Emory is a medium-sized private research university. It’s located in Atlanta, Georgia but many people say that Emory is a “slice of the Northeast.” Emory is quite competitive and the acceptance rate for the class of 2025 was around 13%.
Emory changes up their supplement every year and we love it! Note the advice that they give on their blog:
“In addition to your Personal Statement, please answer two additional short answer questions, one about your academic interests and one to help us get to know you better. We encourage you to be thoughtful in your responses and not stress about what the “right answer” might be, as there really isn’t one.”
In other words, choose the question that you like the most and don’t worry about picking something that you think will make you sound smart.
Academic Interests:
This question is required. Your response should be no more than 200 words.
What academic areas are you interested in exploring in college?
Okay, we know that we just said we love Emory’s supplement but it seems that they forgot a few words in this question. Your response should cover the academic area that you want to explore, but replace the words “in college” with “at Emory.” You need to get highly-specific!
Strong responses to this question will include the following:
A brief story about why you want to study X major at Emory.
A sentence formally declaring your major.
1-2 upper-level classes that you want to take. In addition to naming the classes, you should explain why you want to take them. You can link this back to courses you’ve taken in high school, jobs you’ve had, books you’ve read, etc.
A professor who you’d like to do research with. Just like with the classes, be sure to prove that you’d be a strong addition to their team.
You probably won’t have much space for a conclusion. Just go back into your paragraph and smooth things out so that it has a nice flow to it and reads like a story about your interests with Emory’s offerings weaved throughout.
Getting to Know You:
In addition, answer one of the following questions. Your response should be no more than 150 words.
We’re including our thoughts on all of the questions below, but please keep this in mind: no matter which one you choose, your response should be written in story form. A story with a beginning, middle, and end. Drop the reader into the scene and be generous with details!
Reflect on a personal experience where you intentionally expanded your cultural awareness.
If something doesn’t immediately come to mind for this, skip it. We see iterations of this question often, but note that Emory included the word “intentionally.” If you’ve intentionally tried to learn about another culture, it should come right to mind. If you have to force this one, it’s going to come off as cringe and self-serving.
When was the last time you questioned something you had thought to be true?
Again, don’t make something up here because Emory will know right away. If you do want to answer this one, start by thinking about small moments and conversations that you’ve had with people who have taught you something new. You don’t need to tackle something huge like religion or politics here, in fact you shouldn’t. The goal of this question is to show that you’re the kind of person who is open and willing to change their mind when given new information. So, if you’ve recently learned something that made you question a belief or stance you used to hold, this might be the question for you.
If you could witness a historic event (past, present, or future) first-hand, what would it be, and why?
This is fun! We never suggest trying to “shock” the admissions team because that’s a great way to garner an eye roll. But we do suggest thinking outside of the box here. That first answer that came to mind, like the signing of the Declaration of Independence? We promise you aren’t the only person to think of that one. So instead of going with the first thing that you think of, think of something that is related to one of your interests or just something that you genuinely want to see, like the first time someone ate cheese or turned on a computer.
Share about a time when you were awestruck.
This is a great opportunity to shed light on a hobby or interest that you didn’t have space for elsewhere. So, if you’re obsessed with machine learning or renaissance art, you might write about the time you discovered this interest or when your research in the field taught you something new and exciting.
Which book, character, song, monologue, or piece of work (fiction or non-fiction) seems made for you? Why?
Here, you’ll want to think about the qualities that you’re trying to portray. Start by making a list of words that describe yourself and then cross off everything that has been represented elsewhere in your application.
If you can think of a book, character, song, monologue, or piece of work that aligns nearly perfectly with the quality you’re trying to portray, then this might be a good fit for you. However, please don’t choose a book that was assigned to you in high school and don’t choose anything polarizing. For these reasons, this is one of the harder supplements to answer unless things align perfectly.
Emory’s supplement is creative and will challenge you to think outside of the box. Brainstorming is so important here. Be sure to leave enough time for the creative process.
Contact us here if you need help with any of your supplements.