You’re only going to succeed here if your essay packs a punch. You don’t just have to choose a field of study; you have to convince your reader. If you’ve read my other articles, you know what’s coming next: You need a good story.
Consider the position of a medical school applicant. I’ve worked with a lot of medical school applicants over the years, and the funny thing I came to realize is that the answer is always the same.
“Why do you want to be a doctor?”
“Because I want to help people.”
If you gave any other answer, I probably wouldn’t admit you. So why do some people get in while others don’t? When it comes down to the impact that the essay has on the application, it has to do with how strongly the reader feels like you are motivated to do medicine. We need pathos.
The student who has consented to his writing being used here got into Harvard, but I am going to show you his essay for UT Austin, to which he was also accepted, because Harvard, for some reason, doesn’t ask why you’re interested in studying what you want to study.
Starved of Tinkering
Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? (250-300)
In 5th grade, I took it upon myself to try fixing the odd colored streak across the middle of my 1960’s television, thinking the problem was just an unplugged wire. After an all-night affair of tampering with the maze of circuitry, not only did the screen cease to show an image, but the menacing glow of an electrical fire began expanding behind the glass.
After enduring a brief period being grounded, starved of tinkering, I started to observe every device I passed by during the day, curious about its inner workings. From traffic lights to refrigerators, everything that had seemed governed by internal magic now operated on tangible mechanisms. What truly sparked my fascination for engineering, though, was a 1937 video demonstrating the intricacies of a car differential. I became consumed by hour-long Youtube explanations on industrial mechanisms, ruminating on everything from plane engines to pencil sharpeners.
The impact of each invention was inspiring, even down to the obscure purpose of a machine designed to produce ten-thousand chain links a second without fault. With every article explaining the strafing of mecanum wheels or NASA rocket blueprint, my arsenal of mystifying mechanisms expanded. Each problem, real-world or theoretical, monumental or frivolous, always had a solution, eagerly awaiting discovery and optimization.
Considering the Texas Solar Racing Team, Human Centered Robotics Laboratory, and unique Capstone Project, UT Austin’s mechanical engineering major presents as a haven to continue pursuing my obsession while sharing my growing knowledge with peers. I look forward to taking advantage of UT’s celebrated internship opportunities, which will serve as a catalyst not only for answering my questions but for giving rise to even more. At UT, I look forward to feeding my addiction to learning new things, maybe this time without getting spanked along the way for breaking the TV.
Why this essay packs a punch
Think about the tone in this essay. Don’t you feel like he loves tinkering, like it’s a compulsion in him? He’s going all the way back to the fifth grade, which I don’t usually recommend. But in this case, it serves the purpose perfectly. He is demonstrating with this story how undeniable his fervor for engineering has always been. The question isn’t “What have you accomplished?” or even “What have you done in the past four years related to your major?” It’s just “Why are you interested?” The essay captures his interest through the way he reflects on these experiences. It’s how he feels in response to those moments that makes the essay so powerful.
So in your “Why This Major” essay, don’t make empty promises. Don’t make empty claims. Don’t try to get credit. Don’t even try to impress your reader. Assume that your reader will resonate with you as a fellow nerd of whatever it is that you’re nerdy about. Assume that person is your reader. Wouldn’t you just be excited to yap, to share? That’s what the essay should feel like. This passion is so ingrained in you that it almost doesn’t matter if you even go to college. Make them want you, not the other way around!
