does purdue university require an essay

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, purdue supplemental essay: 4 top tips for writing yours.

College Essays

Known for its highly ranked engineering program and huge array of academic programs, Purdue University is an excellent public university to consider for college. To apply here, though, you will need more than just good grades— you will need to write unforgettable essays as part of the Purdue supplement .

In this guide, we go over the current Purdue essay prompts and offer helpful tips on how to write each Purdue supplemental essay you're required to submit. 

Feature Image: Wes Jackson /Flickr

What Is the Purdue Supplemental Essay?

Freshman applicants to Purdue are required to submit two short answers; there's also one optional longer Purdue supplemental essay. You must additionally write an essay in response to one of the Common Application or Coalition Application prompts , depending on which application system you apply through.

In total, then, you'll be writing three to four Purdue essays of varying lengths.

For each Purdue supplemental essay, you'll get a specific prompt to answer . (By contrast, the Common App/Coalition App personal essay offers you multiple prompts to choose from.) Every Purdue supplemental essay prompt has its own word limit and angle.

Here are the prompts for the 2022-2023 application cycle:

• [OPTIONAL] Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (250 words max)

How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)

Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)

The first Purdue supplemental essay above must be no longer than 250 words , whereas the two short answers may only be up to 100 words. Note that there is no minimum word count for any of the essays.

Now, how can you ensure you're writing your best Purdue supplemental essay possible?

Every Purdue University Essay Prompt, Analyzed

In this section, we'll look at each Purdue University essay prompt in more detail and give you tips for writing a highly effective response.

Purdue Supplemental Essay

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences.

As a reminder, this longer Purdue supplemental essay can be up to 250 words and is optional (though we highly recommend answering it) . The prompt here's pretty straightforward: just give a bit more detail about one of your extracurricular activities listed on your application.

The activity you choose could be pretty much anything , from a sport or instrument you play to an animal shelter you volunteer at on weekends.

The admissions committee at Purdue asks you to elaborate on one of your activities because they want to see other facets of your personality and learn more about what drove you to do a specific activity.

The key is to pick an activity or experience that has helped define you in some way. The best activity to choose is one that showcases an important and unique quality of yourself, such as your leadership skills, your can-do attitude, your adaptability, etc. You should also be heavily passionate about the activity you choose.

Here are examples of activities you could write about for your Purdue University admission essay:

• Clubs or organizations you're a member of
• Volunteer service
• Arts and music
• Work or internships
• Family responsibilities
• Any activity or experience that is meaningful to you

When trying to decide on an activity, it might help to ask yourself these questions :

• Do you have a story to tell about this activity?
• How has this activity positively impacted or influenced you?
• If you're still doing this activity, why is that? What about it makes you want to keep doing it?
• Have you already written about this activity in another Purdue essay? If so, consider choosing a different topic for this essay.

Don't feel obligated to pick your most "impressive" activity either. For example, maybe you've been figure skating competitively since middle school and have won many big national awards, but you'd rather write about your more recent experience with trying out for and making your school's basketball team after realizing you wanted to get involved in a new sport.

Be sure to explain what the activity is, when/how you started it, and what kind of meaning it holds for you. You won't have a lot of room here (just 250 words!), so make sure to keep the focus on its significance.

Purdue Short Answer 1

This first Purdue short-answer question is essentially a mini "why this college" essay that's asking you to answer the basic question, "Why Purdue?"

A cogent essay will answer these two questions:

• What does Purdue offer academically that makes it a good fit for you? 
• What does Purdue offer in terms of extracurriculars, student clubs and sports, professional connections, contests, etc. that makes it a good fit for you?

Note that you don't need to go into much detail about your major here, as that's what the second short answer is for (see below). But you will still need to identify two key points about Purdue (one academic, one non-academic) that drew you to apply to this university specifically .

To start, do some research on the university by browsing the official Purdue website . Look for any defining features that stand out to you, such as a professor with whom you wish to work, a course you can't wait to take, a club you'd like to join, a study abroad program you want to do, etc. Think about how these qualities, both academic and non-academic, could help support your own aspirations, whatever they may be.

For example, maybe you visited a Purdue art gallery and felt inspired to apply after realizing, as an artist yourself, just how much Purdue values creativity and freedom of expression.

Finally, be extremely specific here . You want it clear that your essay is about Purdue only . So use actual names and places while avoiding generalizations that can apply to other colleges!

Purdue Short Answer 2

This second short-answer question is all about your intellectual curiosity. Admissions officers want to know not only why you have selected your major, but also how studying this major at Purdue will help you achieve your goals .

Like the Purdue supplemental essay above, you don't have a lot of room here (just 100 words!), so you'll need to be concise but effective.

While it's great to mention how you got interested in your field, you should also try to steer your response toward your academic and professional goals. What do you plan to do with your major once you graduate? How will Purdue help you do this?

For example, perhaps you've been fascinated by bugs since you were little and now plan to major in insect biology.

In your essay, you could talk about what propelled your interest (perhaps a bully tried to shove an ant in your face once, but instead of being scared, you were enamored with the insect's tiny body), mention what you've done to further that interest (e.g., taken some classes and built your own ant farm), and then discuss how the insect biology program at Purdue gives you the opportunity to do real fieldwork and participate in the College of Agriculture's Career Fair so you can find jobs in pest management.

How to Write a Great Purdue Supplemental Essay: 4 Tips

To wrap up, here are four tips to help you write a great supplemental Purdue University admission essay.

#1: Write Succinctly and Purposefully

All three Purdue supplemental essays you need to write are pretty short, with one 250-word essay and two 100-word essays. You'll have to really use your space wisely if you want to produce solid and memorable essays in the end. This means that you should practice being more concise.

If you have a tendency to go on and on or add way too many details or flowery language to your writing, take some time to practice writing more directly and more crisply . You likely won't have enough room to throw in any extended metaphors, so don't even try—just write honestly about your passions and goals.

Additionally, be sure to cut out any words, phrases, or sentences that don't directly answer the prompt or reveal more about you as a person.

You might feel that your writing is boring, but as long as you're telling your story openly and with real emotion, you're sure to write an unforgettable Purdue essay.

#2: Be Extremely Specific

One thing lots of students struggle with in their college essays is being specific enough . Especially when it comes to such short essays, you want to ensure you're telling admissions officers the most important and essential information you can give them about yourself.

Remember, they already know the basics about your achievements—they can see your test scores, grades, and extracurriculars. But what they don't have is a clear understanding of what makes you you . It's your job to paint this picture for them.

For example, don't just write that you want to major in Jewish studies because you're Jewish. What specifically drew you to this major over all the others out there?

Maybe you had a special experience that cemented your connection to Jewish history and culture, or maybe somebody you deeply admire inspired you to research your ancestry, making you want to use this knowledge to support and empower other young Jews like yourself.

Whatever you choose to write about for your Purdue essays, just be sure that you give admissions officers the "what" and "why."

#3: Always Bring It Back to Purdue

As we saw with the Purdue supplement essay example we analyzed, it's critical that you bring your essays (mainly the two short answers) back to Purdue and why this school is ultimately a good fit for you, your talents, and your ambitions .

Avoid bland, meaningless compliments, such as "Purdue is very prestigious," and instead focus on the unique and specific aspects that you believe make this school worth applying to.

Here are some qualities of Purdue you could mention in your essay(s):

• A professor whom you wish to work with
• A specific class you're excited to take
• A piece of equipment, facility, lab, etc. you really want to use
• Opportunities for career building, such as its 30+ annual career fairs
• Schoolwide competitions or events you want to take part in
• A student club or organization you plan to join
• Its emphasis on inclusion and diversity
• Its vocal support of the arts

Regardless of what aspect of Purdue you choose to focus on in your response to the Purdue University essay prompt, just be sure to tie this characteristic back to yourself somehow and explain how it will help you achieve your goals.

#4: Polish It Up

Our final tip is to spend ample time editing and proofreading each Purdue essay you write.

Once you've written a rough draft, put the essay away for a few days. Then, take it out again and look it over with a fresh set of eyes. Note any irrelevant, incorrect, or unclear places and edit as needed. Do this process a few times until you have a fairly clean draft.

Next, hand your essay off to someone you trust, such as a parent or teacher, and ask them to read it over and edit for content, structure, and grammar. Use their feedback to tweak your essay until you're satisfied with how it sounds.

Right before you submit your application to Purdue, proofread your essay one final time . Follow these tips and you're guaranteed to have one great Purdue supplemental essay!

What's Next?

Want to learn more about what it takes to get into Purdue? Then check out our Purdue admission requirements page to see what GPA and SAT/ACT scores you'll need to aim for.

Applying to other colleges in and around the Midwest? Then it might help to look at our college essay guides for Notre Dame , UIUC , and the University of Michigan .

If you're getting ready to write your long Common App essay , you'll definitely want to read our in-depth guide to all Common App prompts and how to answer them effectively .

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

Student and Parent Forum

Our new student and parent forum, at ExpertHub.PrepScholar.com , allow you to interact with your peers and the PrepScholar staff. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. Ask questions; get answers.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

Improve With Our Famous Guides

• For All Students

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 160+ SAT Points

How to Get a Perfect 1600, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 800 on Each SAT Section:

Score 800 on SAT Math

Score 800 on SAT Reading

Score 800 on SAT Writing

Series: How to Get to 600 on Each SAT Section:

Score 600 on SAT Math

Score 600 on SAT Reading

Score 600 on SAT Writing

Free Complete Official SAT Practice Tests

What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For?

