Princeton a Few Details Funny Examples
- What are the Princeton supplemental essay prompts?
- How to write each prompt for Princeton University
- Prompt #1: "Extracurricular activity" essay
- Prompt #2: "Diverse perspectives" essay
- Prompt #3: "Service & civic engagement" essay
- Prompt #4: "New skill" essay
- Prompt #5: "What brings you joy" essay
- Prompt #6: "Soundtrack of your life" essay
- Prompt #7: "A.B. degree & undecided applicants" essay
- Prompt #8: "B.S.E. degree applicants" essay
The Princeton supplemental essays cover a wide range of topics, from extracurricular activities to favorite books and movies—even how you spend your summer. While the breadth and depth of the Princeton essay questions may seem overwhelming, consider that they may be doing you a favor by giving you a chance to share more (okay, a lot more) about who you are beyond your grades and test scores.
If you want to get a clearer sense of all that Princeton is looking for, you can explore an extensive, by-the-numbers look at its offerings, from enrollment and tuition statistics to student life and financial aid information, on its Common Data Set. And for insights into how the university envisions itself and its role, and how it wants to grow and evolve, read its strategic plan. Reading through these will give you a strong idea of what Princeton values.
What are the Princeton supplemental essay prompts?
Briefly elaborate on an activity, organization, work experience, or hobby that has been particularly meaningful to you. Please respond in about 150 words. (200 words max)
At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future? (50-350 words)
Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals. (50-350 words)
What is a new skill you would like to learn in college? (50 words)
What brings you joy? (50 words)
What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment? (50 words)
For Applicants Pursuing an A.B. Degree (or are Undecided): As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? Please respond in about 250 words. (50-350 words)
For Applicants Pursuing a B.S.E. Degree: Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in, or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. Please respond in about 250 words. (50-350 words)
How to Write Each Supplemental Essay Prompt for Princeton
how to write Princeton Supplemental Essay Prompt #1
Briefly elaborate on an activity, organization, work experience, or hobby that has been particularly meaningful to you. Please respond in about 150 words. (200 words max)
Quick Tips for this Essay:
#1: Try to tie the extracurricular activity or work experience of choice back to a specific value (or several values) in your life. Rather than just state what you did point-blank, make it resonate for the reader by connecting it to some aspect of what makes you, well, you.
#2: Value content (information) over form (poetry). Space is limited here, so make sure the reader understands what you've done and what you've learned.
#3: Use active verbs so that readers get a clear sense of what you've done. This just makes things more engaging and dynamic overall.
#4: Consider starting your essay with a small challenge or problem you were trying to solve. In fact, probably name the problem in the first couple sentences. Then, tell us what you did about it. Then what you learned. Hey, that's a simple structure you can use right now.
#5: Write it long first, then cut it. In our experience, this tends to be easier than writing a very short version and then trying to figure out what to add.
#6: Don't forget to include specific impacts, even if they're brief. If possible, connect your time and energy with a meaningful outcome. Example: "I did X, and that resulted in Y." The Y is just as important as the X because it shows your work paid off and (maybe even) inspired some kind of change, either internally (in you) or externally (in the world).
Here's a great example for this essay:
Example 1:
I look up at the wall. This feels impossible.
"Just go for it!" my friend Jack says to me. "It seems harder than it is."
During my first year climbing, I spent much time contemplating all possible routes and strategies. But gradually I've realized: because my perspective is limited as I stand on the ground, there's only so much I can tell from looking ahead. Sometimes it is better to just go for it. Over the last couple of years this lesson has served me well: Had I known the difficult rhyme patterns I'd have to follow, I may not have written my play. Had I known the amount of reading ahead of me, I may not have started my research on Neo-Confucianism.
"Come on, [Student]!" Jack again.
I look up at the wall. Still feels impossible.
But I put a hand on it. Then a foot. Then pull up.
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Tips + Analysis:
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Start off with something kind of unexpected. In a 150-word essay, we don't necessarily expect someone to admit that something could go wrong. However, this author is honest about feeling doubt as she looks up at the wall she's trying to climb. This draws readers in as they question how she'll overcome this obstacle and find a way to get to the top. It creates suspense and also shows us that the author is willing to be vulnerable.
