ou essay prompts

University of Oklahoma 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide 

Regular Decision: 

Regular Decision Deadline: Feb 1

University of Oklahoma 2024-25  Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: Community, Activity , Why

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Three essays of 650 words each

The following optional questions will be used to determine your eligibility for supplemental scholarships (leadership, community involvement, and departmental scholarships) at the University of Oklahoma.

1. the university of oklahoma believes strongly in educating leaders of communities in oklahoma, as well as across the country and the world. please share your leadership experiences and why they are important to you. (please answer in 650 words or less.).

When answering this question, resist the urge to rewrite your resume. The University of Oklahoma isn’t asking you for a list! Remember: it’s your job, as an applicant, to use every essay as an opportunity to reveal something new about yourself. Think of a moment when you were in a position where you worked really hard to help a group of friends or loved ones. Maybe you are always the one helping your younger siblings with school projects and you’ve found ways to attain and keep your little brother’s attention (to your mother’s welcomed surprise). Maybe, as a volunteer , you were in charge of teaching new staff the proper policies for walking dogs at the local shelter. Perhaps, during a group project at school, you organized and planned all of your meetings and drove home classmates who wouldn’t have otherwise been able to attend group sessions outside of school hours. Try to isolate a single leadership moment, so you can tell a story to admissions (after all, you have 650 words!). Describe where you were, what was happening around you, and what you were feeling. Discuss what challenges you faced and what you ultimately learned from the experience. Don’t shy away from challenges, or even failures, since these are exactly the kinds of character-building experiences that can demonstrate resilience and quick thinking (a.k.a. awesome leadership skills!).

2. The University of Oklahoma is home to a vibrant, diverse and compassionate University community that is often referred to as “the OU family.” Please describe your cultural and community service activities and why you chose to participate in them. (Please answer in 650 words or fewer)

Chances are, you’ve done some community service at some point in your life, and this prompt asks you to reflect on that experience. The prompt is clear about what it wants you to cover and you have up to 650 words, so this is not the kind of essay you want to leave ‘til the last minute (though what kind of essay is?!). In some ways, this is a glorified resume entry, but you can bring it to life by devoting more of your word count to concrete, personal details than to a verbatim recitation of the organization you volunteered for’s mission and vision (or worse, a bloated list of clichés related to the value of service). Why do you care so deeply about a particular cause, culture, or community? What change do you hope to see (or even create!) in the world? Remember that, fundamentally, community service is not about personal glory or achievement, it’s about doing what you can to help others. Reflect on why being part of a community is important to you and, for bonus points, touch on how you would like to contribute to “the OU family.”

3. What is your career area of interest, and why do you have a desire to work in this particular field?*

This is your opportunity to nerd out about the field that interests you. What do you envision for yourself after graduating with your degree? When did you first become interested in the subject? Have you had any meaningful experiences that led you to pursue this kind of work? What impact do you hope to have during your career? Once you get down all the details about your intellectual curiosities, see if you can build a bridge between your own interests and the resources available at OU, and you’ll be well on your way to demonstrating your fit. Set aside some time to peruse OU’s offerings. (Sorry, there’s no way around this, folks!) Beyond the basic departmental listings, look up information about news and research coming out of your department of interest, the kinds of courses available, and the opportunities other undergrads have had studying in your area of choice. If you can show admissions that you’ve thought carefully about not only your career choice, but also how OU can make it possible, you’ll be sure to leave a lasting impression.

* – The third, academic-based question is asked by certain academic departments. Therefore, it may or may not appear in your writing supplement section depending on the academic preferences you list in your application.

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How to Write the University of Oklahoma Essays 2021-2022

The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a large public research university in Norman, Oklahoma. OU has an active student body and is known for its competitive football team and strong campus community. 

Any student hoping to be a Sooner is required to respond to one of the Common Application Essay Prompts . Additionally, on your OU application you will see the optional scholarship section. Answering these scholarship questions—which address the topics of leadership, community service, and career interests—will put you in the running for a variety of scholarships that can help out with the cost of attendance.

Want to know your chances at OU before getting started? Calculate your chances for free right now.

