university of georgia essay prompts 2023

UGA Supplemental Essay 2023-24 – Prompt and Advice

July 14, 2023

Over 43,000 students from around the world applied for a place in the UGA Class of 2027 . Further, the EA round in the 2022-23 cycle broke the previous year’s all-time high mark. This means that the UGA supplemental essay may be even more important in 2023-24 than in previous years.

Last year, the average incoming freshman took 10 AP, IB, or dual enrollment courses in high school. The average student also earned a weighted GPA above a 4.0. The GPA range for admitted freshmen was 1270-1470. The purpose of this information isn’t to engender fear in the hearts of Bulldog hopefuls; rather, we want to make sure that you take the task of presenting yourself in the best possible light very seriously.

 (Want to learn more about How to Get Into the University of Georgia? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into the University of Georgia: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

Although it only has one (brand new) general essay prompt, UGA’s supplemental section still affords applicants an opportunity to illustrate what makes them uniquely qualified for admission. Below is the University of Georgia’s supplemental prompt for the 2023-24 admissions cycle along with our advice for composing an effective essay.

2023-2024 University of Georgia Essay Question

“The transition from middle to high school is a key time for students as they reach new levels of both academic and personal discovery. Please share a book (novel, non-fiction, etc.) that had a serious impact on you during this time. Please focus more on why this book made an impact on you and less on the plot/theme of the book itself (we are not looking for a book report).”

FYI – We are not restricting you to the exact years of 8th-9th grades, but rather the general timeframe of the middle to high school transition, which can extend somewhat further than one year on each end. Feel free to use your discretion in your choice of the timeline focused on the shift to your high school years.

(200-300 Words)

UGA Supplemental Essays 2023-24 (Continued)

This isn’t your average supplemental essay so make sure you don’t produce an average response. The highly personal nature of this prompt gives you the chance to make a strong impression on a UGA admissions officer. Since you won’t have a chance to interview at this large flagship school, this essay (as well as the main Common App essay) is one of the best chances you’ll have to forge an intimate connection with a member of the admissions committee.

You may have to dig back into your childhood bookshelves for this one. If you are having trouble, referring to the following lists may jog your memory:

Common Middle School-Assigned Texts

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
• Night by Elie Wiesel
• Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
• Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• Roll of Thunder , Hear My Cry by Mildred Taylor
• The entire Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• The Pigman by Paul Zindel
• Hatchet by Gary Paulsen

Common 10th-Grade Assigned Texts

• Animal Farm by George Orwell
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Hiroshima by John Hersey
• A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
• The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe
• Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison
• The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
• Walden by Henry David Thoreau
• Black Boy by Richard Wright

Of course, the book you pick may not have been assigned by a teacher, Additionally, note that the instructions give you the right to move back into 7th grade or forward into 10th grade if you wish. Remember, it can be a fiction or non-fiction text.

Big-picture thoughts on the “middle school book” essay

With a 300-word limit, you have a substantial amount of real estate to play around with here. There is enough space in which to tell a fairly substantial and detailed story. Still, in all likelihood, getting this one precisely right will involve a round or two of revision, ideally with some insight and feedback from a trusted adult or peer in the process. Some tips to keep in mind include:

• Don’t feel boxed into one particular structure for this essay. You could tell a story in multiple acts or present a slice-of-life vignette that took place in a single afternoon.
• You can use this opportunity to reveal something deep and meaningful about your personality/character.
• Make sure the content of this essay doesn’t overlap with your Common App essay. Always remember that an actual human being is going to be reading both documents; they don’t want to read two similar accounts of the same event.

How important is the UGA supplemental essay?

The essays (both the Common App essay and the supplemental one) are “considered” by the UGA admissions committee. This places them on the same tier of importance as recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, first-generation status, volunteer work, and work experience.

At UGA, three factors are “most important” in the admissions process. Those are: rigor of your coursework, GPA, and standardized test scores. However, application components like the supplemental essay can serve as a critical tie-breaker between similarly-credentialed applicants.

Want Personalized Essay Assistance with your UGA Supplemental Essay?

If you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your UGA supplemental essay, we encourage you to get a quote  today.

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The University of Georgia is an excellent public school ranked in the top 50 universities nationwide . If you're applying here, you'll need to submit two amazing essays. So what are the UGA essay prompts? And how can you ensure your UGA essays will make you stand out?

In this in-depth guide, we give you all the current UGA essay prompts and tips for choosing and approaching the best prompt for you. We also look at an actual UGA application essay example to give you an idea of what your own essay can and should look like.

Feature Image: Boston Public Library /Flickr

What Are the UGA Essay Prompts?

The UGA application, which you can submit via the Common Application or the Coalition Application , requires all first-year applicants to submit two essays.

The first essay is the personal essay that's part of the Common App or Coalition App. You can find a list of the Common App prompts and how to answer them here (and you can find the same information for the Coalition App here) .

The second essay you'll submit is unique to the University of Georgia application. The first UGA essay must answer the following prompt:

The college admissions process can create anxiety. In an attempt to make it less stressful, please tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years that you have not already shared in your application.

This essay prompt is pretty different from what you'd expect in a college application; it offers you many possibilities, both content-wise and stylistically. But don't worry: we're going to break it down for you below!

How to Write the UGA Supplement Essay

All applicants must respond to this prompt in 200-350 words. Here it is again for reference:

As noted above, this prompt isn't like most other college essay prompts in that instead of asking about your academic goals, skills, or accomplishments, it's trying to loosen you up by having you write about something fun and unique in your life.

In other words, UGA wants to tease out your less serious, less academic side to get a better sense of who you are as a person and not just as a student. Specifically, they want to know what holds meaning in your life and what kind of experience you think is worthy enough to share with the admissions committee.

Therefore, your first UGA essay must accomplish the following:

• Should be different from what you've talked about elsewhere on your application
• Should highlight your sincerity and personality
• Should reveal something important about who you are and/or what you value
• Should NOT be too serious—remember that UGA wants an "amusing" story!

Some of these qualities might go against everything you thought you knew about college essays, but it's important here to really try to be sincere, write with an authentic voice, and not shy away from showcasing your more irreverent side.

Here are some examples of possible topics you could write about:

• A time you made a faux pas or silly mistake (in or outside of school), how others reacted, and what you did to remedy the situation and/or learn from it
• A funny misunderstanding you had with someone, such as a teacher, friend, or parent, and what this experience taught you about the importance of clear communication
• Something amusing or thought-provoking you watched, listened to, read, or did, and why you found this particular thing so fascinating (this shouldn't be any old movie or book but something a little more unique)
• A unique hobby or interest you have, how you developed it, and why it's important to you

As you can see, you have a lot of options for what you can write about for this UGA essay. That said, make sure to avoid the following topics:

• Politics, religion, or any other overly serious or potentially controversial topic
• Death, illness, or any other grave event or moment from your life
• Something everyone has experienced or heard of—your topic should be unique to you
• Anything you've already mentioned in a different section of your application
• Stories about bodily functions (UGA specifically mentioned getting too many of these stories, so have some pity on them and choose a different topic!)

A Real UGA Application Essay Example + Analysis

Below is an actual UGA application essay example written by an admitted applicant named Micaela B. This essay, which is a response to an older prompt (" Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it" ), was taken from the UGA undergraduate admissions website where it was used as "an example of what we [UGA] consider a strong essay."

