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How to Write the University of Tennessee Essays 2023-2024

The University of Tennessee has two supplemental essays, but both of them are optional. Although we normally advise that you respond to any optional prompt you encounter, these are different, as they are asking for specific, additional information related to unusual circumstances or struggles you’ve dealt with. So, in this case, you should only respond if these prompts are truly relevant to your life–this isn’t a second (or third) personal statement.

If you do think your application would be incomplete without the information these prompts are asking for, read on, as we’ll break down each one and how to write an informative, reflective response.

University of Tennessee Supplemental Essay Prompts

Prompt 1:  If applicable, please share any circumstance(s) that would have had an adverse impact on your academic performance. (Optional, 250 words)

Prompt 2 (UT Go Vols Portal Only): Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. (Optional, No word count provided)

If applicable, please share any circumstance(s) that would have had an adverse impact on your academic performance. (Optional, 250 words)

As noted above, while optional prompts are usually a great way to show further interest in your school, unusual circumstances prompts are a bit different. So, you should only respond to this prompt if you truly did have unusual circumstances that impacted your ability to participate or succeed in school. What would an impacted experience look like?

• You were unable to attend school for a period of time or regularly missed significant amounts of school. An example might be a natural disaster or family emergency. 
• You did not have sufficient time or access to resources to complete work inside or outside of school. An example might be helping family with childcare or a lack of regular Internet access that prevented you from completing homework. 
• Though you were present and had access to resources, you were unable to fully engage with school. An example might be an undiagnosed learning disorder, or a personal tragedy that made it difficult to focus. 

If your experience falls into any of these broad categories, or is closely related, you might consider writing this supplement, so the admissions committee can be aware of this circumstance as they evaluate your application. If you experienced something difficult in high school but it did not affect your academic performance, do not answer this prompt.

If you do choose to write this essay, keep your writing clear and concise. Write specifically and plainly about what your circumstances were and how they affected your ability to attend school, focus in school, or complete work outside of school. This is not an essay where you need to worry about unique narrative structure, vivid description, or sophisticated language choice; just be clear about what your situation is or was. 

Finally, make sure to clearly state exactly how this circumstance affected your academic performance. If you write that you suffered from Lyme disease, explain how those symptoms made it difficult for you to focus or attend school; do not expect admissions officers to know how that condition might impact a person’s life. Even if you feel it is relatively obvious how something would have affected you, it is better to state it explicitly in your own words, and describe it in relation to your own life and scholastic career. 

Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts. If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. (Optional, No word count provided)

Note that, in order to access this prompt, you’ll have to log in to UT’s “Go Vols” portal–you won’t find it on the Common App. Now, once again, this is a prompt that you should only answer if it truly applies to your life. Answering this prompt does not make you seem any more invested in the University of Tennessee. If you do feel COVID or a natural disaster has impacted your academic record, there are many ways it might have done so. Here are some things to consider.

• Maybe contracting COVID once or repeatedly, or fleeing or recovering from a natural disaster, meant that you missed critical times in school that you were unable to make up or catch up on. 
• Perhaps you had to switch suddenly to online schooling, or take extra precautions for yourself or an immunocompromised family member, and the stress of these changes took a toll on your focus and classroom performance. 
• You may have developed long COVID, or a medical condition or disability in relation to a natural disaster, like smoke from fires aggravating your asthma. 
• Many families’ finances and access to resources were severely affected by COVID or by other natural disasters. If your financial situation or access to resources changed suddenly, your ability to perform academically or remain involved in activities may have been affected. 
• Maybe you lost someone or some important things, like a home or material possessions, as a result of COVID or a natural disaster. The grief associated with this may have affected your academic record or activities. 

If you do choose to write a response to this essay, keep your answer clear, detailed, and specific. There is no word limit, but try to keep to the facts of what happened and how it affected you. This is not a prompt where you should think about uniqueness or dynamic story structure; focus on explaining your circumstances concisely and clearly, with attention to how the experience affected you.

