For the Boston College supplemental essay, you have a great opportunity to demonstrate how BC’s key values—personal growth/development and service to others—reflect your own ideals, and how they’ve shown up in your life, through your experiences, talents, and lessons learned.
Before you dive right in, take a minute to learn more about how BC envisions its mission, purpose, and opportunities, and how it wants to grow and evolve, by combing through its strategic plan. You’ll also find an extensive, by-the-numbers look at BC’s offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set.
What are the Boston College supplemental essay prompts?
We would like to get a better sense of you. Please respond to one of the following prompts (400 word limit). Applicants to the Human-Centered Engineering major will select the fifth prompt.
Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompt #1
- Each year at University Convocation, our incoming class engages in reflective dialogue with the author of a common text. What book by a living author would you recommend for your incoming class to read, and why would this be an important shared text? (400 words)
- At Boston College, we draw upon the Jesuit tradition of finding worthwhile conversation partners. Some support our viewpoints while others challenge them. Who fulfills this role in your life? Please cite a specific conversation you had where this conversation partner challenged your perspective or you challenged theirs. (400 words)
- In her November 2019 Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them? (400 words)
- Boston College’s founding in 1863 was in response to society’s call. That call came from an immigrant community in Boston seeking a Jesuit education to foster social mobility. Still today, the University empowers its students to use their education to address society’s greatest needs. Which of today’s local or global issues is of particular concern to you and how might you use your Boston College education to address it? (400 words)
- Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) Applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them? (400 words)
How to Write the Supplemental Essay Prompt for Boston College
How to Write Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompt #1
Each year at University Convocation, our incoming class engages in reflective dialogue with the author of a common text. What book by a living author would you recommend for your incoming class to read, and why would this be an important shared text? (400 words)
It doesn’t matter if you’ve always got your Kindle by your side, downloading and reading the latest additions to the New York Times Best Sellers list, or you’re more of a casual beach reader. If you’ve got a favorite, impactful book, BC wants to hear (well, read) about why. And that’s really the meat of the question—the why. Maybe reading The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue made you realize we shouldn’t underestimate the impact we can make on others (or that others make on us) after one singular, fleeting meeting. And now you’re more aware of how you interact with strangers, and you want others to be too.
In particular, think about works that have been meaningful to you. In other words, this essay should still be about you, not simply an analysis of the artwork itself. What lessons have you learned from reading/hearing the piece that you’ve been able to apply elsewhere in your life? Did it challenge preconceived ideas or beliefs? Did it inspire you in some meaningful way?
This is the stuff of a great BC essay.
If you have answers to any of the questions above, chances are this may be a great prompt for you. Another way to evaluate whether it’s the right choice is to consider your Common App application as a whole—your personal statement, Activities List, and Additional Information section. Is there an important side of you, a critical experience, subject, or activity, that isn’t coming through as strongly as it should? If your answer is yes, ask yourself: Can I demonstrate that in a meaningful way through a specific song, poem, speech, or novel? If so, read the example and Tips + Analysis below.
Whatever text you choose, BC is really looking to learn how you might start lively discussions on campus and encourage fellow students to expand their horizons and push their limits.
Pro tip: If you do choose this prompt, try not to write about widely popular or obvious choices—like, say, the classics or anything in the Harry Potter series. Not because they’re not wonderful reads (they’re well-known for a reason), but because other students are likely to write about them, which will make it more difficult for you to stand out. On top of that, note that this prompt specifies ‘living author’, so be sure to double check that information if you’re not 100% sure.
Here’s a strong example for this prompt from previous years (when BC didn’t specify ‘living author’):
Example 1:
In history class, the dialogue surrounding the Civil Rights Movement often presents African Americans as a unified group fighting to resist racist policies. But James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, written in 1963, helped me understand that the nuances of African American resistance have often involved strained personal relationships within African American families.
Early in this book, Baldwin retells a childhood experience where his father discouraged him from staying in school because he thought a higher level of education didn’t help African Americans enter the professional sphere. Baldwin recalls encountering “too many college-graduate handymen,” but refuses to drop out of school, mostly as an act of defiance towards his father.
Baldwin continues to describe experiences that heightened the tension between him and his father—particularly regarding religion, parental control, and life on the streets.
Although resisting white oppression was difficult for Baldwin, resistance often caused divides in his personal relationships, which was more draining. Before reading this book, it had never occurred to me that overcoming the barriers perpetuated by racism in some cases involved taking a break from one’s traumatized community, which in this case was Baldwin’s own father.
I can relate. My father and I have differing methodologies for informing ourselves of current events and choosing to support a political candidate. My father makes his decision based on the political party, overall impact the candidate will have in the government, and major news headlines, while I believe in learning all the details about the candidate, doing extensive research on their speeches and personal history, looking at which influencers support them, and following their updates on social media. These small differences have caused my father and I to disagree in some political conversations. I used to doubt my own perspective when my father and I discussed politics, but Baldwin’s essay taught me to hold my own ground while also respecting my father’s opinion. It also taught me to critically reflect upon my own values.
