Purdue University-Main Campus supplemental essays

• Prompt 1Required250 words max

  Opportunities that fit you

  How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom?

• Prompt 2Required250 words max

  Why this major

  Briefly discuss your reasons for choosing your major and your interest in studying at this campus location

  How to approach it

  This is a why-us prompt. The trap is describing the school back to itself. Rankings and a pretty campus read as filler. Name two or three things you’d actually use. A program, a professor’s work, an open curriculum. Then tie each one to something you’ve already done.

These prompts are program-specific.

They apply only if you’re applying to the named program or school.

• John Martinson Honors CollegeOptional200 words max

  Connecting ideas

  Tell us about an experience you had which connected ideas from more than one discipline or subject. How did it impact you?

  How to approach it

  Goals prompts fail when they stay noble and vague. Pick one real problem you care about. Connect it to something you’ve already touched in real life. Make the goal clear enough that a reader could disagree with it. Specific beats impressive.

• John Martinson Honors CollegeOptional200 words max

  Chasing a passion

  Tell us about a time you were able to get involved with or explore a topic you are passionate about. What did you take away from that experience?

• John Martinson Honors CollegeOptional200 words max

  Where you'd travel

  Share about a destination you would like to travel to, why it interests you, and how you would engage with the culture while there.

  How to approach it

  Here, specific beats important. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label. Write it as someone who was there, not as an observer. End on what you carry into a campus, not on a moral.

• John Martinson Honors CollegeOptional200 words max

  A leadership moment

  Describe a leadership experience you have had in your school or community. How did this shape your approach to leadership?

  How to approach it

  Here, specific beats important. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label. Write it as someone who was there, not as an observer. End on what you carry into a campus, not on a moral.