15 Strategies to Improve Your SAT Essay

The 5 Strategies You Must Be Using to Improve 4+ ACT Points

How to Get a Perfect 36 ACT, by a Perfect Scorer

Series: How to Get 36 on Each ACT Section:

36 on ACT English

36 on ACT Math

36 on ACT Reading

36 on ACT Science

Series: How to Get to 24 on Each ACT Section:

24 on ACT English

24 on ACT Math

24 on ACT Reading

24 on ACT Science

What ACT target score should you be aiming for?

ACT Vocabulary You Must Know

ACT Writing: 15 Tips to Raise Your Essay Score

How to Get Into Harvard and the Ivy League

How to Get a Perfect 4.0 GPA

How to Write an Amazing College Essay

What Exactly Are Colleges Looking For?

Is the ACT easier than the SAT? A Comprehensive Guide

Should you retake your SAT or ACT?

When should you take the SAT or ACT?

Stay Informed

Get the latest articles and test prep tips!

Looking for Graduate School Test Prep?

Check out our top-rated graduate blogs here:

GRE Online Prep Blog

GMAT Online Prep Blog

TOEFL Online Prep Blog

Holly R. "I am absolutely overjoyed and cannot thank you enough for helping me!”

You are using an outdated browser. Please upgrade your browser or activate Google Chrome Frame to improve your experience.

Purdue Requirements for Admission

Choose your test.

What are Purdue's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

• GPA requirements
• Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
• Application requirements

In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into Purdue and build a strong application.

School location: West Lafayette, IN

This school is also known as: Purdue University

Admissions Rate: 52.7%

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at Purdue is 52.7% . For every 100 applicants, 53 are admitted.

This means the school is moderately selective . The school expects you to meet their requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but they're more flexible than other schools. If you exceed their requirements, you have an excellent chance of getting in. But if you don't, you might be one of the unlucky minority that gets a rejection letter.

We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies . We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

Purdue GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.

Average GPA: 3.74

The average GPA at Purdue is 3.74 .

(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.74, Purdue requires you to be above average in your high school class. You'll need at least a mix of A's and B's, with more A's than B's. You can compensate for a lower GPA with harder classes, like AP or IB classes. This will show that you're able to handle more difficult academics than the average high school student.

If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.74, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate . This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.

SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.

Purdue SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.

Average SAT: 1315

The average SAT score composite at Purdue is a 1315 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes Purdue Moderately Competitive for SAT test scores.

Purdue SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 1210, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1450. In other words, a 1210 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1450 will move you up to above average .

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

Purdue has the Score Choice policy of "Highest Section."

This is also known as "superscoring." This means that you can choose which SAT tests you want to send to the school. Of all the scores they receive, your application readers will consider your highest section scores across all SAT test dates you submit .

Click below to learn more about how superscoring critically affects your test strategy.

For example, say you submit the following 3 test scores:

Even though the highest total you scored on any one test date was 1000, Purdue will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 1000 to 1400 in this example.

This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Purdue forms your Superscore, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.

Therefore, if your SAT superscore is currently below a 1315, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it . You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.

Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the SAT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.

Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

Purdue ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, Purdue likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 29

The average ACT score at Purdue is 29. This score makes Purdue Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

The 25th percentile ACT score is 27, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 34.

Even though Purdue likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 27 or below, you'll have a harder time getting in, unless you have something else impressive in your application.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 29 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

However, from our research, Purdue is understood to superscore the ACT . We couldn't confirm it directly from the school's admissions website, but multiple sources confirm that the school does superscore the ACT. We recommend you call their admissions office directly for more information.

Superscoring is powerful to your testing strategy, and you need to make sure you plan your testing accordingly. Of all the scores that Purdue receives, your application readers will consider your highest section scores across all ACT test dates you submit .

For example, say you submit the following 4 test scores:

Even though the highest ACT composite you scored on any one test date was 20, Purdue will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 20 to 32 in this example.

This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Purdue forms your Superscore, you can take the ACT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.

Therefore, if your ACT score is currently below a 29, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the ACT and retaking it . You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.

Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the ACT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.

Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.

SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.

Purdue considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require it.

Final Admissions Verdict

Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission . Scoring a 1450 SAT or a 34 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 52.7% of all applicants, being far above average raises the admission rate for you to nearly 100%.

If you can achieve a high SAT/ACT score, the rest of your application essentially doesn't matter. You still need to meet the rest of the application requirements, and your GPA shouldn't be too far off from the school average of 3.74. But you won't need dazzling extracurriculars and breathtaking letters of recommendation to get in. You can get in based on the merits of your score alone.

But if your score is a 1210 SAT or a 27 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.

Admissions Calculator

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are. Pick your test: SAT ACT

• 80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
• 50-80%: More likely than not getting in
• 20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
• 5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
• 0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in

How would your chances improve with a better score?

Take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?

At PrepScholar, we've created the leading online SAT/ACT prep program . We guarantee an improvement of 160 SAT points or 4 ACT points on your score, or your money back.

Here's a summary of why we're so much more effective than other prep programs:

• PrepScholar customizes your prep to your strengths and weaknesses . You don't waste time working on areas you already know, so you get more results in less time.
• We guide you through your program step-by-step so that you're never confused about what you should be studying. Focus all your time learning, not worrying about what to learn.
• Our team is made of national SAT/ACT experts . PrepScholar's founders are Harvard graduates and SAT perfect scorers . You'll be studying using the strategies that actually worked for them.
• We've gotten tremendous results with thousands of students across the country. Read about our score results and reviews from our happy customers .

There's a lot more to PrepScholar that makes it the best SAT/ACT prep program. Click to learn more about our program , or sign up for our 5-day free trial to check out PrepScholar for yourself:

Application Requirements

Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of Purdue here.

Application Requirements Overview

• Common Application Accepted
• Electronic Application Available
• Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
• Letters of Recommendation
• Interview Not required
• Application Fee $60
• Fee Waiver Available? Available
• Other Notes

Testing Requirements

• SAT or ACT Required
• SAT Essay or ACT Writing Optional
• SAT Subject Tests
• Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

• Subject Required Years
• Foreign Language 3
• Social Studies 3

Deadlines and Early Admissions

• Offered? Deadline Notification
• Yes January 15 December 12
• Yes November 1 December 12

Admissions Office Information

• Address: 475 West Lafayette, IN 47907
• Phone: (765) 494-4600 x4600
• Fax: (765) 494-0544
• Email: [email protected]

Our Expert's Notes

We did more detailed research into this school's admissions process and found the following information:

There is a November 1 deadline for consideration for merit scholarships and the honors college (automatically considered with regular application). February 1 is the priority deadline for all other programs.

Other Schools For You

If you're interested in Purdue, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to Purdue.

Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than Purdue. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for Purdue, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for Purdue, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Purdue is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2023 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.

If You Liked Our Advice...

Our experts have written hundreds of useful articles on improving your SAT score and getting into college. You'll definitely find something useful here.

Subscribe to our newsletter to get FREE strategies and guides sent to your email. Learn how to ace the SAT with exclusive tips and insights that we share with our private newsletter subscribers.

You should definitely follow us on social media . You'll get updates on our latest articles right on your feed. Follow us on all of our social networks:

Purdue Supplemental Essay 2022-2023

Purdue Supplemental Essay: Quick Facts

• Purdue University acceptance rate: 67%— U.S. News ranks Purdue as a more selective school.
• Purdue application: Purdue only accepts the Common Application , not the Coalition Application.
• 2 (100-word) required essays
• 2 (500-word) Purdue Honors College essays (required if applying to the Honors College)
• Purdue Essay Tip: We recommend answering both Purdue University supplemental essays comprehensively and thoughtfully, highlighting in each of your Purdue essays why Purdue is the perfect school for you.

What are Purdue University’s essays?

In addition to the Common App essay , students must also complete the Purdue supplemental essay prompts. 

Required Purdue supplemental essay prompts:

• How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (100 words)
• Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (100 words)

Required Purdue supplemental essay prompts for Honors College applicants are:

• One Purdue supplemental essay about your vision for your honors experience at Purdue (500 words)
• An additional Purdue supplemental essay about the interdisciplinary nature of your chosen field of study (500 words)

These Purdue application essays represent the final step in the Purdue application process. Strong responses to the Purdue supplemental essays can help your Purdue application stand out among the almost 60,000 applications the university receives each year.

So, if you want to get into Purdue, it’s important to spend time on your responses to the Purdue essay prompts. A solid set of Purdue application essays can make a major difference in the Purdue admissions process.

In this guide, we’ll break down each of the Purdue essay prompts and provide expert tips on how to make sure your Purdue application essays shine. Keep reading to learn how to approach your Purdue University supplemental essays!

Purdue application essay requirements

Many selective colleges require supplemental essays beyond the standard Common App essay, also known as the Personal Statement . The Purdue application requirements are no exception to this. 

There are two Purdue essay prompts required of all applicants. Additionally, Honors College applicants must complete two additional Purdue University supplemental essays. Pay close attention to which Purdue supplemental essays you should complete, as it varies by program. 

So, if you are applying to Purdue University, you must complete at least two 100-word Purdue essay prompts. Each Purdue supplemental essay is designed to give you a chance to show Purdue admissions officers who you are, beyond the rest of your application. You should treat each Purdue supplemental essay as an opportunity to showcase a part of yourself that isn’t highlighted elsewhere within the Purdue application requirements.

