In this article, we’ll be covering how to write the UPenn supplemental essays. Although it is self-explanatory, consider both the competitive nature of UPenn’s application process in relation to the essay prompts.

First, you can find the stats in the image below.

In terms of grades and academic success, you must be in the upper percentile of students to get accepted into UPenn. This shows just how difficult it is to get accepted into UPenn. Thus, if you want to maximize your chances of getting accepted, it is crucial that you not only have high marks but strong and convincing essays as well.

As with many Ivy League applicants, they tend to get discouraged when they scored a GPA lower than the average. Or, they get discouraged by having a few points less on the SAT or ACT. We know the Ivy Leagues tend to take a much harsher look than other schools. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t apply because you think you have “no chance.”

Take a look at this graph on UPenn’s GPA and SAT admissions profile.

There are exceptions. So, take a breather, but remember that your admissions essays may be the ones that will make or break your application. Grades are still the most important factor in this application but knowing how to write the UPenn supplemental essays better than the competition may save you and help you get accepted.

Oh, and if you’re looking for UPenn example essays that worked, be sure to check out our article here.

With that said, here’s our guide on how to write the UPenn essays.

Table of Contents

1. UPenn Essay Prompt 1
   • How did you discover your intellectual and academic interests, and how will you explore them at the University of Pennsylvania? Please respond considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected. (300-450 words)
   • UPenn Essay Prompt 1 Format
2. UPenn Essay Prompt 2
   • At Penn, learning and growth happen outside of the classrooms, too. How will you explore the community at Penn? Consider how this community will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape this community. (150-200 words)*
   • UPenn Essay Prompt 2 Format

UPenn Essay Prompt 1

How did you discover your intellectual and academic interests, and how will you explore them at the University of Pennsylvania? Please respond considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected. (300-450 words)

Here’s the most important part of UPenn’s first essay prompt: It’s the last sentence.

So, what does this mean? It means that the admissions officers are under the impression that people who apply to their school would already have an undergraduate school and therefore career path in mind.

“Please respond considering the specific undergraduate school you have selected.”

You should know how UPenn can help you further discover your intellectual and academic interests in your intended major.

This means you can’t be too wishy-washy about what you want to do in the future. In fact, the main tip we recommend you keep in mind when thinking about how to write the UPenn supplemental essays is to be very certain about your future career goals and path. This goes for both of the essay questions.

The formula, therefore, may look something like this.

UPenn Essay Prompt 1 Format

1. A story that made you passionate about intellectual and academic interests.
2. In what ways can UPenn help you explore that interest further?
3. How you will go about doing that at UPenn? (Your plan)

First, let’s talk about the first part of your Prompt 1 Essay.

When the admissions officers are asking, “How did you discover your intellectual or academic interests” you should be thinking of the specific events that took place. That is, what events in particular made you interested in this field of interest? Because this section follows a more “origin story” format, you’re going to want to think about putting the majority of your strong imagery and eloquent descriptions here.

Next, are numbers 2 and 3 of the format: how UPenn can help you explore your interests and your plan.

Take a look at the available majors and courses to see what works for you. To answer, “intellectual and academic interests…how will you explore them at the University of Pennsylvania?” you should look at their catalog and show them how you’ll pursue your path. Also, remember to focus on major courses so they know that you’re dedicated and certain. Because you’re applying to one of the top universities in the world, you’d also want to consider the works of relevant professors in your academic field. Are they working on projects or studies that align with yours? It’s important to consider that they have to have something unique to provide you that would make you consider UPenn and not other schools.

So, your UPenn Essay Prompt 1 should look like this.

Story –> UPenn classes to consider –> How you’d pursue those classes and professors to further your interests

As a final note, it’s not good to have the entire essay be a wall of purple prose. You want to have breaks in your admissions essay where some parts are filled with imagery and others are more practical. The UPenn supplemental essay question is structured very well for this because our format goes from story to plan. It starts with imagery and eases into practicality.   

Okay, so here’s the second question.

UPenn Essay Prompt 2

At Penn, learning and growth happen outside of the classrooms, too. How will you explore the community at Penn? Consider how this community will help shape your perspective and identity, and how your identity and perspective will help shape this community. (150-200 words)*

The UPenn essay prompt 2 is significantly shorter than the first prompt. Notice that your word count maximum is quite literally reduced to less than half of the first essay.

Fortunately, this one is easier. The only hard part about this is fitting it into 150-200 words.

To answer this, you are only answering a few questions.

UPenn Essay Prompt 2 Format

1. How you will learn outside of the classroom at the Penn Community.
2. How you can contribute back to that community (How are you a giver and not just a receiver?)

To begin, let’s go over the first question of the UPenn essay prompt 2.

Learning outside of the classroom at the Penn community should scream to you, “extracurriculars”. Think of a community or hobby you want to talk about and find one that is similar in Penn. You can find a list of their clubs and organizations here. So, which topic should you start with? A good place to start is a high school extracurricular or hobby that you are passionate about. We emphasize passion because we’ve had plenty of clients write about their extracurriculars horribly in their UPenn essays. They became captains of sports teams or presidents of clubs only to brag about it on paper. When thinking about how to write the UPenn supplemental essays, think about the extracurricular or hobby that you find easiest to write about. Writing about these will convince admissions officers that you have a genuine passion for learning.

Now here’s our take on the second question of UPenn’s essay prompt 2

We put it in parentheses already, but you must think about being a giver, not just a receiver. Think also about how UPenn asked specifically how your “perspective” should “shape” the community. This is very deliberate wording on their part, and you have to be careful not to just say that your passion for “x” will make “y” better. Think about “perspective” as your vision. How you “shape” the community is just how your vision will positively benefit the community at UPenn.

Here’s an example of how the UPenn essay prompt 2 should look like:

You coordinated the a cappella group at your local church in an unconventional yet beautiful manner; this made your group well-known in the area. –> Your style of a capella would greatly benefit UPenn’s Full Measure A Capella group because it can give it a different perspective.  

As a final bit of advice, please remember that your essay should make the admissions officers at UPenn feel that they would benefit from having you at their school. We understand that this is a lot of content to add to such short admissions essays, but we also understand that a school such as Penn will not lower its expectations. If you’re applying, you’re probably already at the 95^th percentile of students, but you have to be able to show it too. We recommend speaking with us so we can revise your essay to get you accepted.