University of Oklahoma Scholarship Prompts

Prompt 1: The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in educating leaders of communities in Oklahoma, as well as across the country and the world. Please share your leadership experiences and why they are important to you. (650 words)

Prompt 2: The University of Oklahoma is the home of a vibrant, diverse and compassionate University community that is often referred to as “the OU family.” Please describe your cultural and community service activities and why you chose to participate in them. (650 words)

Prompt 3: What is your career area of interest, and why do you have a desire to work in this particular field? (650 words)

The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in educating leaders of communities in Oklahoma, as well as across the country and the world. Please share your leadership experiences and why they are important to you. (650 words)

These essays have high word counts, which means they have potential for greatness, but also means that you need to stay focused and organized. 

Start by brainstorming your leadership experiences. Common responses include holding a leadership position in a school organization or being captain of a school team, but keep in mind that the word “leadership” can encompass many other experiences. The admissions committee will be drawn to students who are leaders inside and outside of the classroom, so try including examples of both!

A leadership experience can include any time you “took the initiative” or served as a positive role model for your community (at your church, at your after-school job, at a place you volunteer, or in your apartment complex or neighborhood). Some examples:

• You noticed that the students at your school weren’t properly identifying recyclable materials and printed posters explaining the difference between trash, recycling and compost
• You heard some girls talking about how their homes are loud and they have nowhere to study and organized a Tuesday night study group at the coffee shop down the street from your school
• You have been a VBS counselor for eight years and one of your students made you a card with all the reasons they want to be like you when they grow up
• Your apartment complex wasn’t accessible to your neighbor’s mother who uses a wheelchair so you wrote your landlord a letter and got automatically-opening doors installed 

After figuring out what experiences you want to talk about, you need to find a way to organize your essay. This might take a few tries and some creativity!

One way to organize your essay is to center it around one or two defining values. Ask yourself: why do I value leadership? Some examples of centering your essay around values could include writing about:

• How you feel it is important to give back to your community. You could discuss your experiences as a charity organizer and as the director of your school’s peer mentoring program.
• How leaders are important for creating positive work environments. You could describe the open forums you led for your school’s advisory board.
• How leaders are important for making sure things run efficiently. You could share the ways you delegated tasks when leading your school’s robotics team to nationals, as well as the system you organized at work that allows coworkers to easily trade shifts.

Another option is to organize your essay through a central anecdote. This is valuable if one of your examples is stronger than the others because you can focus on one experience and use the others as supporting evidence. This could look like:

• Sharing your experience as a camp counselor and how, when you noticed your campers uninterested in the camp’s activities, you integrated activities you learned at the daycare you worked at to keep them interested
• Writing about your experience as the captain of the school’s swim team and how, when interpersonal drama started affecting the team, you used the skills you learned working on a restaurant staff to help your team learn to separate personal life from work life

If you are really stuck, you might want to spend some time thinking about the qualities of a good leader, then thinking about how you can show admissions officers that you embody those qualities. Some qualities of a good leader include:

• Having strong communication skills
• Knowing how to utilize the strengths of your team
• Creating a positive working environment for others
• Showing compassion
• Looking for opportunities to grow
• Being committed to inclusive and ethical practices

If the university selects you for a leadership scholarship, they are saying that you represent the university’s value of leadership. Make sure to present your leadership experiences as fundamental to your identity and leave them thinking “now that’s someone who really sees the value of being a good leader!”

The University of Oklahoma is the home of a vibrant, diverse and compassionate University community that is often referred to as “the OU family.” Please describe your cultural and community service activities and why you chose to participate in them. (650 words)

Responding to this prompt will put you in the running for community service-based scholarships, so you should try to show admissions officers that you have been extensively involved in community service and are passionate about it. While this essay invites students to explore cultural activities, it is important to make sure you ultimately bring your essay back to ideas of service .

In the same way that “leadership” can be broadly-defined, “community” can be broadly defined. Your community can be your neighborhood, your school, a sports team, a cultural community, a church body, or any other group. You have freedom to stretch this prompt and talk about unconventional ways that you have served unconventional communities—maybe you help the elderly people in your apartment bring their groceries upstairs or you take candy to the altar boys at church on Sundays. 

That being said, it will also be valuable to ground your essay with some examples of typical community service. These include:

• Being involved with an in-school community service organization
• Volunteering outside of school at a local community service organization
• Participating in events that involve giving back to your community
• Identifying the needs of your community and taking the initiative to satisfy those needs

As you identify the ways you give back to your community, you may start to see a central theme emerge. Students often get involved with things they care about, so lean into those themes and show your passion around them.