Honors College essay requirements

Like many schools, Purdue has additional requirements for the Purdue Honors College. If you apply to the Purdue John Martinson Honors College, you must complete two more 500-word Purdue Honors College essays. These additional prompts help Purdue Admissions ensure that Purdue Honors College applicants go above and beyond the typical Purdue application requirements. 

You should be sure to set aside more than enough time to craft strong Purdue Honors College essays and Purdue supplemental essays.

Purdue Supplemental Essay- Prompt 1 ( Required )

How will opportunities at purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom (100 words maximum).

The first Purdue essay asks applicants to reflect on their academic and personal interests. Then, it asks them to explain how Purdue will help them pursue those interests. In other words, the first of the Purdue essay prompts asks why you want to attend Purdue over any other school. 

You’ve probably encountered similar “why this college?” essay prompts on other applications. So, as you might expect, this Purdue application essay must be specific to Purdue. You won’t be able to copy and paste another school’s essay to answer this Purdue supplemental essay. 

Brainstorming your topic

Before starting to write this Purdue supplemental essay, think about your interest in Purdue. Write down a list of reasons why Purdue made your college list. Does Purdue offer a particular program that interests you? Or does Purdue’s campus culture fit your vision for your college experience? The best responses to the Purdue essay prompts will include specific details.

Building your narrative

Once you have created your list of interests, identify several that you would like to write about in your Purdue supplemental essays. This Purdue supplemental essay doesn’t give you much space; picking one or two interests, therefore, will help you stay within the word count and give your essay some structure. 

When deciding which interests to focus on, remember your other Purdue essay. You can discuss your intended major in the second of the required Purdue essay prompts. With this in mind, make sure you don’t delve into topics better suited for other Purdue essay prompts. Instead, use this Purdue supplemental essay to talk about interests that you have not discussed in other areas of your application. After all, you want each Purdue supplemental essay to showcase a different part of your identity.

Making it specific

Next, research Purdue to see how your interests overlap with opportunities Purdue offers. The Purdue essay prompts are a chance to show off the research you’ve done; for example, talking to Purdue admissions representatives or visiting campus. If any of these interactions relate to one of your chosen themes, mention them in this Purdue supplemental essay. This shows your knowledge of Purdue’s strengths as a university. 

For example, a prospective student could use this Purdue application essay to discuss the state-of-the-art kinesiology labs she visited and how they would help her pursue her interest in physical therapy. Make sure you discuss what you experienced along with how it relates to your interests. Once again, the best Purdue University supplemental essays will use specific details to show why you belong at Purdue.

Writing your essay

Now that you’ve done the brainstorming and research for this Purdue supplemental essay, you can start writing. Because you only have 100 words for this Purdue supplemental essay, you need to make each one count. Avoid unrelated topics, vague wording, and forms of “to be.” Instead, use clear language and strong action verbs in each Purdue essay. Compare these two sentences below:

“There is no school that is a better fit to support my interests than Purdue University.” (16 words)

“Purdue possesses the resources to support my interests.” (8 words)

The second sentence conveys the same message as the first, but it uses much stronger language and fewer words. Specific details and short, powerful sentences will help your Purdue essay stand out. 

Purdue Supplemental Essay Reflection Questions:

• Does your Purdue essay refer to 2-3 strong interests from your list?
• Do you present information not found in other areas of your application?
• Does your Purdue supplemental essay contain specific information about Purdue based on your research?
• Do you clearly explain to Purdue admissions how Purdue will help you pursue your interests?

Purdue Supplemental Essay — Prompt 2 ( Required )

Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (100 words maximum).

The second of the Purdue supplemental essays is the typical “why major essay.” The “why major essay” is a common supplemental essay question that many schools require. Purdue is no different—they want to understand why you aim to pursue the field you’ve indicated on your application. 

The reality of the “why major essay” question is that schools want to know you’ve done your research on their programs. As a result of this, your “why major essay” for each school must relate to that school’s unique offerings. While you can include some general details, you should make sure this essay remains school-specific. 

Not all students know what they plan to major in. Choosing your college major is a big decision, and it requires plenty of forethought. This Purdue supplemental essay can be especially daunting if you’re unsure of your major, so let’s explore how to get around that. 

Brainstorming your major

Before starting to write this “why major essay,” think about the school subjects you enjoy. You may already identify as a lover of math or know you have the most fun in English class. However, Purdue University offers more than 200 different undergraduate majors across their 11 different colleges, so check the full list for options. This research will also help you show demonstrated interest in this Purdue supplemental essay.

When selecting a major for this Purdue application essay, think about the career you might want to pursue. You might consider the topics you have liked learning about, both inside and outside the classroom. If you’re having trouble selecting one major for this Purdue supplemental essay, choose the major you have the most compelling reasons to pursue.

Selecting a field of study for this Purdue supplemental essay might feel daunting. However, don’t be stressed about choosing a major. Instead, as you write your Purdue supplemental essay, focus on showing your intellectual curiosity and engagement with your studies. You can always change your major once you arrive on campus.

Using details

In order to write the best essay possible, include experiences that have made the biggest impact on your academic career. Have you had a teacher who drove you to explore more about their subject? Have you had work or volunteer experience that inspired you to pursue a particular major? Do you have a burning passion to support a specific cause? 

Your Purdue application essay should tell a story. So, highlight stories where you’ve engaged deeply with your chosen subject, whether directly or indirectly. In doing so, you’ll help readers understand why your chosen major excites you. This can help your Purdue supplemental essay showcase your intellectual curiosity.

Whatever major you choose, don’t just discuss the basic reasons why you enjoy it in this Purdue essay. Instead, go deeper. Think of this Purdue essay as a short narrative where you share moments in your life that have influenced you. A student who wants to major in electrical engineering might talk about getting a circuitry kit for Christmas and watching his dad repair wires around the house. She might then share how she helped the school robotics club win a competition. Find those formative moments in your life and use them as the foundation of your Purdue supplemental essay. Again, the best Purdue supplemental essay will be the most specific!

• Does your Purdue essay focus on the major that most interests you?
• Do you use specific details about how you came to love that major?
• Does your Purdue supplemental essay help your reader learn something new about you?

Purdue Honors College Essay Requirements

The Purdue Honors College is a separate program within Purdue University specifically designed for high-achieving students. Recently, the Purdue Honors College became formally known as the John Martinson Honors College. According to their website , “Martinson supports new programmatic initiatives which promote undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity, leadership and professional development, global and community engagement, and innovative pedagogies.” 

You should research the Purdue Honors College thoroughly before deciding if you want to apply. Once you make the decision that the Purdue Honors College is right for you, it’s time to crack down on the Purdue Honors College essays.

The Purdue Honors College supplemental essay requirements are:

• 1 (500-word) Purdue supplemental essay about your vision for your honors experience at Purdue
• 1 (500-word) Purdue essay prompt about the interdisciplinary nature of your chosen field of study

Now, let’s break down each of the Purdue supplemental essays for the Purdue Honors College and talk about strategies to tackle each one. 

For more help on writing supplemental essays, click here . For help standing out in the college admissions process, read this article .

Purdue Honors College Essays- Question 1 

Explain your vision, ideas, or goals for how you hope to shape your honors experience while at purdue. please put this in the context of the four pillars which are the foundation of the john martinson honors college. (500 word maximum).

In order to answer the first of the Honors College Purdue essay prompts effectively, you need to reflect on your reasons for applying to the Honors College. Then, you need to connect those reasons to the four pillars that express the Honors College’s values. The best Purdue application essays will directly connect an applicant’s academic goals with the four pillars of the Purdue Honors College.

Understanding Purdue

Before starting this Purdue supplemental essay, you need to have a firm understanding of the four pillars mentioned in the prompt. These pillars are: community and global engagement, undergraduate research, leadership development, and interdisciplinary academics. Reviewing the Honors College mission statement will give you more information about the four pillars. You do not need to reference all four of these pillars in your Purdue essay; instead, focus on whichever ones best fit with your future plans.

Researching the Honors College beyond the four pillars can also help strengthen your Purdue supplemental essay. Start by browsing this year’s Honors College course list . Review some of the research projects done by past Honors students. As you brainstorm for your Purdue admissions essays, look for programs and projects that connect to your interests. You might see a course or research project that lines up with one of your passions. You can use that as evidence in your Purdue essay that the Honors College will provide an ideal learning environment to nurture your interests.

Making it about you

This Purdue essay prompt asks you to imagine how you would spend your time as a Purdue Honors student. That future will likely be rooted in your past experiences. Strong Purdue application essays, therefore, should use the four pillars of Purdue Honors to connect your past experiences to your future at Purdue. 

When you talk about your future, try to be as specific as possible. For instance, saying that you want to travel to India to study their culture is not as powerful as saying that you want to travel to India to research how native fashions have changed due to modern technology in this Purdue essay.

You can begin brainstorming for this Purdue supplemental essay by doing a fr e e-write based on this prompt: “If I could have any academic experience I want in college, what would it be?” Think about the questions you might explore or problems you would like to solve if you had the freedom to choose. Don’t limit yourself—the best way to start writing is to free yourself from any perfectionism. 

Use this Purdue admissions essay to share the subject that you could stay up all night researching or the idea you cannot get out of your head. Let your ambition come across in your writing, using the four pillars of the Honors College as the foundation for achieving your goals. Finally, help your reader envision how you would contribute to the Honors College in this Purdue supplemental essay.