Here is the essay, at just around 300 words long (the word limit):

It's unassuming, the tiled top square table with mismatched chairs, its lacquer wearing thin from dishes being passed back and forth, room for four but always crowded by eleven. It may be unassuming but its power is undeniable.

As I grew older, the after-dinner conversations grew more intriguing to me. I began to stay and listen, to the politics I didn't understand and the adult gossip I shouldn't have been privy to. The dynamic of the debate shifted almost every time the topic changed, but the one thing that was consistent was that after all the plates were cleared and the chairs were pushed back in, everyone came together for dessert; pizzelles and biscotti. No afterthoughts, no bitterness.

I admire my family's ability to embrace each other for their differences, instead of letting it break us apart. There was no greater example of the lesson in acceptance than when my family learned of the change in sexuality of one of our relatives. After the dissolution of a marriage and a traditional family, the initial resentment towards her for the challenge to our family values was difficult to digest, yet unavoidable. It was the first dispute that ever brought tears to that weathered table with the peeling laquer. Instead of allowing differing lifestyles to drive a wedge between us, our family challenged each other's misconceptions, we discussed, we cried and we accepted.

Being raised in such a racially, economically and religiously diverse community, I am lucky to have developed the skill set to empathize with the people around me and understand that not everyone thinks the same way. In fact life would be pretty boring if everyone acted in uniformity; in a more harmonious world, everyone should be able to voice their opinions and speak their minds, and still come together for dessert.

Here's what makes this UGA essay work:

• It opens with a captivating description: This essay, especially the first two paragraphs, is undeniably attention-grabbing. The vivid image of the "tiled top square table" and how it is "always crowded by eleven" thrusts us directly into Micaela's boisterous life, making us feel as though we're sitting right there beside her and her family.
• It's tightly focused and easy to follow: From the beginning, we can tell that the crux of this essay is family, specifically the challenges that come with being a member of a large, diverse group. The story here really begins to open up by the third paragraph, where Micaela relates a surprising event—the "change" in a relative's sexuality—and shows how her family learned a valuable lesson in acceptance as a result.
• It's got a positive spin: Even though the essay discusses the challenges for a family to come together, it ultimately ends on a high note. This reveals to us a lot about Micaela's character, especially her commitment to harmony and her open-mindedness toward others.

4 Essential Tips for Your UGA Essays

Now, it's time to wrap up with some final helpful tips for your UGA essays.

#1: Be as Specific as Possible

Specificity is key to producing an effective and compelling college essay. In both your UGA essays, make sure you're being as specific as you can be: use real names of people or places, describe the emotions you felt at the time, and tell us what was said, both by whom and to whom.

Details are what will ultimately make the UGA admissions committee be able to more easily relate to your experiences, passions, and point of view. So don't forget to include them!

#2: Use an Authentic Voice

The essays are the time for your personality to shine, so don't hold back— use your natural voice to tell your story. It's OK to tell some jokes or emphasize your love of flowery language with a few poetic metaphors, for example.

That said, essays don't give you free rein to be impolite or to completely break the conventions of English grammar, so know what your limits are as you write.

#3: Write Concisely

You only have up to 350 words for the supplemental UGA essay, so it's important to focus on being concise. If one of your rough drafts exceeds the word limit by a lot, you can try to trim it down by deleting any irrelevant or wordy passages.

#4: Remember to Edit and Proofread

Finally, don't forget to edit and proofread your UGA essays! As you edit, spend time looking for the following:

• Irrelevant passages, phrases, and/or sentences
• Redundant words, phrases, and/or descriptions
• Awkward-sounding or misplaced phrases/passages
• Errors in spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation

Once you've done your own edit of your UGA essays, give them to someone to look over, such as a teacher, parent, or older sibling. Ask this person to proofread the essays and to offer you any advice they might have on how you can improve them in terms of organization, examples or details, word choice, etc.

What's Next?

Applying to other colleges in the eastern United States? Then check out our in-depth guides for tips on how to write the Georgia Tech essays , the Duke essays , and the Johns Hopkins essay .

Lots of colleges use the Common App and require an essay submitted through this system. Read our guide to learn all about the Common App essay prompts and how you can ensure your essay will impress admissions committees.

Still want to know more about UGA? Take a look at our UGA admissions requirements page to get info on the GPA and test scores needed to secure admission to this popular school.

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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The Ultimate Guide to the University of Georgia's Supplemental Essays

Applying to the University of Georgia (UGA)? You're on the right path! UGA's beautiful campus, renowned academic programs, and spirit of community make it a top choice for many students. The college application process often comes with writing supplemental essays, and UGA is no exception. This blog post aims to guide you on how to best approach these UGA supplemental essays for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

UGA Supplemental Essay Prompt #1

The college admissions process can create anxiety. In an attempt to make it less stressful, please tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years that you have not already shared in your application.

Approach: This prompt invites you to share a unique aspect of your high school life. It could be an anecdote about a memorable event, a surprising hobby, or an unusual skill you have. Keep the tone light and enjoyable to read. Show your personality through this essay; let your sense of humor or interesting perspective shine!

During my sophomore year of high school, I decided to try out for the school's ultimate frisbee team, despite never having touched a frisbee before. In my first practice, my throws looked more like lopsided boomerangs than smooth, flat discs. At the team’s first game, I was given the task of throwing the first "pull," the ultimate frisbee equivalent of a kickoff. My nerves took over, and instead of the frisbee soaring downfield, it flew straight up and then veered right, landing in the nearby tennis court. This sparked a roaring laughter from both teams, and even the referee couldn’t contain his chuckles. I was mortified but joined the laughter because of the absurdity of the situation. That moment of shared laughter taught me the value of not taking myself too seriously and helped me bond with my teammates. By the end of the season, my throws had improved, and while I'll never be an ultimate frisbee champion, I'll always be the champion of good humor on the team.

UGA Supplemental Essay Prompt #2

The University of Georgia community creates, contributes, and applies knowledge in many ways. Describe an example of your leadership and the impact it had on others.

Approach: Here, UGA wants to understand how you lead and contribute to a community. Reflect on moments when you stepped up to take charge—maybe in an academic setting, a club, a sports team, or volunteering. How did your leadership make a difference? Remember, leadership isn't just about being the president of a club. You could have demonstrated leadership through initiative, teamwork, or problem-solving.

In my junior year, I served as the project manager for our school's Robotics Club. Our team was tasked with designing a robot for a local competition, but we hit a snag when our design kept failing during tests. As project manager, I decided to take a new approach. I organized a brainstorming session, where everyone, including the newest members, was encouraged to propose solutions. One of the freshman members suggested a minor adjustment to the weight distribution, which many had overlooked. His solution turned out to be the key to fixing our design! By fostering an environment where every voice was valued, we not only built a successful robot but also strengthened our team cohesion.

UGA Supplemental Essay Prompt #3 (Optional)

In our diverse and interdependent world, please tell us about an experience that demonstrated or gave you the opportunity to understand the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Approach: UGA values diversity and inclusion, and this prompt asks you to share an experience where you came to understand its significance. It could be a personal encounter, an event, or a revelation from a book or film. The key is to convey your ability to learn from diverse perspectives and experiences and to contribute to an inclusive campus culture.

