Type to search
Hempstead, New York

Hofstra University

hofstra.edu
Ask a question
Add to my list
  • Overview
  • Cost & scholarships
  • Majors
  • Admission requirements
  • Essay prompts

Want to see your chances of admission at Hofstra University?

We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.

Hofstra University's 2022-23 Essay Prompts

Read our essay guide

Additional Info Essay

Not Required

If there is any additional information you’d like to provide regarding special circumstances, additional qualifications, etc., please use the space provided.

Read our essay guide to get started. Submit your essay for free peer review to refine and perfect it.
Submit or review an essay

Why This College Essay

Required
500 Words

Why are you applying to Hofstra?

Read our essay guide to get started. Submit your essay for free peer review to refine and perfect it.
Submit or review an essay

Select-A-Prompt Short Response

Required
500 Words

In this final opportunity to share your thoughts with the admission committee, please select one of the following topics and prepare a personal statement of 250 to 500 words.


Option 1

Discuss an activity, event or project you’ve been involved with over time within your community and how your efforts have made your community a better place to live.


Option 2

Great lessons can be learned from failure. Have you experienced a failure that has resulted in a lesson learned or created the foundation for future success? Reflect on that situation.


Option 3

Describe a meaningful accomplishment, event or experience and how it has changed or affected the person you are.


Option 4

What must the admission committee know about you? If your application would be incomplete without describing your background, identity, interest or talent, please share your story.


Option 5

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 own design.

Read our essay guide to get started. Submit your essay for free peer review to refine and perfect it.
Submit or review an essay

Common App Personal Essay

Required
650 words

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.


Option 1

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.


Option 2

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?


Option 3

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?


Option 4

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?


Option 5

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.


Option 6

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?


Option 7

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 own design.

Read our essay guide to get started. Submit your essay for free peer review to refine and perfect it.
Submit or review an essay

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

Join thousands of students getting and giving peer feedback on college essays—all for free!
Submit or review an essay