Application Essays
Below are essay prompts for the 2024-2025 Common Application. First-time college students (future freshmen) will use the Common Application to apply to Purdue.
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When applying to Purdue you should use the Common Application.
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The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Purdue's own Online Writing Lab offers advice on writing essays for college applications.
First-Time College Students (Freshmen)
The Common Application Freshman Essay Prompts
Required minimum-maximum word count: 250-650
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Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
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The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
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Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
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Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
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Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
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Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
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Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.
Purdue Questions
Respond in 250 words or fewer.
- How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom?
- Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected.
