Response to short answer Q on the supplement

jreeder
Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:25:16 +0000

I’m certainly no professional, so don’t take my word as canon, but to rishav7:
I think that mentioning the professors that you’re excited for, the labs, etc. is fine. They’ll be impressed with your knowledge of the facilities and I think that that would work much in your favor. You’re allowed to be knowledgeable and specific, just make sure you’re not overreaching!

@bettercallsaul
Your first 150 sounds like a fine choice. For the next section, you’ve only said that you’d talk about the resources that Penn offers, which is what I would consider “selling Penn” back to the officers. If you take a couple specific examples about the resources and back them up and explain them as they relate to you, I think that would be much more effective. The admissions folks won’t mind if you talk about specifics so long as you can explain WHY they will help you.

Example time! (Mind you, these are WAY oversimplified so you can see the contrast)

Empty answer:
I really like music and I’m interested in it as a major. Penn offers a great music program with esteemed professors such as John Smith. The music building has great pianos that are always tuned and there are lots of spaces for practice and group rehearsal! There are also dozens of performance groups that I want to join such as the Penn Band, Strictly Funk, and Penn Singers. They really showcase the talent that the university has outside of academia.

Relevant answer:
I really like music and I’m interested in it as a major. The program looks very well-rounded, which I think is going to be helpful to me because I know a lot about music theory, but I’m shaky in music history. The fact that there are buildings such as the Jaffe Music History building that specialize in such specifics is great. The many on-campus performance groups will also be helpful because I’ve been looking for a chance to work with a smaller and more professional team than my previous school’s Kazoo Ensemble. Having those opportunities to perform will help me gain context and perspective for my music major.