In high school, I volunteered for a local organization that supports refugee resettlement. One of my primary tasks involved tutoring a young girl from Syria. The language barrier and cultural differences made the task challenging at first, but I gradually found ways to connect with her through visuals, storytelling, and games. The experience showed me the value of patience, empathy, and open-mindedness in understanding and appreciating the diverse backgrounds and experiences of others. It also reinforced the importance of equity in access to education, regardless of one's origins.

UGA Supplemental Essay Short Answer Question

UGA’s 2023 First-Year Odyssey Program offers more than 300 seminar courses for new students. Which do you find most appealing and why?

Approach: Research is key here. Explore the First-Year Odyssey program, select a seminar that genuinely interests you, and articulate why. Link it back to your academic interests, career goals, or intellectual curiosity.

Sure, let's dive into example responses for each of the University of Georgia supplemental essays.

UGA Supplemental Essay Prompt #3

I find "Unleashing Creativity Through Visual Storytelling" particularly appealing among UGA's First-Year Odyssey seminars. As a budding filmmaker, this course aligns with my passion for storytelling and my desire to delve deeper into the techniques of visual narration. The opportunity to analyze the work of acclaimed filmmakers and apply those insights to a project of my own is thrilling. Moreover, it would be invaluable in preparing me for my intended major in Film Studies.

Remember, your essays are a chance to showcase your personality, experiences, values, and goals. Be authentic, thoughtful, and concise. Tailor your responses to UGA, showing why you're a good fit for their community.

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Master the Georgia Tech Supplemental Essays for 2023-2024 Admissions

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The Comprehensive Guide to the University of Georgia

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University of Georgia Essay Example by an Accepted Student

The University of Georgia is a large public research institute and one of the top public schools in the nation. If it is one of your school choices, it’s important to write strong essays to help your application stand out. In this post, we’ll share an essay a real student has submitted to the University of Georgia. (Names and identifying information have been changed, but all other details are preserved).

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized. 

Read our University of Georgia es say breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompt.

Essay Example – Humor in Cooking

Prompt: Tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years.

Cooking is one of those activities at which people are either extremely talented or completely inept. Personally, I’ve found that I fall right in the middle, with neither prodigal nor abhorrent talents. After all, it’s just following instructions, right? Unfortunately, one disastrous night in my kitchen has me questioning that logic.

The task was simple enough: cook a turkey stir fry. In theory, it’s an extremely simple dish. However, almost immediately, things went awry. While I was cutting onions, I absentmindedly rubbed at my eyes and smeared my mascara. (Keep this in mind; it’ll come into play later.) I then proceeded to add the raw turkey to the vegetable pot. Now, as any good chef knows, this means that either the vegetables will burn or the turkey will be raw. I am admittedly not a good chef.

After a taste test, I decided to take a page out of the Spice Girls’ book and “spice up my life”, adding some red chili paste. This was my fatal mistake. The bottle spilled everywhere. Pot, counter, floor, I mean everywhere . While trying to clean up the mess, my hands ended up covered in sauce.

Foolishly, I decided to taste my ruined meal anyway. My tongue felt like it was on fire and I sprinted to the bathroom to rinse my mouth. I looked in the mirror and, noticing the raccoon eyes formed by my mascara, grabbed a tissue. What I had neglected to realize was that chili paste had transferred to the tissue—the tissue which I was using to wipe my eyes. I don’t know if you’ve ever put chili paste anywhere near your eyes, but here’s a word of advice: don’t. Seriously, don’t .

I fumbled blindly for the sink handle, mouth still on fire, eyes burning, presumably looking like a character out of a Tim Burton film. After I rinsed my face, I sat down and stared at my bowl of still-too-spicy and probably-somewhat-raw stir fry, wondering what ancient god had decided to take their anger out on me that night, and hoping I would never incur their wrath ever again.

What the Essay Did Well

This is a great essay for the prompt! Don’t assume that the admissions committee wants deep, personal stories with hard-earned lessons in every essay. They are people too, and they want to be engaged with  amusing stories. This essay does a great job of being light, playful, and funny, while still revealing a lot about the student who wrote it.

Starting off with the story the student chose, it works so well because it is so specific. Focusing the essay on a short period of time—making dinner—allows the student to include a lot of details that wouldn’t have fit in an essay that tried to explain their entire history with cooking. This is proof that zeroing in on what might seem like a mundane experience can make for a really strong essay.

Another thing this essay does really well is structure the story in a clear, sequential manner. The essay starts by setting expectations for the student’s cooking abilities, which builds anticipation for the reader. Then, the essay follows the various steps of the cooking process almost like following a recipe. The beginning of each paragraph establishes each new step of the story—”The task was simple enough”; “After a taste test”; “Foolishly, I decided to taste my ruined meal anyway”; “I fumbled blindly for the sink handle”—which creates momentum for the essay that makes reading it quick and easy.

Perhaps what makes this essay so stellar is how much the student’s voice shines through. This student is unapologetically themselves and admits to their shortcomings as a chef. By sharing a funny and embarrassing story, the admissions committee reading the essay gets a much better sense of the student’s character and personality than if they had shared a story about the time they scored the winning goal at the soccer game. The language is casual and informal and it feels much more like the student is telling a story than writing an essay, which should be the goal of any college essay.

Another aspect of this essay that really allows the student’s voice to shine and makes it so enjoyable to read is the humor. Including humor into essays can sometimes be hard, but when it’s done successfully it give the reader a sense of your personality and can brighten their day. Including interjections like “(Keep this in mind; it’ll come into play later.)” and references to pop culture like “I decided to take a page out of the Spice Girls’ book and ‘spice up my life'” gave the audiences little chuckles as they read. Especially for a prompt that wants an amusing story, the humorous tone and inclusion of jokes throughout the essay really made this essay stand out.

What Could Be Improved

There isn’t much this student could do to improve the essay. It’s very well-written and a perfect response to the prompt. However, to really strengthen the essay, the student could remove the first paragraph. The first paragraph isn’t bad, and it starts to introduce some of the humor seen throughout the essay, but it doesn’t directly relate to the story being told. Removing the first paragraph would allow the student to jump right into the action of the story and have more words to add details and more jokes during the rest of the essay.

Where to Get Your University of Georgia Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your University of Georgia  essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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How to Ace the 2023/2024 UGA Supplemental Essays

Ginny Howey is a former content writer at Scholarships360. Ginny graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in May 2022 with a degree in Media and Journalism (Advertising/PR focus) and minors in Entrepreneurship and Spanish. Ginny’s professional experience includes two summers as a writer intern at global creative consultancy BCG BrightHouse. More recently, Ginny worked as a content marketing intern for Durham-based software engineering bootcamp Momentum, where she gained SEO skills. She has also written freelance articles on emerging tech for A.I. startup Resultid.

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Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Many colleges’ supplemental essay questions touch on common themes, such as your academic interests or what communities you belong to. The UGA supplemental essays, however, are a different story. The University of Georgia asks students to answer a unique, playful prompt that asks you to share a memorable high school story. 

Let’s explore this unconventional prompt and how to craft an excellent response. 

Also see:  How to write an essay about yourself

“The college admissions process can create anxiety. In an attempt to make it less stressful, please tell us an interesting or amusing story about yourself from your high school years that you have not already shared in your application (200-350 words)” 

Try not to roll your eyes at an essay prompt saying it hopes to de-stress the college process. Seriously, embrace this message! There is still expectation to write a nice essay, of course; but trust that admissions wants you to stop putting so much pressure on yourself. Treat this space as an enjoyable opportunity to share a story reflective of your personality. Brainstorming with this more relaxed mindset ensures your voice comes across natural and authentic. 

