University of Pennsylvania Supplemental Essay Prompts for 2024-2025

 
 

As your child prepares their University of Pennsylvania application, the supplemental essays offer an invaluable opportunity for them to go beyond academics, sharing personal stories, insights, and aspirations. These essays enable your child to connect with UPenn’s core values of excellence, inclusivity, innovation, and social responsibility. Inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s legacy, UPenn values intellectual rigor, open inquiry, and practical impact.

Writing Tips Inspired by UPenn

Supporting your child through this process can help them create responses that directly address each prompt and resonate with UPenn’s mission. Here’s how:

  • Review the prompts thoroughly
    Encourage your child to read each prompt carefully. Each question is designed to uncover specific aspects of their character, values, and ambitions. If they don’t answer the question directly, their application may miss essential insights that could influence the committee’s understanding of who they are.

  • Personalize each response
    While it may be tempting to reuse material from other applications, encourage your child to tailor each response to UPenn’s unique prompts. Remind them to ensure that every answer directly addresses UPenn’s values, showing a clear fit with the university.

  • Polish and proofread
    Emphasize the importance of taking time to review each response. Revisiting their writing allows your child to clarify their thoughts, add meaningful detail, and ensure accuracy. Encourage them to double-check for grammar, flow, and consistency.

  • Do your research
    Guide your child in researching specific programs, classes, professors, or groups at UPenn that they are excited about. Specificity shows the admissions team they are serious about UPenn and have thoughtfully considered how they would engage with the campus community.

2024-25 Short Answer and Essay Prompts

Each prompt provides a unique lens through which your child can reveal their character. Here’s how you can help them create impactful responses:

  • Thank-You Note
    Prompt:     “Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge.”
    Word Limit: 150-200 words
    Guidance: Encourage your child to choose someone who has influenced their life in a meaningful way but hasn’t been formally recognized. This could be a teacher who mentored them, a coach who challenged them, or a friend who offered support during a difficult time. Help them focus on specific ways this person impacted them, showcasing their gratitude and awareness of how others have shaped their journey.

  • Exploring Community at UPenn
    Prompt:     “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.”
    Word Limit: 150-200 words
    Guidance: Ask your child to reflect on past experiences within communities that shaped them. Encourage them to consider how they hope to contribute to UPenn’s community—whether by joining cultural groups, student organizations, or service initiatives. Help them connect these aspirations to UPenn’s commitment to diversity and collaboration, explaining how they envision learning from and enriching the vibrant campus community.

  • School-Specific Prompt
    Prompt:     “Unique to the school they’re applying to (e.g., College of Arts and Sciences).”
    Word Limit: 150-200 words
    Guidance: This prompt lets your child explain their academic goals and connect them with UPenn’s specific resources, like programs, professors, and opportunities unique to their chosen school. Encourage them to research faculty, courses, or projects within their intended program that align with their interests.

    • School of Nursing
      Prompt:       “Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of a global, multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare through advancing science. How will you contribute to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare and how will Penn Nursing contribute to your future nursing goals?”
      Word Limit: 150-200 words

    • College of Arts and Sciences
      Prompt:       “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?”
      Word Limit: 150-200 words

    • The Wharton School
      Prompt:       “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.”
      Word Limit: 150-200 words

    • The School of Engineering and Applied Science
      Prompt:       “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. Please share how you plan to pursue your engineering interests at Penn.”
      Word Limit: 150-200 words

With multiple prompts that require thoughtful and precise responses, starting early on these essays gives your child time to reflect, craft, and polish responses that authentically convey who they are, leaving a lasting impression on the admissions team. UPenn’s Admissions Committee carefully selects these topics to understand specific aspects of each applicant. Ivy Link’s Beat Ivy League Odds With an Engaging & Effective College Essay blog offers strategies for crafting compelling, authentic essays, helping students align their best qualities with UPenn’s values.

At Ivy Link, we recognize the importance of crafting essays that resonate with admissions committees. Our team is here to support you at every step, helping your child tell their story authentically and effectively. If you’re looking for personalized guidance through this process, consider scheduling a consultation with Ivy Link to explore how we can help your child make a lasting impression.

EJ (Elden Joie) Gonzales