• Does your Purdue essay clearly describe your goals for attending the Honors College?
• Do you include references to at least one of the four pillars of the Honors College?
• Does your Purdue supplemental essay indicate specific projects you might undertake or resources you might use as an Honors student?

Purdue Honors College Essays — Question 2

Please describe the interdisciplinary nature of your chosen field of study and how it complements or supports other fields. (examples: you might describe how your work in a liberal arts career may impact or inform the work of an engineer.) (500 word maximum).

The second of the Purdue application essays asks how your chosen subject connects to other fields. At first, this Purdue essay can seem daunting. After all, most high school classes are separated by subject without much room for interdisciplinary work. However, with a little creative thinking, you can develop relationships between just about any set of subjects and use those relationships to write a strong Purdue essay.

Finding an intersection

To get you started, here are a few examples of interdisciplinary study that would make good material for Purdue application essays:

• Creating a business plan for a health care clinic combines medicine with economics
• Volunteering at a music therapy provider combines Psychology and Music into an interdisciplinary field grounded in helping those with mental illnesses
• A project about the evolution of manufacturing technology combines history with engineering

These example topics for a Purdue supplemental essay represent a tiny fraction of the ways you could answer this prompt. Each of these potential Purdue application essays could also tie in with some of your activities from high school. 

You might also use your Purdue essay to consider what you have learned working with people who have different interests than yours and how you could bring that knowledge to your studies. Strong Purdue admissions essays can come from anywhere, so don’t limit yourself. 

Getting creative

If you struggle to form connections between academic fields based on your personal experience, you can use your imagination to come up with hypothetical situations that might foster collaboration across fields. These imaginary situations can still make for a great Purdue supplemental essay. 

For instance, as a lover of computer science, you might imagine its applications in the world of digital art to create vivid settings for a video game. The best Purdue supplemental essays will be unique and creative. Additionally, strong Purdue application essays will tell a story. The more you can use narratives to illustrate the wide range of uses for your discipline, the more successful your Purdue admissions essay will be.

Essays Reflection Questions for Purdue Honors College :

• Does your Purdue supplemental essay demonstrate your enthusiasm for your chosen field?
• Do you include a variety of possible connections between your chosen fields and other fields?
• Does your Purdue admissions essay use stories and examples to illustrate the connections between fields?

Want more helpful tips on how to approach your Purdue supplemental essays and other aspects of Purdue University’s application process? Check out this video below from Purdue’s senior assistant director of admissions! 

What does Purdue University look for in essays?

Your Purdue supplemental essays help the admissions team get to know you beyond your demographics, transcript, and activities list. Each Purdue essay also provides valuable insight into what kind of student you would be.

These specific Purdue essay prompts help the Purdue admissions committee understand how you will use your education at Purdue. Purdue looks for students who can articulate their interests and describe how Purdue’s resources will help them pursue these interests. Your Purdue application essays, then, should show the Purdue admissions team how Purdue would help you meet your goals.

Demonstrated Interest

The committee wants to see you show demonstrated interest (DI) in Purdue. DI is a gauge that universities use to determine how interested a student is in attending their school. To take advantage of this, use your Purdue application essays to explain exactly what about Purdue interests you. You don’t need to physically visit the campus to write strong Purdue supplemental essays. However, if you don’t visit , it helps to find other ways of showing your interest. These include contacting admissions officers, reviewing the school’s website, or attending a virtual information session/webinar.

The Purdue admissions team also wants to know if you can write clearly and concisely—an important skill for succeeding in college. So, ensure your writing is strong, clear, and free of any errors. Your Purdue application essays also show your attention to detail and passion for learning. Students who use the Purdue essay prompts to showcase their passions will definitely impress the admissions team.

How do I get into Purdue University?

Getting accepted into Purdue starts with filling out the Common Application and meeting the Purdue application requirements. On the Common Application, you will report your GPA, list your high school activities, and write a 250-650 word Common App essay. 

For the fall and spring of 2023, Purdue is test flexible . This means if you have the opportunity to take the SAT or ACT, Purdue admissions would prefer you do. This is different from test optional because test optional schools truly have no preference for test scores. Purdue, however, makes it clear that they would like to review test scores as part of your application if possible. Strong scores will only enhance your application . 

Purdue application requirements

Your GPA , course schedule, test scores, Common App essay, letters of recommendation , supplemental essays, and extracurricular activities comprise the Purdue application requirements and will all factor into the committee’s decision.

Last year, approximately 60,000 students applied to Purdue University. The median GPA range of accepted applicants was 3.5-3.9, the median SAT was 119-1410, and the median ACT was 26-33. As you can see, Purdue admits students with high scores, which contributes to the U.S. News Purdue University ranking.

Purdue Application

In 2022, U.S. News assigned its Purdue University ranking among national universities at #51 overall. US News also named Purdue as one of the Top 10 most innovative universities in the last four years. Among public universities , the Purdue University ranking is #18 in the country. Purdue University’s top academic programs include Aerospace Engineering (where the Purdue University ranking is #5) and Biological/Agricultural Engineering (where the Purdue University ranking is #2). This makes Purdue a great fit for students specifically interested in those fields.

Finally, the Purdue University ranking attracts many applicants who view Purdue’s rankings as a sign of prestige. This means that Purdue supplemental essays will be used to determine which students are interested in attending for reasons beyond the Purdue University ranking. Remember, your Purdue supplemental essays are your chance to show the admissions team your genuine interest in the school. 

Looking to put your best foot forward when filling out the Common Application and writing the Common App essay? Check out this guide for helpful tips.

Top 5 Purdue Supplemental Essay Tips

How to write an outstanding purdue supplemental essay:, #1 – start early.

Be sure to leave yourself time to edit and revise each of your Purdue University supplemental essays. You don’t want to be drafting and editing a Purdue supplemental essay down to the wire.

#2 – Look at the big picture

When writing your Purdue supplemental essays, consider your application as a whole. Make sure that each Purdue supplemental essay explores something new about you. 

#3 – Be authentic

Don’t lie or exaggerate on your Purdue University supplemental essays. Each Purdue application essay is a chance for you to showcase who you are.

#4 – Show your unique self

These Purdue supplemental essays are an opportunity for you to stand out to Purdue admissions. Don’t generalize in your responses to the Purdue essay prompts. Instead, get specific about your experiences. Use the opportunity to not only demonstrate who you are, but also to show off your writing style.

#5 – Proofread, proofread, proofread!

Edit your essays . You don’t want to craft a stellar Purdue supplemental essay, only to have it marred by poor grammar or a spelling mistake. Have another person look over each Purdue supplemental essay before you submit it. 

Purdue Supplemental Essay — Final Thoughts

Although each Purdue supplemental essay is short, they are also incredibly important. Don’t think that a short essay will take you less time to write—often, short essays are the hardest to write. Given the Purdue University ranking, you should use every chance you get to stand out. This includes crafting strong Purdue supplemental essays.

Be yourself

The Purdue essay prompts help the admissions committee get to know the person behind the grades and test scores. Make sure that your Purdue supplemental essays are full of anecdotes and stories that show why you will succeed as a Purdue student! Let your readers know in each Purdue supplemental essay that you have done your research and thought about why you want to attend Purdue.

Ask for help!

And finally, seek help from trusted sources with editing your Purdue supplemental essays; sometimes a second opinion can help you improve your Purdue essays in unexpected ways.

This Purdue supplemental essays guide was written by Laura Frustaci.   Looking for more admissions support? Click  here  to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how  CollegeAdvisor.com  can support you in the college application process.

Personalized and effective college advising for high school students.

• Advisor Application
• Popular Colleges
• Privacy Policy and Cookie Notice
• Student Login
• California Privacy Notice
• Terms and Conditions
• Your Privacy Choices

By using the College Advisor site and/or working with College Advisor, you agree to our updated Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy , including an arbitration clause that covers any disputes relating to our policies and your use of our products and services.

Undergraduate Admissions

Applying To Purdue

The steps to apply to Purdue are relatively simple.

• Complete and submit an  online application .
• Pay attention to and meet application  deadlines .
• Make sure we receive  all material required  for your application to be complete.

Need To Know

First time freshman, transfer students, special populations.

Purdue University

• Cost & scholarships
• Essay prompt

Want to see your chances of admission at Purdue University?

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

Purdue University’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Why this college short response.

How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom?

Honors College Short Response 1

Explain your vision, ideas, or goals for how you hope to shape your honors experience while at Purdue. Please put this in the context of the four pillars which are the foundation of the John Martinson Honors College.

Honors College Short Response 2

Please describe the interdisciplinary nature of your chosen field of study and how it complements or supports other fields. (Examples: You might describe how your work in a liberal arts career may impact or inform the work of an engineer.)

Select-A-Prompt Short Response

Please answer one of the following questions

Oxy’s central mission emphasizes the value of community amidst diversity. What do you value in a community and how do you see your perspectives and life experiences enhancing it?

Briefly describe a current event or social movement that is affecting a place that is important to you. Describe its significance to you and the future implications for that community. How do you anticipate an Oxy education helping you better understand and respond to that event/movement?

Research is an integral part of an Oxy education. Completing a senior comprehensive is a requirement of every Oxy student and there are a myriad of opportunities for research throughout your four years. Imagine you were just awarded one of our research grants for a project of your choice. What are you researching and why?

Why This Major Short Response

Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected.