At the same time, the openness of this response can be overwhelming. After all, high school comes with four years of ‘interesting’ and ‘amusing’ stories–how can you pick just one? Start by making a list of stories that stand out when you reflect on high school. Next, look at what you’ve conveyed about yourself through your personal statement and activities section. Which character traits have you not revealed that are key to who you are? Or, is there a value you emphasize throughout your application that another story can strengthen? 

Sample story ideas

One example could be writing about the time you completely bombed your tenth grade piano recital performance. This anecdote definitely ticks the ‘amusing’ response. Describing a cringe-worthy moment which you now laugh about showcases humility. It also reveals that you have hobbies, took a risk to play on-stage, and handled the embarrassment with composure and perseverance. 

Another route might be related to your intended major, graphic design. You could talk about making a mock-up of an album cover for your favorite artist. After DM’ing it to them on Instagram, the fact that they used your work on their next record is truly remarkable! This definitely qualifies as an ‘interesting’ story. It shows your initiative, talent, and genuine love for your area of study, as well. 

What is awesome about this prompt is the creative freedom it gives your writing. For the first example, you should set the scene by describing the iconic chords of “Bennie and the Jets” struck so egregiously so off-key. Then the panic that set in. Your mind going blank, fingers sweating. Almost throwing in the towel. The awkward applause. For the second example, the inspiration for the album. The hours spent tweaking the message you’d send in your favorite artist’s inbox. Show off your writing and storytelling skills here! 

Also see:  What looks good on college applications?

Questions to consider: 

• Have you had any interactions with famous people or your role models?
• What is a stroke of bad luck you’ve experienced? How did you deal with it? 
• Do you have any impactful stories from traveling? 
• What is your go-to icebreaker or fun fact? 

Also see:  How to write a 250 word essay

Additional resources

As you’re working on college applications, we’re sure that you’ve juggling a lot of tasks at once. There are many decisions to be made and things to accomplish. Luckily, we can help. Check out our guide on how many colleges to apply to , how to find safety, reach, and match schools , and how to get a college application fee waiver . We can also help you fill out your Common App Activities and Additional Information sections to ensure that you present every aspect of your application as best you can. Finally, check out our insider’s perspective of what happens inside a college admissions office to get an idea of how your application will be reviewed. Good luck!

Other colleges to consider

• Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA)
• Tulane University (New Orleans, LA)
• University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI)

Next steps for students

We hope you feel ready to rock the UGA supplemental essays after reading our guide. By now, you should have all the tools to take a successful trip down high school memory lane. Have fun with this prompt and your sincerity will be evident! Make sure that you apply for all the scholarships you qualify for too!

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Undergraduate Admission

• Application Review Process
• Academic Preparation
• Standardized Tests
• Contribution to Community

Personal Essays

• Recommendations
• Interview for International Applicants
• Major Selection
• Institutional Fit

The purpose of the essays is to assess your writing ability and, more importantly, to learn more about you as an individual. This portion of the application helps us get to know you, assess mutual fit, and better understand what you could contribute to Georgia Tech.

Application Essay Prompts

Below are the Georgia Tech essay questions for 2023 applications. Both prompts are required of all applicants.

• Common Application Personal Essay: First-year applicants will choose one of seven essay prompts provided by Common App.
• Georgia Tech Short-Answer Question (max 300 words): Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech?

Start Your Essays

What Are We Looking for in Your Essays?

Essays are evaluated for both content and writing/grammatical skills. So, before submitting your application, you should take the time to edit and review your essay thoroughly. The traits of a strong essay include ones that:

• Demonstrate authenticity & self-awareness.
• Demonstrate thoughtfulness.
• Display attention to topic, style, and grammar.
• Demonstrate a student has thought about why Georgia Tech, specifically, is a fit for them and how their goals align with Georgia Tech’s Values . The Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university established by the state of Georgia in Atlanta in 1885 and committed to developing leaders who advance technology and improve the human condition.

Our Advice for this Portion of the Application

• Get started early. Don’t wait until the last minute to complete your essays!
• Write and edit your essay in a document editor. Once you have the final draft, you can cut and paste it into your online application.
• Don’t write what you think we want to read. Write what you want to say!
• Don’t blow off the essay! We wouldn’t ask you to write it if we didn’t find it to be an important way to get to know you, and what you could bring to Georgia Tech.
• In the same way you would not copy directly from any other source you may incorporate into the writing process, you should not copy and paste directly out of any AI platform or submit work that you did not originally create. Instead, approach and consider any interaction with an AI tool as a learning experience that may help you generate ideas, provide alternative phrasing options, and organize your thoughts. Ultimately, we want to read and hear your unique and valuable writing style.

Per Georgia state law and Georgia Tech policy , all admission staff are mandatory reporters who are required by law to report suspected abuse or neglect of minors to appropriate authorities. Any statements in written materials, including anywhere in a student’s application or supporting materials, that give admission staff reasonable cause to believe abuse or neglect of someone under the age of 18 may have occurred must be reported to the Georgia Tech Police Department. Learn more about reporting requirements .

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UChicago Supplemental Essay Questions

The University of Chicago has long been renowned for our provocative essay questions. We think of them as an opportunity for students to tell us about themselves, their tastes, and their ambitions. They can be approached with utter seriousness, complete fancy, or something in between.

Each year we email newly admitted and current College students and ask them for essay topics. We receive several hundred responses, many of which are eloquent, intriguing, or downright wacky.

As you can see from the attributions, the questions below were inspired by submissions from UChicago students and alumni.

2023-24 UChicago Supplement

Question 1 (required).

How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago.

Question 2: Extended Essay (Required; Choose one)

Essay option 1.

Exponents and square roots, pencils and erasers, beta decay and electron capture. Name two things that undo each other and explain why both are necessary. – Inspired by Emmett Cho, Class of 2027

Essay Option 2

“Where have all the flowers gone?” – Pete Seeger. Pick a question from a song title or lyric and give it your best answer. – Inspired by Ryan Murphy, AB’21

Essay Option 3

“Vlog,” “Labradoodle,” and “Fauxmage.” Language is filled with portmanteaus. Create a new portmanteau and explain why those two things are a “patch” (perfect match). – Inspired by Garrett Chalfin, Class of 2027

Essay Option 4

A jellyfish is not a fish. Cat burglars don’t burgle cats. Rhode Island is not an island. Write an essay about some other misnomer, and either come up with and defend a new name for it or explain why its inaccurate name should be kept. – Inspired by Sonia Chang, Class of 2025, and Mirabella Blair, Class of 2027

Essay Option 5

Despite their origins in the Gupta Empire of India or Ancient Egypt, games like chess or bowling remain widely enjoyed today. What modern game do you believe will withstand the test of time, and why? – Inspired by Adam Heiba, Class of 2027

Essay Option 6

There are unwritten rules that everyone follows or has heard at least once in their life. But of course, some rules should be broken or updated. What is an unwritten rule that you wish didn’t exist? (Our custom is to have five new prompts each year, but this year we decided to break with tradition. Enjoy!) – Inspired by Maryam Abdella, Class of 2026

Essay Option 7

And, as always… the classic choose your own adventure option! In the spirit of adventurous inquiry, choose one of our past prompts (or create a question of your own). Be original, creative, thought provoking. Draw on your best qualities as a writer, thinker, visionary, social critic, sage, citizen of the world, or future citizen of the University of Chicago; take a little risk, and have fun!

