texas a and m essay prompts

Texas A&M University Supplemental Essay Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to approach the Texas A&M essay prompts? CollegeAdvisor.com’s guide to the Texas A&M application essays will breakdown the Texas A&M essay requirements and show you exactly how to write engaging Texas A&M essays to maximize your chances of admission. If you need help answering the Texas A&M essay prompts, create your free or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

Texas A&M Essay Guide Quick Facts

• Acceptance rate of 63.0%— U.S. News ranks Texas A&M as a more selective school. 
• Every student must submit a Texas A&M essay through ApplyTexas or The Coalition Application . If you are applying as an engineer, you must write an additional Texas A&M essay.

Does Texas A&M have any supplemental essays?

Yes, there are two Texas A&M application essays. The Essay tab of Admission’s Freshman Application Page , lists the Texas A&M essay requirements. You’ll find both Texas A&M essay prompts there. In the first essay, you’ll share a bit about your high school career. The second, is an engineering-specific short answer question.

Does Texas A&M require a supplemental essay?

Yes, the Texas A&M requirements require all applicants to write Texas A&M application essays. While there are two Texas A&M essay prompts, there is only one required Texas A&M essay. Only students applying to the College of Engineering need to answer both Texas A&M essay prompts. 

To summarize, students applying as engineers will write two Texas A&M admissions essays. All other non-engineering students will write one Texas A&M essay. Now that we have established the Texas A&M essay requirements, let’s write those Texas A&M admissions essays!

How do I write my Texas A&M supplemental essay?

After you’ve reviewed the Texas A&M essay requirements, you can begin brainstorming topics for your Texas A&M essays.  Remember, there isn’t a perfect topic or a formulaic approach to writing your essay. Your Texas A&M admissions essays are an opportunity to infuse your application with your life, personality, and voice. Rather than trying to impress Admissions with your Texas A&M essays, go for honesty! That means being true to yourself and your experiences. 

No matter what topic you end up choosing to write about in your Texas A&M essays, it is important you remember your audience. Your Texas A&M application essays are part of an application, so you need to appeal to the needs of your reader: the Admissions team. They are looking to get a sense of who you are and how you’ll add to the vibrancy of their student body.

Here are three questions you should keep in mind when writing each of your Texas A&M admissions essays:

• Have I answered the prompt in my Texas A&M essay?
• Does my Texas A&M essay reflect who I am?
• Do I show how I will be an asset to the school’s community in my Texas A&M essay?

Now that we have our essay goals in mind, let’s move on to the first step: brainstorming. We have provided the 2021-2022 Texas A&M essay prompts below. You’ll find a breakdown of how to approach each question, as well as tips for writing Texas A&M application essays that will help you stand out in admissions. 

Texas A&M essay – Question 1 (Required)

Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? (no word limit).

The Texas A&M essay prompts do not have specified word limits. Because there is only one required Texas A&M essay and this prompt is open-ended, we suggest sticking between approximately 500-700 words. Remember, if your essay is too short, you may not be telling a complete or detailed story. Too long, and you may not keep your reader’s attention.

Generate ideas

This Texas A&M essay is going to be about cause and effect. As you brainstorm , split your page into two columns: “Opportunities/Challenges” and “How I Was Affected.” The first column addresses the “what” part of your Texas A&M essay. The prompt asks about plural opportunities or challenges. Therefore, it is important you write down as many memories you can think of, as you’ll likely be picking more than one to include in your Texas A&M essay. Also, this prompt specifically asks about your high school career . Restrict your brainstorming to high school memories. 

The second column will be the “why” of your Texas A&M essay. Why is it important for the admissions team to hear this story? For each opportunity or challenge, write a corresponding bullet point that summarizes what you learned, how you grew, why you were proud of yourself, or why it was important to you.

Look for patterns

Once you’ve completed your brainstorm, start looking for patterns or ways to group your experiences. Was there a particular class you grew in? Perhaps there was a challenge that later reappeared as an opportunity. Or maybe there’s an aspect of your personality that shined through in multiple situations.

Whatever you settle on, be sure to refer to the three objectives before you start drafting your Texas A&M essay. This breakdown has already helped you be sure you are responding to the prompt, so you need to be sure the story you’ve outlined will reflect something about who you are and how you might positively impact Texas A&M’s community.

Tell your story

All that’s left to do is tell your story. As you begin drafting your Texas A&M application essays, be sure you aren’t simply listing facts or details. Instead, string them together with your thoughts, feelings, and interpretations. Even if the events on paper are simple, your voice is what makes will make you stand out .

Essay Draft Key Questions:

• Does your Texas A&M essay tell a story about opportunities or challenges you faced in high school? 
• Did you show how your experiences helped shape who you are?
• Does your Texas A&M essay have a point of view?

Texas A&M essay – Question 2 (Required for Engineering Applicants)

Describe your academic and career goals in the broad field of engineering (including computer science, industrial distribution, and engineering technology). What and/or who has influenced you either inside or outside the classroom that contributed to these goals? (no word limit).

