TABLE OF CONTENTS
(click to skip ahead)If you’re looking to build some strong Virginia Tech supplemental essays (and considering things like the fact that Virginia Tech is in the top 6% of universities in the nation for research expenditures, it makes sense why you’re excited by the school), the guide below will walk you through how to brainstorm and craft your essays.
If you want to get a clearer sense of all that Virginia Tech is looking for, you can explore an extensive, by-the-numbers look at its offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set. And for insights into how the university envisions itself and its role, and how it wants to grow and evolve, read its strategic plan. Reading through these will give you a strong idea of what Virginia Tech values.
What are the Virginia Tech Supplemental Essay Prompts?
Prompt 1 (required)
Virginia Tech's motto is "Ut Prosim" which means 'That I May Serve'. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech? (max 120)
Prompt 2
Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination. Have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included? Did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources? Were you able to affect change and/or influence others? Did this experience change your perspective and if so, how? (max 120)Do you have any employment or family obligations that limit your participation in extracurricular activities? If so, please describe. (250 words)
Prompt 3
Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time? (max 120)
Prompt 4 (optional)
Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal? (max 120)
For context, here’s what Virginia Tech says about their supplemental essays:
The Ut Prosim Profile is required for all degree-seeking applicants. Each question has a word limit of 120 words for your response. The Ut Prosim Profile is your opportunity to let us get to know you beyond what is on your application or academic materials. We encourage you to use your own voice and answer each prompt as fully as possible. Once you submit your application, your responses to the Ut Prosim Profile questions are final and cannot be updated.
Please take your time to form responses that you feel confident about and help to support your application for admission.
With that in mind, as you read through the guidance, examples, and analysis below, you can start exploring your own possible responses to the prompts.
How to Write Virginia Tech’s Supplemental Essay Prompt #1
Virginia Tech's motto is "Ut Prosim" which means 'That I May Serve'. Share how you contribute to a community that is important to you. How long have you been involved? What have you learned and how would you like to share that with others at Virginia Tech? (max 120)
Two questions to ask yourself as you brainstorm topics for this prompt:
What sort of service or civic engagement projects have you been involved with? Your Activities List is a good place to start.
Are there any essays you’re already writing for another school that you could double with this prompt? If so, it may be a candidate for a Super Essay.
Do you have meaningful examples and anecdotes that bring the values of service and civic engagement to life—like the club you started to teach chess to fifth-graders, or the recycling project you led in your neighborhood, or the comedy skits you put on for the local senior center?
Your topic of choice should be something you genuinely care about. You’ll find it much easier to write with enthusiasm if you talk about something you actually find important and interesting.
Once you’ve picked a topic, you’ll notice you’re (probably) writing an extracurricular activity essay. Here’s a complete guide on how to write that. You’ll want to make sure your values are super clear by the end of the essay.
Finally, you can weave in how what you’ve done has shaped what you want to share with others at Virginia Tech. This might make up just the end of your essay.
Below is an example of a super essay approach—the student used a version of this essay for many different school prompts.
Example essay:
Since I was fourteen, I've contributed to my family's restaurant by being a friendly, easy-going, and hard-working employee. The two separate restaurant communities—the kitchen staff and the servers—have different types of people and personalities. I’ve learned to navigate both communities.
I make jokes and discuss music with the kitchen staff, as well as socialize and encourage the dining room staff. I’ve also improved my conversational skills talking with customers. At the bar there are regulars who I have gotten to know pretty well, and who are enjoyable to talk to.
The skills I developed from my job, I hope to share at Virginia Tech in not only their mechanical engineering program, but their other communities as well. (117 words)
Tips + Analysis
Tell us something unique about your community. This student, despite in the first sentence indicating that they’ll be writing about their family’s restaurant, goes on to say that there’s two separate restaurant communities. This gives them an opportunity to not only show more sides of their life, values, and lessons, but it also gives them an opportunity to say that they’ve “learned to navigate both communities,” which is a trait that indicates being able to get along with different kinds of people. If there’s something unique about a community you’re a part of, you can use that aspect to show what you’ll bring to Virginia Tech.
Personalize your essays to the school. This allows the reader to envision you on campus and within specific communities that you mention. Whether or not you’re using certain supplemental essays as super essays, a great way to personalize an essay for a particular school is to mention their name and/or school specifics. In the last sentence, this student says “I hope to share [the skills I developed] at Virginia Tech” and even goes on to mention their mechanical engineering program. If they had the space, they could have also named another specific community they were interested in instead of “their other communities as well.”
_ _ _
And here’s another example essay:
Example essay:
The School of Rock program offers students the opportunity to take music lessons, rehearse in a band, and play concerts in order to become great musicians. Over the last four years, I have organized and played guitar at four charity concerts, helped pay for another students’ guitar lessons, and taught free lessons to younger students while playing in the advanced House Band. I’ve recruited friends to this program who gained an unexpected passion in music.
