Tuesday, July 18, 2023

2023-2024 UVA Writing Prompts

Confession: I really liked last year's writing prompts. We had only been reading applications for a few days when I first marveled at how well students were expressing themselves in the new short answer portion of our application. During one of my live q&a sessions on Instagram, I wondered if students being able to write meaningful, concise statements was a function of growing up writing captions on social media...something for people to study one day!

In the past, a few admission officers have met to go over feedback about the application essays to see if we should tweak the writing prompts. This year, we had a lot more input during the update process. The change is pretty big: most applicants will answer one prompt for the UVA portion of the Common App. Those applying to the School of Nursing will answer two. 

So let's get to the prompts. 

All Applicants (250 words or less)

What about your individual background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA?

School of Nursing (250 words or less)

Describe a health care-related experience or another significant interaction that deepened your interest in studying Nursing.


I'll be sharing some advice about writing for our application during those live sessions on Instagram in the coming weeks. Those happen most Thursdays at 3 PM.