According to the Texas A&M essay requirements, all applicants to the School of Engineering must respond to a second prompt and write a total of two Texas A&M admissions essays. Neither of the Texas A&M essay prompts has word counts, so there is no specific word limit for your Texas A&M essays. Because this question is more straightforward, we suggest keeping your second Texas A&M essay between 300-500 words.

Although the topics are different, both Texas A&M essay prompts are cause & effect questions. For this brainstorm, split your page into two columns: “Academic and Career Goals” and “Who/What Inspires Me.” List out what you hope to learn and the kind of work and research you might want to do at college as well as the kind of positions or work you’d like to hold or be involved in post-graduation (including grad school if you’re already thinking of attending). Remember, whatever you include on your inspiration list needs to have “contributed to these goals,” so as you list people, topics, or events, also write down how they helped lead you to your goals. 

Focus on what’s important

Once you have all the information and details you’d like to include, all you need to do is write about them in a way that shows who you are and what is important to you. For example, if you already know the kind of job you’d like to have one day, you could start with your academic goals, reflect upon your inspirations, and end with your career aspirations. Or if there was one pivotal moment that has defined your path, maybe start with that moment and tell the story of how that has led you to have the goals you have today.

Everyone’s goals and inspirations will be specific to them. However, a strong Texas A&M essay should focus on your passion for engineering. Let that passion shine through in your writing, and you’ll be sure to have Texas A&M application essays that will blow the admissions team away. 

• Did you describe your academic and career goals in your Texas A&M essay? 
• Have you shown what has inspired you to reach for these goals?
• Does your Texas A&M essay reflect your passion?

What does Texas A&M look for in essays?

To begin, you should think of the Texas A&M essays as a chance to introduce yourself. They’re also an opportunity to set yourself apart from other applicants. Therefore, you’ll want to write your Texas A&M application essays in your own voice and show how your unique experiences have impacted how you view the world. The admissions team cares about more than just your grades and test scores; they care about the person behind the numbers.

Although it is not specifically mentioned in the Texas A&M essay requirements, it is expected your essays have the correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. In addition to telling your story, the admissions department is looking for Texas A&M admissions essays that are clear and polished. Excellent editing and proofreading are a must. The less distracted your reader is by little mistakes, the easier it will be to focus on the story your Texas A&M essays are telling.  

Tips for writing Texas A&M essays

In addition to providing the Texas A&M essay requirements, the university has a College Readiness page with resources and tips to help you through the application process. Be sure to review these tips on the website or below.  Approaching the Texas A&M application essays can be daunting. CollegeAdvisor offers 39 Essay Tips from Admissions Experts that will you navigate the writing process.

Answer the question

Our guide has already broken down the Texas A&M essay prompts to be sure you’ve answered the question completely. As you settle on a topic, be sure to use your Texas A&M admissions essays as an opportunity to touch on something not mentioned anywhere else in your application. Although the Texas A&M essay requirements don’t specifically tell you to, providing new information will help give the admissions team a full picture of who you are and the experiences that have prepared you for college.

Be authentic

We’ve said to “use your voice,” which is just another way to say be authentic. While it is important you keep your audience in mind (and specifically use language appropriate to the formality of a college application), it is also important you stay true to who you are. There’s no need to try to sound smarter or funnier or more serious in your Texas A&M essays than you do in real life – Admissions wants you to be yourself. 

Focus on details

The details you include will make your Texas A&M application essays stand out from the rest. Even if your circumstances or experiences seem like everybody else’s, your experience of them is what makes them special and unique to you. Being specific will also help bring your story to life and help drop your reader into your shoes so they can better understand who you are and what you bring to the table. 

Proofread your essay

Proofread, proofread, proofread! Grammar or spelling mistakes aren’t the end of the world. However, they do distract your reader from what is important: your story. Whether or not you are a strong proofreader, have a second pair of eyes on your Texas A&M essays. A teacher, counselor, or guardian is a great place to start. Even a fellow peer can be a good resource. Most importantly, your reader should give feedback on both grammar and story. This will ensure your final draft is as polished as it can be. 

As you begin compiling all the information you’ll need for your application, check out the Admissions blog for prospective students. Additionally, if you’d like more tips from Texas A&M’s undergraduate admissions team on approaching your essays, check out this video on telling your story!

Texas A&M Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

If the essay requirements seem daunting to you, remember that the admissions team wants to be impressed by you. There are so many types of students and people in the world. It is impossible to know who a person is by their grades and test scores alone. Consequently, the admissions teams reads the Texas A&M admissions essays to get a better understanding of each candidate as a person. Unlike the other aspects of your application, you have complete control over your Texas A&M application essays. Take that freedom and use your Texas A&M essays to show them your best, most curious self. Start early. Then, you’ll have time to brainstorm, draft, edit, rewrite, and proofread. With a little preparation, your Texas A&M application essays can wow the admissions team.

This 2021-2022 essay guide on Texas A&M was written by Stefanie Tedards. For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources on Texas A&M, click here . Want help crafting your Texas A&M admissions essays? Create your free account or schedule a free advising consultation by calling (844) 343-6272.