You don’t need to explore global effects, or describe a catastrophe in detail. Keep it personal, and keep it precise, describing how this event looked in your own life. You can be a bit broader here in terms of impact—this prompt allows you to talk about impacts not just in school, but on your family, safety, circumstances, and future plans. Statements should still be specific—“Having long COVID made me doubt that I could handle leaving home to go to college, which made me less motivated to get back to school” is a stronger statement than “Having long COVID changed everything.”

If you do have unusual circumstances that have affected your life and your college application, the University of Tennessee wants to consider that as they review your application. Make sure in this essay that you are giving the admissions team all the information they need to make a fair, holistic evaluation of your application.

Where to Get Your University of Tennessee Essays Edited

Writing essays can be tricky, especially when you’re facing the pressure of explaining unusual life circumstances that have impacted your academic career. Going through the editing process with another pair of eyes can help identify areas where your essay could be stronger, as well as areas that you’re already doing well. CollegeVine has created a free Peer Review Essay Tool , where you can get feedback on your essay, and give feedback to other students just like you!

CollegeVine also offers essay review by our team of experienced advisors, who have helped hundreds of students submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you and get the feedback you need to make your application a success!

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University of Tennessee’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Additional info short response.

If applicable, please share any circumstance(s) that would have had an adverse impact on your academic performance.

Additional Info Essay

Community disruptions such as COVID-19 and natural disasters can have deep and long-lasting impacts.  If you need it, this space is yours to describe those impacts. Colleges care about the effects on your health and well-being, safety, family circumstances, future plans, and education, including access to reliable technology and quiet study spaces. (Go Vols Portal Only)

Common App Personal Essay

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

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Honors College Essay: Tips, Prompt Examples and How to Write

Writing honors college essay

An honors college essay is an academic paper that students typically complete to establish entrance into an honors college, program, or division. An honors paper seeks to test students’ research skills and focus their analytical abilities on a subject of academic interest. 

Due to the specialized focus of the paper, students benefit from serious attention to the college essay topics, which are vital in developing the essay.

An Honors College essay is unique in terms of its requirements, structure, and background. The purpose of this article is to provide advice on writing and structuring an Honors College essay.

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Which Universities do Ask for Honors College Essay

1. uci (university of california irvine) .

The UCI has two programs, the Academic Honors Program and the Honors Program. Both are popular with many members. They are not mutually exclusive, but they have different requirements and different goals.

The Academic Honors Program is for students who want to get recognized by their professors for academic achievement. It does not require an essay but several letters of recommendation from faculty members.

You should not apply to either program if you are only interested in one or the other because there is no guarantee that either program will accept your application or that you will gain acceptance into either program.

2. VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University)

The applicants must complete the 500-word Essay on Honors. The essay should address the following topics:

• Your interests and goals, especially as they pertain to your intended major(s) and career path(s). How do you feel about being a lifelong learner?
• Your ideas about leadership, including h
• How you would define leadership, what your leadership style is, how you would use your abilities as a leader to positively impact your community in and out of college, and how you would lead if given the opportunity.

3. NJT (New Jersey Institute of Technology)

NJT requires you to write an essay and submit it along with your application.

These honors college essays usually focus on your intellectual interests and experiences, using specific examples to illustrate your points. It’s essential to select an area you are interested in and know about. 

You should also pick something that you can write about easily; it will be evident if you are writing a research paper or other academic work instead of an honors college essay, so don’t try to fake it!

4. Purdue University

Purdue University’s Honors College focuses on scholarship, leadership, research, and engagement by integrating residential and co-curricular learning opportunities with academic classroom experiences.

Your college application essay needs to breathe life into your application. It should capture your genuine personality, explaining who you are beyond a series of grades, test scores, and after-school activities. 

Take a minute and think about the college or university admission officers who will be reading your essay.

5. Stony Brook University

The Stony Brook Honors College provides an exceptional opportunity for students who want to pursue a challenging course of study in the company of talented peers. Your essay should be no longer than three double-spaced pages and should address certain questions.

It is an opportunity to explain an event that took place on any day in history; what would that event be? Discuss why you chose this particular day. Also, as this question, what do you hope to learn/experience by being present?

