Acing the University of Virginia's (UVA) 2024–2025 Supplemental Essays

2024-2025 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY PROMPTS

The University of Virginia (UVA) released their supplemental questions for the 2024-2025 cycle. They have one required supplemental question, and one “optional”  question is hidden at the bottom of the “General” section in the Common App. We encourage applicants to answer both questions. Remember, “optional” is never optional in the world of elite college admissions. So join us in learning how to tackle the supplemental essays for UVA.

1. What about your individual background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA? Feel free to write about any past experience or part of your background that has shaped your perspective and will be a source of strength, including but not limited to those related to your community, upbringing, educational environment, race, gender, or other aspects of your background that are important to you. (250 words)

At Cosmic, we call this a classic example of a perspective-based essay, one in which you put forward a salient, non-trivial perspective on something and use your lived experiences to argue for it. Such an approach works wonders for writing Common App essays as well. For this essay, you want to either start by articulating a non-trivial perspective you possess or by sharing a vivid anecdote that captures the reader's attention and can be directly used as evidence for the perspective you want to argue for. The goal of this essay is to show explicitly to the reader how you will contribute to the intellectual diversity of the incoming class.

2. If you have a personal or historic connection with UVA, and if you’d like to share how your experience of this connection has prepared you to contribute to the university, please share your thoughts here. Such relationships might include, but are not limited to, being a child of someone who graduated from or works for UVA, a descendant of ancestors who labored at UVA, or a participant in UVA programs. (100 words)

This is the "optional" essay that isn't truly optional. Most applicants will freeze and have no idea what to write for this question if they don't have legacy status at UVA, have parents who are major donors, or are descendants of slaves who helped build UVA. However, all of Cosmic's applicants know how to answer this question, and so will you. The key phrase is "might include, but are not limited to." This means that you can define this relationship. We recommend citing something very specific that is being done at UVA, such as the research a professor is conducting, the activities of a club, or an initiative by the university which has led to some very impressive, demonstrable, quantifiable results, and then briefly explaining how it intersects with your story. Then discuss how you'd like to contribute to that endeavor, or a similar endeavor, using UVA's social and academic resources.

If you would like a review of your University of Virginia essays by an admissions expert or have any further questions about the University of Virginia’s essays or other college admissions essays, please schedule a free consultation with us below. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you may have.