Some classic questions from previous years…

Due to a series of clerical errors, there is exactly one typo (an extra letter, a removed letter, or an altered letter) in the name of every department at the University of Chicago. Oops! Describe your new intended major. Why are you interested in it and what courses or areas of focus within it might you want to explore? Potential options include Commuter Science, Bromance Languages and Literatures, Pundamentals: Issues and Texts, Ant History... a full list of unmodified majors ready for your editor’s eye is available here . —Inspired by Josh Kaufman, AB'18

You are on an expedition to found a colony on Mars, when from a nearby crater, a group of Martians suddenly emerges. They seem eager to communicate, but they're the impatient kind and demand you represent the human race in one song, image, memory, proof, or other idea. What do you share with them to show that humanity is worth their time? —Inspired by Alexander Hastings, Class of 2023, and Olivia Okun-Dubitsky, Class of 2026

Who does Sally sell her seashells to? How much wood can a woodchuck really chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Pick a favorite tongue twister (either originally in English or translated from another language) and consider a resolution to its conundrum using the method of your choice. Math, philosophy, linguistics... it's all up to you (or your woodchuck). —Inspired by Blessing Nnate, Class of 2024

What can actually be divided by zero? —Inspired by Mai Vu, Class of 2024

The seven liberal arts in antiquity consisted of the Quadrivium — astronomy, mathematics, geometry, and music — and the Trivium — rhetoric, grammar, and logic. Describe your own take on the Quadrivium or the Trivium. What do you think is essential for everyone to know? —Inspired by Peter Wang, Class of 2022

Subway maps, evolutionary trees, Lewis diagrams. Each of these schematics tells the relationships and stories of their component parts. Reimagine a map, diagram, or chart. If your work is largely or exclusively visual, please include a cartographer's key of at least 300 words to help us best understand your creation. —Inspired by Maximilian Site, Class of 2020

"Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?" - Eleanor Roosevelt. Misattribute a famous quote and explore the implications of doing so. —Inspired by Chris Davey, AB’13

Engineer George de Mestral got frustrated with burrs stuck to his dog’s fur and applied the same mechanic to create Velcro. Scientist Percy Lebaron Spencer found a melted chocolate bar in his magnetron lab and discovered microwave cooking. Dye-works owner Jean Baptiste Jolly found his tablecloth clean after a kerosene lamp was knocked over on it, consequently shaping the future of dry cleaning. Describe a creative or interesting solution, and then find the problem that it solves. —Inspired by Steve Berkowitz, AB’19, and Neeharika Venuturupalli, Class of 2024

Joan of Arkansas. Queen Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Babe Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Mash up a historical figure with a new time period, environment, location, or occupation, and tell us their story. —Inspired by Drew Donaldson, AB’16

Alice falls down the rabbit hole. Milo drives through the tollbooth. Dorothy is swept up in the tornado. Neo takes the red pill. Don’t tell us about another world you’ve imagined, heard about, or created. Rather, tell us about its portal. Sure, some people think of the University of Chicago as a portal to their future, but please choose another portal to write about. —Inspired by Raphael Hallerman, Class of 2020

What’s so odd about odd numbers? —Inspired by Mario Rosasco, AB’09

Vestigiality refers to genetically determined structures or attributes that have apparently lost most or all of their ancestral function, but have been retained during the process of evolution. In humans, for instance, the appendix is thought to be a vestigial structure. Describe something vestigial (real or imagined) and provide an explanation for its existence. —Inspired by Tiffany Kim, Class of 2020

In French, there is no difference between “conscience” and “consciousness.” In Japanese, there is a word that specifically refers to the splittable wooden chopsticks you get at restaurants. The German word “fremdschämen” encapsulates the feeling you get when you’re embarrassed on behalf of someone else. All of these require explanation in order to properly communicate their meaning, and are, to varying degrees, untranslatable. Choose a word, tell us what it means, and then explain why it cannot (or should not) be translated from its original language. —Inspired by Emily Driscoll, Class of 2018

Little pigs, French hens, a family of bears. Blind mice, musketeers, the Fates. Parts of an atom, laws of thought, a guideline for composition. Omne trium perfectum? Create your own group of threes, and describe why and how they fit together. —Inspired by Zilin Cui, Class of 2018

The mantis shrimp can perceive both polarized light and multispectral images; they have the most complex eyes in the animal kingdom. Human eyes have color receptors for three colors (red, green, and blue); the mantis shrimp has receptors for sixteen types of color, enabling them to see a spectrum far beyond the capacity of the human brain. Seriously, how cool is the mantis shrimp: mantisshrimp.uchicago.edu What might they be able to see that we cannot? What are we missing? —Inspired by Tess Moran, AB’16

How are apples and oranges supposed to be compared? Possible answers involve, but are not limited to, statistics, chemistry, physics, linguistics, and philosophy. —Inspired by Florence Chan, AB’15

The ball is in your court—a penny for your thoughts, but say it, don’t spray it. So long as you don’t bite off more than you can chew, beat around the bush, or cut corners, writing this essay should be a piece of cake. Create your own idiom, and tell us its origin—you know, the whole nine yards. PS: A picture is worth a thousand words. —Inspired by April Bell, AB'17, and Maya Shaked, Class of 2018 (It takes two to tango.)

“A man cannot be too careful in the choice of his enemies.” –Oscar Wilde. Othello and Iago. Dorothy and the Wicked Witch. Autobots and Decepticons. History and art are full of heroes and their enemies. Tell us about the relationship between you and your arch-nemesis (either real or imagined). —Inspired by Martin Krzywy, AB’16

Heisenberg claims that you cannot know both the position and momentum of an electron with total certainty. Choose two other concepts that cannot be known simultaneously and discuss the implications. (Do not consider yourself limited to the field of physics). —Inspired by Doran Bennett, AB’07

Susan Sontag, AB’51, wrote that “[s]ilence remains, inescapably, a form of speech.” Write about an issue or a situation when you remained silent, and explain how silence may speak in ways that you did or did not intend. The Aesthetics of Silence, 1967. —Anonymous Suggestion

“…I [was] eager to escape backward again, to be off to invent a past for the present.” —The Rose Rabbi by Daniel Stern Present: pres·ent 1. Something that is offered, presented, or given as a gift. Let’s stick with this definition. Unusual presents, accidental presents, metaphorical presents, re-gifted presents, etc.—pick any present you have ever received and invent a past for it. —Inspired by Jennifer Qin, AB’16

So where is Waldo, really? —Inspired by Robin Ye, AB’16

Find x. —Inspired by Benjamin Nuzzo, an admitted student from Eton College, UK

Dog and Cat. Coffee and Tea. Great Gatsby and Catcher in the Rye. Everyone knows there are two types of people in the world. What are they? —Inspired by an anonymous alumna, AB'06

How did you get caught? (Or not caught, as the case may be.) —Inspired by Kelly Kennedy, AB’10

Chicago author Nelson Algren said, “A writer does well if in his whole life he can tell the story of one street.” Chicagoans, but not just Chicagoans, have always found something instructive, and pleasing, and profound in the stories of their block, of Main Street, of Highway 61, of a farm lane, of the Celestial Highway. Tell us the story of a street, path, road—real or imagined or metaphorical. —Anonymous Suggestion

