The Boston University supplemental essay question is short and sweet. You’ll have a maximum of 250 words to answer it.
Let’s take a look and go over how you can write your own.
What about being a student at Boston University most excites you?
Yep—that’s it. It’s a classic “Why Us” prompt.
Remember that your goal for Why Us essays is twofold:
- Show that you’ve done thorough school research.
- Show academic, cultural, and values-based alignment.
To begin, you’ll need to head to BU’s website and do some digging. Look at their admissions page, academic offerings, and campus life. Search for anything that resonates with you.
In particular, be on the lookout for:
- Specific majors or programs
- Extracurricular opportunities: clubs, internships, on-campus jobs
- Research opportunities
- Faculty research projects
- Student research projects
- BU’s motto and mission statement
Analyze and take note of the things that excite you the most, then start thinking about how and why they excite you. Do they connect to past activities you’ve done or classes you’ve taken? Do they make you feel at home? Are they related to your goals or aspirations? Is there a particularly unique feature you can’t find anywhere else?
Once you’ve got your research down and connections down, you’ll be ready to start writing. Overall, the essay you write should communicate to your BU admissions officer that you are a natural fit for Boston University—academically, culturally, and in terms of values.
Before you get started, there are some major don’ts you should avoid:
- Don’t focus on only one feature of the school.
- Don’t choose relatively superficial reasons like weather or location.
- Don’t write a generic essay that could apply to any school.
- Don’t forget that this essay is still about you and your fit for BU.
With that, you’re ready to get to writing.
If you want more BU admissions insights, be sure to check out our How to Use the Boston University Common Data Set post and How to Get into Boston University guide. And if you need more college essay support, we’ve got an entire digital course that goes in-depth on how to write any college essay. It’s called the Essay Academy, and it’s chock full of tips and examples. See you in class. 👋