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Make connections. Although this essay is primarily about one activity (climbing), the author cleverly weaves in connections to other activities. She notes that the lessons she learned from climbing have given her the guts to write her own play and the motivation to start research on Neo-Confucianism. Those activities aren't the focal point of the essay, but they help us learn more about the applicant. Although you actually do have to choose only one activity to answer this prompt, this is a great example of how you can use connections to highlight more parts of yourself.
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Show growth. At the start of this essay, the author is at an impasse. Climb the wall or don't climb the wall? Impossible or manageable? By the end, the author has demonstrated to us that she's the kind of person who's willing to take on the seemingly impossible. What we like is that she doesn't focus on whether or not she actually got to the top of the wall. She's more interested in the mindset it takes to get started. The growth she demonstrates is subtle, but the fact that she can reflect on it well makes her essay stand out.
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Choose an uncommon topic (if you can). Sure, this student could've written about being president of the debate club. Or how she'd played piano for eight years. But many students write about those things. You know what many students don't write about? Climbing.
Pro Tip: While you may worry that a less "impressive" (in terms of accomplishments) extracurricular activity won't show off your strengths as well, consider using your Activities List and Additional Information section to emphasize what you've done, and use this 150-word essay to show a more uncommon side of yourself.
How to write Princeton Supplemental Essay Prompt #2
At Princeton, we value diverse perspectives and the ability to have respectful dialogue about difficult issues. Share a time when you had a conversation with a person or a group of people about a difficult topic. What insight did you gain, and how would you incorporate that knowledge into your thinking in the future? (50-350 words)
This is a new prompt for Princeton this year, but here's a past student's essay that could have worked well for this prompt:
Example 2:
When I joined the Durham Youth Commission, a group of students chosen to represent youth interests within local government, I met Miles. Miles told me his cousin's body had been stuffed into the trunk of a car after he was killed by a gang. After that, my notion of normal would never be the same.
A melting pot of ideologies, skins, socio-economic classes, faiths, and educations, the DYC is a unique collaborative enterprise. Although I was initially intimidated after hearing stories like Miles', I soon realized that the members of the DYC never let difference become an obstacle to understanding. Even now, our experiences are like an elaborate network of roads: weaving, bumping, and diverging in unexpected ways. The Commission allowed us to bring our individual experiences into a shared space of empathy.
Miles talked about his cousin's broken body. DYC supervisor Evelyn Scott explained that girls get ten-day school suspensions for simply stepping on another student's sneakers. Witnessa educated us about "food deserts," where people can't count on their next meal. And I talked about being born in Tokyo, moving to London, and living in North Carolina, finding a way to call each place home. How my family's blending of Jewish tradition and Chinese culture—bagels and lox on weekends and dumplings every Lunar New Year—bridges distinct worlds.
My experience in this dynamic space of affirmation and engagement has made me a more thoughtful person and listener. Listening empathetically helped us envision multifaceted solutions to issues facing 21st-century youth. I want to continue this effort and be the woman, student, and friend who both expands perspectives and takes action after hearing people's stories. Reconciling disparate lifestyles and backgrounds in the Commission has prepared me to become a compassionate leader, eager to both expand perspectives and take collaborative action. (299 words)
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Tips + Analysis:
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Use the prompt to structure your essay. The great thing about this prompt is that it gives you a distinct narrative structure to follow as you write. At a basic level, you might structure your outline like this: a) difficult conversation, b) insight, and c) what now, or what next? If you look at this essay, it pretty much uses this format. The first paragraph discusses the writer's conversation with Miles, then she transitions into talking about the key insight she learned, which is that difference doesn't have to be a roadblock to community connection/understanding. Her last paragraph is forward-looking and demonstrates how she plans to incorporate what she's learned into future interactions.
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Bring it back to you. Although the prompt asks you to talk about a conversation you had with someone else, remember that the person reading your application ultimately wants to know more about you. In this essay, the writer mentions important things she learned from Witnessa, Miles, and Mrs. Evelyn. But she doesn't let that supplant her own contributions to the group. She even works in details about her Jewish traditions and year abroad in London into the conversation. These show she has something to bring to the table without trying to overshadow the stories of the other people she talks about. Think about how you can weave yourself into the story as you write. Why? This will make you an active participant (rather than a passive observer) in your story.