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How to Write a Good Honors College Essay

Honors college essays follow a formal style with a clear structure. To get your honors college essay, follow these tips:

• Think about the prompt and what you want to say.
• Brainstorm.
• Organize your thoughts into a logical outline.
• Write your introduction.
• End with a conclusion that sums up the main points of your argument and connects those points back to the prompt.

Technically, the honors college essay can be a five-paragraph essay, but it should be more than that.

It should be closer to a 10-paragraph essay, with an introduction and conclusion paragraph that are each about four or five sentences long.

The introduction and conclusion paragraphs should be about the same size. The middle of the essay should be about three paragraphs long, and each of them should be about four to five sentences long.

1. Introduction 

The introduction should have a hook which is a catchy sentence or two that gets the reader interested in reading your essay. Furthermore, it should have an explanation of why you want to go to Honors College: This is usually possible in one sentence. 

Also, there should be a thesis statement. This is usually evident in one sentence at the end of the paragraph. The thesis statement tells the reader what you plan to write about in your essay. For example: “I want to attend honors college because of their strong pre-med program.”

Write the body of your paper using transition words to connect your ideas and explain the connections between them.

The middle paragraphs should include an explanation of why you have chosen your career path and why you are interested. 

3. Conclusion

End with a strong conclusion that ties together everything you discussed within your paper, providing important takeaways for readers as well as leaving them feeling satisfied with what they just read.

Takeaways 

• You are writing an essay, not a text message. In other words, please use complete sentences and correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If proper English is not your strong suit, enlist someone proficient at it to help edit your essay.
• Be specific about what you want to study and why. Do not just say that you want an education; tell the reader what kind of education you want and why. This is particularly important if you plan to study something that you did not find at your high school. 
• The readers do not expect you to know everything about the field you plan to enter. They expect that you give serious consideration to it and explain why you want to pursue it beyond the fact that “it sounds interesting” or “it pays well.”
• Proofread your essays before sending them in. Errors will distract from whatever else is in those essays and may give us a negative impression of your abilities.

Things to Remember about Honor Essays

The honors essay is one of your best chances to stand out in a meaningful way from other applicants, so be sure to invest time in crafting a great response.

The admission office is looking for the following:

• The office wants to know that you understand what makes the honors program special. We have a diverse group of students and faculty who are passionate about learning and interacting across disciplines.
• What do you think this will mean for you? How will you take advantage of being in an environment that values interdisciplinary thinking?
• Your accomplishments. Let the audience know your talents. Have you excelled academically? What leadership roles have you taken on, or awards have you won? They want to discover what drives your passion for learning, leadership, and service.
• Your plans for the future. The honors program will prepare you for success beyond your skills, whether that’s graduate school or medical school, or a career in a completely different field. 

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Examples of Honors College Essay Topics

• Considering your lifetime goals, explain how your present and future academic activities will assist you in achieving your goals. 
• Settle for an issue of importance to you, whether it is political, personal, local, or international related. Then, craft an essay to explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your community, and your generation. 

When not handling complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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Albert Dorman Honors College

Tips for Writing an Honors College Essay

Writing an Honors College Essay (Max. 400 words)

A college essay is a chance for you to tell us what all your records cannot: who you really are, how you think, and how well you write. It is not an invitation to tell a story, write a novel, or write about other people's experiences. The main point of your essay is to tell us what you have to offer and how you will take advantage of what we have to offer .

• Write an essay that addresses the topic specified  on the application form. A general essay about yourself or an experience you had is not acceptable.
• Do not write your essay as if it were a novel. "The baby cried until it had to be comforted by its mother;" "I could not believe as I walked into my first class that this was the beginning of my engineering career." These tell us nothing about yourself. Regardless of what you may have been told in school, write a straightforward descriptive essay that directly addresses the question asked.
• Avoid clichéd, generic, and predictable writing, such as "I want to help people." This is particularly applicable to essays for accelerated program candidates.
• Do not quote our own description of our program. We know what we have to offer; we are interested in knowing what you have to offer and how you will use what we offer . Tell us about your interests and why the Albert Dorman Honors College is the right place for you.

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