University of Washington

Essay prompts (1)

1. academic interest2025-26450 words

   Applies to: Interdisciplinary Honors Program applicants only (optional Honors section inside the UW Common App application, after answering Yes to the Honors question)

   We want to understand your enthusiasm for exploring different ways of thinking and learning unfamiliar things. Tell us why you are excited to push your education outside the areas of learning with which you are most comfortable.

   This is the 2025-26 wording, carried over: University of Washington has not republished this prompt for 2026-27 yet. Schools usually post updates around the Common App opening on August 1; we re-check after that and change this text only against an official source.

   source

UW states that all writing in the application, including the essay/personal statement, must be the applicant's own original work. Having a parent, counselor, tutor, friend or AI tool review the writing is allowed only if done responsibly and ethically, with the final work remaining the applicant's own.

How reviews use this page

When you request a review for a University of Washington 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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