Social problems play out in personal ways. The Fire Next Time has helped me find the balance between acknowledging strains in personal relationships while learning how to grow as an activist. Reading about Baldwin’s experience has helped me draw parallels to my personal struggles, and helped me combat my unconscious assumption that all African Americans have experienced the consequences of white oppression in the same way.
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Tips + Analysis
Show how the piece changed, broadened, or challenged previously held beliefs. The key to this essay is to show how the work of art you chose to write about contributed to your growth—how it gave you “insight or inspiration.” So, think about doing that in two parts: first by describing the belief or perspective you started with (the status quo), then by explaining how your viewpoint evolved. In her intro, this student starts right out with a summary of both: “In history class, the dialogue surrounding the Civil Rights Movement often presents African Americans as a unified group fighting to resist racist policies. But James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time, written in 1963, helped me understand that the nuances of African American resistance have often involved strained personal relationships within African American families.” That’s a nice way to establish the essay’s theme from the beginning.
Make it personal. Remember, this is an essay about you, not so much the work you chose. You will, naturally, have to spend some of your word budget talking about the piece, especially as it relates to the idea or perspective that inspired or enlightened you. This student spent 100 words on Baldwin’s perspective—a quarter of the essay. We wouldn’t recommend using much more than that. But the student then quickly dives into the insight she gained, how “overcoming the barriers perpetuated by racism in some cases involved taking a break from one’s traumatized community.” Even more instrumental was showing how she related to Baldwin’s experience, through her political disagreements with her own father. But she doesn’t stop there. In demonstrating her growth, the student is clear about how she applied what she learned: “Baldwin’s essay taught me to hold my own ground while also respecting my father’s opinion. It also taught me to critically reflect upon my own values.”
Show how your growth has impacted your life in other ways. If you can demonstrate that the lessons you took away from the piece inspired you in multiple ways, all the better. For this student, in addition to having a new outlook on her political conversations with her father, she learned to “find the balance between acknowledging strains in personal relationships while learning how to grow as an activist,” while also learning to “draw parallels to my personal struggles,” and “combat my unconscious assumption that all African Americans have experienced the consequences of white oppression in the same way.”
Convey key values you want BC to see. One of the most important goals of this essay is to show BC what’s meaningful to you and why. That means conveying key values, especially those you share with BC. This essay is teeming with strong values: empathy, compassion, social change, curiosity, accountability, diversity, quality relationships, respect, love.
Consider being vulnerable. Expressing vulnerability makes the essay more relatable, allowing the reader to connect with you on a more personal level. You can show vulnerability in multiple ways—with self-deprecating humor, by revealing embarrassing details, by sharing secrets or deeply personal information. This student is vulnerable in describing some over-generalized beliefs she had about the African-American experience, which some people may be shy about revealing for fear of judgment. Sharing that perspective makes her growth, and her willingness to embrace it, all the more meaningful.
Example 2:
Of all the books I've read, none left a bigger impact on me than Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea. The book tells the stories of six North Koreans that lead very different lives but all eventually affected. When reading this book, I felt immense pity for these people and was reminded that, while North Korea is viewed only as a political aggressor, it is still comprised of people. I was shocked at how easily I saw North Korea as a conglomerate of individuals who are completely indistinct from their country—all villains.
By reading this novel, I was reminded how easy it is to judge or condemn people without truly understanding the reasons underlying who they are. These North Koreans did not choose their birthplace nor did they embody the ideology of their nation in the slightest—thinking this way changed my image of them entirely. Having read the book recently, I built upon this mindset during my Kairos (Catholic retreat), and I’ve been putting it into practice ever since.
I believe this novel would inspire similar revelations in many readers. A mindset like this is not only beneficial in the social realm, but the business one as well. (200 words)
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Tips + Analysis:
Identify the group benefit. As with your responses to any supplemental essay, it’s important you understand and address each part of the prompt. While we mentioned that answering the “why” is important to explaining your book selection, just as important is explaining the benefit of reading it together as a class. What might be gained through this shared experience? What impact could you make as a group that you might be unable to accomplish on your own? To better fit the response to BC’s prompt, this student would’ve needed to dig a little deeper to justify the importance of reading and analyzing this book together and illustrate the potential end result.
Don’t be someone you’re not. It’s tempting to guess at what admission officers want to hear and craft a response based on a book that sounds good but that you have no connection to (or, even worse, didn’t actually read). Don’t. It’s not so much the actual book that’s important, but how (and why) a piece of literature changed the way you think or opened your eyes to something you’d never considered before—and how it might do the same for others. While we don’t know how this student happened upon this book, it’s clear what takeaways come from reading it.
Offer a fresh perspective. We often caution against writing about common experiences in college essays because they can make it harder for you to stand out. The same goes for common books. While you may feel very strongly that everyone should read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone because it was the first book that got you excited about reading and you believe you can tell a lot about a person based on the house they’d belong to. But is it a truly standout topic? Probably not. But is there a deeper, more subtle insight you can tease out from your reading? We encourage you to give it a try. We doubt many others would be casually picking up Nothing to Envy, but knowing how it impacted this student, we now just might.