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How to Respond to the 2023/2024 Texas A&M University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Cece Gilmore is a Content Writer at Scholarships360. Cece earned her undergraduate degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University. While at ASU, she was the education editor as well as a published staff reporter at Downtown Devil. Cece was also the co-host of her own radio show on Blaze Radio ASU.

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Bill Jack has over a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. Since 2008, he has worked at Colby College, Wesleyan University, University of Maine at Farmington, and Bates College.

Maria Geiger is Director of Content at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.

Texas A&M is located in warm and sunny College Station, Texas. If you are set on becoming an “Aggie,” then crafting winning responses to the Texas A&M supplemental essays will help your application stand out from all other applicants. Keep reading our guide to learn how to best respond to the Texas A&M prompts! 

Breaking down the Texas A&M supplemental essay prompts

The Texas A&M supplemental essays may seem overwhelming at first. There is one optional prompt as well as a prompt just for engineering majors. So, be sure to know which prompts to respond to. 

Here is a breakdown of the Texas A&M prompts : 

• Essay Prompt 1

Short answer #1

Short answer #2.

• Short answer #3 (optional) 
• Prompt for College of Engineering only 

Tell us your story. What unique opportunities or challenges have you experienced throughout your high school career that have shaped who you are today? 

This prompt is an extremely open-ended and broad question. Therefore, you can take this as an opportunity to elaborate on anything you are proud of that was not included in your Common Application or Coalition Application . 

To begin, you should create a list to brainstorm ideas. Write down the most impactful opportunities and challenges that you encountered while in high school. Once you have narrowed down your list to two or three  of the most important and influential events, it is time to write your response! 

The important thing to do when responding to this prompt is not to just simply state the events but expand on the “why” of your prompt. 

Think about the following questions to help expand upon the prompt : 

• Why is it important to share these experiences? 
• What did you learn from this experience? 
• Did you grow from this event? 
• Why were you proud of yourself during this experience? 
• How has this experience shaped you into the person you are today? 

Whatever you write, be sure that you are telling your story. You want to be truthful and true to yourself and your interests. Being authentic will help the Texas A&M admissions officers see just how unique you are.

One important thing to remember throughout your response is that you are not just listing facts and details. Rather, you should weave together your thoughts in an organized and easy-flowing way. Your perspective and interpretation of the events that quite literally changed your life is what the admissions officers are looking for. 

Before submitting your answer to this prompt be sure to ask yourself these questions : 

• Does this prompt tell a story about opportunities or challenges you face while at high school? 
• Is this prompt response told in an organized way? 
• Did you show how your experience shaped who you are today? 

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Short answer section.

With a 10 to 250 word limit , these are true “short answer” questions. Therefore, be sure to stay short and sweet with your answers! Your response can be anywhere from a few sentences to a few paragraphs .

Describe a life event which you feel has prepared you to be successful in college.

This is an extremely broad question. Therefore, try to narrow down your most influential life event. 

Consider the following questions when brainstorming for this prompt’s response:

• What challenges have you faced that have changed your life? 
• How have you overcome obstacles in your life? 
• What are your most dominant traits?
• How are you prepared to become successful in college? 
• What do you want to do in the future? 
• What skills have you developed over the years? 
• How will you thrive at Texas A&M? 
• Who has helped you through your academic and social journey in high school?

Once you have narrowed down to your most influential life event, you should then describe this event in a narrative way. After describing said event, detail how it has impacted you. What have you learned that will make your college experience more successful?

Tell us about the person who has most impacted your life and why.

Right after reading this prompt, someone popped into your mind. Who was it? However, if you are not content with this person try brainstorming impactful people in your life. 

Think about the following to help you brainstorm people: 

• Family members
• Celebrities
• Historical figures

Once you have determined who has had the greatest impact on your life, describe them and your relationship with them. Are they a friend? Did you read their book every night? Are they still alive? Once you have introduced this person and your relationship to them, highlight how they impacted your life. 

Questions to consider: 

• Did this person teach you anything? 
• Would you be the person you are today without this person’s influence? 
• How exactly was this person impactful in your life? 

Short answer #3

If there are additional personal challenges, hardships, or opportunities (including COVID related experiences) that have shaped or impacted your abilities or academic credentials,  which you have not already written about , please note them in the space below.

This question is completely optional, so therefore, do not feel pressured to answer. Only answer this question if you have suffered academic or other types of hardships from COVID. 

Make sure you are not repeating anything that you have already written about in your application. This prompt is the opportunity to elaborate on circumstances that may have affected your grades, clubs, or anything else found on your application. 

If you choose to respond to this prompt, make sure that you are divulging the full truth. Do not beat around the bush and be specific with facts.  Explain any COVID-related hardships you may have experienced and how they negatively affected you. 

Engineering majors only prompt

“Describe your academic and career goals in the broad field of engineering (including computer science, industrial distribution, and engineering technology). What and/or who has influenced you either inside or outside the classroom that contributed to these goals? It is important to spend time addressing this question as it will be considered as part of the engineering review process. If you have chosen an engineering major for both your first and second choice majors, you will see the same question twice and may provide the same response to both questions.

Ultimately this question asks you to narrow down your engineering goals for a better understanding of you as an engineering student. Think about which field of engineering you specifically want to pursue and then think about what future goals you have for yourself. 

