How specific do 'Why us?' essays need to be?

College Essays
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As the title says, how specific do I need to be in Why Us essays? I have heard that you need to have extremely specific details that show the reader that you truly spent time researching the college and found information beyond what people would find by just googling the college and reading through the first few links that come up. At the same time, I recently got the chance to speak with a few students who are attending some of the best universities in the country and they said that its really not about how specific you are. I had mentioned that one tip I read was to find a professor at the university whose research aligns with your interests and read a few of their papers and then in your essay, write about those papers and how that research aligns with you and how you plan to build on it in college. However, the students I spoke with claimed that mentioning professors is an over-saturated essay type and I should avoid using it. While the students were extremely helpful, I am worried that their advice is purely anecdotal from their personal experiences and they might have had other factors in their application that got them accepted.

Are the students right in saying that mentioning a professor is over-saturated and I should avoid doing that? If yes, what other strategies do you recommend I use to find details that will be specific enough for my Why Us essays?

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Speak from the heart and interest. We are not AOs but if it’s generic - like it’s a big school with lots of opportunities to learn or has great study abroad - well who doesn’t.

Show you learned something and how what you learned will help you add value to the school.

It’s old but perhaps this will help.

Why This College Essay Guide + Examples | College Essay Guy

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If you can replace the name of the college in the essay with another school name, it’s not specific enough. While you don’t have to name a specific professor, it is a good idea to find some things about the school that interest you and mention those.

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And perhaps shouldn’t. Professors retire, go on sabbatical, etc - if you make the case that you are really excited to work with Professor X and the AOs know that Prof X is about to retire, your case is weakened…

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And don’t mention how great their university is-they already know that. Tell them why it’s great for YOU!

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Also one tip we got (from more than one admissions presentation) - don’t say you want to go there because it’s in NYC/DC or similar, because there are a bunch of schools in those places and that doesn’t speak to why you specifically want to go to that school. If however you can specifically link what you know is a strength of the school in that respect then do so.

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Think about it more as “why me for this school?” - what will you take advantage of that this school uniquely offers?

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I have read many “Why Us” essays and agree that discussing a professor is oversaturated. So are all those details from google search. Honestly, boring and transparent.

The “Why Us” essay is no doubt intended to gauge authentic interest (with concerns about yield). This essay would have been easier in the days when students applied to just a few colleges that they have actually visited- even done overnights in- before applying. When students throw applications to 20 schools, it is reasonable for colleges to want to know if you are really interested, what you know about the school and so on.

If your essay depends on a Google search, how much do you really know?

I personally prefer more natural essays, even if, yes, they do mention location. Preference for city, and an interest in skiing, seem fine to me. Definitely investigate majors and programs and mention how those align with your interests.

Getting specific can work if authentic but most essays I have read clearly regurgitate a Google search.

Visit schools if you can! And remember that this essay is not a make or break kind of thing and just do the best you can.

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So three tips.

First, I would suggest paying very close attention to the actual wording of the prompt, and make sure your essay actually reads as a thoughtful response to their specific prompt. This may sound cynical, but I think the sorts of colleges that get a lot of cut-and-paste “shotgun” apps are, among other things, varying their prompts from others, or possibly even over time, in ways partially designed to help them identify such applications.

Second, the easiest way to write compelling, personalized Why Us essays is to actually have a really good process for selecting colleges for your list.

Like, to be blunt, if your ACTUAL reason for applying to a college is the US News ranked it its top 10 National Universities, or it is in the same athletic conference as Harvard, or it would impress your peers if you got admitted, or your parents are making you apply, including because it would impress THEIR peers if you got admitted, or so on . . . well, those are not good reasons from their perspective. And since your honest reasons would likely end your chances (although I bet they would get a laugh if you did write, “Because my parents made me!”), you are then stuck trying to fake it. And there is a lot of advice online that is basically about how to fake it, but they know about that advice, and so it might be harder to fake it then you hope.

