UIUC Supplemental Essay Prompt 1:

Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else. (150 Words)

UIUC Supplemental Essay Prompt 2:

Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them. (150 Words)

UIUC Supplemental Essay Prompt 3:

You have selected a second-choice major. Please explain your interest in that major or your overall academic or career goals. (150 Words; Only for students applying with a second-choice major!)

Simplify Your Admissions Success


See targeted guidance to help you stand out,
essay inspiration from our own accepted students,
and proven methods to help you start and succeed (from an Ivy Alum with 300+ student success stories!).


‣ Slide for Essential Planning Information
‣ Scroll for Successful Student Examples

The Upgraded Way

Most college admissions resources guide students through one primary college essay, but we know from experience that supplemental essays change lives—and planning for these projects is embedded into our work with students from the start.

Each year, we help students make tangible progress toward their college-specific supplemental content—with strategic framework-building steps that make the entire application process more simple, sustainable, and successful.

We keep track of supplemental essay prompts, changes, and trends for our community—so we can help students start making tangible progress on their supplemental essay content during the summer.

We unite prompt projections with our experience-driven supplemental essay approaches to guide new applicants through strategic framework-building steps.

This foundational framework helps students build clarity in their messaging, confidence in their strengths, a more balanced schedule, and a process that unfolds with much more ease.

Many colleges will ask students in the Class of 2025 to respond to the same prompts our admitted students addressed in our Successful Examples.

Most colleges have required the same prompts for 2 years in a row, and many have required the same prompts for 3 years or more. Some colleges change their prompts more frequently—and those prompts tend to be the most creative.

Plan to check in on changes August 1st, 2024. That’s when colleges will publish their official Supplemental Essay Prompts for undergraduate applicants—you can find them under the My Colleges section of the Common Application.

Whether you are navigating the supplemental essay process independently, with a family member, with a teacher, or with a mentor from our team, having a strategic supplemental essay approach is immensely helpful for all students.

That change can trim your entire application process in half, help you toward a more sustainable schedule, and give you more clarity and confidence throughout the entire process. For our past students, our team members, and for our founder, this method has opened doors to life-changing opportunities—and it’s one of the reasons we’re here today.

Below, you can read inspiring example essays from our admitted students, explore success-proven approaches, and find ways to launch your own supplemental essay success.

Check in for our latest updates, innovative resources, and all things College-Specific Supplemental Essays. We’ll keep you on the path to Michigan this summer, so we can hear about your success story next summer!

Successful Supplemental Essay Examples:

Want to see the types of responses that are appreciated by admissions readers? In this section, you can read several successful supplemental essay responses from our students that helped them get accepted to The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign!

UIUC Supplemental Prompts:

The following essay examples address UIUC's supplemental essay prompts from the most recent admissions year. Each of UIUC’s Supplemental Essay Prompts for Class of 2025 High School Students can be seen above!

‣ Successful Supplemental Example 1:

UIUC Supplemental Essay Prompt 1. Explain, in detail, an experience you’ve had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you’ve taken, or through something else. (150 words)

It brings me satisfaction to complete a watercolor piece, but I’ve built insights with other collaborative creations—especially those that have not gone as expected.

From constructing and refining a sand clock for my sophomore build event, to mentoring teams as a junior, to sharing lessons with younger teammates as a captain, my Science Olympiad experiences have helped me grow as a student and creator. I learned the value of navigating challenges and collaborating toward solutions with my team, and I look forward to embracing these values with the hands-on innovation of UIUC’s Computer Science Program.

As someone drawn to creation, whether a watercolor landscape or sand clock, I'm excited to ideate and create at UIUC. There, I look forward to throwing ideas at the wall to see which ones stick, to seeking the lessons when ideas do not go as planned—and to creating sustainable solutions through the power of collaboration.

‣ Successful Supplemental Example 2:

UIUC Supplemental Essay Prompt 2. Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from UIUC and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them. (150 words)

I’ve gained meaningful lessons through collaborating with kids on their first creations—whether using 3-D pens or modeling clay. While mentoring students in different communities, though, I also learned how funding disparities can influence learning opportunities.

At UIUC, I can explore the intersections of computer science, art, society, and innovation—and join a community dedicated to expanding opportunities.

Hoping to innovate learning tools and promote access to creative outlets, I’m fascinated by Grainger courses like Current Topics in Computing Education Research and Innovation Illinois: From Accessible Design to Supercomputing Cultures. Inspired by projects like SugarCUB3D, I also look forward to enhancing local youth opportunities. With ISUR and a Senior Design Project, I would love to research ways to enhance access to design tools—and empower future engineers and artists.

With UIUC, I can work toward a future where all students can explore technology, unleash their creativity—and choose their own paths.

Below, you can explore success-proven approaches, access more essay inspiration, and find ways to launch your own supplemental essay success.

Check in for our latest updates, innovative resources, and all things College-Specific Supplemental Essays. We look forward to seeing your outstanding story!

The Class of 2025 Essentials:
Supplemental Essay Foundations

With all of our resources for the Class of 2025,
you’ll discover effective strategies that are student-approved and success-proven.

Our approaches are much more than one-size-fits-all—because our methods were built with tools from education research, findings from positive psychology, and insights from over a decade of college admissions success stories.

Our resources are created by an expert with:

‣ 10+ years of college application consulting success
‣ Insights from 300+ successful application journeys
‣ Teaching experience in high-achieving classrooms
‣ Research experience in student achievement
‣ An Ivy League education—and her very own college acceptances to Penn and Yale!

Ivy Inspired. Success Proven.

When students begin their application-building process, they’ll come across excellent online resources, inspiring sample essays, and many up-and-coming creators.

We want our students to explore every idea that motivates them throughout their journey, and we want every mentor who truly cares about students to grow and succeed.

When students or mentors need to know the best next step, we’re here to provide clarity and confidence—because experience is essential when it comes to your future.

The best way to know you’ll have all the right answers? Start with all the right questions.

The way we start the process is what makes the difference for our students—and it’s why we’ve seen so many incredible success stories unfold. Throughout over a decade of inspiring application journeys, these framework-building questions have launched the process for students who gained admission to even their most-selective dream schools.

This resource was built directly by an Ivy Alum, curated while guiding highly-successful students, and refined with research and inspiration from this year—just for the Class of 2025.

Welcome to Our Community!

Whether you got started or simply scrolled through today, your future self thanks you—and we’re glad to have you as part of our community!