pitt honors essay word limit

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How to write the pitt honors college application essays, school supplements.

UPDATE: The Pitt Honors College application essays have been updated for 2020-21.   Learn all about the changes!

To win admittance to the University of Pittsburgh Honors College, you'll have to respond to two short answer questions. Like the other Pitt essays ( check out our guide here ) the Pitt Honors essays are to the point, with a recommended length of 200-300 words. The prompts give you the perfect opportunity to display two traits that are essential for any Pitt Honors College student: contribution to the public good, and intellectual curiosity.

Let's start by looking at the Pitt Honors College application essay prompts!

In lieu of an essay or personal statement, we ask interested applicants to answer short answer questions. The Admissions Committee reviews responses for quality rather than length. However, the most effective responses typically range from 200-300 words per question. Responses that are longer or shorter are acceptable.

• An important emphasis of PittHonors is working for the public good. Please describe how you have worked for the public good in the past and how you expect to continue to do so as a student at the University of Pittsburgh and after graduation.
• A hallmark of students in PittHonors is intellectual curiosity. Please describe how you have demonstrated intellectual curiosity in the past and how you expect to manifest that intellectual curiosity as a student at the University of Pittsburgh.

Step One: Past Evidence

The key to both of the Pitt Honors application essay prompts is that phrase "in the past." This tells you that Pitt wants you to describe specific incidents from your life when you have demonstrated these key qualities. That is, don't just tell them you like to give back, and that you are passionate about learning, give them the evidence!

Try a brainstorming exercise to come up with ideas. Open up a new document, or grab a notebook, and write down as many answers as you can think of to the following questions.

Public Good : What's an issue that you care about? What have you done to raise awareness of that issue? Can you think of a time where you made one or more people’s lives better? What communities are you a part of (school, neighborhood, church, clubs, etc.)? How would they be different if you weren't there? What is something you frequently do that others in your community will miss when you are in college? What in your world wouldn't exist without you, or wouldn't be the same without you?

Intellectual Curiosity : What is a subject or topic you learn just for the fun of it? Describe a time you found yourself immersed in a topic. What did you learn? How did it change how you think about the world, yourself, or others? What was your favorite school project, and how did it inspire you or affect your plans for the future?How do you seek out additional learning outside school, whether it's through programs or independent learning? Are there any barriers you have overcome to gain knowledge? How did you overcome them?

Step Two: Future Plans

Both Pitt Honor essay prompts also ask you to look to the future. This is a perfect opportunity to connect your goals to specific resources at Pitt. This time, start with research. Browse the University of Pittsburgh website (paying particular attention to the Honors College section ) and use it to help answer the following questions.

Public Good : What's the problem in the world that you would most like to solve? How would a degree from Pitt (especially a BPhil from the Honors College) equip you to solve it? What classes (especially honors classes ) or academic resources would you use to prepare yourself? How would you utilize PittServes ? Are there any community service or advocacy organizations at Pitt that you want to join? How do they connect to work you've done in the past, or work you hope to do in the future?

Intellectual Curiosity : What are some specific classes or honors classes , inside or outside your major, that relate to the topic or project you want to discuss in your essay? If you were to apply for an Honors undergraduate fellowship , what project would you use it to fund? Are there any intriguing centers or institutes at Pitt that relate to the topic you want to discuss? Are there any specific professors that interest you, or Pitt grads working in the field you are passionate about?

Remember, these essays should work together! They can complement each other, or even cover the same passion, but you don't want to repeat your specific evidence between essays. Let's take a look at an example student's brainstorming list.

Public Good

• Past evidence
• Volunteering to teach self-expression through art at a camp for children dealing with grief.
• Future plans
• Advocate for art therapy in schools
• Seminar in Composition: Service Learning
• Community research project with a local outreach group for refugees

Intellectual Curiosity

• Art history project- drawing a portrait of mom in ten different historical styles
• Honors research fellowship in art history
• Internship with Collecting Knowledge Pittsburgh consortium
• Studio Arts option in History of Art and Architecture major

As you can see, both brainstorming lists cover the student's interest in art, but mention different resources at Pitt and tell different stories from the student's life.