Consider the following questions:

• What career do you see yourself thriving in? 
• Why do you want to pursue this field? 
• What has influenced you to fulfill these goals? 
• Do you have any figures you look up to in this field? 
• How will your interests and talents be put to use in this field? 

After addressing the answers to a few of these questions, it is then important to address any experience you have had in this engineering field. 

Consider the following questions: 

• How did you become interested in this field? (YouTube video, teacher, parent, etc.) 
• Were you in any engineering or related clubs in high school? 
• Have you volunteered anywhere in the engineering community? 

Lastly, you should tie your response back to Texas A&M. 

Think about the following questions to help you tie your response back to Texas A&M

• What resources does Texas A&M have to help you reach your future and career goals?
• Are there any organizations you are looking to join?
• What specific classes are you excited to take? (Use the actual names of these classes!) 
• How will Texas A&M help you better than other schools? 

Final thoughts on the Texas A&M supplemental essays

The Texas A&M supplemental essays might seem a little daunting at first. However, there is no need to worry if you read every prompt carefully and outline your responses prior to writing. This will help you narrow down what to discuss in your prompt responses.

The most important thing is to be authentically you. Texas A&M is looking for unique, creative, and ambitious students to join their incoming freshman class to become part of their Aggie community. So, just be yourself!

Once you complete your Texas A&M supplemental essays, be sure to check over your writing for any mistakes and that you are answering the questions completely. Best of luck on your academic journey, and make sure that you apply for all the scholarships you qualify for!

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Additional resources

At Scholarships360, we offer free college admissions information at your fingertips. We understand that the college admissions process is challenging, and have tried our best to provide resources that can help you. 

Check out our following guides to help you navigate through college admissions: 

• How to write a 500 word essay
• How to answer the Common App Essay Prompts
• How to write an essay about yourself

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How to Write the Texas A&M University Essays 2017-2018

Though the “A” and “M” of Texas A&M University stood for “Agricultural” and “Mechanical” when the it first opened its doors in 1876, today the university offers over 130 different degrees, from anthropology to entomology, with branch campuses in Galveston and Qatar.

Texas A&M is a paradigmatic modern large public research institution, but it maintains strong ties to its agricultural roots: A&M students are affectionately known as “Aggies,” and the school’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences remains one of the world’s top research institutions for studying how our food is produced and delivered.

Whether you plan on placing pennies on Sully’s toe before an exam, or basking under the Century Tree in the aftermath, this article will guide you through the Texas A&M essay prompts while also offering some writing tips that should be useful no matter where you decide to apply.

The Texas A&M University application has three essays, two required and one optional. Before writing the individual essays, it is worth taking a moment to think about how all three of your essays might be used to tell one multi-dimensional story about yourself. Ideally each essay will help the admissions committee learn something new about you that they would not be able to get from looking at your test scores and grades.

For example, you might have one essay where you discuss your work in the Model United Nations club. In another essay, you might shift the focus from your interest in international relations to your own personal history: Maybe you grew up in Brazil and want to write about a quiet moment when your father first taught you how to make abará.

A common theme holds these essays together (your interest in and connection to cultures that reach across national boundaries), but the focus of each essay is distinct. You don’t want to just write two or three essays all on the topic of your work with the Model UN. The trick is to think about your essays as complimenting each other to build a multi-dimensional picture of yourself. Of course, no set of 300-500 word essays will ever be enough to communicate the whole of your personality. The challenge is to pick and choose the collection of anecdotes and experiences that will make an admissions committee want to invite you to their campus so that they can learn more.

Before we begin, a note on the third “optional” essay: Anyone who wants to present a more complete picture of themselves to A&M should go on ahead and write a thoughtful response . The only reason to pass on it would be if you are pressed for time and A&M is lower on your list of schools that you hope to attend. The first two essay prompts are fairly generic, and essays that you have used for other schools can probably be lightly edited and slotted in. The third essay is unique to A&M and a simple substitution probably will not work, but it also offers you the best chance to stand out as a mature and creative thinker.

Texas A&M Application Essay Prompts

Required prompt #1, what was the environment you were raised in describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person. (must be  no longer than 120 eighty-character lines of text, including spaces and blank lines . applytexas recommends that you keep your essay to between 500 and 750 words in length.) .

In order to write this essay, it is helpful to take a step back from the sometimes panic-inducing task of focusing on your college applications and instead look around. As you go about your day, maintain awareness of things that ordinarily seem insignificant, to the point that you may be taking them for granted.

For instance, remind yourself of the neighborhood you wake up in every day, the foods available to you for breakfast, and how you feel as you pass through your community on your commute to school. Reflect upon the impact your surroundings have on your day-to-day life and the ways in which they have fostered your personal development. You are probably familiar with your surroundings, to the point where they don’t seem particularly remarkable to you, but you are trying to introduce yourself to an admissions committee that probably knows very little about your hometown.

After reflecting on this exercise, you might realize that your work ethic stems from your gratefulness for the sacrifices your immigrant parents have made in order to give you a chance to succeed, or it could take the shape of your precocious desire to study geriatric medicine and hearing-loss pathologies because you have grown up in a town where the majority of your community is of advanced age.

