Washington University in St. Louis

Essay prompts (1)

1. academic interest2026-27250 words

   Applies to: All first-year applicants (required)

   Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why.

   source

WashU's admissions FAQ tiers generative AI use: always acceptable for researching colleges and building a school list; sometimes acceptable for reviewing grammar/spelling of a completed essay or answering process questions; never acceptable for brainstorming essay topics, drafting or writing essays, generating portfolio images, or fabricating materials. It warns that relying on tools like ChatGPT produces 'inauthentic, more generic writing.'

How reviews use this page

When you request a review for a Washington University in St. Louis 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.

Something wrong on this page?

A wrong deadline is worse than no deadline. If anything here doesn't match the school's official page, tell us — same-day fix is the goal.