always been passionate about." A list of achievements is not a reason to study something. Grand missions ("to cure cancer") read as borrowed.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One specific experience, one specific confusion or question it left you with, and what you did about it on your own. Then one or two things in Maryland's version of the major that match that question. Small and real beats big and vague.

4. Last Tuesday completionno stated word limit · Short answer

   “My favorite thing about last Tuesday was…”

   What it's really asking

   Personality in a sentence or two. These are read fast, often together, to see whether a real person wrote the application.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Trying to be impressive in 50 words, or trying to be quirky on purpose. Both read as effort. Repeating something already in your other essays.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Answer the literal question with one concrete, specific detail you'd actually say out loud. Short sentences. One thing, not three. If it makes a friend smile, it's right.

5. Something you might not know completionno stated word limit · Short answer

   “Something you might not know about me is…”

   What it's really asking

   Personality in a sentence or two. These are read fast, often together, to see whether a real person wrote the application.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Trying to be impressive in 50 words, or trying to be quirky on purpose. Both read as effort. Repeating something already in your other essays.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Answer the literal question with one concrete, specific detail you'd actually say out loud. Short sentences. One thing, not three. If it makes a friend smile, it's right.

6. Diversity experiences short answerno stated word limit · Community

   “Because we know that diversity benefits the educational experience of all students, the University of Maryland values diversity in all of its many forms. This includes (but is not limited to) racial, socio-economic, gender, geographical, and sexual orientation. We are interested in hearing about your own individual life experiences. In a few sentences, will you please describe how you have learned, grown, been inspired or developed skills through one or more components of diversity.”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Maryland because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Pick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Maryland: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

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 Maryland) 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.