Step Three: Put it all Together

When you sit down to write the Pitt Honors essays, keep the structure simple and straightforward. You don't have time to set the scene! Instead, begin by summarizing the biggest, most important takeaway from the story you are telling. For example:

• "When I decided to create a Monet-style picture of my mom for her birthday, I had no idea it would lead to a year-long, ten-painting project that would cover the entire history of European art."

Aim to spend two thirds of each essay on "past evidence" (that is, a story about something you've done that shows your contribution or intellectual curiosity) and one third on "future plans" (specific resources at Pitt that connect to your interests and motivations).

Remember, the most important part of writing the Pitt Honors application essays is finding the right topics, so don't skimp on the brainstorming and research. (If you need more help figuring out what to write about, sign up for a Prompt account to get access to our free brainstorming tools .) Happy writing!

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How to Write the University of Pittsburgh Essays 2020-2021

This post has been updated! Check out the 2021-2022 Pitt essay guide .

The University of Pittsburgh, or Pitt, is a public research university just a few miles east of downtown Pittsburgh. With a campus encompassing 132 acres, Pitt enrolls almost 20,000 undergraduates, and is composed of 17 different undergraduate and graduate schools. 

Pitt has an acceptance rate of 59% , and the college is consistently ranked as one of the top public universities in the country. The most popular departments at Pitt are business, engineering, health, and the social sciences. 

All applicants to Pitt may choose up to two out of four optional short response prompts, and Pitt recommends about 200-300 words for the two that you choose. We highly recommend completing these supplemental essays, as they show the admissions committee a more personal portrait of yourself, and can reveal character strengths that the rest of the application cannot. Honors applicants must also write a separate essay.

In this post, we’ll break down how to write these essays to improve your chances of acceptance. Want to know your chances at Pitt? Calculate your chances for free right now.

Want to learn what Pitt will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take? Here’s what every student considering Pitt needs to know.

Pitt Supplemental Essay Prompts

All applicants (optional).

Complete two of the four following short answer questions (200-300 words).

Option A: Diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to the Pitt community. Please identify and describe one element of your personal identity, and explain how that element would positively impact and/or progress Pitt’s community.

Option B: Resumes and lists of activities provide the Admissions Committee with an overview of your accomplishments. Please use this opportunity to provide more information by identifying one of your accomplishments and explaining how it has prepared you for a transition into collegiate life.

Option C: If you could create a new product, process, business, or organization, what would it be? Please describe its purpose and how it would function. (We especially encourage applicants interested in the College of Business Administration or the Swanson School of Engineering to respond to this question.)  

Option D: With thousands of colleges and universities in the United States alone, discuss why the University of Pittsburgh is a good fit for you.

Honors Applicants

If you could change anything in the world, what would it be  explain why and how you would change it. (no word count given), prompt 1, option a (optional), diversity, equity, and inclusion are integral to the pitt community. please identify and describe one element of your personal identity, and explain how that element would positively impact and/or progress pitt’s community. (200-300 words).

Because there’s so many ways to think about identity, you should first brainstorm the most important lenses through which you view the world. Common lenses are race, ethnicity, hometown, class, gender, sexuality, and ability, but there are so many more (such as hobbies, languages, opinions). Think about how this identity has shaped your upbringing and influenced your personal growth. Brainstorm specific memories in which your identity has been a source of strength or a source of difficulty you’ve had to overcome. 

Then, you want to think about how you would fit into Pitt’s large and diverse undergraduate community, which includes over 400 student organizations . For example, an applicant writing about a cultural identity might find a cultural group at Pitt, like AQUARIUS or Fikaklubb, and write about how they plan to contribute to it. Another applicant’s personal identity might heavily emphasize community service, so they could talk about a service organization they’d love to take part in, such as Cords for a Cause or Aldercare. 