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Consider using a hook. This first sentence draws us in. Important: Be careful not to use violence or harm in an overly gratuitous way. But this author toes the line well. You can also bring people in with a funny anecdote or insight, maybe even a pithy one-liner.
How to Write Princeton Supplemental Essay Prompt #3
Princeton has a longstanding commitment to service and civic engagement. Tell us how your story intersects (or will intersect) with these ideals.
(50-350 words)
Two questions to ask yourself as you brainstorm topics for this prompt:
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What sort of service and civic engagement projects have you been involved with? Your Activities List is a good place to start.
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Are there any essays you're already writing for another school that you could double with this prompt? If so, it may be a candidate for a Super Essay.
Do you have meaningful examples and anecdotes that bring the values of service and civic engagement to life—like the club you started to teach chess to fifth-graders, or the recycling project you led in your neighborhood, or the comedy skits you put on for the local senior center? Your topic of choice should be something you genuinely care about. You'll find it much easier to write with enthusiasm if you talk about something you actually find important and interesting.
Once you've picked a topic, you'll notice you're (probably) writing an extracurricular activity essay. Here's a complete guide on how to write that. You'll want to make sure your values are super clear by the end of the essay.
Finally, you may choose to weave in how you'll continue this work (or continue to explore these values) at Princeton. If so, consider connecting your goals with unique resources at the university. Read this "Why us?" essay guide for tips and examples. This might make up just the end of your essay.
Below is an example of how to segue from an extracurricular activity (in this case, the experience described in the prompt above this one) into a "Why us?" essay.
Note that this was written for a different school, and the word limit is longer, but the principles here apply.
Example 3:
When I joined the Durham Youth Commission, I met Miles. Miles told me his cousin's body had been stuffed into the trunk of a car after he was killed in a gang fight. After that, my notion of normal would never be the same.
Drawing its nearly thirty members from a spectrum of public, charter, and private high schools, the DYC is a group of motivated students chosen to represent youth interests within the Durham County government. To say it is diverse would be an understatement. It is a melting pot of ideologies, skins, socio-economic classes, faiths, and educations that is nearly unparalleled in Durham.
When I first heard stories like Miles', I only saw the ways in which our lives seemed to be going in thirty different directions. However, I soon realized that the members of the DYC never let those differences become an obstacle to understanding. Even now, our experiences are like an elaborate network of roads: weaving, bumping, and diverging in unexpected ways. The DYC became an outlet for us to bring our individual experiences into a shared space of empathy.
Miles recounted heartbreaking stories about boys who are brutally punished for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. DYC supervisor Evelyn Scott told me about girls who get ten-day school suspensions for simply stepping on another student's sneakers. Witnessa educated us about "food deserts," where people never know when their next meal will be. And I talked about being born in Tokyo, moving to North Carolina, and living in London for a year, finding a way to call each place home. How my family's blending of Jewish tradition and Chinese culture—bagels and lox on weekends and dumplings every Lunar New Year—bridges distinct worlds. Honest discourse takes place at every meeting, adding new facets to my knowledge of the local community.
My experience in this dynamic space of affirmation and engagement has shaped me into a more thoughtful person and listener. We learn from each other and use our differences to come up with multifaceted solutions for issues facing 21st-century youth. It is that motivation to solve real problems through cooperation and tolerance that I would bring to the Macalester community. After joining the DYC, I felt my life's frame of reference double in size. I want to continue this effort and be the woman, friend, classmate, and student who both expands perspectives and takes action after hearing people's stories. Macalester has a genuine devotion to increasing multiculturalism, promoting diversity, and broadening students' worldviews. Whether it be through the SPEAK Series, nearly thirty organizations promoting on-campus diversity, over ninety study-abroad programs, or a multitude of course partnerships with Twin Cities businesses, Macalester is the ideal place for me to continue the growth I've started in the DYC. Reconciling disparate lifestyles and backgrounds has prepared me to become a compassionate leader at Macalester, a place where I can both expand perspectives and take collaborative action. (489 words)
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How to Write Princeton Supplemental Essay Prompts #4-6:
The Short Answers
Prompt #4: What is a new skill you would like to learn in college? (50 words) Prompt #5: What brings you joy? (50 words) Prompt #6: What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment? (50 words)
Here are some general tips to get you started on the short-answer portion of the Princeton application:
#1: Think of your short answers as an advent calendar. Consider that each of your short answers, no matter how short, is a tiny window into your soul. Make sure the reader finds something inside that's awesome and different from the window before.