Common App Personal Essay

The essay demonstrates your ability to write clearly and concisely on a selected topic and helps you distinguish yourself in your own voice. What do you want the readers of your application to know about you apart from courses, grades, and test scores? Choose the option that best helps you answer that question and write an essay of no more than 650 words, using the prompt to inspire and structure your response. Remember: 650 words is your limit, not your goal. Use the full range if you need it, but don‘t feel obligated to do so.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you‘ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

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

Department of English College of Liberal Arts

Admissions and Application Information 

If you wish to apply to the graduate studies program in the Department of English, do the following:

QUICK VIEW:  

1)    Read the specific Program Pages for the program to which you wish to apply—and be sure to make note of any specific requirements to that program before going on to Step 2. 

2)    Graduate School Application: Apply to the Graduate School. Here is the website you’ll need (bookmark it now!):   https://www.purdue.edu/gradschool/admissions/how-to-apply/index.html

3)    Statement of Purpose: Supply a personal statement of purpose (300 to 500 words total); this statement should describe your intellectual interests and professional goals and explain why you think Purdue's English Department is a good place to pursue them.  You also may explain any special circumstances regarding your background and elaborate on your scholarly publications, awards, achievements, abilities, and/or professional history.

4)    Test Scores: See additional details, international students (below).

5)    Letters of Recommendation: Submit three letters of recommendation from former teachers. Ask them to describe and assess your training, skills, and ability to do graduate-level work. Letters are to be submitted electronically by the recommender using the online submission process outlined on the Purdue Graduate School webpage.

6)    Writing sample: Upload a sample of your writing, which ideally should be an essay you have written for an English course (double-spaced, roughly 10-15 pages).  Students applying to the creative writing program must also upload additional writing samples (see below).

 7)    Transcripts: While the Graduate School will accept unofficial transcripts as part of the application process, please be aware that official transcripts will be required if you are admitted to our graduate program.  Thus, we highly recommend that you submit official transcripts with your original application materials if at all possible.  We also appreciate having official transcripts submitted with your other application materials insofar as this gives us definitive information on your coursework and any earned or in-process degrees.  

  NOTE: Official transcripts should be downloaded with your application and official copies should be mailed to the Department (Director of Graduate Studies, English Graduate Office, 500 Oval Drive, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2038).  Please note that partial grade reports (e.g. reports on grades from one or two semesters or quarters) cannot be substituted for official transcripts since they do not fully reflect your complete academic record at a particular college or university. 

ADDITIONAL DETAILS:

For international students:.

International students must submit an official TOEFL iBT score (sent directly from the testing center). The minimum internet based scores required for admission are the following:

Writing: 22  Speaking: 22*  Listening: 22  Reading: 22  Total score: 100

* Only those with a speaking score of 27 or more can be considered for a teaching assistantship. Unqualified students who gain admission can qualify themselves through the Purdue OEPP test (OEPT), and if necessary by enrolling in ENGL 620 (Classroom Communication in ESL for International Teaching Assistants).

The English Department also accepts the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores. An overall band score of 7.0 is required for admission. Minimum scores of 7.0 are required for each section of Reading, Listening, Writing, and Speaking. A score of 8 in the speaking section is required if you wish to be considered for a teaching assistantship in the English Department.

For Applicants to the MA Program(s):

Students admitted to the M.A. program generally have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.4. They inspire strong letters of recommendation. Their statements of purpose show intelligence, creativity, a love for reading and learning, and a reflective spirit. Their written work shows discipline and scholarly promise.

 An M.A. degree is a prerequisite for admission to the Ph.D. program in English. They are separate degree programs and have different standards for admission.

For Applicants to the Ph.D. Program(s):

In general, students admitted to the Ph.D. program have earned a GPA of at least 3.6 in their Masters coursework. They can demonstrate broad knowledge of their respective fields. They inspire strong letters of recommendation from former teachers. Their written work (writing sample, statement of purpose) suggests the ability not only to do good coursework, but also to produce original, publishable research. Their classroom experience indicates their talent and potential as teachers. Their stated, scholarly goals also match or complement the expertise and research interests of our faculty.

Do you still have questions? Check our admissions FAQ .

What are your chances of acceptance?

Calculate for all schools, your chance of acceptance.

Your chancing factors

Extracurriculars.

How to Write the Purdue University Essays 2016-2017

Check out the purdue university application essays for 2017-2018.

Founded in 1869 in West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue University has established itself as one of the top institutions worldwide for engineering and agriculture.

Offering over 200 majors and many more opportunities outside the classroom, including internships with Fortune 500 companies and research positions under renowned faculty, coupled with just under 30,000 undergraduate students, Purdue allows for a diverse range of pursuits. Furthermore, as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the Purdue Boilermakers are sure to hit the front pages for their performance in college bowl games and March Madness.

In addition to its rigorous engineering curriculum, which includes highly regarded agricultural and industrial engineering departments, Purdue is known for a top-notch aviation program that features graduates like Neil Armstrong. However, it is also known for creating the Online Writing Lab (OWL), which you’ve most likely consulted at least once when writing papers.

Outside the classroom, Purdue has made a sizable commitment to its research programs, with hundreds of millions of dollars in sponsored research funding from federal organizations. Purdue’s footprint in improving society’s understanding of agriculture, business, and engineering is sizable. Students may also boost their pre-professional preparation through a variety of co-op and internship offerings.

Purdue University Application Essay Prompts

How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)

There are two major components to this prompt. First and foremost, you have to demonstrate your knowledge of Purdue and its unique offerings. You can then establish a connection between your knowledge of Purdue and your own interests. When considering what you’ll write about regarding Purdue’s offerings, you want to include specific details that will demonstrate that you’ve done your homework on the school.

Some examples of what differentiates Purdue from other universities include:

• Aeronautical engineering program and work in flight (whether terrestrial or extraterrestrial) is one of the best in the world
• Unique First-Year Engineering program that’s designed to test students’ critical thinking both inside and outside the classroom
• Strong research activity with unique opportunities like its Discovery Park, nanotechnology program, and Research Park
• Honors College, where you’re able to live with similarly driven and like-minded students, or Learning Communities, where you also gain a more focused academic and extracurricular experience that’s tailored to meet your interests
• Even if you’re not interested in joining a specific community, the large campus and diverse student body offer plenty of niches where you can find your best fit
• Division I Athletics with plenty of spectating opportunities, though a caveat would be that this shouldn’t be a key driver in your response unless you are an athlete yourself
• Dominant Greek Life presence offers networks of kindred spirits for you to bond with, if you’re interested

Brainstorm ways in which your unique pursuits could enable you take full advantage of these offerings. Integrate as many elements of your extracurricular and academic profile as are reasonably possible into your essay, in order to cement both your compatibility with and commitment to the university.

For example, a prospective engineer might be attracted to Purdue’s strong engineering programs , particularly in aeronautics. Purdue also offers many research opportunities, allowing this student to realize his or her dream of constructing a drone. Finally, the student might consider joining a social organization to recruit similarly passionate and reliable teammates for this project.

While you want to present a strong case for how you’ll take advantage of the opportunities available to Purdue students, be wary of packing too many elements into your essay. Your primary goal should be to establish a clear connection between your interests and accomplishments and the opportunities that await you at Purdue; don’t jeopardize the clarity of your essay by mentioning every possible activity you could pursue, especially given the tight word count.

Briefly discuss your reasons for pursuing the major you have selected. (Respond in 100 words or fewer.)

This prompt is primarily seeking to understand the story behind your major choice by asking you to cite your high school coursework, extracurricular activities, and other relevant experiences that shaped this decision. However, it is necessary that in your response you demonstrate not only a thorough understanding of the major you wish to pursue, but also what it would truly entail to pursue this major in college. This can make the prompt challenging.

For students seeking traditional majors that most high schools provide ample exposure to, their coursework is a fairly reliable source to draw from. Examples of these majors include the core subjects like mathematics, science, English, or history. Your choice to major in any of these subjects can be framed by your initial experiences in these classes.

For example, you may have relished the analytical thinking and theoretical perspective required of you in completing a geometry proof. Science may have been appealing for the lab work, which replicated groundbreaking experiments conducted centuries ago by visionaries of their time. English and history may have been exercises in close reading with limitless possibilities in terms of the arguments to be made.

However, although you may have a stronger background in these subjects, a real concern is whether your experiences accurately reflect what you can expect from the major in college. AP English Language and AP Euro classes won’t exactly present the same challenges as a seminar class, in which you might scrutinize the dense opening chapter to Marx’s Capital for a week or the same 3 lines in Dante’s Inferno in hopes of gaining some new understanding that scholars have missed.

In this case, you have to be careful to research the expectations of your college major, specifically how it exists at Purdue, and identify the overlaps between your high school coursework and the major. For example, as an econ major in college, you thankfully won’t be drawing supply and demand curves over and over, but you can expect to learn key economic models, which share a similar goal of understanding phenomena in the global markets.

To supplement discussion of your academic qualifications, you may also consider mentioning your extracurricular activities or your internships, which may be a more accurate representation of your chosen college major — this is true for internships in particular. Talking about the rigors of a math competition that involved completely unfamiliar concepts but required similar modes of thinking or tinkering in a research lab would all be valid examples.

Some students, however, may be interested in majors with which there isn’t any real overlap with their current coursework. For example, an International Relations major in college isn’t grounded in any one high school subject. However, the thinking required for the major can definitely be found in other subjects. You merely have to conduct more granular research into the subject and its program at Purdue to better understand why it attracts you, what relevant experience you have, and how you expect to pursue it at the university.

