University of Rochester Essays 2025-2026
The University of Rochester recently released its supplemental essay for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle. In this article, we will explain exactly what they are looking for in the response from applicants, so you can write a supplemental essay that will get you admitted there.
1. The University of Rochester benefactor, entrepreneur, photography pioneer and philanthropist George Eastman said, “The progress of the world depends almost entirely upon education.” In what ways do you envision using the curricular flexibility and co-curricular opportunities at the University of Rochester to promote progress and change within the communities you inhabit? (250 word limit)
For this essay, it is crucial that you show the reader your place within a community you either currently inhabit or imagine you will inhabit in the future. I would first start the essay by depicting yourself within such a community, in a manner that reveals how you interact with other members there. From there, I would explain what this community means to you and how it has facilitated your growth and the development of your identity. Next, I would cite specific clubs, research opportunities, and electives you plan to take there, and explain how these opportunities will tangibly benefit your community. Make sure to name names, such as the names of specific research institutes and professors there. To conclude this essay, I would show the reader exactly the type of concrete impact you wish to create in your community by leveraging the specific opportunities you listed.
It is vital that the reader can clearly visualize the impact that your education at the University of Rochester will have on a community you inhabit. Make sure there is meaningful contrast between the "before" (how you currently present yourself in the community you inhabit) and the "after" (how you will use your University of Rochester education to help your community). If you stick with a hypothetical community you'd like to join, then still strive for a striking before-and-after narrative, where the "before" is also hypothetical. If you can find room, discuss a strong personal reason why the particular form of progress you’d like to see in your community matter so much to you.
Ideally, always choose a community you actually inhabit; using a hypothetical community you'd like to join later should be a last resort. If you don't want to resort to a hypothetical community, simply focus on your peers who share your academic interests, or even your family.
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