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College Essays

Florida State University, or FSU, is a top-100 school and ranked number three in Florida Colleges . With a 25 percent acceptance rating , they’re considered to be a competitive school. That means you’ll need to impress them in your application, and a well-written FSU essay is one great way to go about it!

This guide will walk you through the FSU essay, including whether or not writing one is the right choice for you.

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What Should You Know About the FSU Application Essay?

Unlike many schools, FSU’s essay is optional. You can apply using the Coalition or Common Application, or even FSU’s own app—the Coalition and FSU apps have the same prompts, whereas the Common app has its own set.

Whether you should use the Coalition, Common, or FSU-specific application depends on a few different variables. What application system do the other schools that you’re applying to use? Because these applications can be sent to multiple schools, you can use whatever one is most convenient.

If you’re not sure, read up on the pros and cons of each to help you make a decision. If you’re still not sure, you can always use FSU’s unique application.

FSU only requires one essay. You have five prompts to choose from if you’re using the FSU or Coalition Application, and seven to choose from if you’re using the Common Application. Regardless of what prompt you choose, your essay should be under 600 words.

If you're thinking about writing an FSU essay, you probably should.

Should You Write an FSU Essay?

Because FSU’s essays are optional, it’s natural to ask whether you should write one at all. You’re likely writing tons of essays for other applications, and maybe you just want a bit of a break from the whole process.

However, if you’re given the opportunity to expand on your application in an essay, it’s usually in your best interest to take it. Before you start, do some brainstorming about what aspects of yourself could use some fleshing out in your application. If you have an interest that hasn’t been covered elsewhere or an experience you want to share that will help make you a more appealing candidate for FSU, definitely write the essay—it’s your best opportunity to showcase that side of you, and those personal details are exactly what FSU wants to see.

I f you’re struggling to think of something to cover in the supplemental essay, spend some time brainstorming and looking through all of the available prompts . If you’re offered a place to write an essay, it’s best to take it, unless you truly feel that you have nothing to expand upon. If that’s the case, consider why that is—you may find that there’s an essay topic there, too!

Essentially, you should be writing an essay for this section, even if it’s optional. Taking this opportunity to expand on your application both demonstrates your commitment and shows your multiple facets. It won’t be the sole determining factor in your application, but if you have the opportunity to up your chances, do it!

A fresh notebook is one great way to get your brain in gear to write.

What Are the FSU Essay Prompts?

FSU’s essay prompts are determined by which application you choose to use— Coalition, Common, or FSU’s own application . If you choose the Coalition or FSU application, you have five prompts to choose from, and if you choose the Common Application you’ll have seven. You only need to write one essay, so choose whichever prompt resonates with you most strongly.

Because these are the same prompts used in the standard application formats, follow the guidelines for either the Coalition Application or the Common Application depending on which prompt you choose. Do feel free to get more specific than you would if the essay was going to every school, however—if you’re only sending it to FSU, tying your essay to something specific about the college can demonstrate that you’re more serious about attending!

Coalition Application/FSU Essay Prompts

• Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.
• Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.
• Has there been a time when you've had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?
• What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What's the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?
• Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.

Common Application Essay Prompts

• 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?
• 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 that is 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 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.

Having a plan from the start will help you write a better FSU essay.

5 Key FSU Essay Tips

As with all college essays, having a plan before you start is the best way to ace FSU’s supplemental essay. Don’t just jump in and hope for the best—start early, give yourself plenty of time to revise, and polish your essay as best you can to impress the admissions office with your achievements and individuality.

Remember everything you learned in school about brainstorming and outlining? Now’s the time to put it into action. If you brainstorm and outline a few different options to find the one that works best for you and that makes you feel the proudest of it, you’ll save yourself some time. A strong outline is the first step to a strong essay, and you won’t be losing hours and hours of work if you decide midway through that a prompt isn’t working for you.

Once you’ve settled on a topic and you have a firm idea of how you want to write it, it’s time to draft. Don’t worry about making your first draft perfect—nobody has to see it but you! Get your ideas out first, set them aside, and return to them after a few days to polish them into a state where you’re comfortable letting others see them.

