How to Write the Drexel University Essays 2025-2026
Drexel University, located in Philadelphia, is a private research university best known for its cooperative education program (co-op), which integrates rigorous academics with up to 18 months of full-time, paid professional experience before graduation. With strong programs in a variety of fields, Drexel emphasizes hands-on learning, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Most applicants to Drexel will not have to submit any supplemental essays. However, if you intend to study either Architecture or Music, you will be required to submit an additional essay about your interest in the field you chose. Keep reading to find out our best tips for writing this essay.
Drexel University Supplemental Essay Prompts
Architecture and Music Applicants
Prompt: Reflect on your experiences, personal characteristics, and unique traits that have prepared you for the challenges and opportunities associated with your chosen major. How have these things shaped your goals, aspirations, and potential contributions to your field of study? (500 words)
Architecture and Music Prompt
Reflect on your experiences, personal characteristics, and unique traits that have prepared you for the challenges and opportunities associated with your chosen major. How have these things shaped your goals, aspirations, and potential contributions to your field of study? (500 words)
This prompt is only required for students who are applying for majors in the fields of architecture or music. It is asking you to write a traditional “Why This Major?” essay in which you share how your past experiences and future goals have led you to your specific choice of major.
Although architecture and music are wildly different disciplines and students will have completely different experiences and goals that led them to their respective major, the general principles for approaching and writing this essay are the same. Regardless of your topic, you want to do the following three things in your essay:
- Share what drew you to this major.
- Acknowledge what you are looking forward to about studying it at Drexel specifically.
- Reflect on what you hope to accomplish one day in your field with what you’ve learned.
Let’s break it down piece by piece.
Share what drew you to your major
The first, and perhaps most important, part of this essay is to build a strong case for why you are passionate about studying architecture or music. You want to show (not just tell) the admissions officers reading your essay that you have a genuine interest in this field and your past experiences have prepared you well.
We generally recommend using anecdotes to convey this because they allow you to get specific with details and imagery that make your essay more engaging and informative. But what anecdote(s) should you choose? Here are some ideas that students tend to use:
- Your first introduction to the field
- Experiencing a piece of media or structure that stuck with you
- A project you worked on for a class
- An experience you had in an extracurricular
- Independent passion projects
- An internship or summer program related to your field
Of course you aren’t limited to picking an anecdote from one of these situations, but hopefully you can start brainstorming ideas from these to come up with a story that reveals your excitement for your future major.
You can see the difference showing versus telling can make in your essay with these two examples from a student who wants to study Music Production:
Bad Example (telling): “I’ve always been interested in music, and using GarageBand in middle school made me realize how much I enjoy producing songs. I liked experimenting with different tracks and sounds, and it showed me that music production could be a career path I’d want to follow. It was fun to learn about how songs are made, and since then I’ve wanted to study it more seriously.”
Good Example (showing): “I still remember the thrill of dragging the bass line from Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” into GarageBand and trying to layer it beneath the vocals of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep.” It was messy at first—the beat stumbled, Adele’s voice stretched and snapped—but when the two tracks finally clicked into rhythm, I jumped out of my chair. My bedroom became a mini recording studio, and I couldn’t stop grinning at the sound I had stitched together from nothing.”
If you don’t have extensive experience in your prospective field, the prompt also mentions personal characteristics and unique traits, so you can go down this route as well. For example, maybe you haven’t had a lot of experience with architecture yet, but you could write about how you have both a highly attuned attention to detail and an appreciation for the bigger picture—skills you know are critical for an architect—through an anecdote about a painting you worked on one summer.
Acknowledge what excites you about studying your major at Drexel
After you’ve established why you want to pursue your major, you want to turn towards discussing the major itself. Specifically, you want to talk about why you want to study this major at Drexel.
What opportunities can Drexel provide you in this field? Are there specific resources or unique programs you are looking forward to engaging with? Why? These are the types of questions you want to answer in this section of your essay.