This thought experiment is the perfect way to start dissecting what it is about your surroundings that has shaped you into the person you are today. Most importantly, it will show your essay reader that you have matured enough to be able to speak about yourself in a frank and vulnerable way. As long as you speak your truth, there is no wrong answer.

That being said, as you tell your story, you will want to avoid clichés and stay true to the complexity of your experience. If you have struggled to overcome obstacles, you don’t need to present yourself as a heroic individual that has achieved success because of your own grit and determination. You can acknowledge the bonds of friendship or family that helped you hold yourself together during tough times. There is nothing wrong with asking for help, and indeed having the courage to reach out and the humility to acknowledge your support network is one way to demonstrate maturity.

If you needed to watch after your father while he was suffering from early onset Alzheimer’s, you might talk about how you had to work with your sister to watch him in the evening, and how sometimes you needed to get out of the house and play soccer with your friends in order to be able to come back inside and commit yourself to the work of care all over again. Maybe that experience is part of what made you want to get into nursing, not only to help patients suffering from Alzheimer’s, but also to encourage patient’s family members to take care of themselves.

If you describe poignant tales of overcoming hardship and obstacles in your response, that is fine, as long as it is the truth. Some applicants might think that exaggerating their tales will score with admissions officers, but admissions officers are not judging your essay based on the level of hardship you have overcome. Rather, the question they will ask is what you’ve learned from your experiences and what kind of person you will be when you join the Texas A&M community.

One last word: As we’re revising this guide for the 2017 application season, the rains have only just barely stopped falling after Hurricane Harvey . The environmental, economic, and political dynamics of this disaster will be thought about and debated in the coming years as people try to rebuild more resilient cities in a changing climate. The students, faculty, and staff at Texas A&M will be taking part in this conversation.

If you were affected and feel so moved, you can certainly talk about your experience of the storm in your essay, even if you think that a lot of other applicants will also be talking about the storm as well. A major disaster contains a multitude of narratives, and if you focus on the particularities of your experience — what you lost, what you saw, how you imagine going forward — you will be making a contribution to a conversation about Harvey that will continue for years to come.

Required Prompt #2

Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. tell us about yourself.  (must be  no longer than 120 eighty-character lines of text, including spaces and blank lines . applytexas recommends that you keep your essay to between 500 and 750 words in length.) .

I am going to break up my discussion of this prompt into two parts. The first part addresses how you might write an essay about your “interest” or “talent,” and the second part addresses how you might write an essay about your “identity.”

‘Interest’ or ‘Talent’

This is your chance to discuss what makes you unlike the rest (or at least, the vast majority) of applicants. Whatever you choose to talk about, you should be able to talk about it with great specificity. If woodworking is your passion, you should be able to talk about the smell and feel of the woodworking shop; the best advice that you got from a mentor; a particularly challenging project that you undertook and how you succeeded (or what you learned in the process of failing); and the ways that you have tried to share your passion, whether it be by going to competitions, teaching others, or helping to repair a community center.

In order to identify the thing that is “essential” to you, you might try a simple thought exercise: try to imagine what your life would be like if it were missing something. How would you feel if you didn’t have a soccer game to play, if you didn’t have a friend to practice your German with, if you weren’t able to play the trumpet…

Eventually, you will come across something that’s absence will feel the most noticeable and impactful, and then you should make a clear mental note of why it feels so much heavier than the absence of something else. At this point, you have found at least one thing that defines you in an essential way, because if it were to be removed from your life, you would no longer feel like your true self.

Additionally, it would be helpful, although not necessary, to discuss a passion you have towards something that you could keep working on while at Texas A&M. Most important, however, is the fact that you want the subject of this essay to harmonize with the  central theme  of your entire application — do not define yourself by something that would appear random or out-of-place to an admissions officer. For example, if you’re a political science major who has held internships in law offices each summer, writing about your interest in astrophysics might seem a bit incongruous.

Afterward, it is time to begin putting these thoughts on paper. An effective strategy is to start with a narrative explaining how your interest formed, coupled with an explanation of the role it now plays in your life. For instance, if you decide to focus on your rowing career, you might describe the point at which it went from being a hobby forced upon you by your parents, to something that has allowed you to travel all over the United States and meet new people.

While you might want to include some mention of the awards you’ve won in rowing, woodworking, or piano playing, you should remember that an essay is different from a resume. The admissions officers already have your activity list, and if you’ve won a statewide piano competition they will already have that information. The more important thing to analyze — the thing that the admissions committee cannot get from reading your activity list — is a sense of what you have learned from pursuing your passion.

The most important thing that you can convey about the work you’ve put into your standup comedy routine is probably not that you won your high school talent show, but rather the fact that the first time you performed at an open mic night you bombed — but were able to hold it together, go back next week, and try again. If you are truly passionate about something, it probably means that you care enough about it to come back to it even after you have failed. Even though it can seem like your application wants you to paint one story of uninterrupted triumph, many universities are trying to teach their students to take risks and recover from failure .

