Penn State 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Penn State 2024-25 Application Essay Explanations

The Option: 1 essay of up to 650 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why

This is your opportunity to share something about yourself that is not already reflected in your application or academic records. Tell us something about yourself, your experiences, or activities that you believe would reflect positively on your ability to succeed at Penn State.

While the Personal Statement is not required, it is highly encouraged. 

Penn State knows that you are a multifaceted person, that your identity cannot be boiled down to nuggets of information on an application. That’s why admissions is giving you this space to expand on an aspect of who you are and what you care about. Scroll through your application and take a moment to think about what you haven’t been able to include yet. Perhaps you want to write about being a non-binary identical twin or spending every Sunday afternoon cooking traditional Italian dishes with your grandmother. Next, do some research on Penn State’s culture, academic programs, extracurriculars, and location to articulate exactly what appeals to you about the school. Think about qualities that would make you a good member of Penn State’s community, like leadership, collaboration, empathy, and intellectual curiosity, and see how you can highlight these in your essay, connecting your experiences with your future on campus. Maybe helping your parents with their hardware store sparked your interest in business, and you look forward to joining the Sapphire Leadership Academic Program. Your answer should reveal something important about who you are and what you value about Penn State.