I’m at a bit of a dilemma since both essay questions are about academic interests/strengths as well as why you chose your major. I’m Undeclared!!! And I’m undeclared for a reason, and that’s because I don’t have any specific academic interest/strengths… I don’t know what I want to do, and I’m a very well rounded student, with no heavy preference for any subject, so I’m not sure what to write about. It sounds like UIUC didn’t think about their essay prompt well enough, because I’m sure it’s going to move plenty of kids into completely BSing their essay (such as potentially myself). The school really screwed over all undecided kids, and I’m thinking about not even applying at all because their application process makes it seem like undecided kids are not welcome at all…
So what should I write about? Or should I write anything at all?
If you are interested in EVERYTHING, than talk about that. Or talk about your uncertainty/interest in exploring many areas and how happy you are that you will not be required to decide on a major right away. Maybe you are clearer on what you are NOT interested in (engineering? hotel management? ornithology?). You will need to choose some classes for your first term at some point, so if you had to choose now, what area(s) would you ‘probably’ choose?
Be creative. Have fun with it and be positive. This doesn’t need to be some boring missive about how enthusiastic you are to start your career in accounting.