If you are writing about “identity,” you might be a little bit uncomfortable with the prompt’s suggestion that your identity is “essential,” and you are certainly talking about something that is conceptually distinct from a hobby that you chose to pursue, like rowing or marching band. If you are talking about being black, or trans, or Latinx in the United States, you might be thinking about how your life’s story is embedded in a history that makes your identity an important part of your daily experience — whether you like it or not. While Texas A&M could probably have worded this prompt a little bit better, it is still possible to write an insightful essay about your “identity.”

If you are writing about identity, one way to approach this essay is to move from your own personal experience of “difference” to the larger historical, social, and political context that gives weight to that experience. For example, what did it mean to you when you went to the county courthouse for the first time and saw a monument to Confederate soldiers outside its door? As the events of this last summer suggest, these monuments have a contentious history, rooted not just in the Civil War itself but also in how different groups have interpreted and remembered that war in the early and mid-twentieth centuries.

You might also consider how “difference” has played a role, not just in your life but also in the lives of those you are closest to. For example, if your mother uses a wheelchair to get around, what have you learned about the way your community facilitates access for people with disabilities by going out to lunch at restaurants with her?

Finally, if you have a unique background, it does not mean that you need to commit to answering the “diversity question” that asks you to focus on your own personal experience. For example, if you’d like to talk about your family’s history, you might write a response to the previous prompt about how you have been interviewing your great aunts and great uncles about their experience of the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan .

Optional Essay Prompt

You’ve got a ticket in your hand. where will you go what will you do what will happen when you get there  (must be  no longer than 120 eighty-character lines of text, including spaces and blank lines . applytexas recommends that you keep your essay to between 500 and 750 words in length.) .

For all the young high school graduates bursting with wanderlust, this essay is for you. While you may be tempted to talk about that trip via yacht to New Zealand or Monaco you have always fantasized about taking, those dreams will not barter any favor with your essay reader at Texas A&M University.

Despite what some may believe, these sorts of questions definitely have right answers. For this prompt, the dream trip that your essay reader wants to see is not the same dream that you would describe to your friend. Either way, this prompt is an amusing way to exercise your imagination in a productive manner.

Pretend this prompt says that the ticket in your hand is for the purpose of professional, academic, or personal development, and then you can begin brainstorming about what it will be used for.

You should think about which experts in your field you have fantasized about meeting; which company headquarters’ strategy room you wish you could visit; what it would be like to go to the training site of your favorite professional soccer team after 12 years of playing the sport; or how it would be to have a 1-on-1 session with a famous editor you admire, since you are working on some script ideas.

Whatever its purpose, your ticket must be used for something creative that sheds light on your interests and personality, so try not to mention something trivial that would not ultimately benefit you in the eyes of an admissions officer.

It would be ideal to relate your ticket to an opportunity offered by Texas A&M, such as a boarding pass to Barcelona in order to study Spanish at a study-abroad program you read about on the university’s study-abroad page, because you work with Latinx immigrants in your community center and feel the need to bridge the cultural gap between you and your clients.

Describing the purpose of your experience will inform your essay reader of your interests, how far you are willing to go to fuel them, and most importantly, if you were given the chance, how you would take advantage of the opportunity to gain more experience in your interests. As you discuss what will happen when you reach your destination, remember that there are no limits to what could happen during this experience, so be creative!

Regardless of what you choose for the purpose of your ticket, your essay will fare best against the creativity of all your competitors if you are able to relate it to the activities, courses, and general experiences you would pursue at Texas A&M University.

We at CollegeVine wish you good luck!

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Texas A&M University 2017-18 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision: 

Texas A&M University 2017-18 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 3 essays of roughly a page each

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Community , Activity , Common App overlap

First and foremost, don’t freak out when you see six prompts listed on the Texas A&M application. There’s one set for ApplyTexas applicants and one set for Coalition applicants. Yes, you read that correctly. Texas A&M does not accept the Common App, so make sure you budget your time and effort wisely to get this supplement done. Anyone who plans to apply via the ApplyTexas platform should also check out our video on UT-Austin , which covers many of the same basic questions.

Average length is about a page to a page and a half.

The following essay topics are valid for the applytexas application only., essay a – required, what was the environment you were raised in describe your family, home, neighborhood, or community, and explain how it has shaped you as a person..

Chances are you’ve seen this prompt before, or at least one quite similar. We call this the Community Essay, because like all of its identical or almost-identical twins, this prompt is asking you to reflect on a community you are a part of, one that has played a big role in your life. When thinking about a response to this prompt, feel free to think about religious, cultural, geographical, or shared-interest communities you belong to. Focus your essay on the latter part of the question: how has it shaped you as a person? This is an opportunity for you to reflect on your background and give admissions a clear picture of the kind of person you are today.

Essay B – Required

Most students have an identity, an interest, or a talent that defines them in an essential way. tell us about yourself..

