washington state university admissions essay prompt

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Become a Coug

Why choose wsu.

Welcome to Washington State University’s Pullman campus, founded in 1890. Here you’ll find a strong sense of community united by school spirit and more than 200 programs that help guide you to a bright career path.

Start your student journey

Choose your academic path. We’ll guide you through the application process and make sure you end up right where you want to be.

First-Year Student

Transfer Student

Graduate Student

International Student

You’re a non-degree student if you don’t intend to complete a degree at WSU and are taking coursework for personal enrichment, to transfer to another college, or for a teaching endorsement.

Post-Bachelor’s

You’re a post-bachelor’s degree student if you have already earned a bachelor’s degree from a school other than WSU.

Returning Student

You’re a returning student if you previously enrolled at WSU as an undergraduate degree-seeking student at any WSU campus and have been away for more than one semester, excluding the summer semester.

Step into your future

Our faculty nurture diverse thinking to fuel discussion and prepare you for a fulfilling career. We value experiential learning to offer you a broad array of hands-on research opportunities, internships, and more.

Academic Programs

With more than 200 fields of study to choose from, WSU Pullman holds the key to open a door to your better, brighter future. Look at our offerings to find the program that suits the career you want.

Cost of Attendance

Review the estimated and fixed costs for attending WSU Pullman for the academic year. With more than $400 million available in scholarships, grants, and loans, we want to make college affordable to everyone.

The Coug Experience

Coug spirit flows through our community. Find out about student organizations, leadership, and service, plus fitness and fun on our beautiful campus.

Pullman Campus

Explore WSU Pullman, a beautiful and thriving campus that’s unlike anywhere else. We offer in-person or virtual tours, videos, and more.

Community is at the center of the unique and vibrant experience at Pullman. From scenic sights to delicious food, entertainment options to fitness opportunities, look beyond campus life

Clubs & Organizations

With more than 400 academic or cultural clubs, professional groups, and honors societies, you have a place at WSU.

CONNECT WITH WSU

Connect with us on social media to find out the latest on Coug life: campus news, alumni, and more.

Joining the Honors College

Accepting fall 2024 applications, first-year students, apply to washington state university, complete two essays using the prompts below,      writing prompt 1:.

Imagine you are putting together a team to work on an issue that is important to you. Briefly describe that issue and what skills, experience, and expertise you would seek in your team members and why.

     Writing Prompt 2:

At the WSU Honors College we realize that applicants cannot be reduced to their academic transcripts. Pick one activity or experience and explain how it illustrates an important aspect of who you are and how it reflects on your own values or those of your community.

Submit Your Essays for Review

Transfer students.

Students who are coming to WSU with college credits earned after high school are considered Transfer Students. If you have earned college credits while in high school, you are still considered a first-year student, please follow the instructions above.

Have a Cumulative College GPA of 3.5 or Higher

Schedule an honors advising appointment, current wsu students, frequently asked questions:.

• How long should my essays be? Each essay should be about one page each ( ~400-500 words per essay
• What format should my essays be? There are no strict guidelines on the format, but when in doubt, Times New Roman size 12pt. We do request that you label your essays ( essay 1 and essay 2). Please save your essays as one document or PDF with your name as the title like this: “Last Name, First Name” (eg. Smith, Mary.pdf or Patel, David.docx).
• What is the minimum high school GPA for applicants to be considered? We will consider all applications, regardless of high school GPA.
• How are the admission decisions made for the Honors College? Each essay is evaluated by members of our faculty. We use a standardized rubric that assigns a score to your essays as well as your unweighted HS GPA, and we make our decisions based on the combination of those scores.
• What Kind of things are you looking for in the essays? We look for normal things like spelling, grammar, and continuity of thought, but we are also looking for critical thinking and creativity in your problem-solving. We also will evaluate your essays as they relate to the prompts, so please read the prompts carefully.
• What if I don’t hear back within a month of applying? The Honors College receives many applications throughout the year, please be patient. If you do not receive a response within 30 days, please feel free to email [email protected] , and we can check the status of your application.
• What if I/my student receives a denial letter from the WSU Honors College? Please schedule an advising appointment and we would be happy to explain your options to you.

If you have any other questions about the application, please feel welcome to contact us directly at [email protected]  .

How to Approach the Washington State University Essay Prompt for 2020-2021

The wsu common app personal essay prompts, and how to nail them (2020-2021)..

Great news! If you’re applying to WSU, there are no extra essays beyond the Common App personal essay.

Better news: based on our long experience at Prompt helping applicants get in, we’ve written you a complete guide to nailing it:

• First, we show you how to make it easy to choose the best prompt for you (with some counterintuitive advice).
• Next, we show you how to structure your essay , so it flows beautifully and makes you look great.

Finally, if you’d like personalized guidance from people who’ve done this thousands of times, get started here .

Washington State University common app essay prompt for 2020-2021

• Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, 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?
• Describe a problem you’ve solved or a problem you’d like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma — anything of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
• 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 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.

Students choose to respond to one of the seven prompts.

The essay has a word limit of 650 words.