Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The school boasts the most beautiful campus of 2019 as judged by Princeton Review — an authority on college academics, admissions, and, apparently, landscaping. Approximately 92% of the 3,600 undergraduate students take full advantage of this by choosing to live on campus as they pursue a mix of liberal arts and pre-professional programs. The acceptance rate is 34%.
Bucknell has only one supplemental question, and you have 250 words to ace it.
Please explain your interest in your first-choice major/undecided status and your second-choice major, should you opt to list one (250 words maximum).
The first step anytime you encounter this style of supplement question is to map out your answer using their guidelines as your…guides. There is one thing that they are clear you must hit: your major. They say that you can elaborate on how you are undecided, but we don’t believe in undecided. Ok, we know that you may be in actual real life, but you can’t be in your application. Applications are places for clear communication and strong decisions — and undecided is too wishy-washy for our liking.
They also suggest that you elaborate on your second-choice major should you choose to list one. You should absolutely include one, but you should frame it as a potential double major or minor. Around 25% of Bucknell students complete double majors, so it’s not a wild proposition to say that you have one in mind. It helps that they have a very extensive list of options and certainly many more than most other schools their size. Both your first and second-choice majors need to make sense for you as an applicant. This is not a time to reveal your desire to major in French, despite never having taken French. As you create the map for this supplement, remember that you are crafting a narrative, not skipping rocks and hoping they land on something that makes sense.
Once you have decided on two majors, you need to find classes that you’d like to take. Select one in your first-choice major and one in your second-choice major. These classes should be electives. Electives tend to be easy to spot because they sound more appealing than core classes. From there, you should select a professor in the department for your first-choice major who you would like to study under. Make sure to pick a professor who specializes in your areas of interest. Waxing poetic about a department head who doesn’t teach the courses you’re excited for doesn’t help your application. You’re not applying to Bucknell blind; you know what Bucknell offers, and you want to be part of it.
The final thing that you need to find before writing is an extracurricular (or two) that is related or adjacent to your areas of academic interest. Ideally, they bring the two majors together! For example, if you are interested in public health and psychology, you may express an interest in joining Active Minds. Bucknell has a list of on-campus clubs and organization available on their website, so this information isn’t too hard to find.
Once you have all of this information, you need to weave it together. Start your supplement with a concise story that introduces you as someone passionate about your proposed major. Then, run through your goals at Bucknell without sounding too much like a list. Finally, close by circling back to why you are passionate about the subject(s) you would like to study. Emphasis on why. It’s not good enough to say that they are interesting. Give the reader a final look at how your mind works and what inspires you, and you’ll write a strong supplement that furthers your application.
At TKG, we work with students and families to create realistic school lists and help kids through every step of the process. Contact us here if you want to work with someone directly.