The first-year undergraduate application will go live at the beginning of August. In the meantime, we are releasing this year’s essay questions to help you get a head start.
We will ask that students respond to just one essay in approximately 500 words.
1. Choose a literary character who experienced a great personal struggle or challenge. Briefly describe this challenge and how the character overcame it. Why did this have an impact on you? Are there ways in which you identify with this character?
2. Many students today consider themselves to be multidimensional, but media portrayals of high school are full of identity archetypes (e.g. the nerd, the jock, the rebel, etc.). Reflecting on your high school experience, would you say you identify with one of these? If so, why and why do you embrace it? If not, why not?
3. Grit, or passion and perseverance for long-term goals, has been identified as a significant predictor of success. Describe a situation in your life that truly demonstrates a unique degree of grit. Why were you so motivated? What did you learn from the experience? Why will your grit make you a successful Elon student?