UChicago professor W. J. T. Mitchell entitled his 2005 book What Do Pictures Want? Describe a picture, and explore what it wants. —Inspired by Anna Andel

“Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.“—Miles Davis (1926–91) —Inspired by Jack Reeves

University of Chicago alumna and renowned author/critic Susan Sontag said, “The only interesting answers are those that destroy the questions.” We all have heard serious questions, absurd questions, and seriously absurd questions, some of which cannot be answered without obliterating the very question. Destroy a question with your answer. —Inspired by Aleksandra Ciric

“Mind that does not stick.” —Zen Master Shoitsu (1202–80)

Superstring theory has revolutionized speculation about the physical world by suggesting that strings play a pivotal role in the universe. Strings, however, always have explained or enriched our lives, from Theseus’s escape route from the Labyrinth, to kittens playing with balls of yarn, to the single hair that held the sword above Damocles, to the Old Norse tradition that one’s life is a thread woven into a tapestry of fate, to the beautiful sounds of the finely tuned string of a violin, to the children’s game of cat’s cradle, to the concept of stringing someone along. Use the power of string to explain the biggest or the smallest phenomenon. —Inspired by Adam Sobolweski

Have you ever walked through the aisles of a warehouse store like Costco or Sam’s Club and wondered who would buy a jar of mustard a foot and a half tall? We’ve bought it, but it didn’t stop us from wondering about other things, like absurd eating contests, impulse buys, excess, unimagined uses for mustard, storage, preservatives, notions of bigness…and dozens of other ideas both silly and serious. Write an essay somehow inspired by super-huge mustard. —Inspired by Katherine Gold

People often think of language as a connector, something that brings people together by helping them share experiences, feelings, ideas, etc. We, however, are interested in how language sets people apart. Start with the peculiarities of your own personal language—the voice you use when speaking most intimately to yourself, the vocabulary that spills out when you’re startled, or special phrases and gestures that no one else seems to use or even understand—and tell us how your language makes you unique. You may want to think about subtle riffs or idiosyncrasies based on cadence, rhythm, rhyme, or (mis)pronunciation. —Inspired by Kimberly Traube

In 2015, the city of Melbourne, Australia created a "tree-mail" service, in which all of the trees in the city received an email address so that residents could report any tree-related issues. As an unexpected result, people began to email their favorite trees sweet and occasionally humorous letters. Imagine this has been expanded to any object (tree or otherwise) in the world, and share with us the letter you’d send to your favorite. -Inspired by Hannah Lu, Class of 2020 

You’re on a voyage in the thirteenth century, sailing across the tempestuous seas. What if, suddenly, you fell off the edge of the Earth? -Inspired by Chandani Latey, AB'93 

The word floccinaucinihilipilification is the act or habit of describing or regarding something as unimportant or of having no value. It originated in the mid-18th century from the Latin words "floccus," "naucum," "nihilum," and "pilus"—all words meaning “of little use.” Coin your own word using parts from any language you choose, tell us its meaning, and describe the plausible (if only to you) scenarios in which it would be most appropriately used.  -Inspired by Ben Zhang, Class of 2022 

Lost your keys? Alohomora. Noisy roommate? Quietus. Feel the need to shatter windows for some reason? Finestra. Create your own spell, charm, jinx, or other means for magical mayhem. How is it enacted? Is there an incantation? Does it involve a potion or other magical object? If so, what's in it or what is it? What does it do?  -Inspired by Emma Sorkin, Class of 2021 

Imagine you’ve struck a deal with the Dean of Admissions himself, Dean Nondorf. It goes as follows: you’re guaranteed admission to the University of Chicago regardless of any circumstances that arise. This bond is grounded on the condition that you’ll obtain a blank, 8.5 x 11 piece of paper, and draw, write, sketch, shade, stencil, paint etc., anything and everything you want on it; your only limitations will be the boundaries of both sides on the single page. Now the catch… your submission, for the rest of your life, will always be the first thing anyone you meet for the first time will see. Whether it’s at a job interview, a blind date, arrival at your first Humanities class, before you even say, “hey,” they’ll already have seen your page, and formulated that first impression. Show us your page. What’s on it, and why? If your piece is largely or exclusively visual, please make sure to share a creator's accompanying statement of at least 300 words, which we will happily allow to be on its own, separate page. PS: This is a creative thought experiment, and selecting this essay prompt does not guarantee your admission to UChicago. -Inspired by Amandeep Singh Ahluwalia, Class of 2022

Cats have nine lives, Pac-Man has three lives, and radioactive isotopes have half-lives. How many lives does something else—conceptual or actual—have, and why? -Inspired by Kendrick Shin, Class of 2019

If there’s a limited amount of matter in the universe, how can Olive Garden (along with other restaurants and their concepts of food infinity) offer truly unlimited soup, salad, and breadsticks? Explain this using any method of analysis you wish—physics, biology, economics, history, theology… the options, as you can tell, are endless.  -Inspired by Yoonseo Lee, Class of 2023 

A hot dog might be a sandwich, and cereal might be a soup, but is a ______ a ______? -Inspired by Arya Muralidharan, Class of 2021 (and dozens of others who, this year and in past years, have submitted the question “Is a hot dog a sandwich,” to which we reply, “maybe”)

“Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” – Jessamyn West -Inspired by Elizabeth Mansfield, Class of 2020

Georgia Tech 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 4

You Have: 

Georgia Tech 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: Why

Supplemental Essay Type(s): 1  essay of 300 words

Why do you want to study your chosen major specifically at Georgia Tech? (50-300 words)  

Admissions wants to know how you plan on using a Georgia Tech education to accomplish your career goals. Some schools ask students why they want to attend or why they like different offerings, but Georgia Tech isn’t messing around. They’re asking you to specifically speak about academics here, so don’t waste your time researching the dining halls. Why study here? Why study this subject? And finally, why study this subject at Georgia Tech, specifically? Spend some time learning about Georgia Tech’s majors, classes, professors, resources, and alumni network. Pore over the website for the department you’re interested in and soak up information about faculty, research, guest speakers, and special opportunities for undergraduates. Jot down the details that appeal to you and by the end of your research session, you’ll have everything you need to plead your case. Connect the school’s offerings to your personal interests and goals and you will demonstrate your fit and commitment to the school. What career path do you see for yourself? Is Georgia Tech known for producing successful graduates in that department? The more details you can provide, the better.

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ENGL 1102 Worozbyt Spring 2024 : Assignment

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Literature Research Assignment

Research Essay Topics

Compose in MLA format a research essay of at least 1000 words, using a minimum of four secondary sources. (The OED is a primary, not a secondary, source, but you are encouraged to use it.) Source material must be drawn from books and articles located in Galileo databases or the GSU library. Use secondary critical resources to support and complexify your arguments and points. The task is textual analysis, that and that alone. The supplemental lectures I have been posting are pretty good examples of what I am looking for. This is a research project, but I am most interested in seeing you display your own skill at critical thinking and analysis. Sources not found in Galileo or the GSU library will not count toward the research requirement, and you are discouraged from using them. That said, Wikipedia entries often have links at the bottom to legitimate, academic sources. Feel free to use Wikipedia as a launching point for research, even though Wikipedia entries themselves cannot be used, as they are not vetted. Do not summarize plots or provide biographies of the author. This essay is not to be about the author; it is to be about the text.