#3: Seek Feedback

Now comes the hard part—letting other people give you feedback. Choose a few people you trust to give you honest and helpful advice on your essay, not just those who are going to tell you it looks great. When you receive feedback, don’t feel like it’s a personal attack or that you need to make every change people suggest—often, you can find a middle ground between readers not understanding what you meant and maintaining your own voice and writing style.

Revising is one of the most important steps in crafting a great essay. All that feedback you got in the previous step will help guide your next draft, giving you a roadmap to work from. Make notes on your draft, add and delete things, and read the whole thing aloud to make sure it flows well. Once you’re satisfied, put it away!

#5: Let It Rest

Letting your draft rest for a bit gives you some time to forget what you’ve written and come back to it with fresh eyes. When you read your essay for the first time in a while, you can start to see any errors that have crept in or any inconsistencies in your logic. Now that you’ve already gotten feedback and revised your essay, you can clean these last bits up and have an essay you’re really proud of!

What's Next?

If you're applying to FSU, you want to be sure that your standardized test scores are up to snuff. Whether you're taking the ACT or SAT , our guides will help you figure out where you are and where you need to be.

Part of college searching is figuring out what colleges you can afford and how much financial aid you'll need to cover. With our guide to FSU's tuition and financial aid , all your bases are covered!

Not sure if FSU is for you? Check out this list of other schools in Florida to find the college that suits you best.

Melissa Brinks graduated from the University of Washington in 2014 with a Bachelor's in English with a creative writing emphasis. She has spent several years tutoring K-12 students in many subjects, including in SAT prep, to help them prepare for their college education.

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Our focus in this area is rigor, grades, and courses taken while in high school. Each applicant is evaluated based upon the performance within the context of the student's academic environment and coursework available at their high school.

The Florida Board of Governors sets the minimum eligibility requirements in the State University System (SUS). Satisfying these minimum requirements does not guarantee admission to Florida State University. Admission is selective, and admitted students typically exceed the minimum requirements.

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Requiring a test score for admissions consideration is not an institutional choice. FSU, along with Florida's 11 other public universities, is subject to Florida Board of Governors admissions regulation 6.002 which requires first-year students seeking admission to submit a test score.

When evaluating students for admission, we use the highest earned ACT, CLT and SAT sub scores to calculate the highest ACT, CLT and/or SAT total score (a process known as "super scoring").

In May 2023, the Classic Learning Initiatives, Inc. published The Concordance Relationship Between the Classic Learning Test (CLT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) , establishing a concordance table between the CLT and the SAT.

FSU does not accept self-reported test scores from the Common App. Students should self-report their test scores on the Application Status Check using the Self-reported Test Scores form.

At least one test score must be submitted before the materials deadline, but additional tests may be considered if provided by the test score deadline:

How-to: Self-Report Your Test Scores to Florida State University

Essay & Resume

The essay and resume provide another opportunity to learn more about you.

The essay, a required component of the application, should be no longer than 650 words, and may be uploaded after the application has been submitted. Please choose a topic from the list below:

Application Essay Prompts

• 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.

The resume should be no longer than two pages, and may be uploaded after the application has been submitted. It should include a list of activities such as (but not limited to) service work, employment, family contributions such as caring for siblings or sick relatives, and extracurricular and summer activities.

Please allow 3-4 business days for us to pull your essay and resume/activities if you submitted your application through the Common App.

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A high school student earning both the standard high school diploma and an Associate in Arts (AA) degree through dual enrollment from the Florida College System or the State University System of Florida must apply to FSU as a first-year student. Applicants must adhere to the first-year admission deadlines. In addition, applicants may be subject to additional major deadlines/requirements. Carefully review all major requirements at Academic Program Guide .