For example, a student who is part of a cultural assembly at their school might also be involved with activism regarding racial equity. A different student might be involved with the feminist club at their school and volunteer at Planned Parenthood on the weekends. Identifying a theme like racial justice, women’s rights, animal activism, sustainability, or decreasing the suffering of poverty can lead to a structured and compelling essay. (Though, keep in mind that OU is a more moderate school, and plan your essay accordingly).

If you don’t notice themes that connect your community service experiences, try focusing on your values or organizing your essay around an anecdote about a formative experience serving your community or the origin story of how you became involved with community service.

The goal of this essay is to position yourself as dedicated to community service and passionate about the community that you serve, so write with intensity and make sure your essay shows how much you really care.

What is your career area of interest, and why do you have a desire to work in this particular field? (650 words)

Only students whose majors offer major-specific scholarships will have the opportunity to answer this prompt. The prompt may or may not appear in your scholarship section depending on the academic preferences you list in your application. 

If you do have this prompt, your first step should be identifying your career area of interest and making sure that it connects to your future major and the academic preferences you indicated. With a deeply personal prompt like this one, it is important to identify your initial responses to the question: why do you have a desire to work in your particular field? 

Some other questions that might help guide you include:

• When did you first become interested in your chosen field?
• What part of your future career gets you excited?
• What do you value that aligns with the values of your future field?
• Why do you think your career will make you happy?
• What is your dream job?
• What do you picture when you picture your future career?

One of OU’s essay writing tips is to “Be Open, Be Honest.” This advice is particularly important for this prompt. While you should be honest about your passions and motivations, there are some answers you should avoid when responding to this prompt. Do not write about financial stability. Do not write about job security. Write about your passions, your interests, your curiosities. If you write about aspects of your future career that excite you and the stories behind them, your passion will shine through. Just be sure to tie in your personal experiences, as it can be easy to write a general essay about the benefits of this career, which doesn’t tell admissions officers more about you . 

An easy format for this essay would be to start with an anecdote, include some reflection, and look towards the future. For example, a student who wants to be a teacher might share an experience where they were really struggling in school because of their family’s financial instability, but their English teacher went out of her way to check in, provide resources to help meet basic needs, and advocate for the student when administration wanted to fail them. The student could share how they later went on to get an A and become an English tutor. From there, they could discuss how they feel it’s important for teachers to understand barriers to education and nurture students where they are. That’s why this student wants to become a teacher in a high-need area and eventually create educational policy to support low-income students.

Another potential format is to envision yourself in your future career. What will your day look like? What will you be doing, what will you be feeling, and how will you be making a difference? How did you get here, and why did you work towards this goal?

Of course, you can use any format that suits you as long as your career interest and reasons for pursuing that career are clear. For this prompt, you have complete freedom to show your passion! 

Where to Get Your OU Essays Edited for Free

If you’ve already written your OU scholarship essays, it is time to get them edited. Having peers read your essays will help you to identify areas for improvement and, ultimately, will help you maximize your chances of getting a scholarship at OU. By creating a free CollegeVine account , you will have access to CollegeVine resources like our free peer-review service. We also recently added a paid expert option with College Essay Guy’s team.

We’re here to help you put your best foot forward and feel prepared throughout this application season—because we know how overwhelming it can get.

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University of Oklahoma’s 2023-24 Essay Prompts

Leadership essay.

The University of Oklahoma believes strongly in educating leaders of communities in Oklahoma, as well as across the country and the world. Please share your leadership experiences and why they are important to you.

Community Service Essay

The University of Oklahoma is home to a vibrant, diverse and compassionate University community that is often referred to as “the OU family.” Please describe your cultural and community service activities and why you chose to participate in them.

International Experience Short Response

Please briefly explain your meaningful international experience.

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?

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20 Terms to Know for Your  College Application

OU admissions counselors put together a list of 20 terms to know while completing your OU application. We encourage you to use this as a resource through the application process. 

OU Application - Common Application - Apply Coalition with Scoir

When applying to OU, you have three application options to choose from: the  OU Application ,  Common Application , and Apply Coalition with Scoir . There is no preference given to one over the other. No matter the application you choose, it will be thoroughly read and evaluated holistically by an admissions counselor. You can begin your application now and submit it on August 1!  Please choose only one application and continue using that application throughout the entire process.

Final Scholarship Admission Deadline vs. Final Admission Deadline

OU's final scholarship admissions deadline is December 15. We encourage students to submit their admissions application by this date to be considered for OU scholarships. OU's final admission deadline is February 1. To be considered for admission for the upcoming fall class, you must submit your application by February 1. 

