virginia tech essay questions

Ut Prosim Profile: 2024-2025 Short Answer Questions

The Ut Prosim Profile is required for all degree-seeking applicants. Each question has a word limit of 120 words for your response. The Ut Prosim Profile is your opportunity to let us get to know you beyond what is on your application or academic materials. We encourage you to use your own voice and answer each prompt as fully as possible. Once you submit your application, your responses to the Ut Prosim Profile questions are final and cannot be updated.

Please take your time to form responses that you feel confident about and help to support your application for admission.

Virginia Tech's motto is "Ut Prosim" which means 'That I May Serve'. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?

Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination.   Have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included? Did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources? Were you able to affect change and/or influence others? Did this experience change your perspective and if so, how?

Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?

Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal?

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4 Tips for Writing Stellar Virginia Tech Essays

College Essays

Are you hoping to be part of Virginia Tech's next matriculating class? If so, you'll need to write strong Virginia Tech essays to supplement your application.

All Virginia Tech applicants are required to answer four short answer questions as part of their application. In this article, we'll break down what the Virginia Tech essays are and what the admissions committee is looking for in your answer.

Why Does Virginia Tech Require Applicants to Answer Essays?

Virginia Tech requires all applicants to answer four short answer questions. If you're applying to the Honors College, your answers will also be shared with the Honors College admissions committee. You don't need to answer any separate questions as an applicant to the Virginia Tech Honors College.

The Virginia Tech essays are designed for the admissions committee to get a better sense of who you are, both as a student and a person. The short answers questions ask about your character, leadership, and goals. The admissions committee will use your answers to better understand you as a person—who are you? What do you care about? How will you fit in on Virginia Tech's campus?

It's important to put some serious effort into your Virginia Tech essays so that you represent yourself well to the admissions committee. These essays are your chance to present a well-rounded version of yourself that makes the admissions committee say, "We have to admit this student!"

What Are the Virginia Tech Essays?

Virginia Tech requires that every applicant answer four short answer questions. These short answer questions are just that—short! Each has a word limit of 120 words. Let's take a look at the 2022-2023 essay questions:

#1: Virginia Tech's motto is "Ut Prosim" which means 'That I May Serve'. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?

#2: Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time that you have exhibited resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience?

#3: Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?

#4: Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal?

Virginia Tech Essays, Analyzed

Now that we know what the Virginia Tech essays are, let's break down how to answer each one as best as possible.

Since the Virginia Tech essays are so short, the key is to be super targeted in your responses. For each prompt, we'll break down what the essay is asking and how you can tailor your response to make sure it's what the admissions committee wants to hear.

Essay Question 1

Virginia Tech's motto is "Ut Prosim" which means 'That I May Serve'. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech?

This essay question is asking about your involvement or service with a specific community. The admissions committee is looking for you to demonstrate a genuine commitment to a cause —what the cause is doesn't matter as much as the fact that you genuinely care about it.

To start, think about the communities that are important to you. This could be your family, neighborhood, school, place of worship, a club, etc. Then think about how you've worked to have a positive impact  there. Finally, consider the lessons you've learned from helping the community that you'll bring with you to Virginia Tech. 

You should pick a community that you've made real, lasting change at. Don't choose something that sounds the best if you haven't actually done a lot for them. For instance, if you were a member of your school's Habitat for Humanity club but didn't actually attend very many meetings, don't talk about how meaningful it was to build houses for disadvantaged people just because you think it sounds nice. Any insincerity in your application will be very obvious.

Essay Question 2

Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time that you have exhibited resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience?

This second question can seem intimidating—you'll need to reflect on a tough time and analyze how you grew as a person because of it.

Fortunately, this doesn't need to be an all-out catastrophe that happened in your life. Anything that you found a challenge but were able to overcome and learn from is fair game. For example, you could discuss not making the school basketball team, even though it was your dream to play on it, then deciding to rededicate yourself to practicing so you wouldn't let this failure define you. 

Your goal isn't to impress the admissions committee with the most tragic tale they've seen, but instead to show how you learn and grow from challenges.  So, as you're writing, keep the actual description of the setback short and focus most of your response on how you showed resilience because of it.

Essay Question 3

Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?

This prompt wants to know two things: first, have you taken on the responsibility of leading other people? Second, what did it teach you about yourself?

The admissions committee wants to know that you don't shy away from mentorship roles and growth opportunities. You don't have to be president of a club or captain of a sports team to demonstrate leadership. Perhaps you took on the role of project coordinator for a classroom project or are section leader of a few instrumentalists in the band. The size of the role isn't as important as the scope of your influence—how did your choices and actions influence others as well as your perception of yourself?

The question also specifically asks you to explain how you relied on others for guidance, so be sure to make it clear that you weren't just making decisions unilaterally. In this essay, you want to show that you're capable of making decisions, but also that you're capable of cooperation and self-reflection.

Essay Question 4

Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal?

The final Virginia Tech short essay question assesses your commitment to growth. Notice that the question asks about a personal goal—that means you don't have to pick something lofty or world-changing. You just have to pick something that resonates with you.

Maybe you decided to wake up 30 minutes earlier every day so you can meditate or do yoga before school. Maybe you made it a goal to complete all of your essays two days before they were due so you could revise your work. Maybe you made it a goal to try a sport this year when you normally hate sports.

Whatever your goal is, you want to demonstrate that you're capable of self-reflection and of positive growth —that you're constantly assessing how to better yourself.

You also want to show humility in this prompt—that you can rely on or ask for help from others when you need it. The admissions committee doesn't expect that you'll have all the answers yourself. They want to see that you can collaborate with and learn from others when you need to.

Tips for Answering Your Virginia Tech Essays

Follow these general tips for making sure that your Virginia Tech essays are as strong as possible.

#1: Demonstrate Growth and Self-Reflection

Virginia Tech places a strong emphasis on service and self-reflection. These qualities are reflected in the choices of essay topics.

You should demonstrate these qualities in your answers. Show that you're constantly working to better yourself. Demonstrate humility and understanding. Virginia Tech wants students who will grow on their campus—not ones who will matriculate already thinking they're perfect.

#2: Be Honest and Sincere

All of the experiences that you outline in your Virginia Tech essays should be real—they need to have actually happened to you.

It can be tempting to lie about or exaggerate your experiences to make them seem more impressive. Don't do this!

First of all, lying on your application is a major ethics violation and can get you in some pretty serious trouble if you're caught.

Second all, insincerity will be super obvious. The admissions committee reads thousands of applications every year. They can easily sniff out people who are lying. Be as honest as possible in your Virginia Tech essays and remember—they WANT to hear about how you've grown.

#3: Proofread!

It should go without saying, but your Virginia Tech essays should be the best examples of your work possible. Don't just write your essays and be done with them. Take the time to formulate an answer and then go back and edit it. Make sure to proofread and run your work through a spelling or grammar checker to ensure it's polished.

#4: Get a Second Opinion

Getting a second opinion on your work can be a helpful way to assess whether your Virginia Tech essays are demonstrating your best qualities. Ask someone to read your work who really knows you, so they can tell you whether or not you're underselling yourself or missing a key feature of your personality that the admissions committee should know.

That being said, there's a fine line between getting a second opinion and plagiarism. It's okay to ask for someone's opinion on your work. It's not okay to steal their ideas and pass them off as your own. Make sure you're doing the former, not the latter.

Recap: Responding to the Virginia Tech Essay Prompts

The Virginia Tech essays are designed to show who you are as a student and how you'll fit in on Virginia Tech's campus.

• Be honest and sincere.
• Highlight opportunities you've taken to grow and change.
• Edit and proofread your work to make sure it's as strong as possible.
• Lie or over exaggerate to make yourself seem better.
• Steal anyone else's ideas.
• Sweat the short answers too much. They're important, but they won't make or break your chances at admission to Virginia Tech.

What's Next?

Want to know how to make your extracurriculars stand out even more? Check out this guide to four amazing extracurricular activities and learn why they're so impressive to colleges.

Thinking of applying to other great schools like Princeton , Brown , or Columbia ? Then be sure to check out our guides to learn how you can write amazing essays for these schools' supplements.

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Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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Virginia Tech 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Action: Nov 15

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 15

The Requirements:  4 short essays of 120 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s):   Community ,  Additional Info

Each of the Ut Prosim Profile questions are required with a limit of 120 words in length per answer. Once you submit your application, your responses to the questions are final and cannot be updated.

Virginia tech’s motto is “ ut prosim ” which means ‘that i may serve’. share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. how long have you been involved what have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at virginia tech.

Chances are, you’ve done some community service at some point in your life, and this prompt asks you to reflect on that experience. The prompt is clear about what it wants you to cover and lays out a basic list of questions that we’d expect you to answer regardless: from details about your involvement to the lessons you’ve taken with you. You only have 120 words, so you will have to cut straight to the chase. In some ways, this is a glorified resume entry, but you can bring it to life by devoting more of your word count to concrete, personal details than a verbatim recitation of the organization’s mission and vision (or worse, a bloated list of clichés related to the value of service). Why do you care so deeply about a particular cause or community? What change do you hope to see in the world? Remember that, fundamentally, community service is not about personal glory or achievement. Did you volunteer at a hospital over the summer? Describe how this affected your beliefs about what doctors owe their patients or why bedside manner is as important as medical knowledge. Have you been fundraising for girls’ education in developing countries? Reflect on what drew you to this cause and how you knew your efforts had paid off. Finally, address about how you’d like to continue your service on Virginia Tech’s campus.

Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination. Reflect on a time when you were not able or allowed to express a different or diverse position or opinion (or you witnessed another person or group experience the same situation)? How did you respond or wish you would have responded? Did your viewpoint change in any way after this experience?

The Virginia Tech admissions committee wants to hear about a time when you were (or someone you know was) silent or silenced while adverse opinions were being discussed. Admissions knows that engaging with others in meaningful conversations about important issues is both intimidating and integral to progress, and we’re not always able to get the words out. If you could do it over again, what would you change? What did you take away from this experience? Maybe your relatives were discussing gun control during Thanksgiving last year, and you watched as your cousin was dismissed for having an adverse option. Do you wish you would have added your two cents and offered your solidarity? Maybe you learned that one of your friends was a passive supporter of an organization that you vehemently disagree with. After mulling it over, did you broach the subject? What was the outcome of your conversation? In order to impress admissions, you just need to show that you’re capable of reflection and bravery when it comes to engaging with those who have different opinions than you. College will present you with a plethora of opportunities to meet and interact with people who are very different from you, so show VT that you’re game to listen, learn, call in, and grow.

Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?

At a glance, this might seem like a question about leadership, but secretly, it’s about collaboration. Which role do you choose in group situations and how do you connect to others? The greatest challenge may be choosing the right story. Any time you worked or engaged with others is fair game, so don’t restrict yourself merely to your science fair project or the baseball team. This is also a great opportunity to write about a professional experience (your first time working as a hostess!) or even community service (organizing the county coat drive!). Since the word limit is relatively tight, you’ll want to zero in on a specific moment or challenge. And remember that this question is about collaboration; it’s not just about how you paved the way or saved the day, but about how you interacted with and supported a larger group. How did your contribution affect your team’s ultimate success (or failure)? In the end, you should be driving at a lesson that you will be able to carry with you into the future. In other words: an experience that will have a positive impact on your collaborative work at Virginia Tech.

Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from as you work on this goal?

So many questions! We all have goals we hope to achieve in the future, whether that’s learning how to decorate a cake, running for public office, or leading an expedition to space! Describe a goal that you have set for yourself and then let admissions in on how you plan to make that dream a reality. Your response will demonstrate your grit, tenacity, and determination. No goal is too small, so long as you’re showing admissions that you can follow through and challenge yourself. After all, you’ll be setting new goals and accomplishing them as you earn your degree!

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2022-23 Virginia Tech Essay Prompts and Tips

July 21, 2022

Unlike many other public institutions with notable strengths in the areas of business, computer science, and engineering, Virginia Tech’s acceptance rate does not yet strike fear into the hearts of prospective applicants (although it has fallen from 70% to 58% in the past two years). However, it is important for wanna-be Hokies to be aware that the admissions process at this university is becoming highly-selective. This is particularly true for the aforementioned popular majors. Thus, prospective Virginia Tech students need to take advantage of every component of the application in order to stand out. This includes the Virginia Tech supplemental essays.

 (Want to learn more about How to Get Into Virginia Tech? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Virginia Tech: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

Virginia Tech’s motto “Ut Prosim” is Latin for “That I May Serve”. The school requires all undergraduates to complete the “Ut Prosim Profile” which consists of four service-related essay prompts. These essays are “very important” to the admissions committee. Therefore, it is vital that all Tech applicants dedicate a significant amount of time to these short answer questions.

Below are Virginia Tech’s supplemental prompts for the 2022-23 admissions cycle along with our advice for composing winning essays.

2022-2023 University of Virginia Tech Essay Questions

Prompt 1:  virginia tech’s motto is “ut prosim” which means ‘that i may serve’. share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. how long have you been involved what have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at virginia tech (120 words).

The term “community” can have many meanings. In this instance, it could be an ethnic, religious, or neighborhood community or a group of individuals who gather for a club, sport, or service project. Pretty much everyone applying to Virginia Tech is deeply involved in some semblance of a “community”. Perhaps you are the captain of a team, the editor-in-chief of your school paper, or the president of a club. On the other hand, you may simply be a valuable contributing member. Regardless of whether you are a leading man/woman or a still-essential bit player, make sure that you use your writing ability to show the admissions officer what type of community member you are rather than merely telling them.

You can also discuss how you have engaged with your high school local/community and what you have learned from interacting with people of a different ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual identity, etc. Draw on past evidence of your commitment to being a positive force in your community and speculate how that is likely to manifest on Virginia Tech’s campus. Research and cite Virginia Tech student-run organizations or local nonprofit groups. The admissions committee wants to understand precisely how you will contribute to their campus community of 30,000+ undergrads. Drawing the link between your past efforts and future aims is critical here.

For example, if you’ve done work with Habitat for Humanity throughout your teens, it will be most impactful if you express your commitment to joining Tech’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity in the future.

Prompt 2:  Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time that you have exhibited resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience? (120 words)

Colleges like students who demonstrate grit, perseverance, and resilience as these qualities typically lead to success in a postsecondary environment. No matter what type of example you offer, demonstrating these admirable traits can do wonders for your admissions prospects. Challenges can be anything from disabilities, depression, anxiety, or attentional to a tumultuous event like: you moved in the middle of junior year, the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with your activities, your parents got divorced, a grandparent passed away, or any number of other personal/family traumas one can name.

Remember that the problem/roadblock itself is just a prelude to a recounting of your resilient actions. Even with a fairly tight 120-word count, be sure to answer the final part of the question. Sum up how you grew as a result of this experience. Be as emotionally honest and nuanced as possible. Trust us—the admissions reader will appreciate your honest thoughts (even if they are a bit scary to share) more than clichés and platitudes.

Prompt 3:  Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time? (120 words)

Leadership is an admirable quality, but it can manifest in many different forms. This essay is not only for those who captained a varsity team to a state title, started a charitable organization, or made sweeping changes as student body president. Teamwork and collaboration are also valued leadership skills both in academia and in the workplace, and students with strong interpersonal skills and a high EQ can be an asset to any university. Think beyond the title that you may have held and more about the action(s) of which you are most proud.

To sum up, this essay is about leadership, broadly defined. You can chronicle anything from mentoring others on your debate team to a simple instance of conflict resolution within your peer group. Along the way, just make sure that you provide answers to each question embedded in the prompt. This includes what you learned about yourself through this role modeling/leadership moment.

Prompt 4:  Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from as you work on this goal? (120 words)

Through this prompt, Virginia Tech wants to know more about your goal-setting, work ethic, and level of executive functioning. Malcolm Gladwell popularized the idea that becoming a master or expert at anything takes 10,000 hours of practice. Consider talking about the grind and sacrifice it will take you to become great at a given skill. Further, explain how you see that skill becoming even more finely-tuned/developed over time. If this goal fits into your future academic/career plans, all the better—share that too! As with the other three prompts, #4 packs in a lot of questions into a single prompt.

Ultimately, you’ll need to produce a well-edited, concise piece of writing that chronicles not only your goal, the steps you will take to achieve it, the timeline of the steps, but also who will help you along the way. Answering the last question is key in showing that you are a mature learner who understands that you will need mentorship, assistance, and other resources along the path toward achieving your dreams.

How important are the Virginia Tech supplemental essays?

The essays are “very important” to the Virginia Tech admissions committee. This places them the same tier of importance as the rigor of your coursework, GPA, first-generation status, geographical residence, state residency, and race/ethnicity.

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Lastly, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Virginia Tech supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote  today.

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Virginia Tech Secondary Application Essay Prompts & Tips

• Cracking Med School Admissions Team

Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine admits students who are strong in academics and research. The Admissions committee values research, critical thinking, and problem solving. Submitting an OUTSTANDING Virginia Tech Medical School secondary application is vital to receiving an interview invite. It’s important to discuss your previous research experience and future medical research ideas in your Virginia Tech secondaries. Read our Virginia Tech Medical School secondary application essay tips below!

The Virginia Tech secondary application frequently changes prompts. We would STRONGLY advise to not pre-write these essays until the official prompts have been released.  

Our  Cracking Med School Admissions team has a track record of helping several of our mentees receive acceptances to Virginia Tech and all other Virginia medical schools for the past 12 years. We can help you next! We want to stress that submitting a strong Virginia Tech secondary application is crucial and we can help you through our secondary essay editing packages .  

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Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2023 – 2024

Note: The essay prompts for Virginia Tech’s secondary application change from last year’s application.

• Explain why integrity is more important than intelligence and perseverance using an example from your life  From the following list of human qualities, choose the ONE you think is most important and explain your choice: intelligence, honor, humility, perseverance, optimism. (600 words max)
• Explain how your concept of diversity is both the same and different from the mainstream view. (600 words max)
• Choose one aspect about yourself, not already reflected in your application, that you are most proud of. Explain your choice below. (600 words max)
• Please describe something you deserved but didn’t get and how you felt about it.  (600 words max)

Tips to Answer Virginia Tech Secondaries

Virginia Tech Secondaries Pre-Writing Guidance: The Virginia Tech secondary application frequently changes prompts. We would STRONGLY advise to not pre-write these essays until the official prompts have been released.  

