University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) Supplemental Essays 2025–26

The University of Pennsylvania is looking for students who are intellectually curious, community-minded, and ready to use a Penn education to create impact. Your UPenn essays 2025–26 are one of the main ways they evaluate that fit.

For the 2025–26 application cycle, first-year applicants to Penn complete:

• Two required short-answer prompts (for all applicants)

• One school-specific short answer based on the undergraduate school you choose:

  • College of Arts and Sciences

  • School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)

  • The Wharton School

  • School of Nursing

Each UPenn supplemental essay is 150–200 words — short, but powerful if you use them strategically.

This guide walks through all non–dual-degree UPenn supplemental essays for 2025–26, with school-specific advice and example snippets you can use for direction.

Big Picture: Strategy for UPenn Essays 2025–26

Across the UPenn supplemental essays, admissions readers want to see:

• Clear personal values and a sense of what matters to you

• Alignment with Penn’s culture: curiosity, inclusion, civic engagement, and impact

• Specific, researched interest in Penn: programs, communities, and opportunities you genuinely care about

It is completely fine—and often helpful—if your themes overlap across essays (for example, a consistent focus on equity, storytelling, or problem-solving). What you want to avoid is recycling the same story, example, or context in multiple essays.

UPenn Essay Prompt 1 (All Applicants)

“Thank-You Note” Essay (150–200 words)

Prompt:
Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150–200 words, only required for first-year applicants).

What this essay is really asking

This “thank-you note” is less about the person and more about who you are when you are grateful:

• What kind of impact sticks with you?

• What do you notice and appreciate in other people?

• How do you reflect on your growth over time?

Penn is also looking at your emotional intelligence, humility, and capacity for reflection.

What to Do

• Choose a real, specific person.
  This can be a teacher, coach, sibling, coworker, neighbor, or someone in your community. It does not need to be your biggest mentor or most “impressive” person.

• Focus on one clear moment or habit.
  Describe a small, vivid example of what they did and how it affected you.

• Show your growth.
  Briefly reflect on how their influence changed your mindset, choices, or values.

• Let the tone feel like a real note.
  You can start with “Dear…” and close with a natural sign-off.

What to Avoid

• Turning the note into a list of your accomplishments.

• Choosing someone only because you think it will impress Penn.

• Writing in vague generalities (“you always supported me”) instead of concrete detail.

• Forcing Penn references into the note; this should feel authentic and personal.

Example snippet (direction, not a full essay)

Dear Coach Martinez,
I never said thank you for putting me on the JV roster sophomore year when I was certain I’d be cut. You didn’t praise my speed or my stats — you pointed out that I never left the field without collecting stray cones and balls. That small comment made me realize that effort and care could matter as much as talent. I carried that lesson into the classroom, group projects, and even my part-time job, looking for ways to quietly do more than what’s required. I’m grateful you saw that version of me before I knew how to name it.

You would extend this to full length by adding one more specific memory and a touch more reflection.

UPenn Essay Prompt 2 (All Applicants)

Community at Penn (150–200 words)

Prompt:
How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (150–200 words).

What this essay is really asking

This UPenn supplemental essay is partly about your past and partly about your future:

• How have you already engaged with community?

• How will you plug into and shape community at Penn?

• How will Penn’s communities broaden your perspective?

It is also a “Why Penn” essay. You should mention specific Penn communities, clubs, or programs that genuinely fit you.

What to Do

• Start with a concrete example of community from your life.
  This could be cultural clubs, religious communities, volunteer work, online spaces, or family responsibilities.

• Show how you build or support community.
  Do you mentor, organize, listen, translate, teach, welcome, or create?

• Connect to specific Penn spaces.
  Mention 1–3 communities that feel like a natural extension of your values, such as a cultural organization, Penn First Plus, Civic House, a residential program, or a club that matches your interests.

• Emphasize mutual growth.
  Explain both what you bring to Penn’s community and what you hope to learn from others.

What to Avoid

• Listing a long set of clubs with no explanation.

• Using “community” as a buzzword without real examples.

• Copying the same detailed story from your personal statement. You can keep similar themes but use fresh context or a different angle.

