2019-2020 University of Pennsylvania Essay Prompts

Some universities change their admissions essay prompts regularly and some universities rarely do so. The University of Pennsylvania had the same essay prompt for a few years running. That prompt, which applicants were directed to answer in 400-650 words, read: “How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania? Please answer this question given the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying (College of Arts and Sciences, School of Nursing, The Wharton School, or Penn Engineering).” But for the 2019-2020 admissions cycle, the University of Pennsylvania has changed things up!

UPenn Changes Up Its Admissions Essay Prompts

For the 2019-2020 admissions cycle, Penn asks two supplemental essay questions in addition to a dual-degree essay question. These questions read as follows: (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.” Applicants are instructed to respond in 300-450 words. (2) “At Penn, learning and growth happen outside of the classroom, 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.” Applicants are instructed to respond in 150-200 words. Of course, when a school asks applicants to respond within a certain range, applicants should always go up to the maximum word count so they use all the real estate available to them to make their case.

Additional Essays for UPenn’s Dual Degree Programs

For the dual-degree programs, there’s DMD: Digital Media Design Program, Huntsman: The Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, LSM: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, M&T: The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, NETS: The Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in Networked and Social Systems Engineering, NHCM: Nursing and Healthcare Management, Seven-Year Bio-Dental Program, and VIPER: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research. To check out the essay prompts for these programs, have a look on UPenn’s admissions site.