Featured Supplemental Essay Prompt For University of Wisconsin Madison Applicants:

Tell us why you decided to apply to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided please describe your areas of possible academic interest. 650 Word Maximum.

Successful Supplemental Essay Example From Our Accepted Alumni Student:

Working at Code Ninjas taught me to bring CS to life through fostering student connections. Leading my nonprofit [Redacted] showed me that educational access isn’t promised to all. And developing [app name], a web-based audio/video transcriber, revealed that CS-based innovations are driven not just by technical knowledge—they are also driven by uniting our interests and efforts with a care for others.

All of these endeavors, mishaps, and solutions I have encountered along the way have sparked my curiosity—and invoked pressing questions: How can we utilize machine learning and natural language processing to create tools that further enhance educational opportunities and efficiency of large-scale projects? Further, how can we make computer-science-based frameworks and learning tools a more accessible reality in our world—not only in ease-of-use, but also in bridging boundaries?

As a prospective University of Wisconsin School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences student, I hope to learn and innovate with others to seek the answers to these questions—and more.

Wisconsin’s CDIS school creates collaborative learning opportunities with a respect for the intertwined disciplines that influence our world. To become a computer scientist who uses artificial intelligence to create world-changing software development programs, I also need to understand the systemic inequities and sociological trends that shape technological and educational access. With Wisconsin breadth courses like Sociology of Race & Ethnicity in the United States, I would be able to understand the entrenched inequities that exist in our educational systems. Through Technology and Society, we would investigate relationships between humans and technology and the disparities in access to technological advancements.

Along with understanding sociological trends that influence our world through the breadth curriculum, I hope to delve into Wisconsin’s Computer Science program to conceptualize and eventually launch innovation with the main goal of increasing accessibility—across differing abilities and diverse backgrounds.

I hope to focus my learning towards artificial intelligence in the CDIS program to ultimately create applications that combine concepts of machine learning, neural-network-based algorithms, and natural language processing. Through courses including Fundamentals of Human-Computer Interaction, Introduction to Artificial Intelligence, and Natural Language and Computing, I hope to help develop frameworks that convert verbal commands into programmable instructions—a platform for experienced coders and accessible to visually-impaired engineers.

CDIS’s Computer Science courses would also allow me to work toward creating accessible educational technologies. As I developed my transcribing application [app name] this past summer, I realized there is plenty of untapped audio and video information in library archives. Transcribing the material would allow students from all backgrounds to access high-level academic material, and translating it would provide learning opportunities to students in developing nations. Managing large volumes of transcriptions requires knowledge in Big Data technology, andUW-Madison’s advanced Foundations of Data Management course would provide me with a strong data management skillset. 

Through UW-Madison’s Undergraduate Research Scholars program, I hope to contribute to—and learn from—the Madison community by creating an investigation that integrates CS disciplines with sociological perspectives. I hope to conduct interdisciplinary research to discover whether AI-innovated lesson transcriptions can positively impact learning outcomes in communities where particular courses are not offered. I am thankful that I have been able to take Advanced Placement courses throughout my high school career and hope that transcribed lesson content can provide access to all students, even if courses are not available in their district.

I also hope to work toward bridging educational gaps during my time in Madison through volunteering and hands-on courses like Introducing Computer Science to K-12 Students. Through volunteering with the CaTaPuLT (Scratch) Clubs in Madison public schools, I hope to continue to provide CS-focused education to diverse communities.

Finally, I hope to determine ways that NLP and Big Data can positively influence public education and close achievement gaps, as we continue in a world where computing and education are inextricably intertwined.