Example snippet

In my high school’s multicultural club, I started “Story Fridays,” where students brought food, music, or family traditions to share. What began as a small potluck turned into a space where classmates felt comfortable admitting what they didn’t know and asking curious questions. At Penn, I see myself joining Civic House programming and getting involved with Penn First Plus, bringing that same “story-first” approach to events that connect students from different backgrounds. I want to help create spaces where people feel safe enough to be curious and honest, not just polite.

Notice how this combines a past community example with specific Penn spaces and a clear idea of how the student will participate.

School-Specific UPenn Essays 2025–26 (Single-Degree Applicants)

In addition to the two shared UPenn supplemental essays, you write one school-specific essay (150–200 words) based on the undergraduate school you select:

• College of Arts and Sciences

• School of Engineering and Applied Science

• The Wharton School

• School of Nursing

Your themes can overlap with your other UPenn essays 2025–26, but use new examples or angles so each response adds something.

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Essay

Intellectual Curiosity in the Liberal Arts (150–200 words)

Prompt:
The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? (150–200 words).

What this essay is really asking

Penn wants to see:

• A genuine intellectual curiosity — a focused question or topic that fascinates you

• How this curiosity developed in your life

• How you would use the flexible CAS curriculum and opportunities to explore it

What to Do

• Focus your curiosity.
  Choose one core question, theme, or intersection: for example, how cities remember their histories, how language shapes identity, or how media influences public opinion.

• Give a short origin story.
  A project, book, family experience, or community issue that drew you in and made you think more deeply.

• Connect clearly to Penn.
  Mention particular departments, approaches, or opportunities within the arts and sciences that fit your interest — such as combining Urban Studies and History, or Psychology and Cinema & Media Studies, or engaging with Kelly Writers House if writing and narrative are part of your curiosity.

• Show you understand interdisciplinarity.
  Explain how different fields at Penn would help you look at your question from multiple angles.

What to Avoid

• Listing a long collection of unrelated interests.

• Dropping a series of department names or courses with no explanation.

• Keeping things too vague (“I love learning about everything”).

Example snippet

I’m most curious about how cities remember — and forget — their own histories. Growing up in a neighborhood where murals of local activists were painted over by new development, I started photographing walls and interviewing older residents about the stories behind them. At Penn, I’d explore this curiosity at the intersection of History and Urban Studies, pairing coursework on American cities with community-engaged projects through the Netter Center and the Penn Program for Public Service. I’m also drawn to Kelly Writers House as a place to turn those collected stories into essays that question who gets to decide what becomes “official” history in a changing city.

School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) Essay

Engineering Interests at Penn (150–200 words)

Prompt:
Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics with depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you plan to pursue your engineering interests at Penn, particularly within the intended major you selected. (150–200 words).

What this essay is really asking

This UPenn Engineering essay focuses on:

• What kind of engineering problems or questions excite you

• Why your chosen engineering major fits those interests

• How you will use specific Penn Engineering resources, both academic and co-curricular

What to Do

• Begin with a real engineering-related experience.
  A robotics project, an app, an environmental device, a maker-space experiment, or a STEM outreach effort.

• Show how that experience led to your major choice.
  For example, Systems Science and Engineering for complex systems, Bioengineering for medical technology, or Computer Engineering for hardware-software interaction.

• Name a few targeted Penn resources.
  Student groups (like Penn Electric Racing or Penn Aerial Robotics), research labs (like the GRASP Lab), or project-based courses that clearly match your interests.

• Connect to impact or curiosity.
  Show what you hope to build, solve, or understand through engineering at Penn.

What to Avoid

• Generic statements like “I love building things.”

• A long list of labs and clubs with no explanation.

• Focusing only on career goals and not on the learning process.

Example snippet

When my town’s bus system cut late-night routes, I started tracking delays and no-shows with a small sensor kit and a basic app so riders could see real-time updates. The challenge wasn’t just technical; it was understanding a system with many interacting parts — traffic, weather, driver decisions, and budget constraints. At Penn, I plan to major in Systems Science and Engineering to study how complex systems behave and how to design them for resilience. I’m especially excited about project-based work through Penn Electric Racing and the GRASP Lab, where I can learn to model, test, and refine systems that have to perform reliably in unpredictable real-world conditions.