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Students who submit their application by November 1 will be considered for  the benefits of early action admission , including priority admission, merit-based scholarships, and financial aid, and secure early access to the housing application, just to name a few. 

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There are two main types of admission that colleges use, automatic and holistic. Automatic admission guarantees admission to students with a certain GPA, test score, and/or class rank. Holistic admission admits students based on a variety of factors, including student life, letters of recommendation, etc. OU uses holistic admissions!

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Did you know that you have an OU admissions counselor assigned specifically to you? This person will serve as your go-to for all things OU as you navigate the college decision process. Find and contact your OU admissions counselor today!

Tuition Waiver vs. Cash Scholarship

Both tuition waiver scholarships and cash scholarships are forms of financial assistance that do not need to be repaid by students. A tuition waiver scholarship is an award that can only be applied to tuition charges, while cash scholarships can cover a range of costs/charges, including tuition, housing, fees, etc. Tuition waiver scholarships can be stacked with other scholarships and/or tuition waiver scholarships; however, if stacked with tuition waiver scholarships, the combined offers may not payout beyond the cost of tuition. A non-resident tuition waiver scholarship may never be applied to the resident portion of tuition.

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The  FAFSA  is the government-provided application for need-based funds to help pay for college. OU highly recommends completing the FAFSA regardless of your family's income.

First-Generation Student

A first-generation student is defined as one whose parent(s)/legal guardian(s) have not completed a bachelor’s degree. Even if an older sibling is pursuing a bachelor's degree or has already earned their degree, you are still considered a first-generation student. 

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You may submit up to three letters of recommendation from a teacher, counselor, coach, or anyone who has worked with you. Letters of recommendation help us understand you from the perspective of others.

This is your opportunity to tell us things the rest of the application may not show but you feel are important. This essay is a way to express creativity and to show us who you are. View the essay prompts you may choose from .

Test Optional

OU is a  test-optional  institution. This means that submitting scores from the ACT or SAT is optional for admission to OU. At the time of application, students will share their plans regarding the submission or consideration of ACT or SAT as part of their application. Many students will still provide scores, and doing so allows for accurate course placement and maximizes your opportunity for scholarships at OU.  In some cases it also could improve your opportunity to gain admission. All students will have their application evaluated in a holistic manner. 

Self-Reported Test Score

As part of the initial admissions and scholarship decision making process, the University of Oklahoma now accepts self-reported ACT and/or SAT test scores from applicants. These decisions are contingent upon receipt of official test scores prior to course enrollment. Should we receive official test scores that do not match the self-reported scores, the Office of Admissions and Recruitment reserves the right to reevaluate and/or reverse an applicant’s admission or scholarship decision.

OU will superscore the ACT and the SAT, by combining your highest subsection score from different test dates to create your composite score. OU will use superscoring for admission and scholarship decisions and will retroactively superscore exams for students entering OU as freshmen in fall 2025 all the way back to tests taken in September 2017. 

Intended Major

Choosing a major can be intimidating, and you’re not nailed down to the major you choose on your application! OU’s Academic Success Center is set up to help the more than 30% of first-year students who are undecided about a major through resources like the Center for Major & Career Exploration. Take our  My Majors quiz  to see the top 10 majors that fit your interests and strengths!

This part of your application allows us to get to know more of what you do outside of the classroom. Make sure to list all of your activities on your application: clubs/organizations, leadership positions, community service, academic and community programs, as well as your work experience.

Resident status is granted to financially independent adults who are permanently residing in Oklahoma and who have been physically and continuously present in the State of Oklahoma for at least one calendar year prior to the first day of class attendance at any Oklahoma institution of higher education; and who, during this one-year period, resided in Oklahoma for some reason other than primarily to attend classes at a post-secondary educational institution.

Affidavit of Intent

According to OK House Bill 1804 undocumented students who graduate from public or private high school in Oklahoma while residing in Oklahoma with a parent or guardian while attending classes for at least two years prior to high school graduation may receive in-state tuition by completing the  Affidavit of Intent (PDF) .

Application Fee

All schools require an application fee for your application to be processed. OU's application fee is $50.

Fee Waivers

Students can ask an OU alum for their Alumni Fee Waiver or some students may also be eligible for a fee waiver if they show financial need by meeting one of a number of criteria. Read more information about fee waivers.

A legacy student is a student whose parent(s) or grandparent(s) graduated from OU. 

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