How to Write Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompt #2
At Boston College, we draw upon the Jesuit tradition of finding worthwhile conversation partners. Some support our viewpoints while others challenge them. Who fulfills this role in your life? Please cite a specific conversation you had where this conversation partner challenged your perspective or you challenged theirs. (400 words)
If there was an impactful conversation you remember having when you didn’t agree with someone or when someone didn’t agree with you, this prompt gives you a chance to answer that, plus a little more.
While the question directly asks two things
Who is your conversation partner? and
What was a specific conversation where views were challenged?
there is a third element that you should consider including:
How did this influence you, or how did you handle this difference in views?
In other words, what did you learn or gain from this conversation? While things gained from this conversation could be, for example, a new way of seeing the topic at hand, a lesson, or new values, this is a great place to show how you handle difficult moments and what values you gain through interacting with those who hold different perspectives.
Another thing to consider is what else you’ve already written about in your application (personal statement, other supplemental essays, activities list)—have you already covered how you handle challenging moments? If not, responding to this prompt can demonstrate this side of you. If so, you might have more of an opportunity to show something new with a different prompt.
What BC is ultimately looking for in this response is to see how you navigate challenging moments, especially on a college campus where people from various backgrounds are coming together and finding new conversation partners within the BC community.
To see how other students responded to the prompt, you can keep reading the examples and Tips + Analysis below.
The following example, written for an almost identical prompt from Brown, nicely illustrates how you can approach this BC prompt.
Example 1:
The perspective of my father consistently challenges me. He lives in Missouri and does not believe the government should issue mask mandates and that as long as we take vitamins we will be alright. He believes that the government is trying to manipulate the general public with restrictions that neglect the individual freedoms of the people. I, on the other hand, believe that mask mandates are essential to ensure that the general public is better protected.
He wanted me to visit him in Missouri for our usual slate of activities—the State Fair, ComicCon, water park, and World War II museum—and I wasn’t sure what to do: I wanted to make good on my plans with my dad, but also wanted to stay true to what I knew was right.
In the end, I decided to go and see him, but laid out clear rules and conditions that would make me comfortable. Personal relationships are important to me, and I want to maintain a connection with my dad despite the fact that we live far away from each other and it is hard for us to accept our differences in ideas.
At the same time, I needed to draw healthy boundaries that would make me feel comfortable and respected. I’m invested in public health, and want to be a model of doing the right thing, even if it would have been a blast to whoop my dad’s butt in the Magic the Gathering tournament at Comic Con. (246 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Clearly provide context. This student spends the first few sentences setting up the scenario for the reader–we know who the conversation partner is and that they didn’t see eye to eye on mask mandates–which makes the rest of the reading experience easy to read and understand. Your readers will (mentally) thank you for giving them a clear sense of what the essay will cover and how you are addressing the prompt.
Show (don’t just tell) your values. This student’s essay is not only filled with values, but concrete evidence to back it up (which is key). For example, the student writes that “personal relationships are important to [them]” but shows this first through details and reflection in the second paragraph.. The student also says that they “laid out clear rules and conditions that would make [them] feel comfortable”, which is evidence for values later touched on in the last paragraph: healthy boundaries, comfort, and respect.
Don’t be afraid of vulnerability. The student wasn’t afraid to say that they weren’t sure what to do, which gave them an opportunity to write about how they thought through the difference in beliefs. Through their consideration of whether to visit their dad or stay true to their beliefs, we see that healthy compromise was something important to the student: they visited their dad, but gave rules and conditions that would make them comfortable.
Sprinkle in details. While supplemental essays may be shorter on word count, finding ways to sprinkle in details gives readers even more of an opportunity to get to know you. For example, this student’s “usual slate of activities” with their dad included the State Fair, ComicCon, the water park, and the WWII museum, and at the end, we learn that they like Magic the Gathering and that the student is invested in public health. While another student could’ve had a similar experience with a parent where they had different viewpoints regarding the mask mandate, these extra details are what make the essay uniquely this student’s. Each gives us a little window into who the student is and whom they will be on campus.
Stay true to your voice. The nature of this prompt can result in some not-so-lighthearted experiences, but this student was able to infuse some humor at the end of her essay by saying “it would have been a blast to whoop my dad’s butt in the Magic the Gathering tournament at Comic Con.” While you don’t have to inject humor into your essay, humor was this student’s way of adding in some personality. By letting your voice and personality shine through in your responses, it’ll make your responses more memorable.
And this Princeton essay (written for a very similar prompt) is a great start that could be improved with some key revisions.
Example 2:
I probably argue with my grandfather more than I do with most other people combined. It’s not because we’re at odds. We just have different perspectives, influenced by our experiences—his as a life-long resident of India, mine as a first-generation American.