I believe everyone deserves the chance to discover their talents and find a community just as I did. I plan to continue teaching guitar to younger students and to support organizations that provide music lessons for students who can’t afford them. (116 words)
_ _ _
How to Write Virginia Tech’s Supplemental Essay Prompt #2
Virginia Tech’s Principles of Community supports access and inclusion by affirming the dignity and value of every person, respecting differences, promoting mutual understanding and open expression, and strives to eliminate bias and discrimination. Have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included? Did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources? Were you able to affect change and/or influence others? Did this experience change your perspective and if so, how? (max 120)
You can think of this as a form of “diversity” essay, though one that is different in some important ways from the prompts many other schools offer.
(For a complete guide to different types of “diversity” essays, head here.
To approach this particular prompt, we’d recommend paying careful attention to the prompt’s phrasing, and using it to help brainstorm and structure your essay.
Have you had an experience when you or someone you know were not being included?
We’d assume that, sadly, yes, you have had this experience, since it seems incredibly rare to non-existent for people not to experience or witness exclusion.
So, as a first step, spend 5 minutes listing out experiences that fit the above framing. At first, cast a wide net, then use the next parts of the prompt (especially Q4) to narrow to your topic.
Did you reach out to anyone for assistance, direction, or resources?
There’s no right answer here. Instead, help us understand the “why” behind your actions—was there no one to reach out to? Or were you worried about potential repercussions?
Were you able to affect change and/or influence others?
You don’t actually need to write about changing someone’s mind here.
If you did, great. But if not, it can still work for this prompt (because changing people’s minds and behaviors is actually really hard—your reader knows this).
Instead, you can think of this part as setup for Q4 below, which in many ways is perhaps the most important part—what did you learn, what insights did you gain, how are you a different you now?
Did this experience change your perspective and if so, how?
We’d generally recommend using this as a key component of choosing what experience to write about—how did this change how you engage with others, or how you listen, or how and why you create belonging, or what it means to you to be inclusive, or…
You get the point. In short, how did you learn and grow?
What can you help the reader to see about how you engage with others during conflict, or how you can have healthy disagreement (and, by implication, how you’ll keep doing those things on Virginia Tech’s campus)?
Here’s an example that can show you how you can approach this prompt.
Example essay:
Many members of my extended family are Mormon, so they tend to have more conservative and traditional views. When my cousin came out as transgender, some members of our family were not very accepting, refusing to acknowledge his new pronouns and ignoring the change.
I fully support my cousin and treat him the same, but certain family members don’t feel that way. I have occasionally corrected them when they misgender him, but generally I wish I could be more assertive and try to educate them. Their treatment of my cousin has hurt him and has shown me that it’s important to be open-minded with my family and friends and to support them whenever they need it. (116 words)
Tips + Analysis
What did you do, and what do you wish you could’ve done? This student makes this distinction in their writing, being honest about both what they did (fully supporting their cousin, occasionally correcting family members) and what they wish they could’ve done (been more assertive and try to educate family members). They are not only honest (which is important) but their reflection shows growth: sure, it would be great if we always did the right thing at exactly the right time… but that doesn’t really seem possible. Acknowledging our past failings is a sign of growth and maturity.
End with the lesson. From this experience, the student learned that “it’s important to be open-minded… and to support [family and friends] whenever they need it.” Having the lesson be the concluding sentence not only leaves the reader with your reflection on growth and how you might bring these lessons to Virginia Tech, but it also places you at the center, rather than, for example, the student’s family or cousin. Other people will be important parts of what you write about here—but it’s still an essay that is supposed to show who you are and what you bring to the college.
_ _ _
How to Write Virginia Tech’s Supplemental Essay Prompt #3
Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on you for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time? (max 120)
Before we dive in, an important note that “leadership” doesn’t have to come with a title. You can demonstrate leadership in many, many ways.
The UC PIQs have a similar prompt that can be useful for framing here: think of leadership as ways that you have “positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes or contributed to group efforts over time.”
Assuming you’re applying to other schools, you likely have other essays that you can adapt here using a Super Essay approach.
But in case, here’s how to build out your topic + content here:
Generate content for your essay by filling out the Best Extracurricular Activity Brainstorm I’ve Ever Seen (aka BEABIES), which you can find right here.
Decide on a structure
Does your BEABIES content focus on a particular challenge you faced, what you did about it, and what you learned?
Use Narrative Structure.
Does your content focus on a few different experiences and problems that taught you different values and insights about leadership?
Try Montage Structure.
Build an outline
To outline a narrative, organize your BEABIES content into three sections:
Challenge (the Problem You Solved column)
What I Did About It (What I Did and Impact I Had columns)
What I Learned (Lessons Learned/Skills I Gained, and How I Applied What I Learned columns)
To outline a montage, you can take a couple approaches
Think about (and write down) how different actions connect to and taught you about different values and insights regarding leadership.
For example:
Evolving robotics club and encouraging debate → pushed back against stereotypes, learned to listen without moralizing or judgement
Learning to listen first → invite dialogue; better at controlling momentum with debate team or basketball, help team maintain composure and resolve
Another option is to just flip the BEABIES Exercise vertically, and that’s basically your outline.