And some kids will likely pull it off anyway (and be happy to tell everyone about it). But lots and lots of highly qualified kids get rejected by colleges they applied to in this fashion (although they are less happy to tell others about that), and while we will never know for sure why, I believe a perceived lack of authenticity and true reflection in their applications could in fact be why in a lot of those cases.

OK, but if you instead pick your colleges because you really think about what you want in a four-year college experience, academically and non-academically, and you identify the colleges that are actually the best fit for you . . . I think you can basically just tell them that. But maybe with a little reflection on what they are actually looking to learn from these essays, which leads me to my last point.

Third, AOs I have seen discuss this sort of essay tend to emphasize they are not so interested in seeing facts about their college. They know that stuff already, and your ability to look it up too is not particularly impressive. They are also not so interested in hearing about your plans for after college. That is not really their concern, and they also know many, many kids change their plans anyway. And in fact–and this is tricky–they are not necessarily all that interested in exactly what you think you will do at their college, because even those plans often change.

So what does that even leave? Well, what they are really interested in is you. What do you value? How do you think about important decisions? What process do you follow? Are you open to changing your mind? All sorts of stuff that they might not actually be able to learn from the rest of your application.

So this is pretty vague, but I would spend some time reflecting on what your process for choosing colleges on your list shows about you. And then if you are happy with that answer, you can make a point of showing (not so much telling) that in your Why Us essays.

And if you are not happy with your answer–again, I would resist the temptation to fake it. I would instead take a step back and follow a process for choosing colleges you can in fact be proud to explain.

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For selective schools, the AO’s are looking for both how the school fits you and how you fit the school. If location, weather, size are important, I would mention it and why (and it shouldn’t be the only reason). If it is particular departmental strengths or variety of courses, ECs or campus life that are attractive, you should point those out and how you plan to take advantage of them. As importantly, as you go through why these things are important to you, you should also outline how you intend to contribute to make those things better for your classmates/college community. Don’t try to twist your essay to make it unique, genuine with why and how answered will serve you better.

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THIS! So well said!

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Well what if the things I value just are generic? I want a college that will provide me access to a lot of resources and opportunities related to engineering that allow me to create things by myself or within a group. I don’t really have a preference for size or location, and I really doubt that I will lack opportunities at any of the colleges in my list as I have picked some of the best in the country. The biggest reason I am including multiple colleges is because I know I won’t get into every single one I apply to.

At the same time, I know subconsciously that I prefer a few colleges above all of the others but I still don’t think the reasons are good enough for this essay as a lot of them aren’t that unique. For example, MIT’s culture of engineering almost perfectly fits my main interests but it’s not like Georgia Tech doesn’t have a similar culture or Stanford or UMich, etc. Similarly, CMU’s robotics program is super cool and it fits perfectly to my ultimate goal which, at least for now, is to become an R&D engineer in robotics but, like the previous example, it’s not like those other top schools don’t have great robotics research as well (Ex. UMich’s mcity is a massive dedicated testing space for autonomous vehicles)

This is why I always tend to go toward finding more specific or unique information but I have no idea if it’s good enough or not. For example, one thing I learned about MIT was that they have the highest number of makerspaces in the country out of any colleges of a similar caliber. Would this be a good point? What about Michigan’s mcity that I mentioned earlier? Or Georgia Tech’s AI Makerspace in collaboration with NVIDIA?
If those points are good, how deep do I need to go within them? Should I find a specific robot that they were working on in Michigan’s mcity? Or regarding CMU’s annual Build18 hackathon, should I look into past projects and connect that to myself? Or is simply mentioning these facts good as well?

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Like I said in my other reply, I don’t want anything from my college experience that all of the colleges on my list cannot provide.
It’s why I asked my original question. My list narrows down to a few colleges that would be able to provide me my ideal experience but then how do I distinguish even further? How specific do I need to be in this distinction?

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In my opinion, mentioning a particular professor is best reserved for PhD applicants and most often inappropriate for undergraduate applicants.

Specific interests should be supported by past, verifiable demonstrated interests.