If you’re feeling another wave of déjà vu, it’s probably because you’ve noticed that this prompt is almost exactly the same as Common App prompt #1. This overlap is a boon to ApplyTexas applicants, especially if you’re still in the planning phase. Sync up your Common App personal statement with your response to Essay B and you’ll cut your work in half! When you dive into this essay, just remember how broad the categories “identity, interest, or talent” truly are. You should be able to align almost any story you have to tell with one of those categories, so forget about the prompt for now and brainstorm. Make a list of the things you love or hate. What are some of your favorite stories or most cherished experiences? You can write about something as monumental as your commitment to cancer research, an interest that developed when you began driving your mom to chemo. Or you can choose something as minute as your tidy desk, which reflects your penchant for creating order out of chaos. Whatever you choose, make sure you put your stamp on it. Write from a perspective that is uniquely yours so that when you hit submit, you know no one else could have told the same story.

Essay C – Optional

You’ve got a ticket in your hand. where will you go what will you do what will happen when you get there.

What a fun question! Why on earth would you even want to skip it? But to be clear: we wouldn’t let you skip it either way. This question is just begging you to show off your sense of humor, imagination, or vision and truly tell admissions something they couldn’t find elsewhere on your application. Before you start tying yourself up in knots trying to figure out how to impress your application reader, take a deep zen breath. This is supposed to be fun! And a forced answer won’t be fun to read or write. So set yourself a 5 minute timer and freewrite. Just spew every thought you have onto the page: What places come to mind? What would you do there? Why would you go? The sky’s the limit! A&M never said the place had to be real or that it had to exist on this plane of space and time. You could pick a place with sentimental value and take a flight across the pond to reconnect with your estranged aunt in the English countryside. You could go big and snag a seat on the next SpaceX mission to the moon. The politically inclined might travel back in time to visit historic locations before they were decimated by war. Embrace your imaginative side, but remember to situate yourself within the story you tell. Why does this place matter to you ? And what will you learn or accomplish once you get there?

The following essay topics are valid for The Coalition Application ONLY.

Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it..

Welp, this is what we call a wide open playing field. You could literally write about anything here because, let’s get real, if you’re not writing an essay that showcases your character, we’d better have a long chat . Since this prompt is so broad, we’d encourage you to take one of the following two approaches: (1) Recycle one of your best essays from another supplement or application that fits the criteria, so you’re not straining to wring the last drops of creativity from your brain. Or, (2) if the Texas A&M application is your starting point, skip this prompt for now and circle back once you’ve decided what to write for Essay B; anything you have left to say will fit nicely in this prompt. The only real requirement is that you tell a story, so just make sure your essay has a clear narrative arc with a beginning, middle, and end. And of course: make sure you tell admissions something they don’t already know! Scroll up to our tips for the first Essay A if you’re in need of more inspo before you get started.

Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.

This prompt is a prime opportunity for you to expand on the community service portion of your resume. It’s also a trap. In our experience, writing about community service is a virtual minefield of clichés, so above all else, choose your topic wisely. Rather than going straight for the most prestigious community service on your resume, think about the causes that are most meaningful to you. Where have you devoted the greatest amount of time and/or effort? When have you been a leader? What about the cause makes the work worth it? In other words, when you write about giving back, the act of service itself should be the reward. Otherwise you risk falling back on some of the worst clichés out there. Whether you already had a personal reason to care about the soup kitchen (a friend or family member who was once homeless) or came to understand, and get angry about, the cycle of poverty as a result, connect yourself to the cause. If you were volunteering outside of your own community, be careful not to exoticize the people you were serving; after all, in a way, the essay isn’t even about them. It’s about you. It will be more personal and interesting if you follow the old creative writing rule, “Show don’t tell.” Instead of saying, “I learned a lot from tutoring Sammy,” illustrate your personal growth by describing your experience. Perhaps you could share an anecdote from the beginning of your experience and one from the end. The point is, avoid generalizing at all costs.

Submit an essay on a topic of your choice. The essay should be personal and utilized as a tool to share your story with the Admissions Committee.

Two catch-all prompts in one supplement? Are they kidding us? At this point, we’ve got 3 words for you: Recycle, recycle, recycle. You won’t hear us say this very often, but don’t overthink this one. Either follow your inspiration if you have something left to say or use another stunning essay from another supplement that you can adapt as needed. In this case, There’s no point starting something from scratch if you can only use it once. During application season, your time is precious.

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Tackling the Texas A&M Short Answer Application Prompts

When Texas A&M introduced short answer questions to their application in 2020, many students felt panicked. Applications are already writing-intensive, so the thought of even more required writing was an overwhelming prospect.

It is helpful to remember that these short answer questions are intended to benefit students. How? By giving them more opportunities to show why they should be an Aggie.

GENERAL TIPS FOR RESPONDING TO SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Short answers offer one more opportunity for application reviewers to get to know you. It sounds obvious, but the first piece of advice is: answer the question! It's important to keep in mind that these are not trick questions. Texas A&M is asking students exactly what they want to know. Students should read the question carefully and be sure they're addressing it with relevant and specific information.

• Answer every part of the question. Some of these prompts are more like two prompts in one, as in the Diversity prompt (discussed at greater length below): “Describe the benefits of diversity and inclusion for you personally and for the Texas A&M campus community.” Notice how there are really two questions here: one about the student’s personal relationship to diversity and one about the importance of diversity and inclusion at A&M more broadly. Students should outline their answers in order to ensure that they are responding to every part of the question.
• Be succinct. Students should use illustrative examples where appropriate, but they can save their creative juices for Essay A. The short answers are about providing information to the admissions readers that they could not get from the student’s resume, transcript, or test scores alone. The typical length of a strong short answer is about two paragraphs, or around 250-300 words.

