Office of Admissions and Recruitment
Senior undergraduate Biocore student studies a few biology papers and laptop in the green warmth of the D.C. Smith Green House at the University of Wisconsin–Madison

Admissions Essays

As part of our holistic review, we refer to the essays you submit to understand more about you. What you choose to share gives us an idea of who you are and what you want to accomplish as part of our community. Tell us about you and your unique story to help us know you beyond your GPA and test scores. Your essays might also be used for campus program and scholarship review.

Tips for Writing Your Essays

  • Develop your thoughts before you begin the writing process, and create an outline.
  • The maximum word count for each essay is 650, but we recommend planning for 300–500 words.
  • Do not type directly into the web form. Instead, work on your draft in word processing software.
  • Allow time to develop and revisit your writing.
  • Check for spelling mistakes and ask someone to proofread your final version.
  • Be genuine and honest in your writing.

Essay Prompts

If you apply using the Common Application, you will be asked to respond to one of the first-year Common Application essays. If you apply with the Universities of Wisconsin Application, you will need to answer the following prompt:

  • Each student is unique. Please tell us about the particular life experiences, talents, commitments, and/or interests you will bring to our campus.

All applicants will also need to respond to this prompt:

  • Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin–Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest.

Use of AI in Admissions Essays

We consider your essays as a piece in our holistic review, alongside your grades, courses, and extracurriculars. While academic success is the focus of our review, your essays are where you can tell us why you are interested in the University of Wisconsin–Madison and help us better understand why you should be a student here.

Although there is no formula for a college essay and essay structure is not a focus, we know that students have utilized numerous tools and resources to assist in writing and editing their essays since the beginning of college admissions.

We will not disqualify an applicant found to have used or suspected of using AI in their admissions essays, nor are we running essays through any system to detect if AI was used.

However, we strongly discourage students from simply feeding AI a prompt for their essay, as it denies you the opportunity to help us better understand why you would be a good fit for UW–Madison. Our goal is to hear from you about your academic aspirations and interest in joining our community here in Madison, Wisconsin.