University of Pennsylvania supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Thank-you note short answerup to 200 words · Open prompt

   “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!)”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Pennsylvania 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. Community at Penn short answerup to 200 words · Community

   “How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn.”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

3. College of Arts and Sciences promptup to 200 words · Intellectual curiosity

   “The College of Arts and Sciences is designed to foster discovery and connection. Describe something you are curious about—something you'd like to learn more about or find a new approach to—and how you might pursue that curiosity in the College.”

   What it's really asking

   Whether you think about things when nobody is grading you. Pennsylvania 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.

4. Penn Engineering promptup to 200 words · Why this major

   “Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics with depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Describe how you plan to pursue your engineering interests at Penn, particularly within the intended major you selected.”

   What it's really asking

   The moment this subject stopped being a class and became a question you couldn't drop. Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania's version of the major that match that question. Small and real beats big and vague.

5. Penn Nursing promptup to 200 words · Why this major

   “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. Why are you applying to Nursing, where do you see yourself professionally in the future, and how will you contribute to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare?”

   What it's really asking

   The moment this subject stopped being a class and became a question you couldn't drop. Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania's version of the major that match that question. Small and real beats big and vague.

6. Wharton School promptup to 200 words · Leadership

   “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. Explain a current issue of importance to you and how you hope a Wharton education would help you explore it.”

   What it's really asking

   Not your title but a moment where you changed what a group did. Pennsylvania 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.

7. Huntsman Program essayup to 400 words · Why us

   “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 around the world. What draws you to a dual degree in international studies and business, and how would you use what you learn to address a global issue where these two domains intersect?”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania 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.

8. Vagelos LSM essayup to 400 words · Challenge

   “The Vagelos Life Sciences & Management (LSM) program brings together two powerful modes of understanding—scientific inquiry and strategic thinking—to prepare students to engage thoughtfully and creatively with some of the most complex challenges of our time. What questions, problems, or opportunities would you hope to explore through LSM, and how might the integration of life sciences and management shape your approach to them? Focus on the ideas, values, or questions that draw you to this intersection, rather than how LSM might advance your career, and make sure this essay is distinct from your single-degree application.”

   What it's really asking

   How you behave when something goes wrong. The challenge itself matters less than the steps you took and what you now do differently.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Spending most of the words on the problem and two sentences on the response. Picking a tragedy for weight when a smaller, more honest problem would show more of you. Tidy endings where everything was fixed.

   The shape of a strong answer

   State the problem in two or three sentences. Then the specific actions, in order, including the one that didn't work. End with what changed in how you operate, with one example of it since.

9. M&T Program essayup to 400 words · Community

   “Explain how you will use the M&T program to pursue problems or opportunities that require both engineering and business perspectives.”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania: 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 Pennsylvania) 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.