One pretty common argument we have is over Eastern vs. Western medicine. My solution to a headache, for example, is to take Advil. His is to rub Tiger Balm on his forehead and coconut oil on the soles of his feet. I try to convince him of the benefits of taking a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory, describing how it can reduce inflammation by blocking the production of certain chemicals. He tries to convince me that the balm creates a cooling effect, distracting the brain from pain and relaxing the muscles. Rather than becoming sore at or resentful of each other, we’ve grown closer through these debates, and I’ve learned how to disagree without letting the situation get acrimonious.
Through these interactions, I’ve learned that a discussion shouldn’t be confrontational. The purpose isn’t to win, but to share my knowledge with the other party and learn from them as well. So rather than saying, “Rubbing balm on your forehead is stupid; you should just take Advil,” I say, “While rubbing balm on your forehead seems to work, I’ve noticed that taking an Advil has a stronger and more immediate effect.” Respecting the opposing party makes them more willing to hear you out.
I’ve also learned there’s a fine line between logic and emotion. I try not to take personally the things my grandfather says in an argument. Just because he doesn’t think taking Advil is the better solution doesn’t mean he thinks I’m stupid. If I take it that way, we begin to move away from what the argument really was about—the facts.
I’ll continue to apply these learnings in discussions and debates I have with others, realizing that having a “successful argument” isn’t about winning. It’s about sharing my opinion and learning from theirs, expanding our perspectives without alienating each other.
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Tips + Analysis
Read beyond the prompt. There are two explicitly stated parts to this prompt: Your favorite conversation partner and what you discuss with them. For the first part, don’t just name the person and call it a day. Instead, go a step further and elaborate on what makes this conversation partner the right one, both for you and for the topic. Their childhood? Their communication style? Their career? Their accessibility? Their understanding of you? This student does a great job at expounding on “what you discuss,” but we don’t know why that makes HIS grandfather, out of all the people with differing perspectives, the conversation partner of choice. Had he been writing to this prompt, that aspect would likely have been made clearer.
Follow the conversation’s history. If you’ve chosen your mom, your coach, or your best friend as your conversation partner, you’ve done so for a reason: You talk with each other. A lot. Can you detail several of these individual conversations—where you were and what you talked about? Do you always have similar conversations with them, or are they your go-to person for exploring new topics? While this student chose to focus on one specific East vs. West difference in his response, another effective approach could’ve involved a second cultural difference he’d noticed—or another time the difference in medicinal approaches caused friction.
Track the change. Not explicitly stated in the prompt but of great interest to BC is how those conversations have shaped you: Have they altered how you feel about a topic? Made you consider a new perspective? This student doesn’t have a change of heart regarding the efficacy of Tiger Balm and coconut oil; instead, he conveys his newfound understanding of how logic, respect, and an open mind strengthen not just the relationship with his grandfather, but also with anyone he may have a difference in opinion with. Exactly the kind of growth BC wants to see.
And here’s one more example without analysis, just to illustrate ways to approach this prompt:
Growing up in the historically conservative South shaped many of my early political beliefs. Most came from my dad; I took every word he said as gospel and was proud to repeat whatever he told me to my friends because I wanted to be just like him.
In many ways I still do.
But I am very lucky to have surrounded myself with diverse friends who are happy to talk to me about their personal experiences to help me gain perspective. One friend who is undocumented shared her family’s struggle to find a better life in the US and completely changed my opinions about immigration policies. Another friend helped me realize just how much our police system is stacked against minorities. In addition to personal anecdotes, they encouraged me to do my own research and form opinions without them or my dad telling me what to think.
I no longer repeat my dad’s ideas but now challenge him to have conversations that might broaden his beliefs. At first we left these conversations frustrated and upset, and sometimes still do. But over time we have been able to find middle ground and I have changed his thinking about some topics. He’s grown in his views about LGBTQ+ rights and women’s health, while staying put on immigration and healthcare. Actively seeking to understand the views of others and standing my ground has given me confidence that I can navigate disagreements with respect and encourage others to be open to different perspectives. (249 words)
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How to Write Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompt #3
In her November 2019 Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them? (400 words)
Prompt 3 invites you to write an essay that focuses on how someone else has perceived you based on nationality, appearance, or (an aspect of your) background. Apart from just responding to the questions provided in the prompt (challenges and how you overcame them), you’ll want to dig a little deeper and expand on what you learned from the challenge.
To respond to this prompt, you’ll want to include:
The context for the challenge: who defined you by a single story, how did they define you
The challenges + effects it presented for you
The steps you took to overcome these challenges + effects and
What you learned from this experience.
While the context and challenges are important for the readers to understand the situation, what you did in response to the experience and what you learned from this experience are what they’re really interested in, as those show your values and how you handle challenging situations.
That should influence what you choose to write about and how you write about it: If you’re considering responding to this prompt, you’ll want to make sure you have a specific, concrete experience that you’ve been able to take steps to overcome . While some people could have had multiple experiences of being assigned a “single story,” if it was something that happened in passing (e.g. receiving remarks by someone passing on the street) or was a situation that wasn’t confronted, then this prompt would be difficult to respond to well.
