North Carolina State 2025-26 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

North Carolina State 2025-26 Application Essay Question Explanation

The Requirements: Why

Supplemental Essay Type(s): 2 essays of 250 words; 1 essay of 600 words for Honors applicants

Explain why you selected the first choice academic program above and why you are interested in studying this at NC State. (250 words)

This prompt gives you a chance to geek out about your intended major. Do you and Statistics have some unfinished business? Are you planning to get a jump on your pharmaceutical career with a major in Biological Sciences? Whether your goals are intellectual, professional, or somewhere in between, your reasoning should be grounded in what NC State has to offer. If you’re interested in law, make sure you talk about a program they actually offer: Criminology, perhaps. Get ambitious and aim to answer these two key questions: What do you absolutely love about your intended major? Why is NC State the ideal place for you to study it? Think about what excites you about the department at NC State—professors, classes, guest speakers, alumni—and dig deep to show how NC State will help you achieve your goals.

Explain why you selected the second choice academic program above and why you are interested in studying this at NC State. (250 words)

Admissions understands that you haven’t got it all figured out yet. And that’s okay! A lot of very successful people have leapt in and out of various disciplines or have even found common ground where they overlap (think philosophy and economics or agriculture and business). You’re allowed (encouraged, even!) to have many interests, and admissions wants to know where your strengths lie. Just like for the last question, do your research, so you can clearly identify specific aspects of NC State’s program that appeal to you. 

Honors Program Only:

Think about a time when your curiosity led you to not just learn, but to act. How did you learn more, and what tangible steps did you take as a result of what you learned? What insights about yourself, others, or the world did you take away from this process of learning and doing? (600 words)

You are encouraged to draw from any meaningful experience, whether it happened in school, at home, in your community, at work, or anywhere else your learning and growth have taken shape. The essay below is also used for the Park Scholarships application. You are welcome to reuse or adapt your response.

This prompt isn’t just about your academic interests; it’s about how you pursue your passions, so think about a specific example of projects or activities that grabbed your attention and refused to let go. Focus on a subject that sparks your curiosity, a specific concept that has infiltrated your browser history (or TikTok FYP, since we all know we build our algorithms brick by brick), or an experience that has burned itself into your brain. When was the last time you went down an internet rabbit hole trying to research something? When were you extremely motivated to solve a problem or create something new? What was the last fact or skill you learned outside of school that truly captured your imagination? Next, consider what about this experience inspired your pursuit of further knowledge and describe what you did to acquire it. Did you seek out an internship related to your subject of interest or download software to help you develop related skills? Finally, tell admissions what you learned about yourself, others, or the world. Did joining Habitat for Humanity show you that people from all walks of life need help sometimes? Did your summer working at the local community theater reveal an undiscovered love of set design that might lead to a Theater minor? Regardless of what floats your boat, NC State is aiming to bring self-motivated, deep thinkers into their Honors Program. Admissions officers want to know that you’ll be eager to contribute to lively class discussion and maybe conduct research in your latter years on campus, so show them why you’ll be a valuable addition to any classroom setting.