Essay C: Your ticket
UPDATE! Check out my series on ways to approach Essay C: http://texadmissions.com/blog/some-approaches-to-apply-texas-essay-c
Skydiving near the set of Mad Max: Fury Road - Swakopmund, Namibia
It's your ticket - go anywhere and do what you want!
Continuing the theme of how these new prompts over a broad range to showcase impressive qualities about yourself, Essay C offers the greatest chance for a creative approach.
“Topic C: You’ve got a ticket in your hand – Where will you go? What will you do? What will happen when you get there?”
Essay C’s open-ended nature reminds me more of applying to the University of Chicago or a Small Liberal Arts College than to public universities in Texas. It is evident the Apply Texas essay committee sought a significant departure from previous prompts. I am particularly curious to see how students choose to approach this topic.
The possibilities are endless.
A student could talk about a literal ticket like a plane, amusement park, or a musical. It could be an imaginary ticket like a ticket to fulfilling your dreams, to visit a distant planet, or an invitation to a dinner date with your favorite figure from history. I am inclined to think you don’t even need to talk about a ticket and only address your future academic and professional plans in a more conventional personal statement prompt. I can think of hundreds of ways to approach this, but as always, students are typically more clever than me. I anticipate some truly out there response.
With this opportunity also comes a responsibility to not lose sight of highlighting important qualities that admissions committees are looking for – perseverance, grit, curiosity, and an ability to communicate well. If you choose to put forward an unorthodox response, don’t lose sight that the ultimate goal is to gain admission into your desired program.
Spending a few sentences to address your academic and professional goals will help give reviewers an idea why you have chosen your selected major. Since “fit” is an important part of UT’s review process, your application should focus on why the university should invest in you an available space.
At any rate, use Essay C to write your ticket into your dream school.
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