HOW TO WRITE SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY FOR BOSTON UNIVERSITY?

Boston University is one of the most prestigious universities in the world; with 650 courses focused on global topics, faculty research present on every continent and student body comprising nearly 100 countries and a thriving alumni network expanding over 180 countries, one can see why Boston University is a dream university for many.

In order to get into Boston, one of the key elements you need to address is 

Every applicant to Boston University must complete one prompt. In the first, applicants are asked to consider a social or community issue, and in the second, they are asked to consider how they want to contribute to the campus community at BU.

Your essays are your opportunity to make an impression because BU receives thousands of applications from kids who excel academically. We’ll go over how to write a compelling answer to each of these choices in this post.

Creating a compelling essay along with a profile can be challenging, let us help you in that regard. Contact us right here!

Overview of Baston Supplement Essays 2024-25

Boston University offers enough data. If you are one of those people who geek on data, read Bosotn’s university’s Common Data set. Boston University also releases a strategic plan, which offers key insights regarding what Boston is about.

However, let us address the key point of the blog, which is the supplement essay prompts.

Boston University Supplemental Essay

Boston University is dedicated to our founding principles: “that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community—local and international. These principles endure in the University’s insistence on the value of diversity in its tradition and standards of excellence and its dynamic engagement with the City of Boston and the world.” With this mission in mind, please respond to one of the following two questions in 300 words or less:

Prompt 1. Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it? (300 words)

Prompt 2. What about being a student at BU most excites you? How do you hope to contribute to our campus community? (300 words)

Overview of Boston University Trustee Scholarship Essay Prompts

Please write an essay of 600 words or less in response to one of the following two topics:

1. Nobel laureate and BU professor Elie Wiesel once said: “There is divine beauty in learning… To learn means to accept the postulate that life did not begin at birth. Others have been here before me, and I walk in their footsteps. The books I have read were composed by generations of fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, teachers and disciples. I am the sum total of their experiences, their quests.” Is there a book, film, podcast or life experience that has made you feel more connected to your personal history/identity, and what is the most important thing you learned from it? (600 words)
2. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Do not follow where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Describe a time in your life when you stepped out of your comfort zone and forged your own path. What motivated you to take that action, and how did it change your perspective? Share the lessons you learned from that experience, and how it might shape your views as a Trustee Scholar.

How To Write Each Supplemental Essay Prompt For Boston University.

Now that we know the supplement essay prompts let us see how we can address them; that is, let us see how we can write these essays.

Here’s the prompt once again; 

Boston University is dedicated to our founding principles: “that higher education should be accessible to all and that research, scholarship, artistic creation, and professional practice should be conducted in the service of the wider community—local and international. These principles endure in the University’s insistence on the value of diversity in its tradition and standards of excellence and its dynamic engagement with the City of Boston and the world.” With this mission in mind, please respond to one of the following two questions in 300 words or less:

1. Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it? (300 words)
   
2. What about being a student at BU most excites you? How do you hope to contribute to our campus community? (300 words)

Regardless of your choice for this essay, you’ll notice that BU took the time to include some of the college’s core values right in the prompt! Here are some major hints regarding the topics you are expected to write about: diversity, service to the community (both domestically and abroad), educational access for all, and/or active participation in Boston and the wider world. Think about how your experiences relate to one or more of these themes as you organise your article.

Let us start with addressing Prompt number 1

“Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it? (300 words)”

This is a sort of hybrid of the global issues prompt and the community service prompt. Schools use this type of prompt to find out how involved you are with the people and environments around you. Boston University places a strong emphasis on using what you learn in the classroom to benefit the larger community, so if you think this describes you, please answer.

Your response should use your views on and interactions with your community as a prism through which to express your personal ideals. Remember that anecdotes are frequently the most effective approach to answer a prompt such as this one. Instead of listing all of your community service accomplishments as you might on your resume, this prompt asks you to provide a brief illustrated story that highlights your experiences. It’s crucial that you communicate essential elements from your story as succinctly and efficiently as you can, given the 300-word limit.

When choosing a topic for this particular prompt, you may explore these questions:

• What issue(s) matter most to you?
• What issues do I personally find particularly aggravating in my local community?
• What local or international situation or situations do you find yourself indulging in?
• Which challenges have I taken the initiative to address? In what ways have I benefited my community?
• Above all, how have you committed your time and effort to taking action regarding some of your responses to the aforementioned questions?

One excellent resource for finding a topic is your list of activities. Some helpful hints may also be found in your social media feeds: what communal or social issues recur among the accounts you follow? Additionally, bear in mind that you may already be composing an essay for a different school that could serve as a response to this challenge.

However, in order to make your job easier, we have come up with the following points which can help you in coming up with your content:

• If you have identified the issue, you may want to narrow it down by why the issue resonates with you, you may connect it with some personal story or event.
• Why? Where do you see the issue happening? What all parties are affected?
• Is there anything you did to address the said thing? Elaborate on how you made an impact; you may want to add how you grew while solving the issue.

There are a few more guidelines you can adhere to in order to make this essay stand out. If you can, concentrate on a single topic or issue. Talk about your duties and achievements in your position. Emphasise the lessons you learnt and how you plan to use them going forward. Never hesitate to include groups, classes, programs, or initiatives on the Boston campus that relate to your specific interests and overlap with the services you have indulged in.

Less is more when you have only 300 words to spare. Highlighting a single significant experience or facet of your personality along with a significant, pertinent topic will show more consideration and work than simply reciting a number of experiences from your resume.

Now let us talk about the second prompt:

“What about being a student at BU most excites you? How do you hope to contribute to our campus community? (300 words)”

The secret to answering this “Why This College?” question is to first list the particular features of the university that you find exciting and then add to these features how your character attributes will make you a great match in the school community itself. The most crucial thing is to thoroughly investigate the BU features that truly appeal to you.

Since college is about what happens both inside and outside of the classroom, don’t forget to talk about both academic and extracurricular components! Please take note that this year’s prompt’s second half, which asks how you intend to support the Boston campus community, is new. Make sure to respond to this portion of the challenge by describing how your hobbies and personal values coincide with BU. Talk about how you intend to demonstrate these principles and passions in the vibrant BU community.

Here’s a short, to-the-point guide on how to address the “Why Us”? Essay.

• Spend a good amount of time, approximately 1 to 2 hours and come up with 8 to 10 reasons why Boston University is a good fit for you.
• Start working on these points and try to elaborate on each one of them. You will soon realise that there are 3 to 4 reasons which are unique to Boston and your preference, and these will be your hero points. Use these points to frame your essay.
• Whether through extracurricular activities, student leadership, academic settings, or other means, list at least three ways you want to make a difference on campus.
• Make an outline for your essays using Approach 1, 2 (which is advised), or Approach 3 from the above comprehensive guidance. Your proposed suggestions should either be included at the end of the essay or included throughout.
• After you have created an outline with things you find unique and listed down your extracurricular and other achievements, you must start your first draft; remember there will be constant revisions, so keep going.

We understand that writing a college supplement essay along with preparing for the SAT or ACT can be a tough ask, that is why we at Rostrum help students manage all these things. Book a free consultation call now!