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But how much can you connect those things to things you are doing/have done? You need to create an authentic bridge between current interests/accomplishments, how the school’s resources apply to you in college and longer term. These things do not need to be unique to that school – in fact large research universities have more in common with each other than things that are unique. The essay should be more about the how and why than the what.

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So my engineering kid didn’t have a big preference for size or location either. Her school list probably looked pretty haphazard at first glance. But, she spent a lot of time parsing out what kind of 4 year experience she was looking for and all her schools hit most of her wants.

Think about the kind of engineering program you want. Do you want a more theoretical program or more hands on? Do you thrive with more collaboration or more competition? Do you want a curriculum that is super tech/engineering focused or a common core with lots of non engineering requirements? Do you want to jump into your major immediately or do some exploring? Are you more interested in research or industry? What ties do the schools have to your post college wants in terms of career? Do you care about co-op experiences? These are some of the questions that can get you started.

Then think hard about the non academics. Do you see yourself at football games on Saturdays or would you be happier in a study group? Do you care about easy access to a city or is your escape to nature? Are you more comfortable in large groups or small? How do you personally learn better - small groups or large lecture halls? etc…

Will you be able to visit any of the schools you are applying to? If so, take notes after each visit. They can really help you personalize your “why us” essay.

If you can’t visit, take virtual tours, read the student newspaper, read the niche reviews, read the schools mission and vision statement. So much is available on line! Take notes on each school based on your overall impression after you do those things.

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My daughter will be going to Penn next year for nursing - in her why us essay she wrote about how she enjoyed tutoring in high school and would continue tutoring through a program at Penn, she also wrote about the dance groups she aspired to try out for and the Penn traditions that she was excited about participating in.

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I think this is the way to do it- find things the school offers that align with your interests- clubs, programs, etc. that you would genuinely get involved with if you end up going there!

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Having just gone through this with our child, and as others have also mentioned above, the key is to create the link between you and the school. That is the entire point of this essay. “Why Us” and also “Why You?” Write about the professor if your interest in them is genuine and is part of something substantial (maybe you attended some lectures or are working with them already on something, etc.) You also need to do this without regurgitating your resume. It should show that you have academic curiosity, but also that you are a human that’s interested in other activities. That you will fit in their community well in multiple aspects. Only you can write this essay - don’t listen to others too much; make it authentic and interesting.

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So this is the tricky bit. These colleges don’t want you picking them because of some generic magazine list. At the same time, they KNOW you are very likely picking other colleges for an application list, and they do not need you to try to tell each of them they are uniquely the best for you.

OK, so again, how do you thread this needle? Take your comment that CMU’s robotics program is super cool. That’s a fine starting point, but the “mistake” at this point is to tell CMU a lot of facts about its robotics program. That isn’t helpful to them. So, instead, what can you quickly tell them about what led you to look for a super cool robotics program? Indeed, what even makes a robotics program super cool to you, and what led you to think that way about robotics?

I note robots are sort of inherently cool, but that does up the challenge a bit to give a really reflective answer about what would make a robotics program SUPER cool. Robotics as an academic discipline is not JUST getting to play with robots (although it does include that). So expressing what else about an academic robotics program might be cool to you, what indeed might make it SUPER cool, besides just getting to play with robots, is an opportunity for you to show more about how you think.

As a last thought, it is also entirely possible even a very good college will end up not caring much exactly what you write. I do think sometimes kids think they are writing great essays and end up instead red-flagging themselves, basically by revealing they don’t really value the college in the way it values itself. I also think, very rarely, an essay like this really wows a reader with the story it tells–and yet that alone might not be enough to get you admitted.

And then I think most essays for admitted students basically just show them you understand what they offer in an academic experience (generally or in some specific area of interest), value what they value, and have come to that place through a natural process of exploring your interests. And that can be tricky, but not SO tricky you can’t do it.

And I mean you specifically, because to me you actually do seem to have legitimate reasons for picking out these colleges. I just think you need to make sure you stay focused on giving them insights that would help them understand you, and not so much just rattle off stuff that shows you know how to research them.

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