In addition to school clubs, you could discuss the ways your identity could impact others in your freshman dorm hall, in the cafeterias, and for prospective students touring the school. You could also think about ways in which you want to learn from others at Pitt. You can mention how you too want to be exposed to people of different identities and backgrounds, and believe that Pitt is a great place to do so. 

Here are a few examples to think about:

• Maybe the most important identity you hold is your Latinx identity, specifically being the child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. You could talk about how you want to join Pitt’s Latinx Student Association, and learn from others who have shared the same experiences and struggles that you have. You could mention how you want to break stereotypes about Dominicans and Latinxs, and how you’ve dealt with the different types of discrimination you’ve felt while growing up. 
• Maybe a prominent aspect of your identity is where you were raised, which for you is in rural Colorado. Being raised near beautiful national parks, you’ve always been keen on outdoors activities, like skiing, hiking, and camping. As a result, you want to join Pitt’s Outdoors club, and experience nature in Pennsylvania, such as the Allegheny National Forest. 
• Maybe you’ve grown up with Crohn’s disease, which has deeply impacted the way you see yourself in the world, and led you to want to become a nurse. You could talk about how people suffering from chronic disease are often misunderstood, or simply invisible in the public eye. You could talk about how you want to join HOSA, or the Future Health Professionals club at Pitt, where you have ideas to start different awareness programs for people suffering chronic illness. 

Prompt 1, Option B (Optional)

Resumes and lists of activities provide the admissions committee with an overview of your accomplishments. please use this opportunity to provide more information by identifying one of your accomplishments and explaining how it has prepared you for a transition into collegiate life. (200-300 words).

This essay prompt is relatively straightforward, and gives you a chance to add a personal touch to an achievement you’ve listed. Ideally, you’d want to talk about one of the activities or accomplishments you’ve worked on the most throughout high school, something that has developed and matured you as a person. The key is to pepper this essay with specific anecdotes that go beyond just describing achievements, and use anecdotes to demonstrate character growth. Maybe you grew in your leadership skills, or your passion for community service, or your skill in performing scientific research.

Something you don’t want to do is approach the essay with too much overconfidence and arrogance. Because the last part of the prompt asks you “how it has prepared you for a transition into college life,” you want to talk about how you have more room to grow, and that you’re ready to be challenged and pushed more at Pitt. 

• Maybe your primary extracurricular activity was in speech and debate. You could begin by recounting an anecdote that illustrates the biggest competition of your junior year. Maybe you didn’t do as well at this tournament as you had hoped, but then you were able to reflect more deeply on your loss and climb back up. Moreover, you were able to celebrate the team’s success, not only your own, and enjoy debate as a learning process instead of a simple tournament result. Thus, you feel like debate has prepared you for the inevitable failures you will face in college, but has also prepared you to be grateful for the people you surround yourself with, as well as for the things you learn as you fail. 
• Maybe your biggest accomplishment was coming out first in your division for volleyball. You could chart the journey of your sports career, from how you were cut from the team your freshman year, trained hard and made the JV team your sophomore year, and eventually made it to varsity by your junior year. You could talk about how you eventually became captain, and had to learn to sacrifice some of your own leisure to set a winning culture among your team. Your time playing volleyball has taught you that maybe during your freshman year of college, you won’t get everything you wanted out of a “college experience,” but you know that eventually, by the time you graduate, you will have worked hard for everything you’ve earned. 

Prompt 1, Option C (Optional)

If you could create a new product, process, business, or organization, what would it be please describe its purpose and how it would function. (we especially encourage applicants interested in the college of business administration or the swanson school of engineering to respond to this question.) (200-300 words).

With this prompt, Pitt wants to see your creativity and problem-solving skills. In other words, you should show the admissions office how you think. The key is to think small when answering this question: what’s a problem you see, and how would you fix it?