• Download  all  our HIGH-YIELD tips for secondary essays:  Cracking Med School Admissions Secondary Essay Guide

Virginia Tech Secondary Application Tip #1:  Virginia Tech values patient care alongside teamwork, innovation, and problem-solving. Make sure you give stories and examples that reflect these values.

Many of our successful Cracking Med School Admissions mentees who apply to Virginia Tech write about class projects, research, and engineering projects where they have exhibited teamwork, innovation, and problem-solving. What will be your personal contribution to advance medicine? Contact us below if you have questions about Carilion’s medical school secondary application. Need editing help on your secondary? We can help you through our secondary essay packages . 

Virginia Tech Secondary Application Tip #2: It is extremely important to include stories in your Virginia Tech secondary application if you want to submit a strong application. Great Virginia Tech secondary application essays include stories in each essay. For example, for the prompts related to personal values (integrity, humility, etc.), you can give a life experience story that highlights how you reflect one or more of the values. Additionally, you can write about a clinical experience when talking about diversity (i.e. how you helped a patient from a different background). Finally, you can write a story related to your research. The essays have very long word limits, so we think it’s a MUST to write at least one story per essay. 

Virginia Tech Secondary Application Tip #3: It is important to do your research on Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine (VTCSOM), including its core values.

Here are the core values of VTCSOM we found on the Virginia Tech website : 

Collaboration and Excellence

We commit to collaborative excellence in all facets of academic life.  We work within transdisciplinary and interprofessional teams as educators, clinicians, and scholars to deepen existing and forge new relationships with our health system and university partners, as well as community leaders and organizations.  We strengthen and preserve our commitment to a learning environment that emphasizes well-being and features supportive relationships between our learners and those who teach and mentor them.

Innovation and Discovery

We commit to a continuous process of innovation and discovery to build knowledge and paradigms for improved health and transformative health care.  We focus on excellence in scholarship including teaching, research, and the implementation of evidence-based delivery of care and lifelong learning.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

We commit to being a continuous learning organization that recognizes diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural competency as essential to excellence.  While affirming our common humanity, we expect our learners, staff, and faculty to be sensitive to and respectful of the inherent dignity and worth of each individual in our community.  We embrace innovation in the pursuit of a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment that values open expression and mutual respect so that all may thrive.

Humanism and Compassion    

We commit to humanism and compassion as essential for achieving learner-centered education, patient-centered care, and the enhancement of well-being and success for all.  Using the art and science of medicine in the spirit of  Ut Prosim  (That I May Serve), we commit to creating a more compassionate and just society.

Virginia Tech Secondary Application Tip #4:  Other than how you align with VTCSOM’s core values, you can also discuss specific aspects the curriculum, research, and community projects you want to be involved with. Even if there are no VTCSOM essay prompts that ask specifically “Why do you want to come to Carilion?” you should still aim to add your interest to the school throughout the various secondary essay prompts. 

• Read our HIGH-YIELD blog post about how to answer “Why this Medical School:”  Why this Medical School? Secondary Essay Example

Finally, put it all together. Discuss “Why Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine” and examples of how you exemplify the school’s core values through stories.

Virginia Tech Secondary Application Tip #5:  For the question, “ Please describe something you deserved but didn’t get and how you felt about it ” 

Virginia Tech Secondary Application Tip #6:  Start early  and  get our help . The Virginia Tech Medical School secondary application not only has several essay, but the essays also have large word limits. Have questions about how you can stand out? Contact us  below. Need editing help on your secondary? We can help you through our  secondary essay packages . 

[ Read more secondary essay tips:  University of Virginia School of Medicine , Case Western Reserve University & Cleveland Clinic , Washington University in St. Louis , Emory University ]

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Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2022 – 2023

• From the following list of human qualities, choose the ONE you think is most important and explain your choice: intelligence, honor, humility, perseverance, optimism. (600 words max)
• What advice would you give someone your age but from a different culture who is new to our country? (600 words max)
• What do you think your chances of being accepted into medical school are this year? Please explain your answer. (600 words max)
• Please describe something you deserved but didn’t get and how you felt about it. (600 words max)

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Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2021 – 2022

• Tell us about constructive criticism you have received, or a personal challenge you have experienced, that you found particularly impactful. Please describe how that experience has advanced your development as a future physician thought leader. (600 words max)
• Explain how interactions with people who are different from you have shaped your world view and relate how you would enrich the VTC community. (600 words max)
• Describe three aspects of VTCSOM and how those align with your philosophy of medicine. (600 words max)
• Please describe a research passion: If funding were no object, what scientific study would you design? Please also describe a non-research passion. (600 words max)

Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2020 - 2021

• If funding were no object, describe how you would direct medical inquiry. (600 words max)

Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2019 – 2020

• What, in your opinion, makes the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine different, and why is that important to you? (600 words max)

Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2018 – 2019

Virginia tech medical school secondary application questions: 2017 – 2018.

• VTC’s curriculum fosters a culture of compassion through its community service learning initiatives. Through their inter-professional learning group projects (IPL), students demonstrate leadership and innovation while making a positive difference in the community. Describe an event or a time when your personal contribution was instrumental to the success of a team or made a positive impact on someone else’s life. (600 words max)
• Each member of the VTC community has a unique and enriching life-story. Interactions with heterogeneous populations increase compassion, understanding, and the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with others. Explain how your life experience has shaped your world view, describe your approach to people who see the world differently, and relate how you would enrich the VTC community. (600 words max)
• What, in your opinion, makes VTC different, and why is that important to you? (600 words max)

Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2016 – 2017

• VTC is committed to strengthening the diversity of its community. Through interactions with a heterogeneous population, people broaden their knowledge about other cultures and ultimately develop the ability to communicate effectively and respectfully with others. Tell us about how your life experience has broadened your perspective of the world and relate how you would add to the diversity of your class, if admitted to VTC. (600 words max)
• (Optional Essay) Essay to update VTCSOM on activities not mentioned on AMCAS.

Virginia Tech Medical School Secondary Application Questions: 2015 – 2016

• (Optional Essay)  Use this optional essay opportunity to update the information you provided in your AMCAS application on your recent experiences, such as medical volunteering, shadowing, community service, research, leadership, teamwork and/or work. Please do not repeat information already reported in your AMCAS application. For the optional essay, please limit your responses to approximately 600 words (1 page, 1-inch margins, 12-point, single-spaced) and leave one blank line between paragraphs.

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How to write strong virginia tech essays 2020-2021: the valuable guide.

Virginia Tech has an acceptance rate of 71%.

It is a four-year university with over 34,000 students. Located in Blacksburg, Virginia, the school offers 110 bachelor programs in addition to graduate and doctoral degree programs. To learn more about what the college has to offer, check out their website here .

Virginia Tech uses the Common App.

The Virginia Tech application requires four supplemental essays of 120 words each, which is not a lot of space to express yourself. Be concise and original, and follow these tips!

What are the Virginia Tech Essay Requirements?

Interestingly, Virginia Tech does not require you to submit the Common App essay with your application. That being said, there is absolutely no harm in submitting your Common App essay with your application. However, this does let you know that the focus will likely be on your supplemental questions specific to Virginia Tech, so make sure you give these extra attention!

Virginia Tech calls its supplemental questions the Ut Prosim questions, which means “ That I May Serve .” As you may have guessed, the emphasis is on service and your commitment to it on campus and beyond. The official directions for the Virginia Tech essays are as follows:

“Each of the Ut Prosim Profile questions are required with a limit of 120 words in length per answer. Once you submit your application, your responses to the questions are final and cannot be updated.”

Here are Virginia Tech’s essay prompts and a few ideas to get you started. 

Virginia Tech Supplemental Essay 1

Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. We are interested in learning more about your interests and how you have been involved and/or served. Briefly describe a group, organization, or community that you have been involved with. Is this a special area of interest for you, and why? How long have you been involved? What role did you play? What contributions have you made to this group? Were you able to influence others and/or influence decisions for the good of the group?*

Read this prompt carefully: it asks you to write about how service is important to your life. It does not ask you to describe that one time you did community service because it was required for a class, and it does not ask for a laundry list of your volunteer hours.

This question asks you to go deep, as evidenced by the plethora of follow up questions. Virginia Tech wants to understand why a particular area of service is important to you, and you must convince them you “practice what you preach” and have delved into this area. 

• If possible, write about something you’re truly passionate about. It’s better to write on a topic that you believe may not sound as impressive, but to which you are truly devoted, than something fluffy and devoid of true personal meaning. Reflect on why this cause spoke to you and continues to do so. 
• A good example might be a leadership position in Students Against Destructive Decisions where through organized recurring service opportunities, you built up a network of students and organizations to match opportunities, and took the initiative to start multiple service projects to give back to the community appropriately.
• If you had a leadership role, focus on the strength of your leadership in guiding decisions. If you didn’t have a leadership role, focus on the areas in which you developed the organization, such as recruiting new volunteers or holding fundraisers. 
• Consider the internal effect and how this service has changed you or helped you grow. Do not be afraid to cite setbacks that one might call ‘failures,’ as long as you’re able to identify what you learned and how you can serve better in the future.

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Overall, this essay should give you an opportunity to elaborate on a passion project of yours that perhaps appears on your resume, but with limited detail. Avoid listing, repeating what’s already on other parts of your application, or gloating. Remember to write with humility and a lens of personal reflection. 

