Do you dare to be so carefree when facing undergraduate/graduate applications and those dizzying, perplexing essay prompts?
You'll be working for the rest of your life anyway; missing a chance at a top school might mean missing it forever. And needless to say, the essay is crucial to your application. Once you've passed the academic threshold, what you have left to compete with is a stellar essay!
As a young person with dreams, you wanted to get into a top school and soar to the heights alongside Bill Gates, but after struggling to write just 50 words for your essay, one of your wings is already broken.
So today, let's take a look at some of the bizarre essay prompts from top U.S. universities that CheersYou（清柚教育） advisors have recently encountered. Expand your horizons while we poke a little fun at them~
A Bonanza of Bizarre Essay Prompts!
1. “Please share 25 random facts about yourself!”
From: Duke Fuqua School of Business (*Required)
The original prompt reads:
“The 'Team Fuqua' spirit and community is one of the things that sets the Fuqua experience apart, and it is a concept that extends beyond the student body to include faculty, staff, and administration. (I wonder how this fluff helps me?) Please share with us “25 Random Things” about you.”
Student complaint: 25 things? And random? Let me do the math: I'm 22 this year, so that's barely one thing per year! Forgive me if my first five years are just about wetting the bed and spitting up milk~
2. “What can you do for us outside the classroom??”
From: Duke Fuqua School of Business (MQM Program *Required)
The original prompt:
“Describe how you would plan to be engaged outside of the classroom, and how your unique perspective, experiences, and passions will add to the MQM community.”
Student complaint: Studying BA at Duke is no easy feat—think you can just attend class and do homework and be done? You've got to be passionate! Can't even relax after class?
This prompt, which only appeared in recent years, makes applicants panic while current students snicker. So what should I write? What should I do? Does playing the erhu at the subway station after class count??
3. “What is your purpose for graduate study?”
From: UCLA (Computer Science *Required)
“Please state your purpose in applying for graduate study... Briefly describe experiences that have prepared you for advanced study or research, and provide any additional information that may aid the selection committee in evaluating your preparation and aptitude for graduate study at UCLA. (Let's see if you're ready for UCLA)”
Student complaint: This essay prompt doesn't seem weird at first, but it's akin to 'Tell me about yourself.' Anyone can introduce themselves, but you wouldn't go to a finance company interview and introduce yourself as a weightlifting champion, would you?
In the same vein, what kind of purpose would make the admissions officer see that you're 'ready for UCLA'? It's really hard to hit the mark!! Thankfully, my CheersYou（清柚教育） essay advisor knows this inside out, otherwise I'd be sweating bullets!
4. “How to demonstrate your humanitarianism in business.”
From: JHU Carey Business School
“Business with humanity in mind means many things to different people. Please explain what business with humanity in mind means to you and how you will apply your knowledge, skills and abilities to advance this ideal over the next five years.”
Student complaint: I never knew I could reach such lofty heights of thought! I only planned to chase money, but now I have to worry about all of humanity?
Alright, so I'll write: In the next five years, I won't buy bags or shoes, and I'll donate to Project Hope. 'Teacher, is that humanitarian enough?'
Lately, there have been so many bizarre essay prompts that students complain about; we can't list them all here. If you want to know more, you can secretly ask our advisors~
But on a serious note, we want to tell you that every seemingly tricky essay prompt has a reason behind it.
Different schools and programs value different things and look for different kinds of students. Schools craft essay prompts based on what they value, to see if applicants have strengths in those areas.
For example, Duke's business school has always highly valued teamwork and collaboration, so they want to see your enthusiasm for team activities in your essays. UCI's business school, on the other hand, values individual ability and will assess your capacity to handle and analyze problems independently.
There are also classic prompts, like USC Marshall's 'Introduce yourself' and 'What makes you unique,' which seem cliché but actually contain hidden intentions. It's all about whether you can hit the school's/program's 'sweet spot.'
This explains why generic template essays from many traditional agencies are often discarded, leading to application failures. CheersYou（清柚教育） has always firmly avoided template essays, using only professional essay advisors from top U.S. universities and native English-speaking mentors.
We believe that those who have truly experienced a top U.S. education can better understand a school's/program's values and interests, and know how to help students accurately showcase their unique value in application essays.
