UT Austin's required essay is met by your Common App personal essay. On top of it, UT asks two required short answers, why you are interested in your first-choice major and the activity you are most proud of, plus an optional short answer about circumstances that affected your academic performance.
UT limits each short answer to 40 lines, or about 250-300 words, typically one paragraph. That is enough for one example told well.
UT Austin's questions at a glance
| Question | Limit | Who answers it | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why your first-choice major | 300 words | Required | Why this major or school |
| The activity you are most proud of | 300 words | Required | Activity |
| Optional: special circumstances | 300 words | Optional | Challenge |
How to plan the UT Austin supplement
- 1The major answer carries your academic case: UT admits by major, so make it specific to that major.
- 2Pick the activity you are most proud of, not the biggest one; the "why" is what UT asks for.
- 3Use the optional prompt only for real circumstances, briefly and factually.
1. Why your first-choice major
UT Austin's wording · 300 words · Required“Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?”
What it is really asking. Why you are interested in the major you listed as your first choice.
How to approach it
- 1Name the major and the question in it you care about.
- 2Give the experiences that show the interest: classes, projects, jobs.
- 3Say what you want to do with it, briefly.
Mistakes to avoid
- Career and salary as the only reasons.
- A different major's story.
Full guide: How to Write UT Austin's "Why Your First-Choice Major" Short Answer
2. The activity you are most proud of
UT Austin's wording · 300 words · Required“Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why? (Guidance for students: This can include an extracurricular activity, a club/organization, volunteer activity, work or a family responsibility.)”
What it is really asking. Of all your activities in and outside school, which one you are most proud of and why. Clubs, volunteering, work and family responsibilities all count.
How to approach it
- 1Pick by pride, not prestige.
- 2Show one moment from it.
- 3Spend half the answer on why.
Mistakes to avoid
- Listing achievements in the activity.
- Choosing the activity with the biggest title.
Full guide: How to Write UT Austin's "Activity You're Most Proud Of" Short Answer
Optional prompt
3. Optional: special circumstances
UT Austin's wording · 300 words · Optional“Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance.”
What it is really asking. Optional: events or circumstances that affected your high school academic performance.
How to approach it
- 1State facts briefly and what you did to cope.
Mistakes to avoid
- A second personal essay.
More on this kind of question: Writing about a challenge or setback
What our grader checks in your UT Austin answers
Every answer is judged against a checklist for its kind of question plus one check written for UT Austin'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 | UT Austin's own check |
|---|---|
| Why your first-choice major | Says why the first-choice major, with experiences that show the interest. |
| The activity you are most proud of | Picks one activity and says why the applicant is most proud of it. |
| Optional: special circumstances | It does every part of what UT Austin's question asks, in the college's own terms. |
The type checklists are on the supplemental essay grader page.
Check your UT Austin supplemental essays
Paste the answers you have, leave the rest empty. One report covers all of them: a checklist and a readiness verdict for each, a note on every sentence and a revision plan. Half a token, or your first review free. We never write a word of it.
Check your college supplemental essays
Your first full review is free. Every answer reviewed in one report.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Common App or any college.
Open the picker and search for a college to see its 2026–27 supplemental questions.
No card needed · one free full review per student · we never write your answers