Virginia Tech Supplemental Essay 2

Describe a situation where you were involved or witness to an act of discrimination. How, or did, you respond? Do you wish you would have responded differently? Did this situation cause any change to happen based on this event and did you have a role in that change? What did you learn from this experience? *

This is a tough question that evokes an immediate emotional response in many applicants. You may have been a victim of discrimination, or you may have been a witness to an act of discrimination. You may have even been a perpetrator. 

There are two basic guidelines for this question.

• Be honest. This may be the greater challenge for some applicants. For example, if you were a witness to an act of discrimination in years past, and said or did nothing, you may feel ashamed to say as much. However, a response in which you describe that feeling, what you have learned, and how you have or did or would handle it differently in the future is a more authentic and meaningful response than describing an invented moment of activism in which you are the hero.

Virginia Tech Supplemental Essay 3

Briefly describe a personal goal you have set for yourself. Why this goal, what is your timeline to achieve this goal, what precipitated this goal? Have you turned to anyone for advice or help, what was their role, what did you learn about yourself, are you still working toward this goal?*

There’s a lot to unpack here in just 120 words. Virginia Tech is looking to see if you’re a goal-oriented person and how you handle challenges and setbacks in pursuit of a goal. Let’s start by picking a goal: 

• Don’t assume the goal needs to be academic. In fact, try to choose something not reflected in your application elsewhere. 
• The size of the goal is not important. It could be something as simple as saving some money for college. The important element is the journey. 

Once you’ve established what your goal was and is, reflect on the details. 

• What is it about this goal that’s so meaningful to you? If there was a catalyst or specific moment you knew you needed to set this goal, discuss that. 
• Reflect on the goal-setting process you went through. If you set milestones or timelines, examine their connection to the long term goal. 

Now comes unpacking what you’ve learned from the process. Try to spend the bulk of your essay in this section. 

• If you experienced any setbacks or challenges, talk about how you approached and overcame them. 
• If there was anyone influential in inspiring or supporting you in pursuit of your goal, discuss their role and what you have learned from them personally. What do you hope to replicate or emulate in your future? 
• Finally, how has this changed you? What will you use from this experience in goal setting that you’ll apply to achievement in your future, perhaps even at Virginia Tech?

Virginia Tech Supplemental Essay 4

Describe an example of a situation where you have significantly influenced others, took on a leadership role, helped resolve a dispute, or contributed to a group’s goals. What was your role, what responsibilities did you take on? Did you encounter any obstacles, and if so how did you respond, were you able to overcome them? What would you do differently?*

Similarly to the service essay, Virginia Tech is looking for a time you’ve successfully worked towards a greater cause. In this case, they want to see a clear demonstration of your leadership ability. 

Once again, try to avoid referring to something you already discussed in your service essay or in another part of your application. Ensure you address each part of the question. 

First, identify the leadership role and situation. 

• Remember that this does not have to be broad in scope. Depth is better than breadth. If you happen to have been the captain of a sports team or president of a club, fantastic. If not, consider smaller roles you may have had. The skills and qualities are the essences of the essay, not the situation. 
• Clearly identify and give context to the situation and role, but do not spend more than 1-2 sentences. The bulk of your essay should be spent elsewhere. 

Once you’ve provided a backdrop, focus on a problem or challenge you encountered and how you responded. 

• If there were ever disputes within your group that you were able to resolve, this is a great chance to show your people skills or strength in moving a group forward towards a greater cause. Clearly identify the action you took to resolve the problem. 
• If the problem was logistical, focus on concrete steps you took to tackle the issue at hand, and how you harnessed the commitment of others to support you. Focus on what you achieved together as a result of your leadership rather than personal accomplishments alone. 

To round out the essay, identify any areas for improvement, but don’t end the topic on a low. Focus on what you learned and how you would apply this to leadership roles in the future, perhaps at Virginia Tech. 

Conclusion: Writing the Virginia Tech Essays

As mentioned previously, the 120 word limit makes for a very short essay. Here is some general advice for making the most of your word count:

• Provide context, but remember that your essay is addressing the prompt.
• Use specific detail instead of vague statements. Those details should tie in your personal stories.
• Include your personality in your essay; it shouldn’t sound like it could belong to any student interested in attending Virginia Tech.
• Express enthusiasm at the possibility of getting admitted to Virginia Tech.
• Read aloud, revise, and share with a friend . Editing is your best friend.

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Virginia Tech Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to write Virginia Tech supplemental essays? CollegeAdvisor.com ’s guide to the Virginia Tech application essays will show you exactly how to write engaging Virginia Tech essays and maximize your chances of admission. If you need help crafting your Virginia Tech supplemental essays, create your free account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

Virginia Tech Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• Virginia Tech’s acceptance rate is 67% 
• U.S. News considers Virginia Tech a selective school.
• Virginia Tech is ranked #75 on the U.S. News ‘ list of National Universities .

Does Virginia Tech Have any Supplemental Essays?

Yes. In addition to the personal statement that you will write for the Common App or the Coalition App , you’ll also answer four Virginia Tech essay prompts. The Virginia Tech essay questions are designed for the admissions committee to get a better sense of who you are as a student, peer, and person.

Need some help writing your Common App essay? Get great tips from our Common App essay guide .  

How Many Essays does Virginia Tech Require?

You must answer four Virginia Tech essay questions when you complete your application. Each of the Virginia Tech essay questions requires a response of no more than 120 words. It is just as challenging to write a short essay as it is to write a long essay, so take time to brainstorm, outline, draft, and revise each of your four Virginia Tech supplemental essays. There should be a targeted message in each of your Virginia Tech essays. 

What are the Essays for Virginia Tech?

The Virginia Tech application essays for Virginia Tech are about four topics: service, resilience, leadership, and goals. Each of the Virginia Tech essay prompts is relatively broad. This gives you lots of freedom and flexibility to choose your topic and articulate the story you tell in each of your Virginia Tech supplemental essays. At 120 words each, your Virginia Tech essays must be clear and concise. 

How do I Write the Essays for Virginia Tech: Question 1

Prompt 1: Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech? (120 words)

Question #1 of the Virginia Tech supplemental essays is a bit of a twist on the classic community service essay. Since the school incorporates its motto into the prompt, you will also want to look at the school’s core values and mission statement. These will help you learn what should be reflected in your Virginia Tech application essays. 

“Community” is defined very broadly. Successful Virginia Tech essays can be written about families, teams, project groups, neighborhoods, religious groups, or any other group of people with whom you spend your time. The key to writing a strong Virginia Tech supplemental essay is to choose a community that is important to you. The best Virginia Tech supplemental essays show how you have been an active member of your community. Through your Virginia Tech supplemental essays establish clearly how you would be an active member of communities on campus.

Address each part

This prompt asks that you include a few specific details in your Virginia Tech supplemental essays: how long you have been involved, what you learned, and how you would share it at Virginia Tech. The best Virginia Tech essays will not only answer these but also discuss the “why.” Why do you choose to spend time impacting this community in particular? In your Virginia Tech supplemental essays, articulate how what you do has shaped who you are.

Importantly, this prompt is not asking you to describe the community in your Virginia Tech application essays. Rather, you should discuss your role in the community in-depth. How has your involvement transformed you? How have you transformed the community? Service is inherently about others, but your 120-word Virginia Tech supplemental essays should contain vivid stories that illustrate your qualities and character traits. 

Connecting your cause

What cause are you committed to? This is the essential question that effective Virginia Tech supplemental essays will answer. Then, you can connect your passions to opportunities at Virginia Tech. Perhaps, you could highlight an initiative or two that you would get involved in through VT Engage or in volunteer opportunities in Roanoke in your Virginia Tech supplemental essays.  In your Virginia Tech essays, make an authentic connection between what you do now and what activities and organizations you plan to be involved in at Virginia Tech. 

In this and all your responses to the Virginia Tech essay questions, avoid writing a monologue on the meaning of service in general or using cliche examples and phrases. Also, be sure to hone in on a specific and personal story in your Virginia Tech essays. This should not be a laundry list of your community service endeavors. 

Essay Draft Key Questions:

• Do you answer all parts of the Virginia Tech essay questions in your essay? 
• Does your essay tell a compelling story?
• Do you clearly establish your “why” in your essay?
• Does the reader learn what is important to you through your Virginia Tech application essays?

How do I write the essays for Virginia Tech: Question 2

Prompt 2: Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time that you have exhibited resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience? (120 words)

This Virginia Tech application essay is almost identical to the common ‘overcoming challenges’ essay archetype, but with an emphasis on resilience. The best Virginia Tech application essays that answer this prompt will be authentic; the adversity that you overcame does not have to be traumatic or monumental. 

How you handled the challenge is more important than what the challenge was. So, don’t force a topic into your Virginia Tech supplemental essays. Your Virginia Tech essays will be better if you discuss a low-stakes challenge authentically than if you fabricate a high-stakes challenge that doesn’t have implications for your character, skills, or growth. 

Be specific and personal to make your Virginia Tech application essays stand out among the many other qualified applicants. Illustrate the traits and skills that you showed in your resilience. What motivates you? What enabled you to persevere? Your choice of topic is one way to stand out in your Virginia Tech essays, but so is your ability to write about your chosen topic. 

