University of Maryland 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

University of Maryland 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 6 short answers of 650 characters

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Short Answer, Additional Information  

“At the University of Maryland, we encourage our students to go beyond the classroom to engage in opportunities that further both their academic and personal growth.”

The University of Maryland application is all about budgeting your words and energy. With a list of rapidfire short answer questions at the heart of this supplement, prepare to make every character count!

To tell us more about yourself, please complete the following sentences using only the space provided. (650 characters)

* If I could travel anywhere, I would go to…

* The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was…

* In addition to my major, my academic interests include…

* My favorite thing about last Thursday was…

* Something you might not know about me is…

* Because we know that diversity benefits the educational experience of all students, the University of Maryland values diversity in all of its many forms.  This includes (but is not limited to) racial, socio-economic, gender, geographical, and sexual orientation.  We are interested in hearing about your own individual life experiences.  In a few sentences, will you please describe how you have learned, grown, been inspired or developed skills through one or more components of diversity.

The key to nailing this section is brainstorming. When you see fill-in-the-blanks like these, it’s easy to assume that admissions is looking for a specific response, but (surprise!) they’re not. To avoid falling into this trap, free your mind and spend a few minutes jotting down as many answers as you can think of for each prompt. Literally set a timer and force yourself to keep your pencil moving (or fingers typing) for the entire time. No idea is too silly! The more you go with your gut, the more likely you are to come up with a unique and truly personal answer, and in the end, that’s really what admissions is looking for. Short answers like these present a great opportunity for you to show off your creativity, ingenuity, and sense of humor. When curating your brainstormed ideas, aim for breadth and variety. If you’ve always wanted to travel to Easter Island to measure the moai (🗿) and perform engineering experiments, then your interesting fact had better not be located anywhere near the Pacific Ocean. As with any other essay type, each micro answer should tell admissions something new about you.