And while it’s not required, if you still have some left over words before hitting the target word count, you could also sprinkle in a relevant activity you’ve participated in where you’ve been able to further apply what you’ve learned from the experience, or even how you hope to contribute to BC based on what you’ve learned from these experiences. This isn’t mandatory, but shows commitment through action. After all, BC’s Mission & History page tells us that they welcome and embrace the contributions of a diverse student body from many faith traditions.
Here’s an example written for a similar prompt from USC that would work nicely (though it would need big word count cuts—more on that in the Tips + Analysis).
Example:
“If you were a kitchen utensil, which one would you be?”
As silent awkwardness fills the breakout room, I warily click the unmute button and toss out cheesy Google conversation starters. For better or for worse, 30 minutes of small talk with my teammates yield a consensus: Forks are the superior utensil. With a new sense of camaraderie, we’re prepared for the real work to begin.
Our final project at Asian Diversity Incorporated (ADI), a leadership program for Asian youth, required us to answer this question: How can the next generation of Asian-Americans advocate for the AAPI community’s history, present, and future?
Inspired by Generation Z’s influence over social media, we chose to create an Instagram account debunking the racial stereotypes and myths surrounding the AAPI community: cultural appropriation in fashion, misrepresentation in the film industry, Asian defamation in Western politics. Navigating different time zones, schedules, and skills, I saw my role as team leader put to the test by the conditions forced on us by the pandemic. Nonetheless, through weekly Zoom meetings, Emma’s evocative graphic designs, Drew’s thought-provoking articles, Justin’s insight on Instagram’s algorithms, and my extensive research, we were able to capture the attention of over 15,000 users. Comments of gratitude and encouragement, like “Excited to see this coming out to the world!”—along with frequent reposts and shares—reassured us that our message was beginning to resonate. With an open heart and mind, and a willingness to compromise, we formed a united front around a shared mission: to make an impact on others. Not only did I gain a valuable community of friends and mentors, but I was also able to cultivate my voice as an activist during the rise of anti-Asian rhetoric and hate crimes.
I had the polar-opposite experience while on tech crew for the musical production, All Shook Up, when our team was tasked with creating a billboard for the main stage’s set. As the only POC woman in a crew of six white males, I was often subjected to derogatory name-calling and objectifying comments. My ideas and opinions were routinely undermined or dismissed, whether it involved a bigger responsibility, like creating sketch designs, or more menial tasks, like selecting materials from the woodshop. This toxic culture became even more apparent when the team leader started assigning crew roles. I soon realized that my lack of opportunities in the construction workshop was not a coincidence. The tech head decided that “heavy-lifting” work, like sawing and drilling the wooden boards, was off-limits for me, while deeming more passive roles, such as gluing or cutting paper shapes, a better fit.
When I confronted one of my teammates, he dismissed me with empty excuses like “it’s not intentional” and “it’s better for you to leave the handiwork to the bigger guys.” In order to protect future POC, female techies to come, I was determined to have a much-needed conversation with the leaders. When I began the discussion, I first laid out my concerns about the boys’ sexually demeaning comments, as well as harmful racial and gender stereotyping. I then shared the toll this behavior took on my dignity and how the environment threatened the safety and security of all women of color. At the same time, I was adamant about facilitating a space that would not only allow the boys to acknowledge their mistakes but to begin growing from them. In order to keep myself composed, and to not put them on the defensive, I heard their perspectives, and offered to work with theater instructors to implement a training program focusing on cultivating respect. Ultimately, we were able to complete the billboard, but the crew’s behaviors didn’t change much, and there would be no training program, leaving a bitter aftertaste in my mouth.
Both experiences underscored for me the gravity of my actions and to be intentional in uplifting the voices of myself and others. Working with my teammates at ADI introduced me to the beauty of intercontinental collaboration, especially in our new virtual settings. It’s taught me how to bring together diverse individuals, with unique perspectives and skills, to contribute to a greater purpose and mission. Having a freed mind and being open to new ideas, while striving to navigate a middle ground, allowed us to learn while doing. My experiences in theater tech, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of speaking up and being heard, even if I don’t see an immediate impact. When we empower others by acknowledging their right to be seen and recognized, we begin to build and cultivate trust.
Informed by these lessons, I hope to promote artistic climates that allow all members to thrive and embrace their identities through empathy, trust, and constructive compromise. All while developing healthy relationships and having fun along the way. Filmmaking lacks luster without collaboration. It requires a culmination of voices, and as each team member is heard, we’re able to further amplify the story and voices of the characters on screen. In my future workspaces, I envision working with my peers to craft potent films, empowered by USC’s determination to foster a collaborative environment where persistence, discipline, and most of all, imagination are celebrated and encouraged. (860 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Jump straight to the point. Since this essay was originally written for a different school, prompt, and word count, it includes a few things you wouldn’t need to address for BC. While this student focuses on two experiences, one inclusive and one challenging, for BC you would ideally jump straight to the point by setting up context for the challenging experience (in this case, working as part of the tech crew for the musical production). At the very least, you’d want to minimize the word count dedicated to the inclusive experience, using it only to set up framing for the other story. Similarly, for the second to last paragraph, this student describes lessons learned from each experience–for BC, you would focus on lessons learned from the challenging experience. By taking out or minimizing the inclusive experience and lessons learned from it, that significantly reduces the number of words and should set this essay much closer to the target word count.
