Type to search
West Lafayette, Indiana

Purdue University

purdue.edu
Ask a question
  • Overview
  • Cost & scholarships
  • Majors
  • Admission requirements
  • Essay prompts

Want to see your chances of admission at Purdue University?

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

Purdue University's 2022-23 Essay Prompts

Read our essay guide

Extracurricular Short Response

Not Required
250 Words

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.

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

Why This Major Short Response

Required
100 Words

Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected.

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

Why This College Short Response

Required
100 Words

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

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

John Martinson Honors College Four Pillars Essay

Required
500 Words

Explain your vision, ideas, or goals for how you hope to shape your honors experience while at Purdue. Please put this in the context of the four pillars which are the foundation of the John Martinson Honors College.

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

John Martinson Honors College Major Essay

Required
500 Words

Please describe the interdisciplinary nature of your chosen field of study and how it complements or supports other fields. (Examples: You might describe how your work in a liberal arts career may impact or inform the work of an engineer.)

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

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.

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