For the 2025-2026 application cycle, the required supplemental essays for freshman applicants are on the following topics:
Essay 1 (Required): Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today?
My mother, a journalist, always said that words were her livelihood. When a nerve condition made it painful for her to type, that livelihood was threatened. The challenge was immediate: her deadlines were piling up, and her frustration was palpable. My opportunity was to become her hands. I installed transcription software and learned to type her spoken words, spending hours listening as she dictated articles, pausing to ask for the right word or to restructure a sentence. This role reversal was more than just technical assistance; it was an intimate lesson in responsibility. I wasn't just typing; I was a custodian of her voice, tasked with capturing her exact tone and intent. I learned to distinguish the rhythm of an investigative piece from the cadence of a human-interest story. The experience shaped my understanding of language as a bridge between people. It taught me that the most powerful tool isn't just expressing your own story, but helping someone else tell theirs.
Short Answer 1 (Required): Describe a life event which you feel has prepared you to be successful in college. (10 to 250 word limit)
Last year, my robotics team’s code for the autonomous navigation challenge failed catastrophically two days before competition. Instead of trying to patch the existing, convoluted code, I convinced my panicked teammates to stop and map out the entire logic on a whiteboard. We spent the next four hours methodically drawing every decision tree and data path. By identifying the core faulty assumption in our original logic, we were able to rewrite the essential code from scratch. We didn't win, but our robot successfully navigated the course. This event taught me that under pressure, the solution isn’t to work faster, but to think with more structure and clarity. This ability to deconstruct a problem and rebuild a solution collaboratively is the most critical skill I’ve developed for success in college-level engineering projects.
Short Answer 2 (Required): Tell us about a person who has most impacted your life and why. (10 to 250 word limit)
“Your grandfather didn’t speak much, but he knew how to listen to the wood,” my woodworking teacher, Mr. Chen, told me as I struggled with a warped piece of maple. He wasn't a sentimental person, but he had a way of seeing the story in things. Instead of giving me the answer, he handed me a hand plane and showed me how to read the grain, feeling for the tension in the fibers. He taught me that woodworking wasn’t about forcing the material to fit a design, but about collaborating with its nature. This lesson in patience and observation has shaped how I approach everything. Because of him, I no longer see problems as obstacles to be overcome, but as systems to be understood.
Optional Essay for Engineering Applicants: Describe your academic and career goals in the broad field of engineering. What and/or who has influenced your interest in this field?
My grandfather’s prosthetic arm was a mechanical marvel, but he complained that it couldn't tell the difference between a rock and a tomato. This disconnect between a functional machine and a human need sparked my interest in engineering. I began by building a simple robotic claw for a science fair, but I wasn't satisfied with just making it grip; I spent weeks programming pressure sensors to create a rudimentary sense of touch. I pursued this interest by volunteering at a local maker space, where I learned to integrate haptic feedback motors into wearable devices. My academic goal is to major in mechanical engineering with a focus on robotics and human-computer interaction. I am driven to create assistive devices that are not just extensions of the body, but are integrated with it, providing the sensory feedback needed for intuitive use. My career goal is to work in research and development for a company that designs next-generation prosthetics, ensuring that technology serves humanity with empathy and grace.
All the best!