Those students who are receiving an AA degree but do not meet the admissions requirements under the Florida Board of Governors Admission Regulation 6.002, may be considered for admission under Florida Board of Governors Admission Regulation 6.005. Students admitted under this regulation are first-time-in-college (FTIC) students although they are not required to submit test scores. However, they should meet the requirements for their selected major as listed in FSU's Academic Program Guide . If admitted, they must submit a $200 enrollment deposit, attend a first-year orientation session, and are eligible to apply for on-campus housing. Admitted students without a test score are not eligible to be considered for first-year merit scholarships from the Office of Admissions. Students considered for admission under FL BOG 6.005 will be required to submit all official college transcript(s) for evaluation prior to an admission offer being made; they must also provide a final official college transcript displaying the A.A. before enrolling at FSU. Any FTIC student admitted under this regulation must immediately notify the Office of Admissions if they will not receive their degree. All first-year students admitted under this regulation who do not receive the Associate in Arts degree will have their offer of admission revoked.

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Florida State University considers applications from students who participated in a Home-Education program, or who have earned a GED. Home-Education applicants must complete the SSAR, while students earning a GED must submit official GED results along with an official, partial high school transcript. In addition, all applicants must submit at least one ACT, CLT and/or SAT test score by the application deadline to be considered for admission. First-Year admission is a holistic and selective process, and no single criterion guarantees admission to our university.

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To apply to the Honors Program, make sure to read and follow everything below as it contains important information. The Lateral Application is for students in their first year at FSU.  To apply please follow the directions below: 1.) Click the log-in button in the top right corner and select "Sign in with FSUID" 2.) After logging into your account, you must click the "View programs" to access the application 3.) After finishing all questions, you will see a mark as complete box. Once you click that box, the submit button with appear. Applications are not reviewed unless you hit submit! Transfer students and students still in high school should not use this application to apply for honors.  If you have any questions or problems, please email the Honors Program at [email protected] .

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Extracurriculars.

How to Write the University of Florida Essays 2023-2024

The University of Florida has one required prompt for all applicants that asks about your biggest commitment outside of the classroom. There are three prompts for all applicants that are only required if you answer “yes” to specific questions. It also has one required prompt for applicants to its Honors Program—this prompt asks about a subject or topic you find intellectually stimulating, and about how you think the program’s resources will support this interest.

Since UF receives thousands of applications from academically-strong students, your essays are your chance to stand out. In this post, we’ll discuss how to craft an engaging response to each of these options.

Read this UF essay example to inspire your own writing.

University of Florida Supplemental Essay Prompts

All applicants.

Prompt 1: Please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. This could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity. (250 words)

Prompt 2: Do you have any employment or family obligations that limit your participation in extracurricular activities? If so, please describe. (250 words)

Prompt 3: Have you participated in or been assisted in your college preparation and search by programs outside of the classroom, such as Educational Talent Search, Take Stock in Children, Upward Bound, Boys and Girls Club, etc.? If so, please provide the name of the program, details/benefits of your involvement, and how long your experiences continued. (250 words)

Prompt 4: Is there any additional information or extenuating circumstances the Admissions Committee should know when reviewing your application? If so, please provide more information in less than 250 words.

Honors Program 

American novelist henry miller once said, “my hunger and curiosity drive me forward in all directions at once.” students in the university of florida honors program are known for pursuing multiple interests and passions., tell us about a subject or topic that you find intellectually stimulating and are curious to learn more about while in college. which direction(s) do you imagine your hunger for that subject or topic will take you while at uf how do you envision the honors program’s academic and extracurricular resources will support you along the way, please use a maximum of 400 words in your essay for full consideration., all applicants, prompt 1, please provide more details on your most meaningful commitment outside of the classroom while in high school and explain why it was meaningful. this could be related to an extracurricular activity, work, volunteering, an academic activity, family responsibility, or any other non-classroom activity. (250 words).

This prompt is a variation of the common Extracurricular Activity prompt since it’s asking you to write about a meaningful commitment you had outside of the classroom.

Brainstorming your topic:

First, you’ll need to narrow down your list of extracurricular activities to just one to write about. It’s important to choose an activity that you’re passionate about, that you’ve been involved in for a while, and that has helped shape you into the person you are today.

Here are some ideas of the types of topics you might write about:

• Activities where you’ve shown significant commitment
• Clubs or groups that you’ve created, or where you’ve had a leadership role
• Activities that have helped to shape a specific personal aspect of your life
• Experiences that relate to your future goals
• Unique extracurriculars that require an explanation for people to thoroughly understand them

Once you’ve chosen a topic, think about the following questions before you begin writing:

• What is the strongest emotion you feel about this activity?
• What do you think about when you participate in the activity?
• Has the activity helped you strengthen or develop any personality traits?
• Are there any specific skills you’ve developed from participating in this activity?
• How does this activity impact the rest of your life?

