“Why This University?” How to Ace a “Why Us?” Admissions Essay

• When writing a “Why this college?” essay, research the college and its unique courses and programs to provide specific details.
• Don’t write about generalizations like the college’s rank, location, or size. Focus on how it supports your academic goals.
• Write about yourself, not just the college. Explain your strengths and interests and how you’re a good fit for the school.

What is a why this college essay?

This essay allows you to explain why you want to attend a certain college. Colleges often use the “Why this college?” or “Why us?” essay prompt to learn why you’re interested in attending their institution specifically, rather than why you want to go to college in general. It allows them to see if you’d thrive on campus and determine if their school is right for you. Be as specific as possible about your education goals and how this specific school would benefit you to distinguish yourself from other applicants. These essays typically have a short word count, though the exact length depends on the school you’re applying to. In general, they fall between 250 and 650 words.

Choosing a Topic for Your Essay

Learn as much as you can about the college. Research the college’s website and pay special attention to majors, courses, and unique programs and opportunities so you can learn what makes this school different from others. Take an in-person or virtual tour of the campus, and contact the admissions office or your regional representative for additional information. To get a student’s perspective, read student reviews of the school and the overall campus vibe on college review sites, or reach out to current or former students and ask if they’re open to answering some questions. Find expert reviews by reading sources like The Fiske Guide to Colleges by Edward B. Fiske, Colleges That Change Lives by Loren Pope, or The Best 376 Colleges from Princeton University. If possible, find a syllabus for a course you’re interested in. This way, you can list specific examples of how taking classes at that college would benefit you when you write your essay.

Choose your angle based on the specific prompt. While the overall idea is the same, many colleges use slightly different prompts for this essay depending on what factors they value most in their students. Pay attention to the language used to decide what topics to focus on in your essay. Here are some prompts colleges have used for the “why this college” essay: Columbia University: “What are your reasons for applying to this particular university? Elaborate on the most significant and compelling aspects of Columbia that resonate with you.” University of Michigan: “What are the distinctive qualities that make a certain school or college attractive for you to apply to? How does the curriculum submitted correlate with your interests and plans for the future?” University of Pennsylvania: “With regard to the undergraduate school you have chosen, we are curious about how you plan to develop your intellectual interests at our university. Please tell us about your approach to exploring these interests within the university’s environment.” University of Central Florida: “What is the main reason for your decision to join UCF? What particular characteristics and qualities would enable you to contribute to our academic community?”

Reflect on your educational and career goals. You and your goals are the driving force behind college essays. While anyone can write about the college, only you can explain why it’s the right school for you. Think about what you want to major in, potential careers, and specific skills and experiences you want to gain from attending college. Then, examine how this college supports those goals.

Structuring and Writing Your Essay

Brainstorm a list of reasons you want to attend the college. This should be a mix of aspects you like about that college and the things you bring to the table as a student. Try to come up with at least 15-20 reasons. You likely won’t use all of them in your essay, but you’ll have plenty of options to choose from. Write your reasons down in 3 separate columns: what you seek from the college, what the college will give you, and what you bring to its community. In general, 70% of your essay should focus on academics, while 30% can focus on extracurriculars.

Choose an appropriate structure. There is no “right” way to structure your essay. It all depends on what you have to say and how you want to say it. Generally, though, there are 3 common strategies: the basic strategy, the unique reasons strategy, and the one value strategy. Here’s what you need to know about all 3: The basic strategy: provide 10-15 reasons about why you want to attend the college. Organize them into a few main categories and list specific reasons and details within them. The unique reasons strategy: write about 3-5 opportunities that are exclusive to that college and explain how they relate to you personally. Make sure to do your research for this strategy since it requires you to understand the institution’s unique factors. The one value strategy: explore 1 core value that you and the college share and expand on that story. This is the most risky approach, as it relies on 1 topic and must be engaging.

Outline and draft your essay. Now that you know what you’re going to write about and how you want to present it, outline your essay to determine the best organizational flow. Then, follow the outline to create your first draft. Here’s an example: Introduction: Introduce your main goals and the reason behind them. To personalize your essay, include an anecdote about your interests or an experience at the college. Remember to include a thesis statement. Body paragraph 1: Write about your first goal and how the college can support it. For example, if you’re interested in math, include details about their math department and specific courses. Be sure to supply supporting evidence. Body paragraph 2: Write about your second goal and how the college can support it. For example, if you want to be a journalist, write about their student newspaper or any relevant internship opportunities they offer. Body paragraph 3: Write about your third goal and how the college can support it. For example, if community service is important to you, write about specific opportunities and events the college organizes. Conclusion: Conclude your essay by reaffirming where you see yourself in the future and how the college can help you get there.

Get feedback and edit your essay. After you finish your first draft, it’s time to make it even better. Have a trusted family member, advisor, or teacher read over your essay. Then, incorporate appropriate feedback into your next draft. It’s a good idea to do a few rounds of edits before submitting your final draft.

What Not to Do in Your Essay

Avoid generalizations about the college. Don’t write about things you can easily find online or in the college’s brochure. The admissions board already knows the school’s size, location, and ranking, and many other students write about these topics. If you want to stand out, write about topics that are specific to you and your education goals. While you may be interested in a college’s sports teams or traditions, avoid writing about them if they’re well-known and easily researched.

Don’t rely on emotional language. It’s great that you felt at home the moment you set foot on campus, but so did many other students! Making an emotional generalization like “it just felt right” doesn’t allow the school to see why you’re a great match.

Don’t use the same essay for multiple colleges. Most admissions readers recognize when you use a generic essay and plug in the college’s name, and it makes it seem like you’re not really interested in the college. Tailor your essay to the individual school and highlight things that make it unique. It’s okay to use the same themes across essays. Just make sure those themes fit the college’s specific prompt and be genuine about why you’re interested in that college. Writing a unique essay for each school you apply to helps you avoid unnecessary mistakes like mixing up mascots or accidentally including another college’s name.

Don’t only compliment the school. While it’s important for you to feel passionate about the college, remember that this essay is also about you. Consider how this college would benefit your education and why they’d be proud to have you attend. When the prompt asks “why us?”, don’t think of “us” as just the college. Instead, think of it as you AND the college.

Avoid repetition from your main application or essay. Admissions readers have access to your other documents, so they already know the information you’ve included in them. Instead of rehashing the same information, focus on new and relevant reasons you’re interested in the college.