We suggest you stay away from big national or global issues like “zero hunger” or “world poverty.” However, you may be able to concentrate on smaller, more specific issues within these broad zones, and most likely, the problem you’re interested in solving will be somehow related to family or interests or specific life experiences. (Bonus points if you can combine multiple areas of specialty together, drawing on your skills and experiences from two or more different academic or extracurricular areas!)

Some examples:

• You edit for your high school newspaper, and you’re passionate about educational inequities in your city. You want to form a new publication with editors from other schools that highlights specific student experiences, with the hope of eventually attracting the attention of city officials.
• You’re a dedicated ballerina who also loves biochemistry. You and your friends often suffer from painful calluses on the balls of your feet, and you have an idea for a home-made, inexpensive balm that would be more effective than usual drugstore remedies.
• You regularly volunteer at the local soup kitchen, and you have just a tiny change you’d like to make to the process of forming and organizing lines on weekend mornings, specifically. You think that your proposal will really speed up the distribution process without dramatically affecting current procedures.

The key takeaway here is that this prompt does not require a well-tested research project that’s been presented at multiple conferences — just pick any problem you see in your daily life and come up with a creative solution for it!

As a word of caution, the only constraint is the word limit. In your answer, you should aim to have a brief background of what inspired your idea, an explanation of your idea, and the potential impact you’d like to see it cause. If you present something that requires a great deal of highly technical explanations, try your best to simplify it down so that any person walking down the street can understand your proposal. And worse comes to worst, pick something else!

Remember: your actual product, process, business, or organization doesn’t matter so much as your inspiration and process – the story of your creativity, problem-solving, and compassion.

Prompt 1, Option D (Optional)

With thousands of colleges and universities in the united states alone, discuss why the university of pittsburgh is a good fit for you. (200-300 words).

In this essay prompt, you want to demonstrate that you know the ins and outs of Pitt’s academic and social environment, and then show how you would contribute to these environments. Because the prompt begins by saying, “With thousands of colleges and universities in the United States alone,” you want to make sure that the essay you write couldn’t be written for any other college. 

If you have direct experience or relations with Pitt, such as having spent time on campus, having family members who went, or having done research with Pitt professors, you should go ahead and note that in the essay. If you don’t, you want to begin by researching Pitt’s academic offerings, extracurricular programs, campus traditions, and culture. You want to show that you see a distinct place for yourself once you step foot onto Pitt’s campus. 

• Maybe you want to go to Pitt because of their philosophy program. You could talk about how you began researching the philosophy of language at a humanities summer camp, fell in love with the subject, and want to take your studies to the next level by studying with the esteemed philosophy of language professor Robert Brandom, whose books you’ve read. 
• Maybe one of your goals in college is to join the marching band, specifically in the drumline. You could talk about how you went to Pitt football games as a kid, and was in awe of the way the marching band would take the field at halftime. In high school, you joined your school’s drumline, and eventually became a snare drum section leader, and even made it into several honors groups. You know that Pitt’s drumline, known as the “Crew,” is a tight-knit group, and you want to be part of a community that helps drive up school spirit.
• Maybe you want to be a doctor, and are particularly drawn in to Pitt Medicine’s Summer Premedical Academic Enrichment Program, which offers accelerated pre-med advancement for those in underprivileged backgrounds. You could talk about your own low-income background, and how you are the first in your family to attend college, and how the resources this program offers would allow you to carry out your dream of going back to your hometown and practicing as a pediatrician. 

There’s so many ways you can go about this essay, and the key is to begin by brainstorming what it is you’re passionate about, and why you’re passionate about it. Pitt Honors College is specifically looking for students who “want to advance research, better the community, and leave a global footprint.” They’re asking you to think big, and think altruistically — so don’t be afraid to write about lofty dreams. Just be sincere and specific. Although there is no word count, you don’t need to go into a multi-page plan detailing your exact steps to solve this problem. The key here is to show your character and passions more than anything. 