Strike a balance. While responding to a prompt like this may elicit painful memories, the student in this example was able to clearly offer context and state the facts by including direct quotes and taking the reader step by step through the events that occurred. However, this student doesn’t simply disregard her emotions; she isn’t afraid to be vulnerable, and tells readers that “In order to keep myself composed, and to not put them on the defensive…,” she heard their side and asked for a training program to be implemented. The way she handled her experience demonstrates an admirable ability to find balance between not simply shoving her emotions down, but also finding a way to engage that leads to growth and progress.
Look beyond the scope of the challenge. After writing about the challenge, how she handled it, and the lessons she’s learned, this student takes it one step further by expanding on how she hopes to make an impact in her future communities by promoting inclusive artistic climates while developing healthy relationships and having fun. While this isn’t mandatory, it’s great to see this added since it shows forward thinking and how she might want to contribute to the university’s community.
Bonus! Add in an element of ‘Why Us’. Again, not mandatory, but it’s generally great to sprinkle in elements of why you want to attend a certain university since it shows enthusiasm and your alignment with their values. At the end, this student talks about how she hopes to be “empowered by USC’s determination to foster a collaborative environment where persistence, discipline, and most of all, imagination are celebrated and encouraged.” To find more information on a university and/or specific department’s values, you can visit their website (search for about pages and/or ‘mission’).
And this essay, written for Yale, nicely answers a similar prompt.
Example:
Yet again, I sat dumbstruck in the cafeteria with my friends after hearing about a video of students at our school chanting the n-word. Yet again, our principal walked up on stage asking us to forgive. Until we’d had enough.
Sixty of us locked ourselves in a school building. Our principal had refused to act on our demands to reform the disciplinary process and curriculum to prevent this blatantly racist activity from reoccurring. For three nights, we slept on classroom floors. Both a teacher and a parent tried to barge in, each assaulting a student. I met with supportive faculty to draft out concrete modifications to the school. As the New York Times covered our journey, our school board was finally pressured into implementing our pre-drafted proposals.
We had stirred up some good trouble to bring racism to the forefront of the conversation. Yet the protest was just the beginning. We were still at step zero of successfully implementing anti-racism education to reframe our mindsets towards achieving social justice. I see it as our responsibility to light the spark that will start the fire.
We shouldn’t wait for “our turn.” Black rights are Asian rights are women’s rights are LGBTQ+ rights are human rights. This is a collective journey. If we all attack oppression individually, we will never win. We must charge from all directions, together, in order to defeat systemic racism. We need to show up for each other.
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Tips + Analysis
Be specific about your experiences. If you respond to this prompt, it’s important you’ve had at least one specific experience that’s fundamentally changed you. This probably isn’t the right prompt for you if you have strong opinions on racial injustices but lack the firsthand experience to support the impact on you or can’t show how you’ve been a change agent (e.g., your essay details only the one Black Lives Matter event you attended but lacks insight or forward movement). This student doesn’t just talk about her feelings regarding fellow students “chanting the n-word.” She shares how she took action—sleeping in the school for three nights, getting press coverage, and drafting anti-racism policies with faculty. We’re left with a concrete sense for how she took action to create change in their school.
But be mindful of what you share. Efforts to enact change come in many forms—from online petitions to large in-person protests. Emotions can run high, and tensions can flare. Reconsider telling any story that describes you participating in any gray-area activities, like violence or vandalism, no matter how well-intentioned. Instead, keep your focus on positive, nonviolent efforts. Yes, this student does mention assault. But that physical violence was instigated by neither the student nor her fellow classmates, and it’s just a very brief mention in a larger (nonviolent) story.
Watch your tone. While helping others in a time of need is usually a good thing, if you’re not a member of the BIPOC community, make sure you’re helping for the right reasons. In your essay, don’t oversimplify the problem (or the solution) or assume you know what the community needs. Doing so runs the risk of coming off as condescending or naive. Instead, make sure you’re sharing when you’ve been a respectful ally who’s amplifying their voice, not yours. While it’s not clear whether a BIPOC student is authoring this essay, we see her playing an active role in a thoughtful, nonviolent group effort to outline and implement anti-racism education.
Don’t minimize your contributions. It’s easy to think you’re not really making a mark in the efforts toward racial equality if you aren’t spearheading big changes on a community or state level. But big changes often start with small steps—especially when those small steps are taken honestly and authentically. What are the small but meaningful actions you’ve taken to initiate change? While this student engaged in some larger activities within her school community, your small act may be no less meaningful.