The Caveats:

You are obliged to familiarize yourself with proper MLA formatting and citation. This information is found in my Course Content, online at OWL, on Youtube, or simply by Googling “MLA citation.” By now I expect professionally clean and error-free copy, with no typos or mechanical errors. Papers not following these guidelines will be penalized accordingly. By now you have had a full semester of training in proper citation and format. Failure to format the body of your essay in MLA results a penalty up to twenty points, depending on severity. Failure to provide sufficient, relevant source material results in a fifteen-point penalty per missing source. Failure to properly acknowledge the use of secondary material constitutes plagiarism, whether intentional or not, and will result in no credit given, since I cannot distinguish between what writing is yours and what is not.. Make sure you quote and cite, both internally and in your works cited page.

Tennesse Williams, The Glass Menagerie:

1. Discuss the play’s presentation (and subversion) of traditional family and gender roles. How does the assumption and subsequent disruption of those roles define and control Laura’s destiny? How does having a brother for a father and a sister for a mother determine the outcome of Laura’s seduction by Jim?

2. Why does Williams’ reject conventional “realistic” stage drama? Analyze the stage directions and locate at least two echoes within the range of Tom’s dialogue and action. Are the lyrical and poetical qualities of the stage directions in (literary)/dramatic conflict with Tom’s desire to create a unified self, a “character” who characters, through writing poetry? Explain.

3. Consider the use of names and the function of naming in the play. How do names advance and complicate the major arguments and themes in The Glass Menagerie. Remember that a title is a “name” as well, and that to be a caller, gentleman or otherwise, is to be a namer. Needless to say, you should name the major arguments and themes.

4. Explore Williams’ concept of the stage as defined by the text of the play. How does our author manipulate the space and time of the stage? The first questions to wrestle with are: What is a stage? Where is the stage? When is the stage? Then: how does the playwright accomplish his redefinition of the conventional boundaries? Be specific, analyzing selected text passages.

5. Analyze the similarities and differences in the text of Williams’ play and the film of it you watched. This should not be simply a compare/contrast essay, but a thorough investigation of the way the two different media (reading and watching) are anticipated and dealt with by the play itself. The Production Notes and the corresponding echoes in the play would be a good place to start.

Alice Walker, Everyday Use:

1. “Everyday Use” presents us with the clash between personal and cultural history. Walker manages in this short work to interweave them and to produce a dialectic (a “conversation,” if you will) between the seemingly competing histories. Track this interweaving and explain how the story resolves the apparent contradictions between the two.

2. Consider Dee and Maggie as expressions of two sides to the mother’s character. Investigate and discuss how Walker creates these characters and how she makes them come so vibrantly alive in this story. Do not neglect in your analysis to discuss the significance of the mother’s dream.

3. Landscape and objects play a big role in this story. Discuss the idea of “inside” and “outside” in the story, paying careful and close attention to the way objects are depicted and used in the story to generate and facilitate the story’s major themes and ideas

Final Items:

Be generous with quotations, and never paraphrase the text or your secondary source material. Also, make absolutely sure you reproduce the text exactly as it appears in the original. When you change the words you change the meaning; when you change the meaning your argument fails. Likewise, it is always better to overquote than underquote. Analysis based on a brief, out of context phrase is much weaker than analysis of an entire paragraph or sentence.

Whether you choose Williams’ or Walker’s text to research, make sure you do the research before you start to write. Reading articles by vetted, published critics will help you deepen and organize your thoughts. Writing an essay and then going hunting for quotes that suit your wants will always lead to a poor research essay

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UGA Undergraduate Admissions Q & A

When is enough enough,   david graves        april 8th, 2024.

I am going to tell you secret about me – I love movie theater popcorn. It is my kryptonite. If I go to the movies, I need to have a large bucket of popcorn with the butter layered throughout. For me, half of the enjoyment of going to a movie is the popcorn. But, like […]

Read More »

2024 freshman admits,   david graves        march 15th, 2024.

We plan to make the final wave of freshman decisions available today, March 15th, at 4 PM ET. For those of you who have been admitted to UGA, here is a post for you and a chance to comment.  Please remember that this is not a blog where you should post statistics or throw fellow […]

2024 Wait List Decisions

We plan to make the final wave of freshman decisions available today, March 15th, at 4 pm ET.   For some students, you will be offered a place on our wait list.  Every year our office has to predict approximately how many students we can admit in order to enroll our freshman class, but we […]

Tags: decisions , file reading , freshman admission , waitlist

2024 denied student decisions.

We plan to make the final wave of freshman decisions available today, March 15th at 4 pm ET. We received roughly 43,090+ applicants, thus making decisions very challenging this year. Unfortunately, we are not able to admit a number of strong applicants as we are limited in the size of our freshman class.  We know […]

Tags: decisions , file reading

Timelines for final decisions and transfers,   david graves        february 19th, 2024.

  Let’s make this short and sweet! Currently, we are deep into review season, where we are looking at both our First Year applicants for Final Decisions and our Transfer applicants for Summer/Fall 2024. The good news is that we are at the point where we can let everyone know when we will be releasing […]

Tags: final decisions , transfer , transfer admissions

How These Teachers Build Curriculum ‘Beyond Black History’

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A pilot to infuse Black history and culture in social studies curriculum is gaining ground in the nation’s largest school district, offering a potential model to overcome widespread political debates over how to teach race in public schools.

In a symposium on the project at the American Educational Research Association’s annual conference last week, M.C. Brown II, the executive director at the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, called New York City’s $3.25 million Black studies curriculum “a nationally historic moment.”

The curriculum “acknowledges the history and the contributions of Black Americans predating slavery, which is where much of American social studies begins,” Brown said, “and provides a paradigm for professional learning that can support effective implementation, not just in New York City, but around the world.”

The project comes amid vicious political fights over critical race theory , which holds that race is a social construct, and racism can be embedded in policies and laws (such as enrollment policies that tend to segregate schools), not just personal prejudice. The legal concept is separate from but often conflated with culturally responsive teaching , which holds that students learn more effectively when teachers use their customs, experiences, and identities as tools in the classroom.

The New York curriculum, developed in collaboration between local educators and the Black Education Research Center at Columbia University Teachers College, includes pre-K-12 lessons aligned with the state’s language arts and social studies standards, designed to be used throughout the year. If it proves successful in an ongoing evaluation, the collaborative plans to roll it out to more schools in New York and other states.

Dawn Brooks DeCosta, the deputy superintendent of the 6,500-student Harlem Community School District 5, said its 23 schools piloted units of the curriculum this year across different grades.

Harlem District 5 recruited elementary and secondary teachers with backgrounds and interests in Black studies. They met biweekly with researchers from the Black Education Research Center at neighboring Teachers College, Columbia University to design curricular standards and units, as well as professional development needed for teachers.

“As teachers were contributing and helping to refine and design the lesson, … they didn’t understand what it means to co-design,” said Rodney Hopson, acting education co-dean and professor at American University, who is leading an evaluation of the curriculum. “It wasn’t just like, ‘Here’s a [curriculum] package, run with it,’ ... we were actually trying to collaboratively build this thing together.”

For example, Samantha Chung, a Teachers College doctoral researcher, helped design a unit for 5th grade in which students read and listen to Black poets and discuss the literary form’s use in advocacy.

