Maybe you’ve always known, or have recently researched colleges extensively, but in any case, it’s official: You long to be a Longhorn.
Considered to be a “Public Ivy,” The University of Texas at Austin‘s application process reflects its discerning high standards. UT Austin requires the submission of three essays, plus an optional fourth essay and extended resume. If it sounds daunting, don’t worry; let’s walk through the best ways to write the UT Austin supplemental essays together.
What is a Supplemental Essay?
A supplemental essay is additional writing prompts that many selective colleges require alongside your main Common App personal statement. The prompts vary widely in both topic and length, from quick responses to in-depth essays of 800 words or more.
These essays give you a chance to dive deeper into who you are by exploring topics like your involvement in meaningful activities, your interest in a particular school or major, or a community that has shaped you.
Want to learn more about why these essays matter and how to write them effectively? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Writing Supplemental Essays.
UT Austin Supplemental Essays
UT Austin requires applicants to write three essays, including one personal statement:
- Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your design. Please keep your essay between 500-650 words (typically two to three paragraphs).
NOTE: You can apply to UT Austin in one of two ways: Apply Texas or the Common App. If you’re applying to UT Austin through the Common App, then the first essay functions as your personal statement. If you’re looking for help on how to write your big personal statement, then check out this post: How to Write a College Essay.
UT Austin also requires two supplemental essays:
- Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? Please limit your response to 250-300 words.
- Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why? (Guidance for students: This can include an extracurricular activity, a club/organization, volunteer activity, work or a family responsibility). Please limit your response to 250-300 words.
Writing the UT Austin Supplemental Essays
The UT Austin supplemental essays cover a range of topics, giving you the chance to showcase your interests and aspirations.
UT Austin Supplemental Essay 1: The “Why Major?” Supplemental Essay
As part of its application, UT Austin has two required supplemental essays and one optional supplemental essay. The first question asks about your intended college major:
Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? Please limit your response to 250-300 words.
Major-related questions can be tricky if you don’t know what you want to study yet, but they’re easy enough with a little research and confidence.
Think about your interests, academic or otherwise. Do you often find yourself building things with LEGOs? Maybe you’re an engineer at heart. Or perhaps you love reading more than anything in the world: English majors share your hobby!
Another way to approach this question is to think about your high school classes. Which classes bring you joy? Are there certain classes you excel in over others?
Finally, if you’re still unsure about your intended major, do some research on UT Austin’s website. UT Austin has competitive business, engineering, and biological sciences programs. By looking through courses, alumni stories, and experiential learning options available, you’ll come to understand your future alma mater and yourself a lot better.
Just because you write about a major in your supplemental essay doesn’t mean you have to stick with it in college—college admission counselors just want to know that you’re being thoughtful and intentional when filling out your application. They want students who are excited to study at UT Austin—it doesn’t matter what you want to study, so long as you’re being specific and purposeful.
How to Write UT Austin Supplemental Essay 1
UT Austin’s “Why Major?” supplemental essay requires 250–300 words. This is around 2–3 good paragraphs in length. While short, this essay should still have a beginning, middle, and end.
Your introduction should clearly and concisely state your intended major. Ensure that you’ve done your research and are using the correct major name, as different schools have different majors.
In the middle of your essay, you need to explain why you’ve chosen your major. You can do this through writing about your past experiences and future goals. As you did with the brainstorming, reflect on your hobbies and interests, your high school classes, and extracurricular activities that led you to this decision. You can also write about your future plans: What do you want to do after college? How will this major help you achieve your goals?
Finally, you should emphasize why you want to study this major at UT Austin. While every school has a business major, UT Austin’s major is unique to its institutional mission. You want to ensure that the admissions counselor knows that you don’t just want to be any student; you want to be a UT Austin student.
UT Austin Supplemental Essay 2: The Activity Supplemental Essay
You probably know this by now: extracurricular activities make your college application sing. Whether you’re working a part-time job, serving as club president, or volunteering at the animal shelter every weekend, extracurricular activities show that you’re a well-rounded individual inside and outside the classroom.
This supplemental essay is a great way to let the admissions counselor know that you’re not just accumulating extracurriculars to build your resume—each activity is meaningful to you:
Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why? (Guidance for students: This can include an extracurricular activity, a club/organization, volunteer activity, work or a family responsibility). Please limit your response to 250-300 words.
The prompt asks you to relay which activity you’re most proud of and why; it’s important to pick an activity that you’re passionate about but also that you can write about for half a page. If you can’t tell a story about the extracurricular you want to choose, then it’s probably not worthwhile to write about it.
The great thing about the UT Austin application is that it allows for the submission of an optional extended resume, which you can use to communicate “additional information about all of your achievements, activities, leadership positions, and student employment.” This is a great option if you have several extracurricular activities that are important to you but that maybe don’t elicit half a page’s worth of explanation.
How to Write UT Austin Supplemental Essay 2
Just like the “Why Major?” essay, this supplemental essay requires a beginning, middle, and end, despite its short length. Whatever activity you choose to write about, ensure that you’re using plenty of detail and reflecting on what you learned from the experience. You should write about an activity that’s so meaningful that it taught you something new or even changed the way you think about the world.
Maybe this is a no-brainer, but since the prompt specifically asks you to write about an activity that you’re proud of, it helps to actively use the word “proud” in your essay. Reflect on why you’re so proud of this extracurricular activity.
Be specific. You have the space: use it! Address the who, what, when, where, and why throughout your essay to ensure that you’re being thorough. Write about a specific moment or memory that comes to mind when thinking about the activity. Remember, the activity you choose can happen inside or outside of school.
UT Austin Optional Supplemental Essay
While UT Austin’s optional supplemental essay may only apply to certain students, it could be an important part of your application and deserves some attention.
Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. (Maximum 40 lines, or approximately 250-300 words.)
This is your chance to explain any irregularity in your resume or academic record. Some examples include moving, a death in the family, COVID-19, or any other illness, physical or mental, that may have impacted your academic performance. You can also use this essay to explain why your resume may be sparse; perhaps your part-time job takes up most of your time after school, or babysitting your younger siblings means heading straight home after school.
It’s important to note that a similar optional essay exists in the Common App. It makes no difference whether you respond to this UT Austin supplemental essay prompt or the Common App’s additional information prompt, as the admissions counselor will have access to both.
While students typically use this essay to disclose reasons why their academic performance declined, you can also use this as an opportunity to highlight success stories that may not otherwise be reflected in your application. Maybe the Spanish Honors class you joined required you to ace an intense oral exam; perhaps moving to a new school district gave you the power of a new community, which emboldened you to ask for help and do better in your classes.
Feel free to write about multiple topics for this essay; you can even separate them with section headings to increase readability!
Conclusion
In conclusion, the University of Texas at Austin values learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, individual opportunity, and responsibility. While two required supplemental essays and one optional supplemental essay may seem like a lot of work, they’re an important part of UT Austin’s discernment process. When writing each of the UT Austin supplemental essays, be thoughtful and don’t be afraid to bring your authentic self into the essay.
Not sure where to start with your supplemental essays, scholarship search, or college list? Our expert counselors and experienced college essay coaches are here to help. Schedule your free consultation with HelloCollege today and get personalized guidance every step of the way.
