The University of Texas at Austin is a public research university in you guessed it, Austin, Texas. It's a great school but also a huge school with over 40k undergrads. Hey, they say everything is bigger in Texas.
UT Austin is one of the top public schools in America and they host over 150 undergraduate degree programs, 17 libraries, and 4 museums. For some students, it might be overwhelming, but for others, it's a place with all the opportunities you could ever want. UT Austin’s overall acceptance rate is about 28%, however, it is lower for out-of-state applicants and higher for those in Texas. Their supplement is on the long side… or should we say longhorns' side… sorry, we know that was corny. There are a lot of questions so let’s break them down and give you some tips on how to approach the UT Austin Supplement.
While they are now on the Common App, they do not use your Common App essay for their application. Instead, they ask their own questions.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTION 1 (REQUIRED):
Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? 250-300 words.*
This should be a personal story about when you fell in love with your major and how it grew. For example, if you want to study Classical Studies with a focus on Ancient history, you could talk about going to a museum’s Greek wing with your mom on the weekends growing up. Once you show your spark, grow it. Talk about classes you have taken, books you have read, and research you have done. Show the progression from spark to full-on obsession. While they call this a short answer, it’s not actually that short. Take your time and explore your passion.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTION 2 (REQUIRED):
Describe how your experiences, perspectives, talents, and/or your involvement in leadership activities (at your school, job, community, or within your family) will help you to make an impact both in and out of the classroom while enrolled at UT. 250-300 words.*
There are two things you should do in this essay. One is to talk about yourself and two is to connect it to things at Austin. This is a modified version of the “why do you want to go here” essay, that we see again and again. You will probably need to do a little research into the opportunities at Austin. For example, if you are the captain of your school’s robotics team, look into what UT Austin has in the same vein. Maybe a lab, a class, a team, etc. Connect your experiences to what you would do on campus. The big trick here is to connect your interests and passions to what is offered at Austin SPECIFICALLY. Try to mention at least one academic opportunity and one outside of the classroom that is connected to you and your background/talents.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTION 3 (REQUIRED):
The core purpose of The University of Texas at Austin is, To Transform Lives for the Benefit of Society. Please share how you believe your experience at UT-Austin will prepare you to Change the World after you graduate. 250-300 words.*
This is another one that you will have to do some research for. This is a really tricky question. You need to talk about future goals, but if it’s all “ifs” and “maybes” this essay will feel really unfocused. The best approach is using specifics to back up your goals. Let’s say you want to be a doctor and want to do medical research into new treatments. Talk about research you want to do as an undergrad and the opportunities at Austin that will let you do it. You can mention labs, clubs, funds, etc.
Maybe using a doctor as an example is a bit of a cop-out. No matter what you are studying, you can answer this question. It just might take a little more explanation of your goals if you are hoping to study something that isn’t in line with a specific career. For example, if you want to study history, maybe you want to be a writer, or curator, or professor. Define what you hope your journey will look like. This essay should feel personal. Don’t shy away from why you have the goals you do.
SHORT ANSWER QUESTION 4 (OPTIONAL):
Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance, including the possible effects of COVID-19.
If your response to this question is similar to one of the Common App Personal Essays, feel free to simply copy and paste the important parts of your essay here. 250-300 words.
Our biggest advice with this question is it's not for everyone. You should be able to use your additional information essay (or an edited-down version of it) here. If you didn’t write one for other schools, don’t write a special one for just Austin. Usually, these essays should be for important information. This is not the place to add another personal story about how you like sailing. This is a place to explain gaps/interruptions, add crucial information, or disclose context.
Some topics that are probably worth writing about include:
-Being undiagnosed for a period of high school which affected grades: often neurodiverse students get diagnosed and accommodated during high school. Before they are given help/accommodation their grades may be low and then their grades will jump up rapidly which can be confusing without context.
-A traumatic event disrupted your high school career: When something bad happens, students often take time off school which can cause gaps that you may want to explain.
-Taking time to explain anything that will confuse application readers: For example, trans students are not always out to their school or parents so when they are applying names and pronouns may not match across recommendation letters or transcripts. Students may want to talk about why that is to clear up confusion.
One note about COVID. COVID affected everyone. You don’t need to write about your experience if it was just having to take classes on Zoom. Trust us they know. COVID questions are really reserved for those who had difficult and far-reaching issues with the pandemic. Think getting long COVID and missing months of school or losing a parent and having to step up to take care of a younger sibling. Those are the kinds of stories that other applicants will be writing and you don’t want to throw in a story about being quarantined for a week into that mix.
For all these essays, try to end on an uplifting note. We want to see you overcome these challenges. Even if that can be hard to do with some. Also, if you aren’t ready to talk about something, don’t. Your mental health is more important than an optional question on a supplement.
UT-AUSTIN ESSAY (REQUIRED)
Note: This is the only long essay UT-Austin requires. We do not require any of the Common App Personal Essays. Common App Personal Essays will not be used in our holistic review process.
Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? 500–700 words (typically two to three paragraphs).*
Ok, the last one we promise. There is a small chance that your Common App essay will work here, but don’t try to force it if it’s not a perfect fit. You need to answer this question specifically. Think of an opportunity or challenge or ideally both that you can speak to. We love when students can talk about an opportunity that turned out to be a challenge, or honestly a challenge that turned out to be an opportunity. What do we mean by that? Well, maybe you got a research position and it turned out to be much harder than expected. Conversely, maybe you had to learn to cook for your siblings out of necessity, but learning a new skill opened doors.
This essay should show a transformation. Adversity and opportunity should lead you to grow as a person. This is the most important thing to capture when answering this essay. We should see how it shaped you and what it shaped you into.
Your essay should be a story, which means a beginning, middle, and end. But don’t be afraid to play with the form. They give you a lot of words to write your story. You can do vignettes, add dialogue, start in the middle and backtrack, etc. This should be an interesting read, so push yourself to write the most dynamic story you can.
Austin is one of the longest supplements out here. Make sure to give yourself plenty of time. You cannot rush this one.
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