The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) is renowned for its liberal arts education. The (unofficial) Belted Kingfishers excel in the studies of business, agriculture, fine arts, and more.
If you’ve found this blog post, chances are you’re likely considering applying to UIUC. This is a big step toward your future, but there are some things you should know as you begin your application. Admissions for this college and others are growing increasingly competitive—one of the ways to set yourself apart from other applicants is to craft stellar supplemental essays.
Let’s break down UIUC’s supplemental essay prompts and develop a strategy for writing them to ensure a strong application.
UIUC Supplemental Essays
UIUC requires applicants to write two 150-word essays in response to the following prompts:
- Explain, in detail, an experience you’ve had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else.
- Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from Illinois and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
If you’re unsure about your intended major and plan to enter college “undeclared,” you will respond to the following two prompts:
- What are your academic interests? Please include 2-3 majors you’re considering at Illinois and why.
- What are your future career or academic goals? You may include courses you took in high school and how these impacted your goals.
And if you plan to apply to a second-choice major, you have the option to write one additional essay:
- Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.
While some schools require only a single essay to address one’s prospective major, UIUC requires applicants to discuss two different aspects of their decision: experiences that led them to this choice, and goals for the future. Let’s break each of these prompts down.
Before Writing the UIUC Supplemental Essays
Based on your intended area of study, there are two different UIUC supplemental essay paths: You can either apply to a specific major/program, or you can apply undeclared.
Before writing these essays, you should take time to think about your interests and research the many programs offered at UIUC. While you don’t have to decide your major right now, you will eventually, so it can be good to get a head start on thinking about your field of study.
Think about your favorite high school classes. Are there any classes you really excel in? What about the classes that interest you? Did any projects, internships, or camps really inspire you? If nothing comes to mind, browse UIUC’s website—do any programs, majors, or alumni stories sound interesting? Do any professors seem like good mentors?
If all that feels overwhelming, simply ask yourself: What am I curious about? What skills do I want to develop, and what am I interested in learning more about?
You can always change your major later—the school won’t hold you to your essays—but you should approach these essays intentionally and show UIUC that you’re prepared to take on the rigors of higher education. The University wants students who are passionate about learning!
If you’re still unsure what you want to major in, that’s okay. You can use your freshman year to explore the many courses available to you. But UIUC will still want to know what interests you, so be prepared to talk about your academic interests and goals in the undeclared prompts.
Writing the UIUC Supplemental Essays
After you do some reflection about your academic interests, it’s time to start writing. The UIUC supplemental essays may be short, but that makes it even more important to make every word count.
UIUC Short Answer 1
In essence, the first prompt wants applicants to reflect on their immediate past:
Explain, in detail, an experience you’ve had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else.
For many, this means high school, though the prompt welcomes experiences outside of the classroom.
This essay is short—150 words is just a few well-written sentences, so you’ll want to be concise and matter-of-fact. It’s okay to write a long first draft then cut it down to the word limit.
Your introductory sentence needs to do a lot of heavy lifting. It is essentially your thesis statement. State clearly what experience led you to your UIUC major decision. Then reflect on how this experience relates to your first choice major. Be specific! For example, a thousand future English majors love to read, but what specific book or event led you to want to major in English at UIUC? Use anecdotal evidence, quotes, even sensory details.
UIUC Short Answer 2
The second prompt wants to know how your UIUC major will help you achieve your future goals:
Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from Illinois and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
The first step in addressing this prompt is figuring out your long-term goals.
Maybe your only goal right now is getting into UIUC, and that’s a great goal, but the University wants to know what you’ll do with your degree once you graduate. For some, this may come easily: law school, medical school, MFA, or Ph.D. Career goals are also appropriate.
If you’re unsure what you want to do after graduating college, look on UIUC’s website and see what the alumni in your chosen program are doing. You can even reference them in this essay, if their post-graduation journey inspires you.
Admissions counselors want to see that you’re thinking about your future. It’s important to be honest but also maintain excitement: a UIUC education can open so many doors—which ones do you want to walk through? Just remember to reference your chosen major throughout the essay. You’ll want to show just how your major will help you become a lawyer, doctor, or tech CEO, either through classes, internships, projects, or something more.
UIUC Undeclared Essays
If you don’t want to decide on a major just yet, you can answer UIUC’s undeclared prompts, however, these prompts mirror the major prompts so be prepared to still discuss your interests and future goals!
Like the major prompts, you will need to answer two 150-word prompts that address your experiences and interests and your future plans:
What are your academic interests? Please include 2-3 majors you’re considering at Illinois and why.
What are your future career or academic goals? You may include courses you took in high school and how these impacted your goals.
The first prompt asks you to discuss 2-3 majors you’d be interested in pursuing at UIUC, so ensure that you do your research before starting this prompt! Use this time to reflect on your current academic interests, too. Do you love your science classes but aren’t sure which scientific major is right for you? Explore your uncertainty, but try to give examples of your academic interests and experiences to show the admissions counselor that you’re entering college with intent to study, graduate, and excel.
The second prompt requires you to think about your future career or academic goals. You can think broadly about this question: What do you hope to achieve in life? Reflect on your high school experiences. Did you participate in any career fairs or internships? Do you have an afterschool job that has shaped the way you approach work? What is something you’ve always hoped to achieve?
College is a chance to explore the many opportunities available to you, so it’s okay to be honest and say that you’re thinking about several different future careers right now, but ensure that you’re listing concrete examples of your long-term goals so that the admissions counselors know that you’re going to make the most of your time at UIUC.
Optional Second Choice Major
If you’re interested in multiple majors, or you’re hoping to place in a competitive program (like the Gies College of Business), you may want to consider writing the optional “second choice major” essay:
Please explain your interest in your second-choice major or your overall academic or career goals.
You can approach this essay much like the other essays you’ve already written, you’ll just be writing about your interest in another major. Again, do your research and use anecdotes, quotes, and imagery as you explain why this major will help you achieve your goals. Avoid being too repetitive—naturally, there might be some overlap between this essay and your major essays, but use this additional essay to show another facet of your personality. This will help the admissions counselor see you as a well-rounded, thoughtful prospective student.
Conclusion
In conclusion, UIUC’s supplemental essays are designed to get you thinking about the next four years of your life. Admissions counselors want to ensure that you’re entering college with intent to study and work hard to become a successful alum. It’s okay to be unsure about the future, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t dream big.
Need help strategizing your UIUC supplemental essays? The team of Essay Coaches at HelloCollege are here to help make the most of these short responses. Contact us today for a free consultation.
