2026-2027 Pepperdine University Required Essay Prompt

Pepperdine University has released its supplemental essay prompts for the Class of 2031. Applicants for this year must reply to one supplemental essay prompt in up to 500 words, probing your relationship with your faith as it relates to your interest in Pepperdine. As is so often the case in elite college supplements, it is well-advised that you use up every last word of the 500 allotted for your response, as anything less could be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm for attending Pepperdine. But simply typing out 500 words of whatever comes to mind won’t cut it. You have to be strategic and demonstrate your interest in attending Pepperdine as well as your creative writing skills. Here’s how:

All Pepperdine applicants must respond to the following 500-word prompt:

Pepperdine is a Christian university where all are welcomed and encouraged to challenge each other in the pursuit of truth. Students, faculty, and staff members from all backgrounds participate in conversations of faith inside and outside of the classroom. Considering that Pepperdine is a Christian university, why are you interested in attending and how would you contribute to conversations of faith on campus?

Let’s clear one thing up before we dissect the meat of this prompt. You do not have to be Christian to be eligible for admission to Pepperdine University. That’s not what this supplement is about. Instead, this is a Why College essay in disguise. Through the prism of Pepperdine’s faith-forward campus culture, this prompt asks you to cite the Pepperdine-specific resources and opportunities that draw you to campus. If you are religious, you should describe how your pursuit of these specific activities will deepen your relationship with God and contribute to the conversations you have with peers and faculty on campus. But even if you’re not a student of faith, you should still aim to convey that you understand the tenets of Christianity that inform life at Pepperdine and express a curiosity to learn more about how faith informs the lives of others.

But expressing these ideas is only one piece of the puzzle. The strongest applicants will voice their relationship with faith and their enthusiasm for attending Pepperdine through a series of anecdotes that imagine what their life would be like on campus, A.K.A. what they would do on their day-to-day schedule and what goals they would meet by leveraging Pepperdine-specifics. But not just any specifics. Do not mention the specific professors you’d like to take courses from or the specific courses you intended to enroll in. These details are subject to change every semester and thus do not capture the enduring qualities of a Pepperdine education. Instead, make it your mission to research the activities, traditions, events, job opportunities, advising structures, student organizations, and unique requirements that set Pepperdine apart from other schools.

If you’re looking for a starting point, consider your intended major. What academic and extracurricular pursuits related to this major could you devote your time to, and how would these activities open up avenues for critically reflecting on your faith or learning more about the faith of others? What sorts of faith-related questions would this academic inquiry allow you to pose to your peers, and what would you hope to learn about your relationship with God as you pursue these things? Try to get creative and think of ways faith could inform the unlikeliest of academic or extracurricular activities, such as economics, statistics, or language studies. And remember: research, research, research!

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Your Pepperdine Supplemental Essays

If you would like to submit a supplemental to Pepperdine that optimizes your odds of admission with the strength of its alignment with the Christian values admissions officers at this private research university use to evaluate applicants, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch with an outline of our college counseling services for seniors led by our team of former elite college admissions officers.