Tips for writing your essay:

A good response will explain what your activity, responsibility, or experience is, what it entails, and why it is important to you. Make sure to address each of these points, as they are either stated in or implied by the prompt.

Here’s an example of an excellent response to this prompt from Sara, a prospective entrepreneurship major:

“During my sophomore year, I started creating charcuterie boards for parties, events, and other occasions for my friends and family. I loved finding the perfect assortment of crackers, fruit, cheeses and jams to arrange into beautiful boards, but more importantly, I enjoyed networking with people at each event I worked.

After a few months, I began to receive so many referrals that I decided to start a small business. Managing my schoolwork, sports schedule, leadership roles, and my small business required me to develop excellent time management skills. I also learned about the financial aspects of running a business—managing cash flow, balancing costs, and paying taxes—and the marketing aspects of running a business—leveraging social media, paying for ad space, and utilizing other channels to promote my business.

Prior to my sophomore year, I had dreams of becoming a doctor. However, after starting my charcuterie business, I realized that my interests in finance, marketing, and business lent themselves to a future in entrepreneurship. I’m grateful for the opportunities my business has given me, and I’m excited to watch my business—and other businesses I might start—grow in the future!”

This example is strong because it very clearly states what the activity is. It then branches off into a discussion of the student’s business, something that was created as a result of the activity. The student also describes her roles in her activity/business throughout the essay, and then ends with a strong argument as to why this passion has become so meaningful to her.

Mistakes to avoid:

Choosing the wrong activity. Don’t choose to write about an extracurricular just because you think it sounds impressive, or even just because you’re skilled at it. This essay is a chance to write about an extracurricular that is meaningful to you, so it’s important that you select an activity you’re really passionate about!

Writing a shallow response. ​​It’s not effective to give a detailed history of your participation, or to tell an enticing story about the extracurricular you’ve chosen if you forget to explain how the activity has affected or changed you. It’s crucial to explain your personal development from participating in the activity.

Listing your accomplishments. Simply listing out your accomplishments with no elaboration will make for an unengaging response that reads like a laundry list. Instead, provide a unique perspective by sharing how the activity impacts your current life as well as your aspirations for the future.

A Note About Prompts 2-4

You are only required to respond to each of the following all applicants prompts if you choose the “Yes” option offered in the first half of each prompt, respectively. If any (or all) of the prompts don’t apply to you, you can choose the “No” option for that prompt, and will not need to respond to it.

All Applicants, Prompt 2

Do you have any employment or family obligations that limit your participation in extracurricular activities if so, please describe. (250 words, optional).

This question is similar to the Additional Information section listed in the Common App, as well as the exceptional personal circumstances prompt you might see during the application process. Check out the linked guides for tips for writing an essay like this!

One quick tip: Be sure to at least explain what the employment/obligation entailed, and why you had to take it on, as well as the results of you taking on this extra responsibility. Obligations you might write about include working to contribute financially to your family, taking care of an ill relative, or frequently babysitting younger siblings.

Consider the following example to see what a good response might include:

“Last year, my single mother was let go from her job at an insurance company when it was struggling financially and going through a period of transition. As a result, we both had to take on additional jobs to make ends meet, so I briefly left my school’s robotics team throughout the second semester and summer following junior year. Instead, I worked at a local grocery store after school and on the weekends, learning how to work efficiently under pressure while supporting my family.”

All Applicants, Prompt 3

Have you participated in or been assisted in your college preparation and search by programs outside of the classroom, such as educational talent search, take stock in children, upward bound, boys and girls club, etc. please provide the name of the program, details/benefits of your involvement, and how long your experiences continued. (250 words, optional).

This prompt is straightforward and simple. It requires you to list your involvement in programs that have helped you with your college search (outside of school), and it also asks you to list the details and benefits of your involvement in the program(s).