The best Virginia Tech application essays will incorporate elements of vulnerability and transparency. Before drafting your responses to this and each of the Virginia Tech essay prompts, take time to reflect on how your essay conveys your values. Also, remember that rarely do we overcome adversity alone. In your Virginia Tech essays, you can write about how you relied on others as part of being resilient.

Virginia Tech supplemental essays answering this prompt are only 120 words, so let’s talk about structure. In your Virginia Tech essays, take a few sentences to lay the foundation, elaborate descriptively on your story, and emphasize the “so what?” — why does it matter? 

The best way to maximize the 120 word limit in your responses to the Virginia Tech essay prompts is to show instead of tell. Use vivid descriptions instead of simple narration to make the reader feel like they are part of your story. How did you feel? What was your environment like? Who did you interact with? 

Avoid overused cliche examples such as losing a sports game or getting a bad grade unless you can make them extremely unique and personal. 

• Do you show instead of tell your message in your Virginia Tech supplemental essays?
• Is your choice of topic specific and personal?
• Do you focus more on your resilience in handling the challenge than the challenge itself?
• Did you thoroughly proofread your Virginia Tech essays for grammar and content?

How do I write the essays for Virginia Tech: Question 3

Prompt 3: Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time? (120 words)

When choosing your topic to write about for this Virginia Tech supplemental essay, you can discuss being a role model through one of several avenues: influencing others, leadership, resolving a dispute, or contributing to group goals. You have a lot of freedom when answering the Virginia Tech essay prompts! Think about a situation in which you took an active role in a group setting among peers, adults, or your family. In your Virginia Tech essays, highlight how your leadership demonstrates your problem-solving abilities and other character traits. 

When writing your Virginia Tech application essays, don’t worry if you don’t have an official leadership title such as president of a club or student council representative. Virginia Tech does not expect that every leader has a title. The impact you had in your role is significantly more important to discuss in your Virginia Tech supplemental essays than the title or size of the role you held. 

Different kinds of leadership

The leadership you discuss in your response to the Virginia Tech essay questions can be academic, professional, social, or otherwise. Regardless of the type of leadership you choose to discuss, the best Virginia Tech essays will reveal what role you play in group settings and how you build connections with those around you. 

The secret to this one of the Virginia Tech essay prompts is that it’s about collaboration more than leadership. After all, what is a leader without people to lead and other leaders to work with? The stories you select to write about for your Virginia Tech application essays should reveal how your leadership is cooperative in nature; you’re not in it alone!

Though you will inevitably write about other people in your Virginia Tech essay prompts, make sure that you are focusing on your own redeeming qualities and traits. 

• Do you discuss leadership in a collaborative way in your Virginia Tech supplemental essays?
• Do your Virginia Tech admissions essays reveal redeeming qualities about your character?
• Does your choice of topic enable you to highlight your leadership style?
• Do you fully answer all parts of the Virginia Tech essay prompt?

How do I write the essays for Virginia Tech: Question 4

Prompt 4: Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from as you work on this goal? (120 words)

In your Virginia Tech supplemental essays for this prompt, you can write about many types of goals. You are not limited to just academic goals! Perhaps you have career goals, personal goals, or others. Interestingly, this prompt asks you for a goal that you are currently working toward achieving. Therefore, in your Virginia Tech essays, you must be able to articulate the steps that you are taking — not ones you plan to take or already took.

Another consideration when choosing which goal to write about for your Virginia Tech supplemental essays is the message that the goal and your progress send about what type of person, peer, and student you are. How does what you strive for show who you are?

Don’t forget the “why”

The Virginia Tech essay prompts you with guiding questions: What is your motivation? What is your timeline? Who do you seek help from? But, the most important question is implied: Why? In your Virginia Tech essays, fully answer each of these questions while demonstrating your commitment to learning and growing. 

You should not feel pressure to talk strictly about your academic and career goals in any of your Virginia Tech essays. However, of these Virginia Tech essay questions, that discussion likely fits in this one the most seamlessly. Nevertheless, you should not choose to write about your future plans if they are not clearly articulated or you are applying relatively undecided. With more than 150 majors and 130 minors to choose from, one likely aligns with your interests and goals. Investigate which clubs , classes , and research opportunities could fit your goals.

Whether you choose to write about an academic, personal, social, or another goal in your Virginia Tech essay questions, tell a compelling story about your motivations and aspirations. Help the admissions committee learn more about who you are in a way that your other Virginia Tech essays have not yet revealed.

• In your Virginia Tech essays, do you clearly articulate your goal?
• Is your goal one that you are currently pursuing?
• Do you clearly and concisely answer all parts of the question in 120 words or less?

Additional tips for Virginia Tech essays

In each of your responses to the Virginia Tech essay questions, strive to be honest and sincere while demonstrating growth and reflection. You only have 120 words to use in your response to each of the Virginia Tech essay prompts, so carefully consider the purpose of each word and sentence. Ultimately, aim for your Virginia Tech essays to be meaningful and memorable.

In combination with your Common App or Coalition App personal statement, your Virginia Tech essay prompts will round out the full package of your application. Consider how you can reveal another side of yourself in each of your essays responding to the Virginia Tech essay prompts. If you are applying to the Honors College, that admissions committee will also review your Virginia Tech supplemental essays. 

Virginia Tech Supplemental Essays — Final Thoughts

Before submitting your application, re-read your application and think about how the Virginia Tech admissions team will perceive each aspect of it. Make sure that your Virginia Tech supplement essays say something about you that the reader doesn’t learn in other parts of your application. 

The Virginia Tech essay prompts are only slightly altered from last year’s version, so it is clear that the school values the responses you write in each of your Virginia Tech supplemental essays. Clearly and concisely show the admissions readers who you are through your Virginia Tech essays. Highlight what will make you a star college student. Good luck!

This 2021-2022 essay guide on Virginia Tech was written by Caroline Marapese , Notre Dame ‘20. For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources on Virginia Tech, click here . Want help crafting your Virginia Tech supplemental essays? Create your free account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

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How to Write the Virginia Tech Supplemental Essays 2024–2025

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The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (aka Virginia Tech) values interdisciplinary studies, experiential learning , and service to the community. Their educational model produces many accomplished alumni, including numerous CEOs: Jim Buckmaster of Craigslist, Bridget Ryan Berman of Victoria’s Secret, Clifton C. Garvin of Exxon, and Thomas L. Phillips of Raytheon, among others. Looking to join their ranks? First, you’ll need to nail down your Virginia Tech supplemental essays. Let’s break them down.

Virginia Tech’s 2024-2025 Prompts

Here are the four Virginia Tech supplemental essays. Each one is required, and each has a limit of 120 words. Note that 120 words is approximately half of a page, double-spaced.

Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech? (120 words or fewer)

Virginia tech’s principles of community support access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination.  have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources were you able to affect change and/or influence others did this experience change your perspective and if so, how (120 words or fewer), share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. what specific skills did you contribute to the experience how did others rely on you for guidance what did you learn about yourself during this time (120 words or fewer), describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. what made you set this goal for yourself what is your timeline to achieve this goal who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal (120 words or fewer).

General Tips

The four Virginia Tech supplemental essays ask multi-faceted, in-depth questions. However, you only have 120 words in which to answer all parts of each question. Therefore, it’s important that you write concisely and precisely. In addition, you should continue to re-read the prompts as you work on the essays to make sure that every part of the prompt in question makes it into your essay. There’s no need to re-state the phrasing of the prompts, but you should not leave any aspect of the questions at hand untouched.

Writing concisely is easier said than done. If you’re looking to cut down on your word count in some of the essays, consider the following techniques:

• Avoid passive voice. Although the passive voice is a useful rhetorical technique and often unavoidable, it tends to add extra words to your writing. For instance, the sentence “I was chased by the dog” (passive) requires more words than “The dog chased me” (active).
• Avoid repetition. Avoiding repetition can often be as simple as confirming that each sentence in your essay contains new information. If a given sentence or even phrase contains information communicated elsewhere in the essay, then you might want to consider deleting it. Comb through your essay carefully to find instances of redundancy.
• Avoid descriptive language. Descriptions can make your narrative more vivid and readable, but if they lengthen your essay to the point that you’re over the word limit, then it might be time to cut back. Look for adverbs and adjectives in your essay. Is each one absolutely necessary? If you use multiple descriptive words, is there any way you could get away with just one?
• Read your essay out loud. This strategy is simple but effective. Hearing your words can help you identify illogical transitions and overlong phrases. Additionally, you may notice that you naturally skip over certain words in your writing when reading it aloud. If so, these words may not be necessary for your essay to function.

Virginia Tech Short Essay Questions

The admissions team at Virginia Tech isn’t just seeking to admit intelligent, motivated individuals. Instead, they are seeking to build a well-rounded, diverse community of students. In this essay, you are expected to demonstrate how you have contributed to the communities in your life. An effective essay response will demonstrate to the reader that you will continue to be a contributing community member at Virginia Tech.

When the admissions team poses this question, they also provide insight regarding Virginia Tech’s values. In short, Virginia Tech values service to others. You can imagine this value broadly, from literal community service and civil service to the intangible impacts of leading your life with empathy and respect for others. In other words, your response to this prompt doesn’t need to be limited to traditional definitions of service.