The Wharton School Essay

Current Issue and Wharton Education (150–200 words)

Prompt:
Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it. (150–200 words).

What this essay is really asking

For this Wharton essay, Penn is looking for:

• A specific issue that matters to you

• Why you care about it and how you currently understand it

• How a Wharton education would give you tools to analyze or address that issue

What to Do

• Choose a clear, focused issue.
  Examples: access to fair credit, the rise of fast fashion and waste, small-business survival in your town, ethical use of data, or the impact of social media on local elections.

• Connect the issue to your experience.
  Family business, local volunteering, a personal project, or something you have observed closely.

• Link the issue to Wharton’s strengths.
  Mention relevant areas such as business analytics, behavioral economics, entrepreneurship, or social impact. You can also reference student clubs or initiatives like the Wharton Social Impact Initiative if they are a natural fit.

• Describe how you want to learn, not just what you want to fix.
  Emphasize curiosity and a willingness to engage with complexity.

What to Avoid

• Huge, abstract topics with no specific angle (“global poverty” without focus).

• Issues that have no visible connection to your life or interests.

• Talking about Wharton only in terms of prestige or rankings.

Example snippet

Growing up, I watched relatives cycle through high-interest payday loans because banks viewed their small, cash-based businesses as “too risky.” I’m interested in how better data, product design, and regulation could expand fair credit access without exploiting borrowers. At Wharton, I hope to study this issue through courses in behavioral economics and business analytics, while engaging with the Wharton Social Impact Initiative and student organizations focused on inclusive finance. I want to graduate not just understanding balance sheets, but also how capital can be structured to support — rather than destabilize — communities like my own.

School of Nursing Essay

Why Nursing and Equity in Healthcare (150–200 words)

Prompt:
Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science. Why have you decided to apply to Nursing? Where do you see yourself professionally in the future and how will you contribute to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? (150–200 words).

What this essay is really asking

This UPenn Nursing essay is trying to understand:

• Your personal motivation for choosing nursing

• How you view the role of nurses as caregivers, advocates, and leaders

• How you will contribute to equity in healthcare

• Why Penn Nursing’s education and clinical opportunities are a strong fit

What to Do

• Start with a specific moment or pattern.
  Interpreting for a family member, volunteering in a clinic, working as a CNA, or seeing inequity in care firsthand.

• Connect that moment to your long-term motivation.
  What did you learn about listening, advocacy, or trust that draws you to nursing?

• Tie in Penn Nursing specifically.
  You might mention clinical opportunities within the Penn Medicine system, community health experiences, or interests in areas such as maternal health, mental health, or global health.

• Define equity in a concrete way.
  Focus on language access, rural health, disability, insurance barriers, or another specific dimension of inequity you care about.

What to Avoid

• Empty phrases like “I want to help people” without deeper explanation.

• Treating nursing as a backup option for becoming a doctor.

• Using “equity” as a buzzword without real examples or insight.

Example snippet

When I interpreted for my grandmother at appointments, I watched how quickly doctors shifted from technical language to simple explanations once they realized she was nodding without understanding. Those moments showed me that health outcomes depend as much on communication and trust as on medication. I’m drawn to Penn Nursing because of its emphasis on evidence-based practice and its strong clinical experiences within the Penn Medicine system, where I hope to work with multilingual, older patients in primary care settings. Long term, I see myself as a community health nurse designing outreach programs that make it easier for non-English-speaking families to navigate screenings and chronic disease management, contributing to Penn Nursing’s mission to advance science in ways that close — rather than widen — gaps in care.

Bringing Your UPenn Essays 2025–26 Together

As you finalize all of your University of Pennsylvania supplemental essays:

• Let a few key themes repeat across your application — such as equity, curiosity, or mentorship — so your overall story feels cohesive.

• Use different examples and contexts in each essay so the reader learns something new every time.

• Make sure at least one or two essays clearly show you understand specific Penn opportunities, like Civic House, Penn First Plus, Kelly Writers House, GRASP Lab, the Netter Center, or Wharton Social Impact.

If someone who knows you well could read your UPenn essays 2025–26 without your name and immediately recognize you, you are on the right track.

Want expert feedback on your UPenn essays? Schedule a free consultation with Momentum College Prep.

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