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

Guide to the Purdue University Supplemental Essays (2022-23)

Purdue University asks applicants to write three short supplemental essays as part of their admissions application. Founder and Chief Advisor of College Essay Advisors, Stacey Brook, is here to give you invaluable insight into the prompts and the motivation behind them so you can take advantage of this opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice.<br />

Supplemental Essays 101

How to Write College Admissions Diversity Essays Regardless of Your Background

With the Supreme Court ruling on Affirmative Action came an avalanche of diversity essays meant to compensate for a missing tool that aimed to level the playing field. We here at CEA have celebrated the preponderance of opportunities to address race, gender, and other identity-oriented details on the application. We have also found that these prompts can be flummoxing for some students. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to provide guidance to applicants who feel like they don't have an obvious "diversity" story to tell.

How to Write the Vanderbilt Supplemental Essays

Vanderbilt asks 2023-24 applicants to respond to one of two prompts in 250 words or fewer. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through drafting a distinct essay response.

Guide to the Worcester Polytechnic Institute Supplemental Essay Prompt

Worcester Polytechnic Institute seeks students who are the right fit for its academic and campus community. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to help you make your case as to why you're the perfect fit for WPI (and vice versa)!

Guide to the University of Miami’s Supplemental Essay Prompt

The University of Miami asks applicants to respond to one supplemental essay prompt in 250 words or less (full text below). CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to share some tips and tricks for differentiating your response.

Guide to the American University’s Supplemental Essay Prompt

American University asks applicants to respond to the following prompt, "Why are you interested in American University?" in 150 words or less. With such few words at your disposal, you'll want to be succinct as possible. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, has some tips to help you get started on a distinct response.

Guide to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Supplemental Essay Prompt

Admissions wants to know just what appeals to you about the University of Wisconsin-Madison. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to lend tips and tricks for writing a winning supplemental essay for your Wisconsin-Madison application.

How to Respond to Wake Forest’s 150-Word “How Did You Become Interested in WFU?” Essay

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to give you a jumpstart on your drafted response for Wake Forest's "Why?" essay: "How did you become interested in Wake Forest University? Feel free to tell us about any contact that you had with Wake Forest that was important to you. (150 words)"

How to Approach the 2021-22 Wake Forest Brief Responses (Writing Section)

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through Wake Forest's 2021-22 Brief Responses, so you can submit a distinct and personal application to WFU.

CEA’s Guide to Yale’s 2021-22 “Intellectual Interest” Essay

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break down Yale's 250-word "Intellectual Interest" essay, which reads, "Yale’s extensive course offerings and vibrant conversations beyond the classroom encourage students to follow their developing intellectual interests wherever they lead. Tell us about your engagement with a topic or idea that excites you. Why are you drawn to it?"

How to Write an Artist Statement

Many colleges and universities ask art students to write an artist statement as part of their applications. Writing an Artist Statement can be tricky, especially if you’re applying as an undergraduate.

Purdue University asks applicants to write three short supplemental essays as part of their admissions application. Founder and Chief Advisor of College Essay Advisors, Stacey Brook, is here to give you invaluable insight into the prompts and the motivation behind them so you can take advantage of this opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice.

CEA’s Guide to Yale University’s “Short Takes” Supplement Section for the 2021-22 Application Year

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through Yale University's "Short Takes" supplement section for the 2021-22 application season. It's time to brainstorm!

How to Respond to Yale University’s “Why Yale?” Supplement Section in 100 Words or Fewer

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through the 2021-22 Yale University "Why Yale?" supplement section, so you can infuse your response with specificity while demonstrating fit.

CEA’s Guide to the 2021-22 Georgetown University Essay Prompts

Georgetown University asks applicants to submit four (4) essays in their undergraduate admission application. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through each of Georgetown's 2021-22 prompts, so you can draft with confidence.

CEA’s Guide to the University of Chicago’s 2021-22 Supplemental Essay Prompts

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through the 2021-22 University of Chicago supplemental essays, so you can better understand what admissions is looking for in your response.

CEA’s Guide to the 2021-22 Colgate University Supplemental Essays (and List!)

CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through the 2021-22 Colgate University supplemental essays, so you can draft winning responses.

CEA’s Guide to the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business Portfolio Submission

Preferred Admission applicants to the University of Michigan's Stephen M. Ross School of Business will complete a portfolio. This portfolio is in addition to the materials you submit with your Common Application or Coalition Application.

CEA’s Guide to the 2021-22 Boston College Supplemental Essay Prompts

Boston College asks students to select one prompt (out of five) to respond to in 400 words or less (prompts below). So what will you write about? Philosophy, racial injustice, conversation partners, introspection, or your favorite book? CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to give you all the information you need to select a prompt and write an amazing supplemental essay.

CEA’s Guide to the 2021-22 Dartmouth College Supplemental Essays

Dartmouth College is one of the most competitive schools in the country, and every year admissions officers are faced with countless applications from eager students looking to make the cut. Dartmouth's supplemental essay prompts are an opportunity for applicants to distinguish themselves from their peers. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break down the seven Dartmouth College supplemental essay prompts, so you can draft your responses with confidence.

4 Types of Essay Prompts to Expect from Military Academy Applications

Whether you’re applying to the United States Air Force Academy, Naval Academy, Coast Guard Academy, Merchant Marine Academy, or West Point Military Academy, you can anticipate penning responses to these four types of essay prompts. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through the four most common Military application essay categories!

How to Respond to College Essay Prompts About Diversity and Inclusivity

Many colleges and universities have started asking applicants to respond to prompts that ask them about their experiences with diversity, inclusion, and equity. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through the popular new supplemental essay prompt.

Guide to the 2020-21 University of Southern California (USC) Essays | CEA

So, we just have to say it: the USC application is kind of all over the place! You’ll be asked about everything from your academic interests to your life's theme song, so make sure to tighten the straps on your brainstorming helmet. Our Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to show you how to use every essay as an opportunity to showcase something different about yourself!

Guide to the 2020-21 University of California Essays | CEA

For the UC application, the rules may be unfamiliar but the game is the same: tell admissions something they don’t know, and then do it three more times! A strategic applicant will choose an amalgam of prompts that highlight vastly different aspects of their life and personality, leaving an admissions officer with a deep and complete picture of who they are. Our Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to help you avoid getting hung up on trying to find the questions admissions "wants" you to answer -- with each essay, your goal isn’t just to answer the question, but to tell a very short story about yourself!

Guide to the 2020-21 Georgetown University Essays | CEA

Since it's not on the Common App, Georgetown requires some extra special attention when it comes to its supplemental essay requirements! Luckily, our Founder and Chief Advisor Stacey Brook is here to give you invaluable insight into the prompts and discuss the motivation behind them. Take advantage of this opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice!

Guide to the 2020-21 Harvard University Supplemental Essays | CEA

Harvard University is one of the most competitive schools in the country, and every year admissions officers are faced with countless applications from eager students looking to make the cut. As a result, Harvard's supplemental essay prompts are diverse and complex, to allow students an opportunity to distinguish themselves from their peers. If you're feeling overwhelmed, fear not! CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break down the Harvard essays so you can hit submit with confidence.

Guide to the 2020-21 Stanford University Essays | CEA

The Stanford University application is nothing short of a doozie -- no less than EIGHT essays of varying lengths for students to answer and submit! To help you tackle this beast, our Founder and Chief Advisor Stacey Brook has created this video guide to walk you through each of the prompts, and give you the tips and tricks you need to make an impression on admissions.

Guide to the 2020-21 Boston University Essays | CEA

The Boston University essay requirements are a gift to students: two of the most straightforward prompts you could ask for, and only one of them is required! Of course, our Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, doesn't believe that any essay is truly optional, so make sure you're taking advantage of every opportunity you have to speak to admissions in your own voice. Plan ahead, pay attention to the questions, and above all don't wait until the last minute to start your work!

Guide to the 2020-21 University of Michigan Essays | CEA

We know that submitting your application to the University of Michigan can cause some serious stress. Thankfully, this year Michigan only requires two supplemental essays instead of three! Our Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to give you invaluable insight into the prompts and provide you with tips and tricks to help you showcase yourself to admissions using your own unique voice.

Guide to the 2020-21 New York University Supplemental Essay | CEA

New York University (NYU) asks undergraduate applicants to write one supplemental essay (prompt in description below) on top of their Common App personal statement. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to tell you everything you need to know in order to craft a winning response!

Guide to the 2020-21 Brown University Supplemental Essays | CEA

Applying to an Ivy League institution, such as Brown University, can be incredibly stressful! Luckily for you, CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to walk you through Brown's four (4) supplemental essay prompts.

Are “Optional” College Essay Prompts Really Optional?

Every year, colleges and universities around the world offer applicants the opportunity to respond to "optional" supplemental essay questions...But are these prompts truly optional? CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, lets you in on a college admissions secret.

The Expert’s Guide to Finding Sneaky Supplemental Essays

There's probably a section of the Common Application that says "Writing", in which all of the supplemental essays live, right? WRONG! Supplements can be found in a variety of places and can sneak up on students who have spent months preparing to submit their applications. Don't let that be you! This video will detail the several different places where you can find supplemental essays.

How to Write Vanderbilt University’s “Extracurricular Activities” Essay

Vanderbilt University's supplement consists of one prompt (text below). CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to help you take full advantage of this opportunity to illuminate your leadership skills or personal values for admissions.