#2: Use all or most of the space allotted to explain your answer. You're given space for 50 words for an answer that could easily be one or two words. So use it up! In other words, you can answer "why," even if the prompt doesn't ask you to. Do this because your core values may be hard to express in 1-2 words.
#3: Get specific. Don't just give a generic answer followed by a generic reason for your generic answer. Be creative and use details that give you a distinctive/memorable voice.
#4: Feel free to take (calculated) risks on these. Get creative. Push boundaries (a little). To clarify, we don't mean shock for the sake of shock value; make sure you're still revealing core values (one of which might be humor, for instance). Speaking of which ...
#5: Don't check your humor at the door. If you're funny in life, feel free to be funny in your short answers. If you're not funny, no need to start now. ;)
#6: Offer a variety of things you're interested in. If you love science and wrote a supplemental essay about science, don't answer prompt #2 with 20 journals, websites, or publications you've read on ... science. Show how you find joy in astrophysics but also literature, philosophy, Star Trek, programming, and Godfather 1 and 2 (but not 3.)
#7: Note that there isn't, like, some magical key/code with these where, if you answer the right thing for your favorite website, then the door to Princeton will be magically opened to you (although imagine that). These are just a chance (well, three chances) for the school to get to know you better. So make the most of them by sharing values and insights, but don't over-obsess as though your life depends on them. 'Cuz it doesn't.
How to Write the Princeton Supplemental Essay Prompt #7
For Applicants Pursuing an A.B. Degree or are Undecided: As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? Please respond in about 250 words. (50-350 words)
Example 4 (originally for Lehigh University):
I embody two souls: an untamed businesswoman and her introverted companion. I'm one of those people who talks to strangers at auctions for hours, but can't explain her feelings to friends. At the same time, I'm a leader in my own little universe: daughter, sister, self-reliant real estate magnate (so I'd like to think). In Lehigh I see similar dichotomies: classic, but contemporary by nature; a deeply American institution, but one that celebrates its cultural diversity. At Lehigh, this confident entrepreneur who's still looking for her voice will thrive on competition. Business is my forte, math is my happy place, and I look forward to majoring in Business Economics with a minor in Mathematics.
My future is also firmly tied to my identity as a Muslim woman and my commitment to my faith. As I publicly become the person I am in private, I can see myself as a leader in Lehigh's MSA, Best Buddies, or the Family Business club. I also look forward to creating collaborative spaces with other like-minded folks in my own "Economics of Food" club.
Speaking of which, I've been a foodie since childhood, passionately consuming Mauritian Gato Pima, chicken feet, and the Bangladeshi delicacy Sweet Shemai. At Lehigh, I can begin my journey of becoming a great restaurant maven with classes like "Supply, Cost, and Risk Management" and "Entrepreneurship and Enterprise." As a restaurateur and polyglot who loves to travel, I hope to add three or four languages to my arsenal, starting with "Latin Prose," "German Conversation and Composition," and "Elementary French."
And someday, in addition to running my Bengali/French/Italian fusion restaurants, I will become the next Cathy Engelbert, fighting for the next generation of ambitious young women, a journey I started at Lehigh.
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How to Write the Princeton Supplemental Essay Prompt #8
For Applicants Pursuing a B.S.E. Degree: Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in, or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. Please respond in about 250 words. (50-350 words)
For this one, rather than general tips, check out our complete guide on the "Why us?" essay. Want the TL;DR version? Here it is …
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Don't talk about things Princeton already knows about itself and hears from tons of other applicants. These are things like weather, location, ranking, or reputation. Also try to avoid taking language directly from the website or brochures. Articulate things in your own words.
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Weave in your qualities, skills, and interests. Don't just talk about why you like Princeton. Explain why you're a good fit for the school. Remember, it's a two-way street.
