To get accepted into Penn State, grades are not the only thing considered; you must also know how to write the Penn State supplemental essay.

“Must” sounds too strong for an optional essay, but note that this essay is not “actually” optional. How so? Well, competition. Though Penn State doesn’t boast a single digit acceptance rate, the undergrad admissions profile can make it decently competitive.

Penn State Undergrad Profile.

1. High School GPA: 3.55-3.97
2. SAT English + Math: 1250-1430
3. Composite ACT: 28-32

“We take a hard look at the many roles you serve as a student, sibling, athlete, son or daughter, volunteer, and/or employee. Assembling a class of students with diverse interests and experiences is a task that we take seriously… we review students in a holistic manner, taking into account a full range of factors.”

With the GPA and SAT / ACT scores well above the average high school marks, you must impress. That means more than just good grades; take a look at the bold section of the quote above. It means expressing the diverse interests and experiences they hold so highly in the “optional” essay.

Note: Penn State also uses what’s called “holistic admissions”, which just means that admissions officers will take your application essay more seriously than normal. You can read more about holistic admissions here.

Optional: Please tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State. This is your opportunity to tell us something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records. (500 words)

This is the most important part of the Penn State essay prompt: “… that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State”

Knowing how to write the Penn State supplemental essay correctly is not just about impressing the readers with just any experience or activity. It’s about showing that your experiences or activities have something of value to help you succeed in the school. That means you can’t just learn to juggle to have a topic to write about.

The proper response will be something that reveals a quality or character trait that will help you succeed at Penn State.

Then there’s format. Whether it is “something about yourself”, “your experiences”, or “activities”, the Penn State admissions essay is best formatted in a narrative. That means writing your essay as a story. This is the best way to show your character and personality to the admissions officers and stand out amongst the rest of the 68,167 other applicants. Now, here’s a few pointers.

How to write the Penn State supplemental essay

1. Add weight to your story with imagery

This is probably one of the most important points to remember on how to write the Penn State supplemental essay. You need to add weight to your essay.

What we mean by weight is significance. Your story has to have a level of significance in your life that it can be felt by the admissions officers. Sob stories and dramatic life experiences all do this, but you can achieve the same thing with just strong imagery. Strong imagery will convey to the admissions officers that you take your application to heart and are not just applying for the sake of it.

We understand that imagery is a difficult technique that can be a fine line between “not enough excitement” and “too melodramatic.” That’s why we recommend speaking with an expert on the matter to ensure you’re doing it properly.

2. Don’t bite more than you can chew

A lot of applicants tend to think that the best way to impress the admissions officers is to fit in as many experiences as they can in the essay.

Penn State not only hates this, they know that students do this to game the system. If its already in your application, don’t write about it in the essay. If you have 2 or more topics to talk about, stick to one.

You have to stick to just one topic because you only have 500 words to write a high quality admissions essay. Including more topics would only stretch out your essay too thin and make it sound disingenuous. We suggest sticking only to two total paragraphs: the first one being a narrative of your experience and the second describing how that experience will help you succeed at Penn State.

3. Be very specific

It’s far too common for applicants to give a broad generalization of their experiences or how the experiences may help them succeed at Pen State.

Here’s an example; “I learned to be more creative in my field to come up with better ideas. This will help me be a more well-rounded person in my field of study.”

The topic may be fine, but the admissions officers at Penn State will have no idea what precisely you’re referring to. How were you creative? What field were you referring to? What are the creative ideas? What examples are there that you’ll be more well-rounded in your study?

Think of it like this: Penn State wants students who clearly know their strengths well and how they are going to use that to succeed at their school. They want applicants who know their unique experiences well enough, and not in wishy-washy terms.

4. Avoid clichés or common topics

This is another important thing to consider when writing the Penn State essay. You want to make sure your story is unique.

This goes for all college essays, as a cliché and overused topic will make it difficult to stand out from the rest of the admissions pool.

For instance, you should not talk about things that everyone goes through such as classes in school or occasional fights with parents. You want to talk about one instance that you had that everyone else is unlikely to experience. This will give you more valuable content to write about and you’ll be able to stand out amongst the rest of applicants. A unique experience, such as a few months of travel with your family, may provide valuable skills in socializing and networking at your time at Penn State.

5. Penn State essay format

In short, your Penn State application essay should look something like this.

1. Describe the experience that you had in vivid detail and imagery.
2. Show what the new perspective has done for you now and how it changed you as a person over time through examples.
3. Connect this new perspective to some of the things you plan to do at Penn State to be a successful student. For instance, your new perspective on moral strength and generosity after doing community service at a park will translate into your future career path of working in a non-profit organization.

Questions on how to write the Penn State supplemental essay? Not sure if you can get accepted? You may want to talk to us for a free phone consultation  and discuss how to approach your admissions essay; that way, you’ll get a competitive edge.