“Black studies started out with a pedagogical mission, not just content,” said Joyce King, the chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership and an education policy professor at Georgia State University, during the discussion at AERA. “… That includes inspiring people to learn deeply and critically about the African diaspora histories and contemporary social formation, to recognize and affirm our peoplehood—that we are a people across many different cultures.”

In New York, that’s particularly important, according to Linda Tillman, chairman of BERC’s advisory board. Tillman said teachers and researchers worked to incorporate Dominican, Puerto Rican, and other Black students’ cultures into the curriculum “to combat misconceptions about the history of African Americans and Black people throughout the global diaspora.”

For example, in one of the earliest units, kindergarten students explore the meanings and origins of their names, and talk about the importance of pronouncing names correctly. Studies find name mispronunciations are often one of the earliest and most common alienating experiences, particularly for children of color.

Beyond ‘Critical Race Theory’ debates

The curriculum offers a holistic way for teachers to discuss the role of culture and race in American and world history at a time when many educators face restrictions on how they can approach the subject. As of 2023, at least 18 states have passed bans or limits on how teachers can discuss race or gender in class, and the research firm RAND Corp. found half of K-12 teachers nationwide said they face state and/or local restrictions on teaching about race.

Yet in a nationally representative survey this fall, more than 8 in 10 registered voters told the Black Education Research Center that public school students should learn both about the history of racism and slavery in the United States and how it affects students and communities today.

“Students should gain skills in biology and chemistry, physics, business, et cetera, and then use their Black studies knowledge, the curriculum, to gain an understanding of the significance of a role of those subject areas in the development of the Black community,” said Kofi Lomotey, the chancellor and professor of educational leadership at Western Carolina University.

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With State Bans on D.E.I., Some Universities Find a Workaround: Rebranding

Welcome to the new “Office of Access and Engagement.” Schools are renaming departments and job titles to try to preserve diversity programs.

By Stephanie Saul

At the University of Tennessee, the campus D.E.I. program is now called the Division of Access and Engagement.

Louisiana State University also rebranded its diversity office after Jeff Landry, a Trump-backed Republican, was elected governor last fall. Its Division of Inclusion, Civil Rights and Title IX is now called the Division of Engagement, Civil Rights and Title IX.

And at the University of Oklahoma, the diversity office is now the Division of Access and Opportunity .

In what appears to be an effort to placate or, even head fake, opponents of diversity and equity programs, university officials are relaunching their D.E.I. offices under different names, changing the titles of officials, and rewriting requirements to eliminate words like “diversity” and “equity.” In some cases, only the words have changed.

For some universities, the opposition to diversity programs comes at a challenging time. They face an incoming student shortage, the result of declining birthrates and skepticism of the value of an expensive college degree. Others are worried about how the ban on race-conscious admissions will affect the complexion of their campuses.

In either case, many college officials feel they need D.E.I. offices to market to an increasingly diverse generation of students and the faculty who might attract them. While no two campus diversity programs are exactly alike, they often preside over a variety of functions, including operating student cultural centers, ensuring regulatory compliance and hosting racial bias workshops for students and faculty members.

Conservative critics have questioned the cost of what they call D.E.I. bureaucracies, which in some places have budgets reaching into the tens of millions of dollars, and attacked the programs for being left-wing, indoctrination factories.

In a recent webinar making the case for the continuation of D.E.I. efforts, Khalil Gibran Muhammad, a professor of history, race and public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the backlash is based on “a few anecdotal examples of some terrible training module that went haywire.”

In announcing the renaming of the Louisiana State D.E.I. program, the school's president, William F. Tate IV, said that there had been no political pressure.

But he also recently told the faculty senate that “we most certainly have paid attention to the ripple effects that have happened to campuses around the country.” He vowed that the university, one of the most diverse in the Southeastern Conference, is “still committed to D.E.I.”

Todd Woodward, a university spokesman, said that the idea of “engagement,” which is now used instead of “inclusion,” has been the centerpiece of the university’s strategic plan since before Governor Landry was elected.

According to The Chronicle of Higher Education , at least 82 bills opposing D.E.I. in higher education have been filed in more than 20 states since 2023. Of those, 12 have become law, including in Idaho, Indiana, Florida and Texas.

This has led to layoffs and closures. The University of Florida recently announced that it would lay off more than a dozen diversity employees. At the University of Texas at Austin, the Multicultural Engagement Center closed. And about 60 administrators received notices that they would lose their jobs, according to the state chapters of the N.A.A.C.P. and American Association of University Professors. Some Texas campuses shut down their L.G.B.T.Q. centers.

But some schools, even in states with D.E.I. crackdowns, have reacted more moderately.

Florida State University, in Tallahassee, seems to be taking a “damage mitigation approach,” Will Hanley, a history professor at F.S.U., said in an interview.

The school has reshuffled jobs and turned the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Office into the Office of Equal Opportunity Compliance and Engagement .

But there have been limits to how far it will go.

F.S.U. students are required to take two “diversity” courses, which include dozens of topics like Buddhist ethics, German literature and L.G.B.T.Q. history. A faculty committee recently proposed renaming the requirement “perspectives and awareness.”

The faculty senate rejected the idea. In the senate meeting, Dr. Hanley, who specializes in the Middle East, said that the new name would obfuscate the requirement’s very intent.

“In the context of attacks on D.E.I., I wondered if changing the name of this requirement gives weight to those attacks,” he said, according to minutes of the meeting.

In Georgia, David Bray, a finance professor at Kennesaw State University, sees things another way, and says that diversity officials should have been eliminated rather than given a new title. Kennesaw State announced last December that its diversity chief would now be the vice president overseeing the Division of Organizational Effectiveness, Leadership Development and Inclusive Excellence .

The move came after the state Board of Regents approved a policy change barring Georgia’s 26 public colleges from requiring applicants and employees to fill out diversity statements.

“It’s the same lipstick on the ideological pig,” said Dr. Bray, who is gay and opposes diversity programs, arguing that they promote equal outcomes rather than equal opportunity. “As soon as D.E.I. was uncovered as political left, they now reinvent the language and have morphed into the ‘sense of belonging’ crew.”

But for many administrators, name changes are often an attempt to keep the mission of diversity programs intact.

Donde Plowman, the chancellor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, told the faculty senate in November that the school had “not historically done well” attracting students from underrepresented groups to its campus. The percentage of Black students declined between 2020 and 2023, from 5.5 percent of total enrollment to 4.2 percent.

After a professor asked whether prospective faculty and lawmakers “looking for red meat” would be put off by the name change of the D.E.I. program, the Division of Diversity and Engagement, Dr. Plowman said, “What has happened is those words have become weaponized — they create noise and distractions away from the real work.”

Thus, the newly renamed Division of Access and Engagement.

Dr. Plowman has “consistently discussed the change to access and engagement on campus as a broadening of our mission to reach and support students, faculty and staff,” said Tisha Benton, a spokeswoman for the chancellor.

Tennessee lawmakers seemed wise to the workaround. A bill introduced in January specifically stated that no such offices should be operating “regardless of name or designation.”

The legislation had seemed destined for passage in the overwhelmingly Republican legislature. But the mood shifted during a committee meeting after members considered a letter from the Knoxville Jewish Alliance, which expressed concern that the ban would limit how the University of Tennessee reached out with support for Jewish students.

The bill was killed, unanimously, on a voice vote.

Stephanie Saul reports on colleges and universities, with a recent focus on the dramatic changes in college admissions and the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion in higher education. More about Stephanie Saul

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