An interesting thing to note is that Drexel also asks about the potential challenges you will face in your major. Many colleges won’t ask this in their “Why This Major” essay, so the fact that Drexel includes it means they want to see your appreciation for the nuances of studying something you are passionate about. It won’t always be sunshine and daisies, and it’s okay to acknowledge some challenges you might encounter. However, you need to maintain a positive outlook in your essay, so if you mention a challenge, counter that with how you plan to overcome it with Drexel’s help.
For example, here’s a student interested in Architecture who talks about what they are excited about at Drexel while also acknowledging a challenge and how they can overcome it:
“At Drexel, I’m excited by the opportunity to merge creativity with real-world practice through the renowned co-op program, which would allow me to experience the demands of professional architecture firms while still in school. I’m particularly drawn to the Hybrid Making Lab, where I could experiment with digital modeling and hands-on prototyping to bring my designs to life. I know the challenge of architecture lies in balancing artistic vision with structural and functional demands, but that’s exactly why Drexel appeals to me—the chance to test my ideas in both studio critiques and professional environments will help me grow from an imaginative student into a practical, adaptable architect.”
Notice how this example doesn’t just say the student is excited about the co-op program and the Hybrid Making Lab and move on? Rather, they elaborate on why they are looking forward to these opportunities and what they will get out of it. Make sure you do that, otherwise this part of the essay will feel forced and like you are just trying to get credit for name-dropping resources.
Reflect on your future goals and how you will get there
The last step of crafting a successful essay is to look to the future and share what you hope to accomplish with your Drexel education. Admissions officers want to accept students who will go on to be successful and reflect well on their school—use this space to demonstrate that.
You should be more specific about your goals than just saying “I want to design beautiful buildings” or “I want to win a Grammy one day.” Every word in your essay is a chance for you to share more about yourself with the admissions committee, so don’t waste this part of your essay by not elaborating on what you hope to do.
If you are able to tie your goals back to your original motivation for studying your major, that would be great! Perhaps a student who opened their essay talking about how they spent hours pouring over the blueprints for their kitchen remodel in their house might come full circle by saying that moment opened their eyes to the possibilities of residential architecture and now they want to design houses that feel like homes—just as their architect did for their family.
Also keep in mind that whatever your goal is, you want to demonstrate that it will become possible (or at the very least easier to achieve) because you studied at Drexel. The most natural place to talk about your goals might be when you are discussing what you hope to get out of the resources and opportunities at Drexel, as you can draw a natural connection there.
Remember, your essay doesn’t have to follow these three steps in a formulaic structure—you can include the different pieces wherever they naturally fit in. We’re providing this breakdown to help you understand the components of a strong essay, but at the end of the day, your essay should reflect your voice and writing style. Make sure you hit the key points, but don’t get too caught up in replicating a specific structure if you would rather present your essay in a different manner.
Example Essay
Let’s look at an essay that fully answers the prompt:
“My feet were aching after walking through the streets of Paris all day, and I begged my mom to go back to the hotel so I could relax. Three more blocks. Eagerly picking up the pace, I rounded the corner and my little brother knocked into my frozen body. Marble pillars glistened in the sunlight, intricate carvings graced every side, and a giant green dome crowned the top of the Paris Opera House.
All the pain dissipated as my feet carried me closer to the most breathtaking feat of architecture I had ever laid my eyes on. Fascinated by the glamor and opulence of the opera house, I took in every detail from the giant arches to the tiny inscriptions. The next fall, when my wood-working teacher announced our independent projects, there wasn’t a moment of hesitation in my mind when I decided to construct a replica of the Paris Opera House.
Turns out, there’s more to erecting a structure of splendor than meets the eye. Discarded drafts of sketches littered my workspace as my teacher kept correcting my proportions. ‘Either the dome needs to be smaller or the pillars need to be wider, but there’s no way to support the building like that!’ He would say. But as the weeks passed, my resolve only hardened. I was the first one in class and the last one to leave. YouTube videos about European architects became the background soundtrack of my commute to school. By the time May rolled around, I had a model opera house that would make even Charles Garnier proud.
With the skills and knowledge I will gain at Drexel, I will be able to take my passion for the splendor of old architecture and create more than just scale-models; I will have the tools to bring the grandeur of European architecture to the streets of Philadelphia.”
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