After you’ve briefly described your service experience, you will need to express what you have learned and how you will bring those lessons to Virginia Tech. Essentially, the admissions team is looking for the ways your service experiences have helped you become a better community member. Consider the times when you have acted in service of others. Who were you before that service, and who were you afterward? Describe that transition in your essay clearly and concisely.

In order to effectively write this essay, you will need to do a bit of research. Read about Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community to prepare yourself to write this essay. In summary, these principles expect mutual respect for all community members. This mutual respect extends diversity, freedom of expression, and, of course, inclusion.

In your essay, you are expected to recount an experience in your life when these Principles of Community were not upheld. In that moment, either yourself or someone else was the victim of exclusion. Define what exclusion means to you, and the context of the exclusionary act.

Ideally, you are the focus of this essay, not someone else. Because this is one of your college essays, it is one of your opportunities to show the reader who you are. Writing about someone else can only give the reader a partial view into your character. That said, if you do not have any experiences that align with the prompt’s expectations, you can describe an occasion when you witnessed someone else’s experience and exercised empathy in understanding their experience. If you were able to actively improve the exclusionary situation, even better. In your essay, be sure to detail the actions you took to resolve or improve the situation.

Note that this narrative can be an experience of failure and/or a time when you learned a lesson. The prompt asks, “Were you able to affect change and/or influence others?” In other words, you need to reflect on this experience and your reaction, and whether your reaction was genuinely impactful. It doesn’t need to have been a perfect response, as long as you learned from the experience. Throughout life, we will all face adversity and make mistakes. What distinguishes people is their response to adversity and ability to learn from their mistakes. That’s what the Virginia Tech admissions team is seeking in your response.

In sum, what was your response to this situation, and what could be improved upon? What were your takeaways? If you wished you behaved differently in that moment, then you have evidently learned a life lesson from the experience. Showing your growth in this essay will evidence your maturity to the reader. As long as you write authentically, this essay will successfully show who you are to the admissions team.

This prompt seeks to understand who you are as a leader. While the prior two prompts sought to understand you as a community member or team player, this essay question seeks a different side of you. Remember, you’re not restricted to discussing traditional leadership roles in this essay. Any occasion when others looked up to you or you guided the trajectory of a project, group, event, etc., could work for this essay.

This is not just one question, it’s three, so you’ll need to budget your words wisely. For instance, you could spend approximately 30 words describing a time when you were a leader or role model, 30 words about the skills you brought to the table, 30 words about how others relied on you, and finish up with 30 words of reflection regarding the lessons you learned.

Of course, if you find that some of these parts of the essay require fewer words, then you’ll have more to devote to the other parts. That said, this multilayered prompt will definitely benefit from some forethought given the amount of content you’re expected to pack in. An outline can help you organize your ideas before you begin writing.

Whether an outline is your speed or not, you should focus on just one moment in your essay. Attempting to squeeze too much into such a short essay will just leave your ideas undeveloped. Moreover, the prompt expects you to share “a time,” versus a few times. If you’re having trouble deciding which experience to write about, make a short list of the ideas you’re torn between. Then, free-write a few different drafts, one for each idea. After doing so, you will likely notice that some ideas speak to you more than others or translate to page more fluidly than others.

As the Virginia Tech admissions team evaluates your application, they look for signs that you will succeed as a college student. Successful college students manage complex, long-term academic assignments alongside their social lives, extracurricular activities, and self-care. In order to identify the best candidates for admission, Virginia Tech’s admissions officers hope to understand how their applicants handle difficult projects.

While brainstorming for this essay, you may want to make a list of the different projects or achievements that have been significant for you in your high school years. Perhaps you learned to play an instrument, wrote a novel, or fixed your mom’s car. Alternatively, you may have completed a meaningful independent research project, won an athletic event, or founded a club at your school. Whatever goal you choose to discuss, make sure it’s something that was important to you.

Like the last prompt, this one may benefit from an outline and careful budgeting of your words. In this essay, you’ll also need to address four topics. First, what did you achieve? Second, why did you pursue this project? Third, how much time did it take to complete this project? Fourth, who has supported you in this endeavor? Note that this project could be ongoing.

Most importantly, be specific in your response. Focus on one project, achievement, goal, or other endeavor in your essay. Budget your words carefully, and be sure to address all aspects of the prompt. You’ve got this!

If you need help polishing up your Virginia Tech supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, virginia tech's application: questions and short answers.

Hello, I'm a high school junior considering applying to Virginia Tech. Can someone please give me some insight into their application process, specifically the questions and short answer prompts they ask for? I want to make sure I have enough time to prepare thoughtful responses. Thanks!

Hello! It's a good idea to start thinking about the application process early, especially for a competitive school like Virginia Tech. While the specific prompts may change from year to year, you can find a breakdown of how to tackle the current prompts on CollegeVine's blog: https://blog.collegevine.com/how-to-write-the-virginia-tech-essays.

Remember that the prompts may change for your application cycle, though. So, while CollegeVine's post can give you a general sense of what to expect, I'd advise against actually starting to write until August 1st before your senior year. That's when the prompts for your applications cycle are officially released - you don't want to work hard on your responses before then only to find out that the prompts have changed!

Once you do start drafting, remember that CollegeVine also offers both a free peer essay review tool and paid reviews by expert college admissions advisors. Either of these resources can provide you with a more objective second set of eyes, which is sometimes just the thing that takes your essay from good to great.

Good luck, and I hope this helps you get a head start on your application!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.

Virginia Tech “essay” prompts

I’ve been monitoring VT’s admission department stumbles for the last couple of years. Tech is on the short list for one of my sons. As I watch the turmoil of high stat students being deferred, and then waitlisted this cycle, the specter of exceptional essays and their potentially disproportionate value are now forefront in my mind.

What were the essay prompts from this year’s application?

The link to the “essays”:

https://vt.edu/admissions/undergraduate/apply/short-answer-questions.html

Limit of 120 words per essay.

Essay Question 1 Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. We are interested in learning more about your interests and how you have been involved and/or served. Briefly describe a group, organization, or community that you have been involved with. Is this a special area of interest for you, and why? How long have you been involved? What role did you play? What contributions have you made to this group? Were you able to influence others and/or influence decisions for the good of the group?

Essay Question 2 Describe a situation where you were involved or witness to an act of discrimination. How, or did, you respond? Do you wish you would have responded differently? Did this situation cause any change to happen based on this event and did you have a role in that change? What did you learn from this experience?

Essay Question 3 Describe an example of a situation where you have significantly influenced others, took on a leadership role, helped resolve a dispute, or contributed to a group’s goals. What was your role, what responsibilities did you take on? Did you encounter any obstacles, and if so how did you respond, were you able to overcome them? What would you do differently?

Essay Question 4 Briefly describe a personal goal you have set for yourself. Why this goal, what is your timeline to achieve this goal, what precipitated this goal? Have you turned to anyone for advice or help, what was their role, what did you learn about yourself, are you still working toward this goal?

There’s something slightly unfair about an answer limited to 120 words for a question that has 89 words.

Answering these in 120 words is even harder then it looks at first glance. You need to answer all parts of the question and consider what else they are asking. Each one has a deeper meaning or question to it.

I would truly love to see an example of a good essay for each prompt. The more I think about these essays the madder I get. 89 word questions and 120 word answers for what could be really broad questions. And tell me these questions may have kept hard working deserving kids out of VT…SAD

Essays can’t be the be all end all - just another item in a long data set. It does sound like they may have been a little more of a factor this year but definately not a majority factor. Just lots of good kids sending in good stuff! I would hate being the decider.

I see a common thread to the first 3 prompts - leadership. The 4th looks like perserverance to me, and setting of tangible, measurable goals (no “I’m going to be better person this year” blather). Not sure if I would consider the limit on response to be unfair, but certainly challenging. IMO, they are rightly trying to measure how an applicant can distill their response into a concise, pursuasive package. Think elevator speech, or consider current research on what email correspondence actually gets read. It’s pre-prep in a way for how communication works in the business world in the 2020’s.

I would love for everyone to pick the essay prompt they feel most comfortable with. The collective forum can then grade their 120 word response.

I’m willing to share a couple of my responses to these essays if anyone would like to see them. You can message me or, depending on the prompt, I could share it on here.

@drewh02 I don’t think you should share yours publicly, but thanks for offering.

I would love to read, if you share privately, and give feedback because I have read my friends essays who did get in.

did you think your friends essays were anything special?

They were not special but they were very well written. So I could do an comparison if needed and tell if it was really the essay that mattered.

It’s the poor grammar in some of the prompts that drives me nuts. I really hope they revise the prompts in the future, if only to make Virginia Tech look better.

I’ve read my daughters essays (accepted). I wouldn’t say they were super stellar. They were honest, they answered the questions and I suppose to a trained eye they might give some insight into her character. But I wouldn’t say they were so superb it would’ve put her over the top. My opinion is the essays were just one factor. An important factor to be sure but they were only one part of the bigger picture. And that bigger picture includes more than just test scores and GPA.

FWIW - Those appear to be the same prompts that S19 answered. I don’t know how often they change them because S16s were different. I don’t remember all of them, but they were cheesier. I do remember “list your top 5 reasons you want to be a Hokie.”

I’ve been reading these with interest. As an alum who got married on campus, I remember being turned off by their whole admission process. And both of mine were accepted.

I believe prompts this year were identical to last year … from what I remember.