It would be even better if you have past experiences working towards implementing changes, which would give you more credibility and grounding. Even if it’s as small as being a member of a community service club, or volunteering, you could use these experiences as a jumping off point for your future goals. Also, if there’s a personal reason why you’ve chosen your topic, you should definitely talk about it, as it could lead to strong anecdotes that would make your essay come alive. 

At the end of the essay, you could even go into how you see Pitt Honors College fitting into your trajectory towards changing this proposed problem. You could talk about a Pitt Honors first year seminar, like “Power and Resistance,” mention how you would love to engage in meaningful conversations by living in Honors housing, and list a honors pod you would want to join, like the community engagement pod or the health sciences pod. 

Here are some examples to think about:

• Maybe you want to study education, and in particular, you want to make a dent in reforming public education. You can acknowledge that this is a huge, structural problem probably unsolvable by a single person, but that you nevertheless want to give it your best try. You want to start by participating in Pitt’s Combined Accelerated Studies in Education, granting you a bachelor’s and a master’s in five years. You could discuss how you want to start as a student teacher, then manage your own classroom to learn how best to help children learn. Maybe after a while, you can go into education policy, and specifically work on creating less segregated public schools, and bringing more funding into underserved areas. 
• Maybe your intended major is computer science, and the problem you’d like to address is a lack of rural connectivity to the internet, even in America. You want to take the normal slate of computer science classes, but also many classes in public policy, to know how the government plays a role in broadband access. After graduating, you’d want to both work as a programmer, but also advocate on behalf of rural communities, especially through granting local and state funding to develop better internet service in rural areas. 

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Admission Requirement for the Honor Curriculum

What are the admission requirements for the honors curriculum option.

For the curriculum option, prospective students may apply to Nursing Honors through the regular initial University of Pittsburgh application process. If you choose to apply, you will be asked to answer the following essay question: (1) If you could change anything in the world, what would it be? (2) Explain why and how you would change it. Responses should be stated in 500 words or fewer. These essays will be reviewed by University Admissions Office who make admission decisions at this point. If you are already a freshman or sophomore in the BSN program and you are interested in the Honors curriculum option, Pitt's David C. Frederick Honors College still admits a limited number of upperclassmen into its degree program. Interested upperclassmen must have a minimum GPA of 3.50, and must have completed a minimum of 2 semesters (24 credits). Students are required to complete the same essay prompts above and submit a letter of recommendation from an instructor or academic advisor. Applications for upperclassmen students are reviewed once a year with an application deadline of May 31.

What are the admission requirements for the Honors thesis option?

Students interested in the thesis option can apply directly to the Frederick Honors College at any time during their BSN curriculum. Students must have a minimum GPA of 3.50 and are required to identify a research mentor and submit a brief research proposal and plan of study to the Frederick Honors College in collaboration with the mentor. More details are provided below and you can learn more here.

How competitive is the admission to the Nursing Honors program?

Our nursing students are top-notch, and with enough passion and dedication, any student could successfully complete an Honors thesis (the highest undergraduate distinction). However, typically 2¬ to 5 nursing students complete a BPhil (Honors thesis) every year. You will find a list of recently completed undergraduate honors theses here. The Nursing Honors curriculum option is a fairly new pathway, and the Class of 2023 will be the first cohort. Based on number and quality of applications, the Frederick Honors College admitted around 14 to 18 nursing students in this option annually in the last 2 years.

Length of Honors Essays?

I’m just wondering what the length of the Honors essays should be for Pitt. The website says nothing about this, and I tried googling but nobody else seems to have asked this same question. So, how long do you think they should be? Currently mine are 300-400 words, and I’m wondering if they should be longer. Thanks in advance.

I submitted my application around a week ago, and I’m 80% sure that it says on the top of the essay page that they prefer around 200-300 words. Mine was a little longer than 300 though.

That’s what it says for the normal college, not the honors college,

I think H2P said that the Honor’s essay should be a normal structured essay at 650 word length cap.

@coryindahouse there is no length limit but use our tips while you’re writing!

