The Pennsylvania State University

Essay prompts (10)

1. other2026-27800 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required essay; separate Schreyer application, due Nov. 15)

   Identify an important global or local issue that you believe does not receive sufficient attention. Why is this issue often overlooked or under-addressed? Analyze possible paths forward and propose a realistic strategy to raise awareness and advance solutions. Finally, evaluate your proposal's potential to create meaningful change, considering its feasibility, limitations, trade-offs, implementation challenges, and possible unintended consequences.

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2. identity2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   One of the Schreyer Honors College values is Empowered Growth. What values, beliefs or experiences have empowered you to grow intellectually and/or personally?

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3. weird2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   If you were able to go anywhere in the world, outside of the country you currently reside in, where would you go and why?

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4. activity2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   List your extracurricular activities over the last four years. This can include school and non-school activities. Please include any leadership roles you have had.

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5. activity2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   Tell us about your most significant leadership experience and why leadership is important to you. This could include community roles, family contributions, research, clubs and organizations, etc. Describe challenges you've faced and successes you've had in these roles.

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6. short answer2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   List awards or other recognitions (if any) you have received in or outside of school over the last four years.

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7. short answer2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   Reflecting on the recognitions listed above, which one stands out as having an impact on your outlook and why?

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8. academic interest2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   Tell us about a book or other media that has made you think about something in a new way.

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9. community2026-27200 words

   Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (required short answer; 200-word maximum)

   Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups, including shared geography, faith, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities or groups to which you belong and describe how it has influenced your life over the last four years.

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10. other2026-27200 words

    Applies to: Schreyer Honors College first-year applicants (OPTIONAL short answer; 200-word maximum)

    Please use this space to share information you would like us to consider that has not been discussed elsewhere in your application.

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When you request a review for a The Pennsylvania State University supplement, the feedback is grounded in exactly what you see here: the prompt itself, its word limit, and what the school publishes about its values and programs. That's the whole claim — calibrated to the prompt and the school's own published guidance, scored against a consistent rubric. Not insider knowledge, and never a rewrite: Second Read is a coach, not a ghostwriter. It flags weaknesses and tells you what to fix and why; it never writes a sentence of your essay.

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