4. Write a draft!
Here’s an example essay to point the way for you.
Example essay:
While I was elected JV Soccer team captain my sophomore year, I found myself having to direct the team from the sidelines after an injury. I analyzed my teammates’ weaknesses in-game and coached them through overcoming them. I identified open positions and urged teammates to cover their respective areas. I also observed our opponents’ abilities, instructing my teammates to pressure our opponents’ weak side in hopes of turning the ball over.
From this experience, I came to understand the value of respect. Without it, my teammates wouldn’t have listened to me. I also learned how to evaluate other people and give actionable feedback in a way they will receive and understand.
Tips + Analysis
Keep the summary short. This writer only dedicates the first sentence answering the part of the prompt that asks them to “share a time when you were most proud of yourself…as a role model or when you displayed leadership.” This allows them to dedicate more words to their skills and what they learned about themselves. We recommend keeping the summary as short as possible, from one to two sentences so you can elaborate on your values and skills.
Don’t forget about structure. Even with a prompt as short as 120 words max, this student structured their essay with two paragraphs: the first for the situation and what they did, and the second for what they learned. Breaking up your response into more than one paragraph makes it easier for your readers to find the information they’re looking for, and even highlights the values and lessons (since they have their own dedicated paragraph).
Capitalize on strong verbs. Strong verbs aren’t just for the activities list (but you can find a helpful list here)! Every word counts in a shorter essay, and this student’s strong verbs (see: analyzed, coached, identified, urged, observed, and instructed) help them illustrate and describe beyond “I did…this and that” or even taking up more words to say the same thing that you can do in one.
_ _ _
And here’s another example essay:
Example essay:
Four-wheeling through the Utah mountains at a family reunion, my younger cousins drove into a ditch. My relatives took a different route and we were in the woods, so I had to take charge. I was shocked, but quickly helped my young cousins out of the ditch and calmly comforted them. There wasn’t enough room to pull their vehicle out with my four-wheeler and tow hook, nor could I drive the stuck vehicle backwards without tipping it over. So I drove up the mountain, calling my grandpa when I got cell service. After hours, he and I managed to drive it out of the ditch. I learned that I’m calm under pressure and gained confidence in myself during stressful situations. (120 words)
_ _ _
How to Write Virginia Tech’s Supplemental Essay Prompt #4
Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline to achieve this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from and how do they support your progress as you work on this goal? (max 120)
This prompt is pretty wide open.
To pick a topic, we’d recommend stepping back and assessing your personal statement and the other essays/application components Virgina Tech is getting (e.g. your Activities List, maybe an Additional Info section).
Questions to ask:
Are there any important core values your reader isn’t seeing yet?
Any sides of you (for example, Roles or Identities you play) that feel important for them to understand?
If so, can you frame those in terms of a goal you want to achieve?
For example, in the essay below, the student had demonstrated tons of engagement, curiosity, intellectual drive, commitment to community in other parts of their application.
But they hadn’t shown a value that’s increasingly important to them: self-care.
Example essay:
As someone who has high expectations of myself, it is often a challenge to prioritize self-care. Over time, I’ve developed a nervous tic where I scratch my eczema. Visiting a dermatologist about my worsening skin, she told me that the dark bumps on my knees were actually prurigo nodularis caused by anxiety, not allergies. At that point, I decided to go to therapy to solve the issues and not the symptoms.
Although it will take much longer to unlearn my unhealthy itching habits, I’ve already learned valuable skills that have saved me from several panic attacks. This goal is lifelong and something I want to achieve to allow myself to be unburdened by my own expectations. (116 words)
Tips + Analysis
What have you learned so far? Even if the goal you set is not yet fully achieved, you can be honest while including what you’ve already gained from the steps you’ve taken to achieve your goal. For example, this student writes that, “Although it will take much longer to unlearn my unhealthy itching habits, I’ve already learned valuable skills that have saved me from several panic attacks.” Not only does this show awareness of their situation and, in the next sentence, their dedication to achieving their goal, but it also shows progress from the steps they detail earlier in their response.
How do you approach achieving your goals? Alongside the guidance above about demonstrating values you haven’t shown yet in your Virginia Tech application, another point to keep in mind is how you want to demonstrate to readers how you approach goal-achieving. This student visited a dermatologist and gained more knowledge about their situation, then they sought more support in therapy to address the root cause. Indirectly, we can see values like knowledge, growth and/or personal development, and responsibility, which may give readers a glimpse into how this student might approach future goals (i.e. in college).
_ _ _
Special thanks to Elica for contributing to this post.
Elica (she/her) is a college essay specialist who has a love of language in all forms; she has degrees in linguistics, has taught academic writing at the university level, and has been coaching students on their college and graduate school admissions essays for over 7 years. When she’s not working with students or writing, Elica can be found reading, printmaking, and exploring nature.
Top Values: Collaboration | Curiosity | Patience