Yes, this is only the second year with the new prompts. Prior to that they had 4 essay topics to choose from and they were more traditional (that’s what I remember anyway). The changes to the admissions process corresponded to a shake up in admissions staff. I really hope they keep tweaking the process, and the mini-essays would be a good place to start imho.

Could you please share it with me?

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2022-2023 Virginia Tech (Carilion)

• Thread starter wysdoc
• Start date Apr 21, 2022

Plain-spoken Texan

• Apr 21, 2022

tzuyu&yuqi

Full member.

• Jun 24, 2022

Received notification of app submission at 1:16 PST.  

OOS acknowledgement received :')  

wannabeamedstudent

• Jun 29, 2022

IS Secondary Received. All essays 600 words @wysdoc A. From the following list of human qualities, choose the ONE you think is most important and explain your choice: intelligence, honor, humility, perseverance, optimism. B. What advice would you give someone your age but from a different culture who is new to our country? C. What do you think your chances of being accepted into medical school are this year? Please explain your answer. D. Please describe something you deserved but didn’t get and how you felt about it.  

Thanks for posting these. Questions C&D are honestly kind of concerning to me, I don't know how to answer them without sounding full of myself yikes  

sleepingpupper

+1 IS Secondary, wonder why they decided to drastically change the prompts this year?  

gasstationsushi

OOS secondary received. These prompts are intimidating.  

OOS, 3.13 GPA, 3.65 sGPA, 523 MCAT, secondary received today. Seems their GPA screen is pretty low  

1nygiantsfan

wannabeamedstudent said: IS Secondary Received. All essays 600 words @wysdoc A. From the following list of human qualities, choose the ONE you think is most important and explain your choice: intelligence, honor, humility, perseverance, optimism. B. What advice would you give someone your age but from a different culture who is new to our country? C. What do you think your chances of being accepted into medical school are this year? Please explain your answer. D. Please describe something you deserved but didn’t get and how you felt about it. Click to expand...

YouShouldBeDrivingAKia

OOS secondary received at 1032 AM EST. These prompts are whack lol no clue how I am gonna answer C  

OOS received but these questions lmfao  

FiletFrenzy

I'm sure this has been asked before, but for essays like this where the limit is 600 words, is it recommended to be closer to the word limit? Or is it okay if you're able to provide a good answer in ~300 or so words?  

The_JLK said: OOS, 3.13 GPA, 3.65 sGPA, 523 MCAT, secondary received today. Seems their GPA screen is pretty low Click to expand...

• Jul 2, 2022

FiletFrenzy said: I'm sure this has been asked before, but for essays like this where the limit is 600 words, is it recommended to be closer to the word limit? Or is it okay if you're able to provide a good answer in ~300 or so words? Click to expand...

• Jul 3, 2022

1nygiantsfan said: Anyone got any tips or advice on how to answer prompt C "What do you think your chances of being accepted into medical school are this year? Please explain your answer." ? Click to expand...

EMWannaBeDoc22

• Jul 4, 2022
• Jul 8, 2022

In answering the "what are your chances" question, is there some sort of consensus about how to approach this in terms of the direct answer to the question? Like is everyone going with a number like "I believe I have an X% chance of being accepted" or more of a broad thing of "I believe I have an excellent/good/bad chance of being accepted"  

meerkat__ said: In answering the "what are your chances" question, is there some sort of consensus about how to approach this in terms of the direct answer to the question? Like is everyone going with a number like "I believe I have an X% chance of being accepted" or more of a broad thing of "I believe I have an excellent/good/bad chance of being accepted" Click to expand...

gasstationsushi said: I'm basically saying that I worked hard to craft a strong application and hope that a program will recognize my potential lol. Too passive? Click to expand...

RubMcDub said: As a reapplicant, this is what I'm saying. I don't think it's too cynical, it's honest! Click to expand...

Putkernerinthehall

• Jul 9, 2022

gasstationsushi said: I'm a reapplicant too, just not at VTC! It makes this prompt tricky because I can't talk about how much I've strengthened my application since my last cycle, but it's definitely what's keeping me from saying anything with too much certainty. Nothing is guaranteed in this process so all we can do is be honest. Click to expand...

• Jul 12, 2022

trying to pay but I keep getting a blank screen when I press proceed to payment...anyone else having this issue?  

rainman1150

tzuyu&yuqi said: trying to pay but I keep getting a blank screen when I press proceed to payment...anyone else having this issue? Click to expand...

ron_johnson

If anyone was wondering I emailed the admissions office and online labs taken to fulfill their prereqs are fine if taken during COVID  

• Jul 14, 2022

emsea123 said: How do I write 600 words on why one human quality is more important than 4 others? Click to expand...

PlsMakeMeDoctor

• Jul 18, 2022

emsea123 said: I'm wondering the same thing. How do I write 600 words on why one human quality is more important than 4 others? These prompts are killer Click to expand...

• Jul 21, 2022

fahmy said: I actually got closer to the 600 word count in this essay than I did on any of the other prompts. I pretty much discussed how the quality I chose has been pertinent in my life and how I have seen it play a role in the lives of others and then finished by discussing its importance for medical students and practicing physicians. Click to expand...

I wrote no more than 300 words for each essay so nobody feel bad if you didn't hit 600 lol  

deleted1139574

• Jul 22, 2022

To be honest, I don't know! The WARS score takes into account multiple different EC factors in addition to GPA and MCAT, which makes it more comprehensive. You can read more about it and try it out here: Wedgedawg's Applicant Rating System . I personally found the WARS score to be much more helpful to use as a starting point when formulating my school list. I guess stay tuned to see if it works lol  

Pleasejustone

• Jul 28, 2022

OOS II received this morning. Completed 7/5 LM 70  

Pleasejustone said: OOS II received this morning. Completed 7/5 LM 70 Click to expand...

FiletFrenzy said: Congrats!! ED or RD? Click to expand...

HauntingDevil_0776

Lol just realized they recommended submitting secondary within 2 weeks. Welp that's passed for me  

FloatingAbyss

HauntingDevil_0776 said: Lol just realized they recommended submitting secondary within 2 weeks. Welp that's passed for me Click to expand...

sdoh_junkie

Lm: 68 wars: 76.

FloatingAbyss said: Same boat it’s been about a month for me… Click to expand...

sdoh_junkie said: Same... is it worth it to still submit? I haven't started writing for these obnoxious essays. Click to expand...

FiletFrenzy said: Where are you seeing this? I checked the email they sent for the secondary invitation and it doesn't say anything like that, just the due date in December. Click to expand...

HauntingDevil_0776 said: It's before the highlighted sentence in their email. They also have something like "we recommend you submit within 2-3 weeks" in their app portal Click to expand...

ShortSecondaryEnthusiast

Rockclimbermed.

ShortSecondaryEnthusiast said: OOS RD II today Click to expand...

camedapplicant

RockClimberMed said: Stats? Completion date? TYSM! Congratulations btw!! Click to expand...

• Aug 7, 2022

thunderking13 said: What da heck are these questions hahaha Click to expand...

Azeroth 96 said: They are really coming for our throats with them Click to expand...

tryingtogetin123

• Aug 16, 2022

i think this school is the only school I applied to that still require application fee (although reduced) from those who have waivers. Makes me feel :/ about this school.  

Similar threads

• Mar 21, 2023

• Apr 22, 2022
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How to Write the Virginia Tech Application Essays 2017-2018

Hokie, Hokie, Hokie, Hi! Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public university located in Blacksburg, Virginia. Virginia Tech serves around 31,000 students , making it the third largest university in the state.

Because Virginia Tech uses its own application — rather than the Common Application or the Coalition Application — the 1-3 supplements stand alone as each applicant’s writing sample(s). Virginia Tech evaluates the same essays whether an applicant chooses to apply to the Engineering School or the College of Humanities and Sciences.

For the 2017-2018 admissions cycle, Virginia Tech has provided seven essay prompts, from which applicants are free to choose one, two, or three prompts to answer. Each prompt has a word count limit of 250 words .

With an acceptance rate of 73%, Virginia Tech admissions are somewhat competitive, meaning that stellar supplemental essays have the potential to push an otherwise below-average applicant over the top. Here is how CollegeVine suggests you tackle each prompt.

What are the top five reasons you want to be a Hokie?

This prompt is an excellent opportunity to convey interest in attending Virginia Tech and to show that you have thought seriously about how you might take full advantage of your Virginia Tech experience.

To answer the prompt, first you should visualize how you might spend your four years at Tech — what classes, extracurriculars, and social aspects would you be most excited to explore? These three categories can serve as the basis for drafting your five reasons. Your essay should strike a balance between what you’ll pursue inside the classroom, what you’ll spend your time doing outside the classroom, and what aspect(s) of the Tech community appeal to you most.

For example, a well-rounded essay could include (1) two specific reasons related to academics (such as a class you would like to take and research opportunity you would like to pursue); (2) two activities you can either start or continue pursuing at Tech (such as intramural soccer and Hiking Club, for example); and (3) an aspect of dorm culture that interests you (such as the living-learning labs in some dorms).

Aside from this academic-extracurricular balance, the most important tactic for writing an essay for Prompt 1 is specificity. Cite specific examples within your reasons — writing “I’m eager to pursue PSCI 3034: The CIA In Today’s World ” is much more effective in showing interest and commitment than writing “I’m eager to pursue classes in my major, Political Science.” Look for clubs or extracurricular opportunities that appeal to you at Tech and call them out by name, showing your dedication to Tech’s academic and community offerings.