The College Application ‘Activity’ and ‘Community’ Essays: What You Need to Know

Want the key to writing the most important and pervasive school-specific supplemental essays? We've got the tips and tricks you need to conquer the ever-popular "Activity" and "Community" supplements so you can showcase for admissions how you spend your time, where you feel like you belong and what truly motivates you to action. Assigned by schools like Harvard, Stanford, The University of Michigan and so many more, mastering these supplemental essays will ensure you utilize every opportunity a school's application provides to showcase your strengths.

What is a Supplemental Essay?

Most supplemental essay prompts are designed to both gauge a student’s interest and determine where a student might fit into a school’s particular community. Typically, these essays focus more specifically on future academic and professional goals, school-related activities and a student's role in your current community than the Common App's personal statement. Watch this video for a short and sweet introduction to supplemental essays. Know what you're up against!

How to Write a Powerful “Why Do You Want to Go Here?” Essay (The Why Essay)

The Why Essay takes on many forms and can ask many questions: What will you do when you get here? How will you take advantage of all the resources our school has to offer? How will the school support your academic or professional goals? How do your past experiences or future goals support these claims? It’s likely that many schools to which you apply will as the Why question in slightly different ways (and with a WIDE range of word limits). This video will teach you everything you need to know about how to respond to the "Why do you want to go here?" essay.

How to Respond to Quirky, Odd, and Bizarre College Essay Prompts

There are certain schools, like the University of Chicago, who have always taken special pride in developing crafty questions for their applicants to answer. In recent years, more schools are jumping on the bandwagon, luring students to their applications with questions like “What does #YOLO mean to you” (Tufts, 2013). This is both fun and exhausting for applicants who are grateful for an injection of modern, quirky inspiration, but whose creative wells may be running dry. This video will get down to the bottom line: Why are schools asking these questions and what are they looking for in applicants' responses?

How to Gain Acceptance to Boston University (with Winning Supplemental Essays)!

The Boston University application supplement is a gift: two of the most straightforward prompts you could ask for, and only one of them is required [full prompts below]. But beware, a simple supplement is no reason to ignore a school or save it until the last minute. In fact, it means you have no excuse not to nail your essay, so pay attention and do your work!

How to Write the “Why NYU?” Essay

New York University (NYU) asks undergraduate applicants to pen one supplemental essay (prompt below) in addition to the personal statement. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to tell you everything you need to know in order to draft a compelling response.

How to Gain Acceptance to Boston College (with a Winning Supplemental Essay)!

Boston College asks students to select one prompt (out of four) to respond to in 400 words or less (prompts below). So what will you write about? Art, community, a contemporary problem, or character formation? CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to give you all the information you need to select a prompt and write an amazing supplemental essay.

How to Write Fantastic Application Essays for the University of Georgia

The University of Georgia asks students to write two application essays of 200-300 words. The first prompt is set in stone, and for the second essay, applicants can choose one of four prompts to respond to [prompts below]. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to tell you everything you need to know about choosing and responding to these prompts for UGA. Let's begin!

How to Write Short Answers and the Additional Info Essay

The challenge of short answer questions lies half in generating honest, unique and clever ideas, and the other in being concise. The purpose of additional info essays is to provide admissions with an explanation for a drop in grades, low test scores, or prolonged absences. Both of these essay types need to be handled with care -- and that's exactly what this video will show you how to do.

How to Get Into University of Texas: Austin (with Great Application Essays!)

The University of Texas: Austin application is a beast unto itself, with a slew of essay prompts (full text below) that ask you to dig into all aspects of your life. From your home life to your future plans, you're going to have to tell all -- and in a way that sets you apart! Luckily CEA's Founder, Stacey Brook, is here to break down the prompts so you're ready to tackle anything Texas' independent platform throws at you.

How to Get Into Emory University (With Amazing Supplemental Essays!)

Emory University asks first-year applicants to write two (2) essays in addition to the personal statement. Applicants must choose one prompt from the "Reflections" category and one prompt from the "Tell us about you" category. CEA's Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to tell you everything you need to know about choosing and responding to these prompts. Let's begin!

How To Answer Supplemental Application Questions: “Why Do You Want To Go Here?”

These days, most colleges and universities require supplemental applications in addition to the Common Application. You could be looking at a list of 10+ supplemental essays, so we made you a quick guide to the most common supplemental question: "Why do you want to go here?"

Guide to the 2018-19 Northwestern University Supplemental Essay

Are you planning to apply to Northwestern University? The Founder and Chief Advisor of College Essay Advisors, Stacey Brook, is here to give you invaluable insight into Northwestern's supplemental essay prompt so you can take advantage of this opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice.

Guide to the 2018-19 University of Michigan Essays

Submitting your college application to the University of Michigan can be a real nail-biter. Michigan requires three supplemental essays. The Founder and Chief Advisor of College Essay Advisors, Stacey Brook, is here to give you invaluable insight into the prompts and the motivation behind them so you can take advantage of this opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice.

How to Get Into UNC (With a Great Essay)

UNC is well-known for being the first public university in the United States and a leader in innovative teaching strategies. The school is also known for receiving many college applications, which means it is crucial for applicants to differentiate themselves in their essays. Luckily for UNC hopefuls, the university gives students two additional supplemental prompts to respond to in order to set themselves apart from the sea of similarly qualified applicants and increase their chances of getting into UNC. College Essay Advisors Founder and Chief Advisor, Stacey Brook, is here to break down the UNC supplemental prompts so you know which essays will showcase your best attributes!

Guide to the 2017-2018 Duke University Supplemental Essays

Submitting your college application to Duke University can be a real nail-biter. Although it's probably too late now to tweak your test scores or GPA, you can make sure that your college application essays will bring you admissions success! Duke requires one supplemental short answer and gives students the opportunity to respond to two optional prompts. The Founder and Chief Advisor of College Essay Advisors, Stacey Brook, is here to give you invaluable insight into the prompts and the motivation behind them so you can take advantage of this opportunity to speak to admissions in your own voice.

Guide to the 2017-2018 Harvard University Supplemental Essay

Harvard University is one of the most competitive schools in the country. Every year admissions officers are bombarded with applications from eager students looking to make the cut. Thus, Harvard has a supplement to give students an opportunity to distinguish themselves from the competition. Writing supplemental essays can be daunting, but luckily for you, College Essay Advisors founder (and admissions expert) Stacey Brook is here to break down the Harvard supplement so you can hit submit with confidence.

• Our Approach & Team
• Undergraduate Testimonials
• Postgraduate Testimonials
• Where Our Students Get In
• CEA Gives Back
• Undergraduate Admissions
• Graduate Admissions
• Private School Admissions
• International Student Admissions
• Common App Essay Guide
• Supplemental Essay Guides
• Coalition App Guide
• The CEA Podcast
• YouTube Tutorials
• Admissions Stats
• Notification Trackers
• Deadline Databases
• College Essay Examples
• Academy and Worksheets
• Waitlist Guides
• Get Started

Find Info For

• Current Students
• Prospective Students
• Research and Partnerships
• Entrepreneurship and Commercialization

Quick Links

• Health and Life Sciences
• Info Security and AI
• Transformative Education
• Purdue Today
• Purdue Global
• Purdue in the News

April 18, 2024

Purdue University extends admission, housing deadlines again to accommodate FAFSA delays

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University has again extended its admission deposit deadline for first-year undergraduates to give students and families more flexibility as they review their admission and financial aid offers. Newly admitted Boilermakers will now have until June 1 (extended from May 15) to accept their offers from the university.

The decision was made because of ongoing issues with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which helps eliminate financial barriers and promote equal access to education for students.

“We still don’t have the correct records for more than half of our prospective students, and we won’t have this information until May 1 or later,” said Cherise Hall, vice provost for enrollment management. “Given the additional delays, Purdue wants to provide more time to students and families so they can make the best decision possible.”

Purdue does plan to start sending award notifications at the end of April to those students for whom the university has correct information.

A net price calculator is available on the Division of Financial Aid website for students and families to use in planning for educational costs and estimating their financial aid package.

As a result of the FAFSA delays, two key housing deadlines also will be extended.

The housing priority deadline for learning communities and mutually selected roommates will be extended to May 20. The overall housing deadline, which guarantees a space for new beginners, will be extended to June 5. Additional information about residential housing at Purdue can be found on the University Residences website.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes — at   https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives .  

Media contact : Tim Doty, [email protected]

Sources : Cherise Hall

Beth McCuskey

Research News

Communication.

• OneCampus Portal
• Brightspace
• BoilerConnect
• Faculty and Staff
• Human Resources
• Colleges and Schools

Info for Staff

• Purdue Moves
• Board of Trustees
• University Senate
• Center for Healthy Living
• Information Technology
• Ethics & Compliance
• Campus Disruptions

Purdue University, 610 Purdue Mall, West Lafayette, IN 47907, (765) 494-4600

© 2015-24 Purdue University | An equal access/equal opportunity university | Copyright Complaints | Maintained by Office of Strategic Communications

Trouble with this page? Disability-related accessibility issue? Please contact News Service at [email protected] .

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Rube Goldberg’s Greatest Machine Is His Legacy

Decades after Mr. Goldberg, a cartoonist, died, artists and engineers have found creative inspiration in his outlandish inventions.