Pitt Honors Essay Tips: -Use the essays to tell us something your application, grades, and test scores cannot. -Don’t summarize or restate your accolades, activities, and awards; use this opportunity to provoke thought and engage your reader. -Proceed as if these essays are the most important factor in the Pitt Honors admissions process.

@hailtopitt1787 The honors college website indicates the average SAT is 1450 for honors students. May I ask whether you know if 1450 is the cutoff for honors. Should one with a lower SAT expect not to get in – maybe shouldn’t bother applying?

@sugaree20 that is an average so some students could have scored lower. The essays are really the chance for you to stand out!

@Sugaree20 Unless you have some other, incredible hook, you need an SAT score of at least 1450.

little worried now because I thought the honors essays were supposed to be the same length as the other ones so mine were between 200 and 300 words.

Quality essays are about content not length. In fact, many believe it’s much more difficult to write a compelling short essay (than a longer one). Editing is challenging.

An outstanding writer I know views it as valuable real estate. Make every word count. Editing is more than correcting sentence structure. It’s about discernment. Do the ideas matter? He judges every sentence with the “who cares” filter. Be brutually honest with yourself and don’t get married to any word, sentence, or thought. The final product will be far shorter than the original.

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The Honors Degree* program consists of a structured program of curricular and co-curricular activities that provides an enhanced academic experience which includes opportunities for interdisciplinary study for students at the University of Pittsburgh. 

The Honors Degree program requires 24 credits to be completed upon graduation. Of these 24 credits, a minimum of 18 credits of University Honors College approved academic course credits and a minimum of 6 experiential course credits are required. The 18 academic course credits may include courses with the University Honors College course attribute value (honors courses); courses with the Civic Learning course attribute value; graduate-level courses; courses which are used to fulfill the following (including courses which do not have the University Honors College attribute): Leadership and Ethics Certificate   ; Conceptual Foundations of Medicine Certificate   ; Engineering for Humanity Certificate   ; Engineering Science   ; Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Minor   ; Global Health Certificate   ; Pitt Business Honors Program ; Politics and Philosophy, BA   ; Public Communication of Science and Technology Certificate   ;  Undergraduate Certificate in Sustainability   ; and any additional course work beyond those used for the 6 credit experiential course work requirement. The 6 experiential credits may include courses with the Civic Learning + Engagement course attribute value, as well as academic research, independent study, study abroad, internships, or co-op programs, all of which require completed credits to appear on the transcript. In addition to the curricular requirements, students are required to complete the Honors Outside the Classroom Curriculum that provides non-credit enhanced experiences for honors students. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.25 upon graduation is required for completion of the Honors Degree program. Upon successful completion of the program, students receive a degree/diploma jointly-conferred by the UHC and their primary school/college of admission. Students admitted to the Honors Degree program in their first year will be granted priority access to the honors living learning community within the residence halls. Students who remain in good academic standing in the Honors Degree program will also be granted priority registration throughout their time as undergraduate students (priority registration for students admitted to the Honors Degree program as a first-year student begins with spring term enrollment).

* On October 5th & 28th, 2021 the Honors Degree was updated.

Admissions Requirements

The admissions process includes criteria for three categories of students:  first-year admits, external transfers, and internal (Pitt) transfers.

• Admission for first-year students is conducted by Pitt Admissions and is based on evaluation of high school transcript, extra-curricular activities, and response to an essay prompt.
• Admission for  external transfer students is conducted by Pitt Admissions and is based on the evaluation of the completion of a minimum of two college semesters (24 credits) that meet the University of Pittsburgh criteria for transfer and review of an essay prompt.
• Admission for internal transfer students (current Pitt students in all campuses) is conducted by the University Honors College and is based on an evaluation of a current Pitt transcript with minimum GPA of 3.50 after completion of two semesters (24 credits), review of an essay prompt, and one academic letter of recommendation from an instructor or academic advisor.