How to Write Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompt #4
Boston College’s founding in 1863 was in response to society’s call. That call came from an immigrant community in Boston seeking a Jesuit education to foster social mobility. Still today, the University empowers its students to use their education to address society’s greatest needs. Which of today’s local or global issues is of particular concern to you and how might you use your Boston College education to address it? (400 words)
As you consider your answer for this prompt, let’s re-emphasize two key parts: the critical issue that matters to you and the role BC plays in answering it. Here’s how you can formulate a solid response.
By asking about a question that matters to you, BC wants to learn in what ways you’re the kind of critical, insightful thinker they want on campus, leading the drive for future change. They also know that being able to formulate and ask critical questions is as (if not more) important than having the answers. After all, what’s college for if not to widen your thinking and give you the resources and confidence to help you solve the unsolvable? So don’t feel as though you have to have all the answers—raising interesting, complex questions that BC can help you explore can be just as (or more) useful.
And note that while your issue doesn’t necessarily have to relate to your major or future career path, that can make it easier.
The second half of the question is a sort of “Why us?” prompt. (For a step-by-step guide on the “Why us?” essay and how to write it, head here.) But instead of using this essay to more broadly show how your interests, values, and goals merge perfectly with BC’s, you’ll keep it focused on how BC will let you explore and help to address the issue you raise. So, say your burning issue relates to how to create and implement sustainable health systems for under-resourced communities—your response might include how getting involved with the Global Medical Brigades of BC while taking Obesity Epidemiology and Prevention will offer nuanced instruction on the socioeconomic determinants of health and wellness.
Whatever issue you raise, convey in your answer how your interest in the topic—combined with the opportunities only BC offers—will help you live a life of “meaning and purpose.”
Here’s an essay that was written for Brown, but would work nicely for BC (with some word count space to expand):
Example:
Cutting into the intestinal tract of the pig, the odor of the formaldehyde seemed to dissipate as I stared in awe at the usually invisible world of vertebrate anatomy. My passion further developed through studying plant life and human pollution. In Tanzania, on a community service trip, I planted acacia trees and surveyed the health of the forest. Unfortunately, I also learned there that double bonds allow greenhouse gasses to retain more heat and create obstacles in reversing their destruction. Technological advancements and the enormous cost of CO2 reversal requires global government commitment and economic planning. My Summer Program in Economics at Oxford clarified the complexity of fiscal policy decisions between satisfying immediate human demands and preserving the long-term health of our ecosystem.
Through Brown’s Open Curriculum, I will dive deeper into biology, chemistry, and economics to solve environmental issues. Specifically, the Environmental Studies curriculum, with courses such as Environmental Issues in Development Economics, Economics of Global Warming, and the Burden of Disease in Developing Countries, emphasizes the intersection of science and economics to determine how to allocate finite resources to meet current needs and use technology to address public health. Through the Summer Research Early Identification Program and Undergraduate Teaching and Research Award, I can work on creative projects furthering my understanding and connection with science. Additionally, I will join a concentration DUG to develop my abilities as a student organizer, broaden my community outreach, and gain insight from research faculty. (242 words)
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Tips + Analysis
Make sure your issue is clear and specific. While this student was writing a response to a similar prompt for Brown, one way to make it more fitting to answer BC’s prompt is to use some of the available word count space to make the issue clearer earlier in the essay (like after the first or second sentence). What we do know is that this student is interested in the environment and many aspects related to it: plant life, human pollution, and economics. In the second paragraph, we learn that certain classes at Brown will help this student learn more about the intersection of science and economics, as well as technology and public health. We do get a sense for what this student is interested in studying and have a sense of what some of these environmental issues might be, but asking a series of your own questions or naming specific issues from the get go will make it immediately clear to the reader what you’ll be covering in the rest of your essay.
Include examples or activities to illustrate your interest. In this student’s first paragraph, they mention their community service trip to Tanzania and their economics summer program at Oxford in the context of how these activities supported and expanded their interests. This is a great way to add new information beyond the activities list, as well as connecting the dots between your past (what you’ve done) and your future (what you want to do in college). While listing off activities can often come off as a rehashing of your activities list (which you don’t want to do), this student creates a narrative arc around how their activities have helped them further these interests or learn more about these issues, which they can continue to learn more about at the university level.
Do your research and elaborate. This student’s last paragraph makes it really clear that they did their research on how Brown would help them answer their questions. Be sure to demonstrate how BC offers classes, professors, programs, etc that will help you develop and grow in ways that will make you better able to address the issue you’ve raised. And dig into why: For example, the student lists a series of classes, then elaborates by saying these classes emphasize “the intersection of science and economics to determine how to allocate finite resources to meet current needs and use technology to address public health.” This shows how you’re going to use your college education to explore these issues, that you know your stuff, and are enthusiastic about the possibility of attending that school.