By Sam Corbin

What’s the simplest way to open a can? Faced with this question, most would suggest a can opener. The artist Rube Goldberg, however, believed the task could be better accomplished using a golf club, waltzing mice and a disgruntled pet dragon whose fire-breathing would light a welding torch positioned in front of the closed can. Simple.

This approach to everyday tasks was summarized in the introduction to “The Art of Rube Goldberg,” a collection of Mr. Goldberg’s work that was published in 2013. “These are things that need doing,” the introduction, written by Adam Gopnik, reads, “but they don’t need this much doing.”

Mr. Goldberg was half-kidding with such inventions, or “satirical representations of progressive nothing,” as he once called them. Even so, it is uncanny to observe how his legacy seems to function like one of them, setting off precisely engineered chaos in every direction.

This month, young engineers from around the country gathered at Purdue University in Indiana for the Rube Goldberg Machine Contest and demonstrated contraptions that could put toothpaste on a toothbrush; notable efforts featured evil wizards, volcanoes, miniature Jeeps and a clever “Rubenheimer” assembly, inspired by last year’s “ Barbenheimer ” phenomenon. In Norway, a performance artist was busy crafting another Rubelike contraption to break dry pasta over his head for his TikTok following. And every few years, the inventor’s influence shines through in a board game, or a music video . Rube has, in effect, become a rubric.

In an essay for Popular Science in 1923 titled “Why I Am an Inventor (Do I Hear a Laugh?),” Mr. Goldberg expressed a belief that his drawings, fantastic as they might seem, could inspire something of real use. “Perhaps I may yet come across my big idea in working out some of my foolish cartoons,” Mr. Goldberg wrote. “The field is wide and strange things happen.”

One could hardly mistake a drawing of a Rube Goldberg machine for the blueprints of a self-serious inventor, as each was attributed to a fictional Professor Butts. Whenever Mr. Goldberg played on untraditional uses for household objects, he anthropomorphized them and consigned them in pairs to “Boob McNutt’s Ark.” And lest readers begin to take these pokes at the industrial age too much to heart, the cartoonist created a meta-forum to answer for his drawings, in a comic strip called “Foolish Questions.”

Zach Umperovitch, who is the national contest director for the Rube Goldberg Institute, which organizes the event at Purdue, described this tongue-in-cheek attitude as essential to distinguishing a Rube Goldberg machine from simpler chain reactions such as domino topples.

“What really makes something a Rube Goldberg, what sets it apart and above, is that humor or that ridiculous nature,” said Mr. Umperovitch, who also hosts “Contraption Masters,” a series on the Discovery Channel.

Mr. Umperovitch himself had for a long time held the Guinness World Record for the largest Rube Goldberg machine — using 300 steps to inflate and pop a balloon — and regularly used a Goldberg contraption to hand out his business cards. “It’s six simple machines, all to open a box, which then spits out my card.”

There is a timeless appeal to this mechanized subversion of expectations. It will always be funny to see a complex machine whiz and whir just to accomplish what is essentially a wry wink about having wasted your time. But artists have found ways to capitalize on this exercise in futility, using Mr. Goldberg’s machines as creative fodder for meaningful explorations of their crafts.

Andy Biskin, a New York-based clarinetist and composer who created an evening of jazz set to animated illustrations of Rube Goldberg — called “Goldberg’s Variations,” in a nod to Johann Sebastian Bach — saw a meaningful parallel between music and machine.

“A piece of composition is an invention for sure,” Mr. Biskin said. “It is a machine.”

Mr. Biskin noted that he found it challenging at times to stretch his compositions to match the Goldberg inventions’ circuitous accomplishment of their designated tasks. But, in reflecting on how “music is just a way of filling up time sometimes,” he said he also discovered a new compositional process: He composed “Interludes,” a set of shorter conceptual pieces inspired by wheels, clocks and other ephemera from the Goldberg cartoons.

“The physical cartoons are just like training wheels,” Mr. Biskin said. “And then you can write machines without the machines.”

Students competing in the machine contest, which scores contraptions based on creativity, complexity and the completion of the designated task, seemed instead to benefit from an inverse correlation with the inanity of their creations. In email interviews, they wrote about having developed lasting skills and passions that far outshone the brief excitement of watching their inventions run.

Tim Giannini, a senior at Purdue whose team’s machine won in the college category, said that he loved spending hours “messing with little mechanisms and random objects” in the hopes of finding “a unique combination that no one else has thought of before.”

He and his cohort were certainly successful in that respect: Their machine’s toothbrush was styled as an evil wizard, perched at the top of a tower, who triggered a small missile that eventually knocked him into the path of a volcano. The tower’s fall triggered a weight, which released a compressed-air piston that dumped a flask of hydrogen peroxide into a mixture of water, yeast, dish soap and dye to create colorful elephant toothpaste . This mixture foamed and overflowed from the volcano onto the toothbrush wizard, completing the task.

Having grown up playing with engineering-focused toys such as Lego and K’nex, Mr. Giannini found that “this club and what we do sparked that same spark that I found playing with those toys as a child.”

“It’s more than just agreeing with someone to avoid arguing,” said Sophia Arleo Thompson, a sophomore at Ethical Culture Fieldston School in New York and co-captain of the “Rubenheimer” team, which won the People’s Choice Award. “It’s confronting each other and having meaningful conversations about how we can combine ideas to create the best solution possible.”

Ms. Thompson hopes to pursue mechanical engineering on a pre-med track in college. Beyond the more profound outcomes of her team’s collaboration, she said, the Rube Goldberg club at her school was just plain fun. “I get to use power tools and hot glue for hours on end every weekend.”

In revisiting the cartoons of Mr. Goldberg that inspired the competition, it becomes difficult to ignore the wartime context that looms over them. Indeed, although Mr. Goldberg, who died in 1970, has become synonymous with mechanized tomfoolery, the cartoon that eventually earned him a Pulitzer Prize was pure political commentary. He won in 1948 for a single panel titled “Peace Today,” which featured a family perched on the top of an atomic bomb teetering perilously at the edge of a cliff labeled “World destruction.”

If Mr. Goldberg’s original drawings served as satire for a heavily industrialized society, their contemporary analogues nearly a century later might be seen as responses to the detritus of that society, which suffered the economic and social effects of emphasizing efficiency above the human spirit. Jan Hakon Erichsen, a performance artist based in Norway whose destructive chain-reaction contraptions receive millions of views on social media , has even begun to see himself as part of the joke.

Mr. Erichsen’s performances often feature the deft use of his body in the accomplishment of utterly nonsensical tasks: He engineers a suspended hacksaw to slice dried spaghetti off his head; swings his knife-covered legs over a row of balloons to pop them; creates a life vest out of loaves of bread, then jumps into a freezing lake. These exercises may lack in complexity, but they nevertheless transfix the audiences who follow them to their predictable conclusions (the bread-loaf life vest, for instance, was immediately waterlogged).

The completion of these absurd tasks was hardly the point for Mr. Erichsen; nor did he hope to protest the dangers of an overcomplicated future. His Goldbergian ambition was rather to encourage audiences to find new ways of seeing inventions already in existence.

“You have all these mundane objects around you which you don’t really even think about anymore,” he said. “Because you’ve seen them so many times that you kind of go blind.”

Sam Corbin writes about language, wordplay and the daily crossword for The Times. More about Sam Corbin

It’s Game Time!

Take your puzzling skills in new directions..

WordleBot , our daily Wordle companion that tells you how skillful or lucky you are, is getting an upgrade. Here’s what to know .

The editor of Connections , our new game about finding common threads between words, talks about how she makes this daily puzzle feel fun .

We asked some of the best Sudoku  solvers in the world for their tips and tricks. Try them to  tackle even the most challenging puzzles.

Read today’s Wordle Review , and get insights on the game from our columnists.

We asked Times readers how they play Spelling Bee. The hive mind weighed in with their favorite tips and tricks .

Ready to play? Try Wordle , Spelling Bee  or The Crossword .

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Reference List: Textual Sources

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Basic Format for Books

Edited book, no author, edited book with an author or authors, a translation.

Note : When you cite a republished work, like the one above, in your text, it should appear with both dates: Plato (385-378/1989)

Edition Other Than the First

Article or chapter in an edited book.

Note : When you list the pages of the chapter or essay in parentheses after the book title, use "pp." before the numbers: (pp. 1-21). This abbreviation, however, does not appear before the page numbers in periodical references, except for newspapers. List any edition number in the same set of parentheses as the page numbers, separated by a comma: (2nd ed., pp. 66-72).

Multivolume Work

Articles in periodicals.

APA style dictates that authors are named with their last name followed by their initials; publication year goes between parentheses, followed by a period. The title of the article is in sentence-case, meaning only the first word and proper nouns in the title are capitalized. The periodical title is run in title case, and is followed by the volume number which, with the title, is also italicized. If a DOI has been assigned to the article that you are using, you should include this after the page numbers for the article. If no DOI has been assigned and you are accessing the periodical online, use the URL of the website from which you are retrieving the periodical.

Article in Print Journal

Note: APA 7 advises writers to include a DOI (if available), even when using the print source. The example above assumes no DOI is available.

Article in Electronic Journal

Note :  This content also appears on Reference List: Online Media .

As noted above, when citing an article in an electronic journal, include a DOI if one is associated with the article.

DOIs may not always be available. In these cases, use a URL. Many academic journals provide stable URLs that function similarly to DOIs. These are preferable to ordinary URLs copied and pasted from the browser's address bar.

Article in a Magazine

Article in a newspaper.