Here’s a sample response:

“During my junior and senior years of high school, I participated in the Take Stock in Children Program. While I was involved in the program, I was paired with a volunteer mentor and received frequent college readiness coaching. My mentor, James, was an undergraduate student at the University of Florida. Before participating in the Take Stock in Children program, I wasn’t interested in attending college, and I was planning to work at my local grocery store after high school to support my hobby, music production. James helped me understand the importance of college and he encouraged me to pursue a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Florida. I am grateful for how my involvement with Take Stock in Children has impacted my future education and aspirations.”

This student does a great job at answering the prompt. He lists the program name (Take Stock in Children) and the duration (junior and senior year) that he participated in the program. He also includes the details of his involvement (volunteer mentor and college readiness coaching) and most importantly, the benefits of their involvement (how his relationship with James inspired him to apply for college as a music major).

All Applicants, Prompt 4

Is there any additional information or extenuating circumstances the admissions committee should know when reviewing your application (250 words, optional).

​​This also resembles the Additional Information section listed in the Common App and the exceptional personal circumstances prompt . This is essentially your shot to either explain a lapse in your performance somewhere or to introduce something new about yourself that isn’t evident elsewhere in your application. 

You may elaborate further upon an extracurricular activity you feel isn’t clearly explained throughout your application (For example, say you were a Head Designer for your town’s Environmental and Aesthetic Initiative, and admissions officers may not know what that is). You could also talk about a personal story or history that has affected you greatly. You may even discuss a previously unmentioned extracurricular activity that says a lot about you.

This is a wonderfully free space for you to dive into whichever information you feel will give the admissions team the most complete version of your identity. If you don’t think this space is necessary for you, that’s fine too! Just leave it blank.

Honors Program Applicants Prompt

This prompt is meant to gauge who you are beyond your grades and test scores. It’s primarily about a subject that interests you, but there are multiple parts of the prompt that you’ll need to address:

• Identifying the subject or topic of interest
• Describing the direction you imagine that interest taking at UF
• Detailing how you envision the honors program’s resources supporting the direction you just described

Before you begin writing, it’s important that you select a strong topic. Of course, you need to be sincere. Don’t write about a topic you’re not that interested in just because you think the admissions committee wants to read about it. Good essays are always about authentic topics rather than disingenuous ones. To help you think, make a list of your the subjects that are most interesting and meaningful to you, and consider the following questions:

1) Which subject on your list have you shown the most commitment to? Which has been most influential in your development?

2) What is the strongest emotion you feel about this subject?

• Why do you feel this emotion?
• Has that emotional response changed over time? If so, how and why?
• What emotions do you feel when you’re actively engaging with this subject?

3) What thoughts and feelings go through your mind when you’re actively studying or learning about this subject?

4) Have you developed or strengthened any personality traits as a result of your engagement with this subject? If so, what are they and how have they evolved over time?

5) Have you developed any skills while studying this subject? These can include soft skills such as critical thinking, public speaking, work ethic, and teamwork, or hard skills, which are specific to whatever domain your subject is a part of.

6) What impact has your interest in this subject had on the rest of your life (activities, social life, academics, etc.)?

Once you’ve chosen your topic, think about how you want to structure your essay. You have up to 400 words, and you’ll probably need that space to address each part of the prompt. The prompt specifically asks how you see the UF Honors Program fostering that interest, so you’ll definitely want to include a response to that question.

You have some flexibility in the way you respond to this prompt. There are a few ways to introduce the subject you’re interested in. You might explicitly state what you enjoy about the subject, or perhaps you’ll talk about some of the experiences or outcomes related to the subject that have brought you fulfillment. Consider the following examples of opener styles you might use:

• Stating the subject explicitly: “For the last three years, I have filled every moment of free time I’ve had with videos and books about psychology.”
• Beginning with an anecdote: “My eyes widened with fascination as the colors climbed my chromatography paper. This was my first chemistry lab, and a moment that would completely change my desired career path forever.”
• Describing an experience and delaying naming the subject: “ ‘So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.’ With that sentence, I finished The Great Gatsby, the fifth novel I read that month.”

Since you have some space to work with, you can be creative when describing the subject you’re writing about. Use imagery to your advantage, be specific when discussing your emotions, and try to describe your emotional response to the subject in a way that reveals something about your personality.