How to Write Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompt #5
For Human-Centered Engineering major applicants only: One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them? (400 words)
Engineering students, this is your only choice for your one BC supplemental essay, and by asking you to write about how you envision yourself using a BC education to contribute to the Common Good, this proud Jesuit school is showing just how important those ideals (and how they breed action) are. New to the prompt this year is the request for you to explore how an HCE education is uniquely qualified to help you solve what you view as society’s most pressing issues.. So keep that in mind as you write!
Think of this essay in two parts. The first is the “Why Major.” Here’s a guide to writing that portion. The second part is the “Why us?” Here’s a guide for that type of essay. We’d recommend dedicating about the first 200 words of the essay to your interest in engineering, especially how it connects to your “humanistic” values and what pressing societal problems you’ve identified, then segueing into the “Why BC,” spending the other 200 words on how its programs, courses, clubs, activities, and other aspects of campus life will help you identify opportunities for resolving those challenges.
Just imagine melding the two together with a relevant transition—or a soldering iron. Whatever works!
To give you an idea of what that looks like in action, here’s a combined “Why Major” + “Why us?” essay written for the Carroll School of Management. It does a nice job of weaving both essentials together with some heavy “why me” examples, as we’ll explain further in the Tips + Analysis.
Example:
Empathy. Fairness. Education. These are the values that have been emphasized in my family, and that have guided my decisions and actions in life.
Every year, my family and I visit rural areas in Vietnam to donate money and essentials to disadvantaged families and orphans. Each time I witness their circumstances, my heart aches. I’ve known since my first service trip there at eleven years old that I needed to do more to improve the circumstances of their lives.
During my junior year at my new high school, I established the Vietnamese Student Association (VSA) and seized the opportunity to fundraise for the orphanages in my hometown, Da Nang City. Besides organizing fundraisers, I partnered with the Yarn Club to make keychains to sell. The $800 we raised helped provide the children with new clothes and school supplies.
I often think about these children, and how unfair it is that they were born into a life of poverty. At Boston College, I want to continue to help kids in Vietnam through VSA, and maybe even establish a club that helps support disadvantaged children from all around the world. However, I realize now that helping individual children and families won’t solve the problem of systemic poverty. That’s why I want to become a social entrepreneur: to use business principles to find solutions for a more just world.
At the Carroll School of Management, I want to pursue Leadership and Management as my first concentration, and Managing for Social Impact and the Public Good as my co-concentration. Utilizing research opportunities and taking courses like Social Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Leading for Social Impact and Global Inequalities, I hope to gain skills that will allow me to address the inequalities associated with poverty and parentlessness.
While I do want to start a social enterprise, I also want to establish a traditional non-profit that will help provide free education for underprivileged children. There is an old saying in my family: “No matter how poor you are, you have to succeed in education.” Through education, my parents and their families were able to overcome poverty, and they have inspired me to succeed, and to one day pay it forward to others.
Empathy, Fairness, and Education. These are the values that I’ll bring to Boston College, and I hope that Boston College will teach me how to bring these values to the world.
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Tips + Analysis
Connect “why me?” with “why BC?” One effective way of doing this involves using the first half of your essay to lay out your “Common Good” values and beliefs, the examples that reflect how you serve them, and the societal issues that most resonate with you. Then use the second half—the “Why BC?” portion—to lay out how BC will give you the education, tools, and connections to solve those problems. BC admission officials want to know you’re familiar with and excited about the opportunities their school offers, and a great way to show that is to write about those specifics. Name the courses you’d want to take, what you’d expect to learn from the professors who teach them, the clubs and activities you envision yourself joining, and the research opportunities you’d pursue. Then name the takeaways you’ll get from each to help you solve your societal problems. And it may seem obvious, but it’s worth repeating: Make sure to spell the names of these clubs, courses, and professors correctly. This essay is a good example of this approach: At the beginning, the student clearly spells out her values (empathy, fairness, and education) and how she’s embraced them, while the second half clearly details what BC clubs and courses will help her continue her efforts and leave a lasting mark on society.
Show how you’re a student who’ll “serve the Common Good.” Yes, this is a key part of the prompt, but it’s also a great opportunity to show how you share BC’s values (check out their mission statement if you don’t know what they are). Can you connect the problem you want to solve with the values you’re going to develop at BC? This student clearly describes how she’s giving back, founding the VSA and wanting to continue the organization at BC—even outlining how her chosen career path dovetails with her passion for “paying it forward.”
Show a diverse range of interests. Yes, it’s important to write about the courses, programs, and majors/minors you’re interested in—after all, this is a college education we’re talking about. But BC officials know college is about more than book work. They want you to have a well-rounded experience, and showing you’re interested in opportunities outside the classroom will show your depth and range. Even better: Those details will give admission reps a nice glimpse of what life as an Eagle would look like for you. This student does a nice job of connecting the BC educational and extracurricular opportunities that’ll help her achieve her goal of becoming a social entrepreneur. She could’ve strengthened her essay further by identifying additional opportunities that would help her develop other sides of herself that’ll foster leadership in new, unexpected ways.
Special thanks to Elica Sue for contributing to this post