If there is something you think would be beneficial for the Admissions Committee to know as we review your academic history, please take this opportunity to explain.

Prompt 2 provides an opportunity for applicants whose academic careers have been affected by adverse or unanticipated circumstances to explain precisely how the situation(s) was/were detrimental to their academic performances . Moving during the school year, suffering a prolonged illness, being in an accident that required extended time off of school, or caring for an elderly relative or younger sibling are just a few examples of circumstances that could impact your academic performance.

The Virginia Tech Admissions Committees want the whole picture as they review your application, so if you feel that something in your academic history requires additional explanation, take this opportunity to engage in a candid dialogue about how the situation affected you as a student.

The essay you’ll write for this prompt will necessarily be personal, so there’s no “right” way to write it effectively. As you brainstorm, think of specific circumstances in which your academic career was affected by the topic of the essay. Don’t say “recovering from the accident made it harder for me to do my homework, which is why I did poorly my sophomore year.”

Instead, say, “Even after returning home from the hospital, waking up in the middle of the night to change my bandages often left me unable to focus effectively in my early classes.” Instead of “It took so much time to feed and get my little sister to bed that I just didn’t have time for my homework,” try, “Some nights, an unexpected stomach bug left me preoccupied caring for my little sister until late in the night; my chemistry reading was left untouched as I administered pink medicine and took her temperature at 30-minute intervals.”

As you write this essay, make sure that you’re honest and candid about how a situation or experience impacted your ability to perform academically, and keep in mind that the goal is to provide context for the evaluators of your academic credentials.

Our motto is Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). How is service to others important in your life?

Service is an integral part of Virginia Tech’s community, so this is a great essay choice if you prioritize serving others in any way and on any scale. You may wish to talk about your servant leadership in a school or community club, a service capstone project you organized to benefit those in need, or simply how you incorporate the ideal of service to others in your day-to-day actions.

Whatever you choose to write about, make sure that you hit not only the specific consequences of your service but also the reasons why your service is important to you personally . It’s not enough to say, “I love to serve others because it gives me a chance to help my community, and it makes me feel fulfilled.” Instead, try something like this: “Video chatting with the overseas beneficiaries of my used bike drive and hearing about how Sofia was able to spend two more hours each day with her son because of her new work transportation inspired me to continue my work with Bikes for the World.”

It may be appropriate for you to touch on how you plan to continue a prolonged service activity in college. For example, if you tutor elementary students in math each week as a volunteer service, you may want to cite your plans to join or create a similarly-oriented service club at Virginia Tech. Showing that you’ve taken the time to research service opportunities at Tech will help to show your commitment to service and its importance to your identity.

We believe strongly in the Virginia Tech Principles of Community and the value of human diversity affirmed therein. Share a perspective or experience related to your culture, age, color, disability, gender, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status that might explain how you will enrich the climate of mutual respect and understanding here.

By this question, Tech strives to help potential students see that the admissions office and the university as a whole understand these aspects of identity to be complex and individualized facets of character rather than descriptors that can be answered for by simple yes/no check boxes. If you believe that there is an aspect of your identity that warrants special consideration of how you’ll fit into and benefit the Tech community , then this question is for you.

It’s easy to get carried away while discussing an aspect of your identity, so the important tip to remember while writing this essay is to stick to the prompt as much as possible. You want to write about your identity through the lens of Tech’s commitment to “mutual respect and understanding.”

This means you’ll want to discuss how your perspective can help others learn something about their community and the world. For example, your religion might give you a unique perspective on Eastern literature that would enhance your English class discussions. Alternatively, you might be committed to changing the narrative about disabilities on campus because of your physical or mental disability.

One of the most important factors that admissions readers consider is how each applicant will contribute to the school community. This essay is a direct opportunity for you to explain in a personal fashion how you would be able to contribute to Virginia Tech. So be sure to keep your essay focused on how you will use your identity to enrich your community at Tech both inside and outside the classroom.

Virginia Tech is one of six senior military institutions in the country. How will this setting contribute to your college experience?

This prompt is specifically tailored to students hoping to participate in the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets . This is an immersive, residential program that provides a military training experience that’s comparable to the college experience at a U.S. military institution. Participants include all ROTC participants as well as some students who participate in the Corps of Cadets but not an ROTC program.

Most students choosing to pursue the Corps of Cadets have distinct personal reasons for their commitment. This is the time to convey those personal reasons – your convictions, career goals, and other motivators for your pursuing the program. Additionally, you’ll want to touch on what about the program appeals to you. This could include the residential aspect, the opportunity for leadership responsibilities, or the tight-knit community feel of the program, among many other possible motivators.

While the Corps of Cadets will likely serve as a track to your future career goals, it’s important that (if you choose to make this point in your essay) this not overshadow your answering the prompt – how will the CoC contribute to your college experience? Think about what you want to get out of your college experience, do your research on the CoC and all that it entails, and then speak candidly about why you would benefit from the program and what you would bring to it.

For example, if you participated in JROTC in high school, this would be a good time to describe a situation during training in which you exhibited honor, courage, leadership or another foundational value of the program — whether establishing a tradition to welcome new members, finding a way to motivate your peers during training, or enabling community by facilitating bonding outside of training. Then you’ll be able to tie your potential contributions into what you’re hoping to get out of the program.

You could write about how having a strong bond with a team of committed peers would help you stay on track in and out of the classroom. You might be eager to engage in the leadership training and education offered by the program. Explain your reasons for wanting to be a part of the Corps of Cadets community, keeping in mind the residential, immersive nature of the program in shaping your college experience.

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.

Writing a narrative, anecdotal account of an important experience can be an effective method for showing the admissions committee who you are as a person and what kind of Hokie you would be on campus. It’s an open-ended prompt — the story can be about something good or bad, seemingly insignificant or monumental, a failure or a triumph, as long as you can convey why and how the experience made you who you are today.

The most common mistake applicants will make on this essay is falling into the trap of “telling” rather than “showing.” Don’t just say what happened, set the scene and appeal to the senses of the reader . You want to give the reader a deeper understanding of the situation by making them feel a personal connection to the scene — this will help them understand better its impact on you.

For an essay about navigating your parents’ divorce, you’d want to avoid general “telling” statements like, “I had to calm down my little sister, who was upset about having to split time between our parents’ new houses.” Instead, you could “show,” saying, “As the blue-grey facade of my mom’s house faded out the car window, I distracted my sister with a game of tic-tac-toe. By the time we approached dad’s apartment, her tears had dried and she happily pressed her face against the glass to get a glimpse of dad.”

Remember that the focus of the essay is on how the experience changed your character. It may be helpful to use parallel examples from before and after the experience. For example, you could recount the ease with which you wrote, ate, and ran before an accident, and then detail the struggle of relearning these previously taken-for-granted abilities afterward.

If you choose to write about an experience that demonstrated your character rather than shaping it, choose one of your defining character traits and think of a situation or experience that was emblematic of that value.

For example, if you’re hardworking, you may want to write about a project that you gave your all and poured your heart into. No matter what topic you choose, “showing” by appealing to the senses rather than “telling” objectively will help you to write an effective narrative supplement.

Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

If you have a topic that you’re eager to write about but it doesn’t fit any of the above prompts, you might consider creating your own prompt and writing the essay under Prompt 7. It could be your favorite essay from school or an essay you wrote for another school’s supplement or the Common Application or Coalition Application.

Regardless, make sure that you’re sticking to the rule of “showing” rather than “telling” and writing about something that resonates with you personally. Essays are an opportunity to show passion, character, and personality, so let your voice shine through.

Ideally, you should pick a topic that ties in with your admissions theme and that tells the readers something about you that hasn’t been explained in your previous essays. Other than that — anything goes! Have fun and write about something you love to write about.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

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Peter Marshall, Longtime Host of ‘The Hollywood Squares,’ Dies at 98

He played straight man to all manner of celebrities, asking questions on what was for many years the most popular game show on television.

By Daniel E. Slotnik

Peter Marshall , who coaxed cheeky rejoinders from celebrities like Burt Reynolds, Mel Brooks, Joan Rivers and Paul Lynde as the longtime host of “The Hollywood Squares,” for years one of the most popular game shows on television, died on Thursday at his home in Encino, Calif. He was 98.

His wife of 35 years, Laurie Marshall, said the cause was kidney failure.

Mr. Marshall, an actor, singer and comedian with an authoritative baritone, hosted “The Hollywood Squares” from 1966 until 1981. The show brought him four Daytime Emmy Awards.

“The Hollywood Squares,” which stuffed celebrity guests and risqué humor into a daytime game show, was a variation on tic-tac-toe, played by two contestants on a set that featured a grid of nine squares rising above the stage, with a celebrity guest seated in each square.

A contestant would choose a square, Mr. Marshall would ask the star inside it a question, and the star would usually respond with a quip — a zinger, in the show’s parlance — before giving a serious answer. The contestant would then tell Mr. Marshall whether he or she thought the star had answered correctly, and the square would be won if the contestant was right. The first contestant to complete a line won the game; the first to win two games won cash and prizes.

The center square was reserved for the funniest celebrity; the comedian Paul Lynde occupied it for much of the show’s run.

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