Next, you’ll want to describe the direction you imagine this interest taking at UF. There are really no wrong answers here, since you can’t exactly predict the future. Luckily for you, this question is less about what you actually imagine and more about what you plan. That’s where it ties into the third question, how you see the program’s resources supporting your interest.

To do this effectively, you need to do some research on UF and its Honors Program. To start, look around on the UF Honors Program website to find resources that are particularly appealing to you. These might include particular classes or professors, research groups, program traditions, and extracurricular opportunities or programs. Honors students also enjoy access to internships and research opportunities. For example, a student who is interested in homesteading might mention how they’re excited to take the Honors Program’s beekeeping classes to expand their knowledge and skills.

Everything just mentioned is a good way to establish a tangible connection to the program, but you might also try to establish an intangible connection as well. An intangible connection involves discussing how the program’s values might align with your own.

You want to craft an effective essay, so you should note a few common mistakes to avoid:

• Don’t pick the wrong topic! Bad subjects include: those you’ve already written about somewhere else in your application, impressive-sounding subjects you don’t actually have experience or an interest in, and subjects you haven’t actually put that much time into.
• Don’t just describe your interest without elaborating on its impact on you. You might get caught up in an anecdote when writing, but don’t forget to explain the subject’s significance.
• Don’t just list your accomplishments within the subject. You shouldn’t simply provide a list of things that make you look good superficially. You want to show your personal perspective and growth by discussing your emotional response to your chosen subject and the ways in which the subject impacts your life.
• Don’t forget to answer each part of the prompt. You are asked to discuss a subject that you’re curious about, the direction you see that interest going in at UF, and the ways in which UF’s Honors Program will help you along the way.

Structurally, take a reflective approach and really analyze your thoughts and feelings about the subject. You have 400 words to work with, so you can really get into detail about each part of the prompt. As long as you can provide a good reflection, describe your subject well, and detail the role the UF Honors Program will play in fostering your interest, you will be fine.

Where to Get Your University of Florida Essays Edited

Do you want feedback on your University of Florida essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays. 

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools.  Find the right advisor for you  to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

• How to Write the Florida State University Essay

• The Why FSU Essay Prompts
• Prompt 1 “Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.”
• Prompt 2 “Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.”
• Prompt 3 “Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?”
• Prompt 4 “What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?”
• Prompt 5 “Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.”
• 3 Cliches, That Should be Avoided

The prestige of university or college is measured by the acceptance rate. During the admission period, every application is counted and assessed. As a result, only the best get to study. Florida State University is not an Ivy League school, but getting in is challenging anyway. Let’s discuss what it takes to become an FSU student and how to write an FSU essay to pass the admission with the flying colors. 

The Why FSU Essay Prompts 

It is crucial to understand the intention behind every assignment you are given since you are going to be a college student now. The college essays will be following you around from now on. The FSU essay prompts are designed to demonstrate a set of skills that a candidate mastered during school time. The admission officer providing an essay review has an eye for talented people, and of course a list of criteria. Let’s look into the topics that FSU offers. Each of them has a different focus. Although at a first glance they do not seem to be a challenge when you get to the assessment criteria your viewpoint will change. 

Prompt 1 “Tell a story from your life, describing an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped to shape it.” 

This piece aims at seeing how events of your life influenced your personality and shaped your worldview. You can be as creative as you want with the idea of the answer. Remember the main thing, that the officer wants to see how you mastered the art of narration. 

Best colleges essays should aim to describe the thought process, a complex mental activity. However, the sentences you write should not be as complex and long-winded. Try using a hint. Put down a sentence or a couple of them. Then delete the words randomly and see if you can still grasp the sense. If the answer is yes, then some parts are redundant. 

Prompt 2 “Describe a time when you made a meaningful contribution to others in which the greater good was your focus. Discuss the challenges and rewards of making your contribution.”  

To start with, recall any program or extracurricular activity you were involved in. By no means, the fact you participated is enough. It narrows down the search areas for the ideas. In this section, you need to describe a deed that served as a contribution to someone’s well being. To be more specific, use these questions to find the idea:

• Did I do something extraordinary that changed someone else’s life (community, individual, etc) without getting any advantage from it?
• What lesson did I learn from it?