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Research—a lot. Find specific resources, programs, or classes that appeal to you. This includes reading student reviews and doing tours (online, in-person, or both). You might even want to talk to the local rep for your area. You can find this person on Princeton's website.
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Connect back to your core values. For each part of Princeton that you like and want to explore, explain how that relates to one of your guiding principles.
Example 5 (note that your essay will be a bit shorter than this one):
The reason I love engineering can be summed up in one of my favorite jokes: "To an optimist, the glass is half full. To a pessimist, the glass is half empty. To an engineer, the glass is twice as big as it should be."
In my pursuit of a chemical engineering degree, it is important to me that Princeton has an ABET accredited School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, ensuring that I will be learning material that is both applicable and relevant to the industry. I am especially interested in the new Environmental Biotechnology class offered to CBE students, as I want to learn more about oncolytic viruses and gene therapy. I am confident that I will be able to handle the rigor of this class as I have already taken sophomore and junior level classes, such as Differential Equations and Genetics, at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Through this, I have learned how to study effectively for college courses while also connecting with my genetics professor, Dr. John McDonald, on possibly working with him on functionalized nanoparticle drug delivery to cancer cells.
I want to continue working on independent research at Princeton as well. For the past few years, I have been working on designing biosensors for Alzheimer's detection and a new water purification technology. I want to use Princeton's unique focus on independent investigations and its requirement of a senior thesis to continue this. More specifically, I am interested in working at the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment with Professor Jose Avalos of the Avalos Research Group on biosensor and bioremediation research. I feel prepared to handle the rigor of the lab, having already worked in a cleanroom and on my own major research projects with mentors from Georgia Tech and the Indian Institute of Technology. Most of all, I hope to utilize the eLab Incubation Program and Summer Accelerator to bring my research ideas to the market.
At Princeton, I would also like to pursue an Entrepreneurship certificate. Students I spoke with highlighted how their certificates weren't just extra work on a different subject but were woven in with their majors, empowering them to apply the fundamentals of science to the real world. Having been part of the Talented Young Entrepreneurs program as well as writing a business plan for a mock startup company through FBLA, I hope to use Princeton's certificate program to supplement my chemical engineering degree in order to start my own biotech business one day.
Finally, I look forward to continuing my Science Olympiad experience at Princeton, one of the only major schools to run a tournament. My years of not only competing in events such as Chem lab, Hovercraft, and Robot Arm, but also helping organize the largest Division B Invitational in the Southeast, provide me with ample experience for serving in a supervisory role for the Princeton Invitational. And the plethora of poorly run events that I have participated in ensure that no one else will ever have to go through that.
My experiences in high school have allowed me to determine only that a glass is too big. But at Princeton, I know I will have the perfect tools to complete my journey to become an engineer, and finally see the glass as exactly "twice as big as it should be."
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Tips + Analysis:
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Notice the hook. The author starts off with a joke that shows her fondness for the particularities of engineer-types. We like her and want to keep reading.
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It's clearly about the engineering school. This may be fairly obvious, but keep in mind that the question is asking you to reference a specific school within Princeton as a larger institution. The author here doesn't just say why she likes Princeton as a whole; she shows that she's done her research about the program named in the prompt. She tells us a specific certificate she'd like to pursue, a research project she'd like to join, and classes she'd like to take. Specifics here are key.
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The author brags in a way that makes sense. This author has done a lot of wonderful things in high school that she (justifiably) highlights in this essay. However, as mentioned before, she does this in a logical way, by connecting her past to her future. For every past accomplishment she mentions, she follows it up with a pledge to continue learning by utilizing Princeton's engineering resources.
By this point you should have all the tools you need to begin writing your own answers to Princeton's supplemental essay prompts. It's time to start.
Special thanks to Luci for contributing to this post.
Luci is an audiophile and storyteller with a love of all things radio and writing. In the wild, you might catch her struggling through a NY Times crossword puzzle, snuggling her abnormally fluffy dog Oreo, or saying her favorite expression "cool beans." Crosswords, cute dogs, cool beans. What more could you ask for?
Top values: Interpersonal connections | humor | openness to new experience
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