These answers may be short, but that doesn’t mean they are trivial. These questions offer students an important chance to make a positive impression on the admissions committee by highlighting their distinctive qualities, accomplishments, values, and why they believe they would be a great fit at Texas A&M.

You can find more specific information about this year’s Texas A&M short answer questions below.

REQUIRED SHORT ANSWER 1: DIVERSITY

Short Answer Prompt

Texas A&M University believes that diversity is an important part of academic excellence and that it is essential to living our core values (loyalty, integrity, excellence, leadership, respect, and selfless service). Describe the benefits of diversity and inclusion for you personally and for the Texas A&M campus community. 

Diversity is a broad term, so before students start writing, they should think about all of its implications. Diversity can include race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religious and cultural beliefs, socioeconomic background, immigration status, physical disabilities, and neurological differences, among many other aspects of identity. Students should also consider the other key term in this question: inclusion. Diversity is one thing, but any environment needs to be inclusive (accepting and encouraging of diversity) in order to allow all different kinds of people to thrive within a community.

Once they've taken a step back, it's time to focus on the two parts of the prompt: 

Part 1: Describe the benefits of diversity and inclusion for you personally

Part 2: and for the Texas A&M campus community.

First, they'll need to zoom in to their personal experiences: What kinds of diverse communities have they been a part of? How have those communities helped them? How did they personally grow from their experiences within those communities? They can keep those values that A&M describes (loyalty, integrity, excellence, leadership, respect, and selfless service) top of mind while they brainstorm.

Next, students need to think about why it’s important for a college community to be both diverse and inclusive. As a thought experiment, students can imagine themselves in an environment with people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences, and beliefs. In what ways will that make their college experience richer—both inside and outside the classroom?

As students write, they should cite personal examples from their own lives. They only have 250-300 words, but that should be enough for a quick anecdote. And if a student doesn't come from a diverse background, they can use this space to talk about why it's important for them to be part of a diverse culture on campus and how it will help them grow.

Students may also want to consult A&M’s own statement on the diversity page of their website:

“We define diversity as the inclusion and support of individuals from all groups, encompassing the various characteristics of people in our community. Diversity is the exploration of differences, identities, and ideas in a welcoming and nurturing academic environment. The educational benefits of diverse learning environments includes: civic learning, engagement, and preparation to live in complex global settings.”

REQUIRED SHORT ANSWER 2: LIFE EVENT

Describe a life event which you feel has prepared you to be successful in college.

As with the first short answer question, you might think of this question as having two parts as well. First, it asks students to recount a single event or experience, and second, it asks them to reflect on how it has prepared them for college success. The student’s answer does not need to follow a two-part structure, but it is crucial that both parts of this answer (the anecdote and the reflection) be included.

What kind of life event should students choose to write about? In making this decision, students should think about the goal of their essay. Like the other two short answer questions, this one allows admissions readers to get a deeper understanding of the student’s context and life experiences. Students should focus on a life event that offers readers at least one of the following things:

• an understanding of how the student approaches opportunities and/or setbacks
• insight into the kinds of challenges the student has faced, or of an obstacle the student has overcome
• a sense of the student’s character and strengths

Students may choose to recount a story of accomplishment, but they can also use this question to reflect upon a less positive experience and how they have learned or grown as a result of it. Whether they write about triumphs or tribulations, they should be sure to answer the second part of the question: how has this event prepared them to be successful in college (whatever “success” might mean to them personally)?

Remember that this short answer should not overlap with the student’s Essay A. It should discuss a different event than any outlined in that personal statement, and it should offer different insights about the student’s personality, maturity, and values.

REQUIRED SHORT ANSWER 3: KEY PERSON

Tell us about a person who has most impacted your life and why.

Some students are daunted by the challenge of choosing a person who has most impacted their life. How to choose just one person? Our advice is not to get overwhelmed, but instead to select a person whose impact the student can both: a) illustrate with specific examples; and b) reflect on in a thoughtful and illuminating way. Keep in mind that specific examples are always more interesting to a reader than vague generalizations. The student’s aim is to paint a vivid picture of this person, so that the reader can appreciate this person’s influence in the student’s life.

It is no surprise that many students choose to write about a parent for this answer. While there is nothing wrong with that, we would encourage students to think beyond their parents for this answer-- and even beyond their nuclear family. Some of the most distinctive short answers to this question focus on a friend, teammate, colleague, teacher, coach, community or religious leader, among others. In selecting whom to write about-- and what to say about them-- students should consider what they admire about this person. Which of the students’ values does this person embody? What qualities in this person might the student want to emulate? What has this person’s actions and/or words taught the student?

As with all of these short answers, remember that Texas A&M is interested, above all, in getting to know the student better. When students write about an important individual in their life, they are also giving the admissions committee a deeper sense of the kind of person they are.

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