Prompt 3   “Has there been a time when you’ve had a long-cherished or accepted belief challenged? How did you respond? How did the challenge affect your beliefs?” 

This section aims at checking your mental preparedness for college life and the collapse of multiple opinions. The college values independent people who can stand up for their point of view and prove it. So, what you want to showcase here is your belief in something and how it was challenged by your environment. It can be a case of religion, but also any idea you followed. Describe the influence of something completely opposite to your belief happening and how it influenced your mental state.

Prompt 4   “What is the hardest part of being a teenager now? What’s the best part? What advice would you give a younger sibling or friend (assuming they would listen to you)?”  

Writing this section should start with flags or things to avoid. Remember that the admissions officer reading the essay prompt is most probably a parent, high chances are that he has a teenager. Expressing a one-sided point of view on some issues of a parent - teenage relationships might be disrespectful. Hence, whatever you write, stay polite. 

This section can be entertaining, and not necessarily serious. Jokes, funny incidents that happened to you when you got your first car, job, went on a school trip, are suitable for this topic. Bear in mind that 550 words that are allowed for this prompt are not enough for describing a series of events. Stick to one idea not to lose the focus. 

Prompt 5   “Submit an essay on a topic of your choice.” 

This topic deserves the title of the most provocative one. It tricks students into thinking that the task allows a flight of fancy. Under no circumstances should you forget that the rules of writing stay the same for every topic. You need to stick to the principles:

• Make up precise and meaningful sentences
• Select a limited number of ideas and keep the focus on them
• Have well -thought structure
• Draw conclusions 
• Avoid redundancy
• Make impressions with your words

You should be ready for such kind of a topic. So, browse college essay topics  beforehand to come up with some interesting ideas to write about.

3 Cliches, That Should be Avoided 

Essays for admission to Florida State University often contain typical stories and clichés, which will be discussed in this material. “Tell us about your personal qualities, talents, achievements or experience that you consider the most significant.” In one form or another this question is asked when entering almost any American university. Members of the Admission Committee read thousands of essays be it FSU,  Georgetown supplemental essays , University of Washhington essay , Cornell engineering essay , or essays that worked JHU .

So, how can you make your essay noticed in the ocean of the same stories? Begin with the choice of a suitable topic, which will help you describe your experience in a capacious and sincere way, while demonstrating the opportunity to write beautifully.

However, it is easy to say not to do. Before choosing what you will write about in your FSU essay, it is useful to know which topics should be avoided and why. Here are some of the most popular template topics.

1. A story about a volunteer project demonstrating your willingness to help others.

“Many applicants decide to write about their participation in the volunteer project or involvement in the activities of the church,” says Marie Chaufer, head of the Admissions Committee. “This is a wonderful experience that has undoubtedly affected your personal development. The only problem is that wherever you go and whatever projects you are involved in, the conclusion is always the same – you like helping people. And it’s great, – she explains, – but, unfortunately, this experience will not help you stand out against the background of other applicants».

2. “Continuity of a certain profession in your family” as a topic of fsu essay example.

“There is nothing wrong with being proud that your family is also associated with the profession you have chosen, but the continuity speculation does not help you “sell” yourself to the admissions committee,” explains Christopher Hall, assistant professor at the University. “Perhaps Mick Jagger is an excellent singer,” he adds, “but this does not guarantee that this gift was passed on to his children. Therefore, it’s better to tell about your own talents and abilities, and not about the achievements of your great-grandmothers and great-grandfathers.”

3. Overcoming sports trauma in the center of the narrative of your admission essay.

As Drew Nichols, the member of the Admissions Committee of the University of St. Edwards , rightly points out: “Applicants of most American universities come from different classes of society. Many promising candidates had to go through such difficulties as poverty, a difficult family situation, a serious illness. The essay on the topic of a sports injury demonstrates only by the fact that you do not realize how lucky you are.” “If you bring the inability to play football for one semester as the biggest difficulty in your life,” he explains, “then you simply do not realize what challenges some of your peers have to face.”