Requirements for Students in the School of Social Work*

• Minimum GPA: 3.25
• 18 credits (6 courses) of Honors Courses
• 9 credits from our BASW program. All of our honors courses are required**
• 6 experiential credits (including research, independent study, approved study abroad via Pitt Panther programs; SOCWRK 1025   / SOCWRK 1027   )***
• Completion of the Pitt Honors OCC   ***

* On September 20, 2021 University Honors College (UHC) approved to establish a new pathway toward a jointly-conferred degree with the School of Social Work. This option would be in addition to the existing Bachelor of Philosophy option. In order to maintain accurate records the update was made on 9/30/2021. **The directed study in Research SWRES 2023 can be substituted for either  or SOCWRK 1000 - INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK   . ***These are requirements established by UHC

Social Work Course Sequence Options

This presents three ways in which students could complete the 9 credits of Honors-designated BASW classes.

• SOCWRK 1000 - INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK
• SOCWRK 1079 - CHILD WELFARE SERVICES
• SOCWRK 1020 - INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL WORK RESEARCH
• SWRES 2023 - DIRECTED STUDY IN RESEARCH

Students must complete an additional 9 credits of Honors-designated courses (3 courses). At least six (two courses) of the nine credits must satisfy social work co-requisites:

• Africana Studies (3 crs.)**
• Anthropology (3 crs.)**
• Economics (3 crs.)
• English Composition (3 crs.)
• Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) (3 crs.)** (Any course with a GSWS class attribute)
• Human Biology (3 crs.)
• Political Science (3 crs.)**
• Psychology (3 crs.)**
• Religion/Spirituality (3 crs.)** (Any course with a Religious Studies class attribute)
• Sociology (3 crs.)**
• Statistics (3 crs.)

A maximum of three credits (1 course) can be any other course with an Honors designation.

Total Credits: 24

University of Pittsburgh | Pitt

• Cost & scholarships
• Essay prompt

Want to see your chances of admission at University of Pittsburgh | Pitt?

We take every aspect of your personal profile into consideration when calculating your admissions chances.

University of Pittsburgh | Pitt’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Personal statement essay.

If you have written a Common Application Personal Essay you are not expected to also submit a Personal Statement below. We will receive your Common App personal essay if completed.

Submission of either the optional personal statement or Common App personal essay is required for scholarship review, if applying without SAT or ACT scores, and may increase the likelihood that you are considered for guaranteed admission programs or given special consideration due to extenuating circumstances.

The personal statement is your opportunity to communicate directly with the Admissions Committee. Applicants are welcome to submit anything that helps tell their story, being mindful and thoughtful about the quantity and quality of information shared. Share information not included elsewhere in your application.

Select-A-Prompt Short Response

Please select one of these questions

What is something you would like to see change in the world? Explain why.

If you had 10 minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your TED Talk be about?

What does it mean to be “educated”?

What will first-time readers think of your college essay?

Craft Your Own Unique Experience

The Frederick Honors College seeks to create an inclusive, equitable, and diverse student body by offering multiple points of admission for prospective, current, and transfer students. Furthermore, our three distinct and flexible academic pathways to graduation offer our students accessible opportunities to craft their own unique experience.

Schedule An Individual Appointment

Apply to the Frederick Honors College as part of your University of Pittsburgh application and gain early access to FHC benefits starting your first term.

As an upper-division student, you can apply to the Honors Degree program to enhance the learning you’re already participating in.

If you are transferring from another institution, we encourage you to apply to our Honors Degree program and find your home as a member of our Frederick community.

Our Location

The David C. Frederick Honors College is located on the 34-37th floors of the Cathedral of Learning on the University of Pittsburgh’s campus in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 34th floor houses our Student Engagement Center and Academic Advising Center. Students can utilize shared communal spaces to study, prepare a snack, and have class on 35. The Dean’s Office and support staff are on 36, while the Office of National Scholarships and Post-Graduation Success and the Office of Research are on the 37th floor.