University of Texas at Austin 2025-26 Essay Prompt Guide

University of Texas at Austin 2025-26 Application Essay Question Explanations 

The Requirements: 2 short essays of 250-300 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why, Community

How to Write Compelling UT Austin Essays

UT Austin’s call for students is: “You embrace a challenge. You’re open to discovery. And you’re ready to make an impact.” Through their required essays, they’re hoping to hear about your own challenges, discoveries, and impacts. Take this opportunity to share more information about your candidacy and go the extra mile to differentiate yourself from other similarly qualified applicants. The most important thing to remember while drafting your responses is to be honest and true to yourself. Keep reading to learn how to write winning UT Austin essays!

Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? Please limit your response to 250-300 words. (Required)

This prompt sounds simple enough: describe what you want to study and why you like it so much that you’re willing to dedicate four years of your life to it (at the very least). While you might be tempted to get technical or poetic in your response, your reader will expect you to connect your intended major to some prior experience and/or passion. In other words, tell a story. Lucky for you, we would have advised you to start with an anecdote anyway. The most memorable essays spring from concrete descriptions of your experiences. What excites you and why? When was the last time you got drawn down a Reddit rabbit hole—and what was the topic? While you don’t need to pinpoint the exact moment you became interested in ancient history or calculus, try to zero in on an inspiring experience. What was the best TED Talk you ever watched? The first time you spoke to your new friend in ASL? Your story should showcase your unique connection to your chosen course of study. And don’t forget to talk about UT Austin! By the end of your essay, your reader should know not only why you are passionate about your chosen major, but also what excites you about Austin’s program. In admissions, they call that your “fit”!

Oh, and a quick shoutout to all the undecideds out there: Don’t worry! If you can’t decide, then tell a story that demonstrates your wide range of interests or natural curiosity. Focus on the opportunities UT Austin offers across departments that appeal to you and how you plan to explore them once you arrive on campus. It’s normal to want to try new things at the start of college!

Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why? (Guidance for students: This can include an extracurricular activity, a club/organization, volunteer activity, work or a family responsibility.) Please limit your response to 250-300 words. (Required)

Next up is a fun twist on the classic Activity Essay, which asks you to expand on an extracurricular endeavor that you are most proud of. Although we usually urge students to write about items that haven’t appeared elsewhere on their application, the Activity Essay is an exception. The trick here is to be authentic. The activity you want to write about will likely catapult to the front of your mind rather quickly, but if it doesn’t, take a moment to review your activities list (or start making one if you haven’t already) and reflect on each of those experiences. 

Maybe you want to write about your experience in the Debate Club, how you started with a fear of public speaking and, over the course of a few years, developed a knack for not only capturing the attention of a crowd, but thinking on your feet, as well! Or, perhaps you want to write about the Saturday mornings you spent volunteering in your neighborhood and the pride you take in serving your community. (Just make sure to avoid common Volunteering Essay pitfalls!) 

Whatever activity you choose to write about, be sure to infuse your story with specific, personal details so that no one else could have written it.

Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. Please limit your response to 250-300 words. (Optional)

This essay is perfect for students who have encountered outstanding challenges and need an opportunity to explain them. In fact, we recommend saving those details for an Additional Info essay such as this, so that you can use the rest of your application to highlight other parts of your amazing personality and background. So, if something has happened that affected your academic performance, this is a great opportunity to explain the circumstances. Did a COVID-19 infection during your junior year cause your participation in clubs and activities to take a hit? Did a family emergency cause an overall drop in your GPA? A drop in grades or a gap in your resume does not define you, so remember to make this essay not about the things you couldn’t control, but about the actions you took to improve the situation. You don’t want to come off as a victim of circumstance, but as a resilient person who can take steps to positively affect their situation.