Every professional admission writer knows that essay prompts require scrupulous work. It is not a 5-minute assignment although the number of words and simplicity of the topics tell you so. It is a mistake to think that the requirements that the university sets are intentionally misleading. The real reason behind it is to sieve candidates that do not meet their standards. Writing an essay prompt is impossible without the previous research of the university background, academic life, and goals. If you are a candidate you need to know what value the university is looking for. The essay serves as a way to convey your understanding of the university’s policies and great aim. 

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A subreddit for FSU students, faculty, alumni, and other interested parties. Welcome new students! Need to fill your free time or make friends? You can find a list of every student organization and a contact for it on Nole Central! https://nolecentral.dsa.fsu.edu/

Applying for honors program

Can someone help me answer this? I am planning on filling out a petition form to be admitted into the FSU honors program, but i don't exactly know how to answer this question.

"please submit a 300 to 500 word personal statement describing why, apart from the benefits of priority registration and honors housing, you want to participate in the Honors Program."

obviously I'm not asking anyone to write this for me... just looking for some pointers :) Thanks!

Florida State University

FSU | University Honors Program

University Honors Program

Division of Undergraduate Studies

Lateral Admissions

The honors lateral application is currently closed..

A limited number of students are admitted laterally to the Honors Program at the end of the spring term of their first year. Lateral applicants are assessed on their college GPA, college course rigor, and the quality of written essays regarding the program. 

Eligibility

• First-time-in-college student.
• Currently enrolled at FSU.
• Minimum 3.5 FSU GPA
• Application must be submitted before the deadline. 

Program Requirements

• Maintain a 3.2 FSU GPA while in the program.
• Successfully complete HUM2944 in the first semester.
• Meet with an Honors Advisor during the first semester.
• Complete the Honors Program Graduation Requirements .

Application Timeline Spring 2024 Lateral admission decisions will be announced in early July. 

Apply for lateral admission.

Honors Lateral Applications Received

FSU Honors Admission?

Hi there! I’m a rising senior in high school and I was wondering ballpark if anybody knew if my dream of FSU Honors is a reality or a far-reach. By graduation I will have taken 19 Honors Classes, 4 AP Classes, 4 passed exams AP hopefully, and 5 Dual Enrollment Classes. My current SAT score is 1940 old and 1390 new. My ACT score is 30. I want to major in Political Sciences and have above average experience in politics. Any help would be highly appreciated! Thanks for reading!

You should have a good chance of getting into the Honors Program.

@saxlady thank you!

According to the FSU website:

Also, it is impossible to get to a 4.7 W from a 3.8 UW GPA with 19 honors classes and 9 AP classes using FSU’s calculation methodology of +0.5 for an honors class and +1.0 for AP

@CaucAsianDad Sorry my wording was off I have a definite 4.7 weighted GPA and a 3.8 roughly unweighted GPA. And in my school it’s +1.0 for honors and +1.5 for AP

What your school does isn’t what FSU does. As mentioned above it’s 0.5 weight for Honors and 1.0 weight for AP.

You’ll want to recalculate your GPA to see where you stand.

You should be fine, but the overinflated GPA because your school does things differently can give you a false sense of security.

@Pasbal @CaucAsianDad ok just talked to my guidance counselor and my unweighted is 3.7

Based on the info you supplied above, I would estimate your FSU weighted GPA around a 4.3.

If you don’t get into the honors program as a freshman you can apply for lateral admission! I just got accepted, all you have to do is answer a few short questions in an application. They consider your answers and your first semester grades, so if you do well you’ll have a good chance of being accepted

@aaaammy123 when did you apply for the honors college and how long did it take to get an answer? Also how were u notified? Thanks!

Information from the Honors Program staff is that to be in the honors college, you basically have to have a University Freshman Scholar. To receive the University Freshman Scholarship requires a 30 ACT and a 4.0 FSU Weighted GPA in only core academic courses.

@rev mom… What if your gpa is like a 3.97?

Sorry @soyunchico but I didn’t ask that question.

Sorry I’m replying so late. I didn’t apply as a freshman, I only filled out the lateral application and was notified a day after final grades were posted.