Boston College asks one essay of up to 400 words, chosen from four prompts: a meaningful tradition in your family or community, your most meaningful conversation partner, a time someone defined you by a single story, or a fourth "Be" to add to BC's Jesuit "three Be's". Applicants to Human-Centered Engineering answer a fifth prompt instead, on the societal problems they would address.
The four prompts lean on BC's Jesuit mission and its traditions, so the best answers sound like they were written for BC, not recycled.
Boston College's questions at a glance
| Question | Limit | Who answers it | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| A meaningful tradition | 400 words | All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4 | Community |
| Your most meaningful conversation partner | 400 words | All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4 | Intellectual curiosity |
| A single story | 400 words | All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4 | Background and identity |
| A fourth "Be" | 400 words | All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4 | Why this college |
| Human-Centered Engineering and the Common Good | 400 words | Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) only · Required | Why this major or school |
Which questions you see depends on where you apply: All majors except Human-Centered Engineering; Human-Centered Engineering (HCE). Answer only the ones for yours.
How to plan the Boston College supplement
- 1Pick the prompt for which you have the most specific story.
- 2Whatever you choose, end with a link to BC's community: traditions, conversation, reflection or service.
- 3400 words is enough for one scene, one reflection and one link to BC.
We would like to get a better sense of you. Please respond to one of the first four prompts below (400 word limit).
1. A meaningful tradition
Boston College's wording · 400 words · All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4“Strong communities are sustained by traditions. Boston College's annual calendar is marked with both long-standing and newer traditions that help shape our community. Tell us about a meaningful tradition in your family or community. Why is it important to you, and how does it bring people together or strengthen the bonds of those who participate?”
What it is really asking. A meaningful tradition in your family or community, why it matters to you, and how it brings people together.
How to approach it
- 1Show the tradition in a scene with sensory detail.
- 2Explain why it matters to you personally.
- 3Answer the second half: how it strengthens bonds.
Mistakes to avoid
- A holiday description anyone could write.
Full guide: How to Write Boston College's "Tradition" Essay
2. Your most meaningful conversation partner
Boston College's wording · 400 words · All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4“The late BC theology professor, Father Michael Himes, argued that a university is not a place to which you go, but instead, a "rigorous and sustained conversation about the great questions of human existence, among the widest possible circle of the best possible conversation partners.” Who has been your most meaningful conversation partner, and what profound questions have you considered together?”
What it is really asking. Your most meaningful conversation partner (Father Michael Himes' idea of a university as a sustained conversation) and the profound questions you have explored together.
How to approach it
- 1Choose a person, real or not, you have actually argued and wondered with.
- 2Name the questions you explored.
- 3Show one conversation in detail.
Mistakes to avoid
- A tribute with no questions in it.
Full guide: How to Write Boston College's "Conversation Partner" Essay
3. A single story
Boston College's wording · 400 words · All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4“In her July 2009 Ted Talk, “The Danger of a Single Story,” Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie warned viewers against assigning people a “single story” through assumptions about their nationality, appearance, or background. Discuss a time when someone defined you by a single story. What challenges did this present and how did you overcome them?”
What it is really asking. A time someone defined you by a single story (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie), the challenges it brought, and how you overcame them.
How to approach it
- 1Name the single story and who told it.
- 2Show its effect.
- 3Show how you responded and what the fuller story is.
Mistakes to avoid
- Only the injustice, without your response.
Full guide: How to Write Boston College's "Single Story" Essay
4. A fourth "Be"
Boston College's wording · 400 words · All majors except Human-Centered Engineering only · Choose 1 of 4“Boston College’s Jesuit mission highlights “the three Be’s”: be attentive, be reflective, be loving – core to Jesuit education (see A Pocket Guide to Jesuit Education). If you could add a fourth “Be,” what would it be and why? How would this new value support your personal development and enrich the BC community?”
What it is really asking. A fourth "Be" to add to BC's be attentive, be reflective, be loving, why, and how it would support your growth and enrich BC.
How to approach it
- 1Choose a "Be" that comes from your life, not a dictionary.
- 2Show it in action.
- 3Cover both halves: your growth and BC's community.
Mistakes to avoid
- A clever word with no story behind it.
Full guide: How to Write Boston College's "Fourth Be" Essay
5. Human-Centered Engineering and the Common Good
Boston College's wording · 400 words · Human-Centered Engineering (HCE) only · Required“One goal of a Jesuit education is to prepare students to serve the Common Good. Human-Centered Engineering at Boston College integrates technical knowledge, creativity, and a humanistic perspective to address societal challenges and opportunities. What societal problems are important to you and how will you use your HCE education to solve them?”
What it is really asking. For Human-Centered Engineering applicants: the societal problems that matter to you and how you would use an HCE education to solve them.
How to approach it
- 1Choose one problem and show where you met it.
- 2Connect technical and humanistic sides, as HCE does.
Mistakes to avoid
- A purely technical answer with no people in it.
Full guide: How to Write Boston College's Human-Centered Engineering Essay
What our grader checks in your Boston College answers
Every answer is judged against a checklist for its kind of question plus one check written for Boston College's own wording. Each area comes back Met, Partly or Missing, and those verdicts (with the word limit) set the answer's readiness: Ready, Nearly there or Needs work. There is no score out of 100.
| Question | Boston College's own check |
|---|---|
| A meaningful tradition | Covers why the tradition is important and how it brings people together or strengthens bonds. |
| Your most meaningful conversation partner | Names the conversation partner and the profound questions considered together. |
| A single story | Covers a time the applicant was defined by a single story, the challenges it presented and how they overcame them. |
| A fourth "Be" | Names the fourth "Be", why, and how it would support personal development and enrich BC. |
| Human-Centered Engineering and the Common Good | Names societal problems and how an HCE education would help solve them. |
The type checklists are on the supplemental essay grader page.
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