How to Write the Drexel University Supplement Essays 2021-2022

Students applying to Drexel University’s Westphal College or the joint program with the College of Medicine must answer a separate supplemental essay prompt about their interest in their major/program of choice.

College admissions can be competitive, so essays are one of the best ways to help your application stand out. In this case, your essay will help to prove you’re a great fit for Drexel’s specialized majors and programs, and it will also allow your story and personality to shine.

If you’re planning to apply to Drexel University, specifically to the Westphal College or the BA/BS+MD Early Assurance Program, keep reading for a detailed look at how to write stellar responses to this year’s essay prompts.

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Drexel University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Prompt 1

Please write a short essay describing why you are interested in pursuing your major of choice at Drexel University’s Westphal College. What have you done that prepares you to study in your major of choice? (500 words)

Drexel’s Westphal College of Media Arts & Design is unlike traditional arts school. Westphal encompasses a variety of majors that help artistic and creative individuals find practical and sustainable applications of their craft to high-demand industries. The Westphal College application is direct and focuses on your specific path. It also asks a core question: “Why pursue your selected major, and what experience have you had?”

Note: Prior to writing your essay, you should first select a specific Westphal major that has significance/relevance in your life.

Why your major?

When answering the “why,” you can take a number of different approaches as long as you satisfy your primary goal of demonstrating that you are passionate about a subject. Why are you inspired to pursue your desired major? Why is your desired major important to you? Why will this major allow you to impact society more than another? These are all questions that you should be considering as you write.

You can write about an experience that significantly impacted your life and has sparked your interest in a subject. Maybe it was a book, movie, or class that just clicked for you and helped you realize what you want to do with your life. Discuss how a subject excites you or changes the way in which you understand the world. Try to zone in on building a narrative so that the reader understands your perspective and thinks, “I can’t see this student studying anything but this major.”

What experience do you have?

After introducing your interest, you want to explain what you have done that makes you qualified to be a student of a particular major at Westphal. Ideally, you want to develop an image of yourself as someone who found a passion and pursued it.

If you have allowed your love for a subject to manifest outside of the classroom in the form of a personal project/pursuit or extracurricular activity, discuss that. It will show that you took advantage of your opportunities and turned an interest into something tangible and impactful.

If you haven’t quite had the chance to further your interests, you can write about classes you’ve taken in school or books that you’ve read that relate to your desired major. Make sure you demonstrate your knowledge by delving deeply into the subjects to build around the underlying passion that you want to drive your essay.

Even if you haven’t had much specific experience relating to your desired major, you can still write a strong essay. Oftentimes, your inspiration for pursuing a subject is the source of your experience. For example, someone seeking to study Game Design & Production may not have actually designed video games before, but perhaps has spent significant hours playing Pokémon and thus understands user interface and graphics.

The primary goal is to indicate that your passion for a subject has manifested in ways that have given you insight and experience into your desired major, to prove that you are suited for the program.

For example: A student can talk about how she grew up playing Pokémon, which provided her with an escape from difficulties in her childhood. It sparked her imagination and brought her immense joy in the form of imaginary adventures in a world that she could control, unlike the real world that often disappointed her. Though she has not had extensive experience with Game Design & Production, she took a programming course in Python in which she made basic games, such as Brick Breaker and Air Hockey. She could express how it excited her to know that if she studied Game Design & Production, she would one day be able to merge her experience as a gamer with technical skills to bring the kind of joy to other children that Pokémon brought to her!

This prompt asks students applying for the joint program with the Drexel University College of Medicine two questions:

• Why do you want to pursue medicine? (Why This Major?)

• Why do you want to obtain your medical education from Drexel University? (Why This College?)

To successfully answer this prompt, you’ll need to consider answers to both questions. Focus on your reasons for pursuing the medical field for about 300-350 words of your essay and why you’re interested in attending Drexel University’s College of Medicine for about 150-200 words.

However, before you get started, consider these tips for writing an excellent medical essay:

• Blend scientific skills with human compassion. Most students who are pursuing healthcare are passionate about science. It’s important to blend your interest in diagnosing symptoms and prescribing treatment with your desire to care for humanity.

• Use personal healthcare stories. Do you have any previous medical experience? Perhaps you volunteered at a local hospital, shadowed a doctor, or worked at your school’s clinic. If you have a personal story from these experiences that inspired you to pursue a career in the medical field, you’ll want to use it in your essay.

• Demonstrate human care. Even if you don’t have experience in the medical field, think about a non-clinical volunteer opportunity that highlights your care for people, like a humanitarian trip. You may also want to share about a family member or friend who has battled severe health issues and why that inspired you to choose medicine as a career path. Try not to lean too heavily on the emotional aspect of these experiences, but rather why they sparked your interest in a medical career.

Why Medical School?

Start your essay with a summary of reasons you’re interested in pursuing medicine. Like we mentioned earlier, these reasons should showcase a balance of the scientific and humanitarian aspects of medicine you are passionate about. You should spend roughly 150 words focusing on these reasons.

Try to be as detailed as possible when selecting your reasons for applying to Drexel’s medical program. For example, saying that you want to “improve people’s lives” is far too general and should be assumed by someone interested in healthcare. Additionally, steer clear of cliches, like saying you want to “find the cure to cancer.” If this is truly a compelling reason you want to become a doctor, it’s ideal to have personal experiences that explain these broad claims.

After explaining your reasons for pursuing medicine, you need to share the experiences that have led you to choose a medical career. These experiences can include coursework, job experiences, volunteer work, and patient care experiences. Ideally, you should include a personal anecdote that correlates with your reasons for choosing medicine that you listed earlier. You should spend roughly 200 words highlighting your experiences.

As we mentioned earlier, it’s ideal to highlight a patient care experience, if possible. However, it’s important not to lean too heavily on the emotional appeal of life and death stories to avoid sounding cliche.

For example: A student may talk about their experience shadowing a pediatrician at a local clinic and note how the doctor’s patience and intentionality helped calm children of all ages, even in stressful or scary situations. ​​ This student may explain how this doctor’s approach to healthcare inspired them to pursue pediatrics because they want to give children a positive outlook on healthcare from a young age, so they remain proactive about their health as they grow older.

Why Drexel University College of Medicine?

To close out your essay, include a small summary of why you’d like to pursue medicine at Drexel University (about 150 words). Your reasons should be college-specific, and they should dive into the specific programs, classes, and out-of-classroom opportunities the university offers.

The perfect litmus test to determine whether your reasons are too general is to insert another college’s name into the sentences. If the reasons still hold, they aren’t unique enough to Drexel University to be included in your essay. For instance, saying “I want to attend Drexel University because of the small class sizes” is too general. Many colleges have small class sizes.

Instead, say something like, “I’m interested in attending the Drexel University College of Medicine because of the opportunity to dive into faculty-mentored undergraduate research so early in my education, right after my freshman year, as a part of the STAR Scholars Program. I’m also interested in attending the Intensive Course Abroad to Oslo, Norway, about ‘Understanding the Norwegian Approach to Public Health, Education, and Justice.’ I think this experience would help me gain a more holistic understanding and appreciation for how the healthcare system in the United States contrasts the healthcare system in the modern welfare states.”

Note: Even if it’s true, it’s important not to mention that you’re applying to the BA/BS+MD early assurance program to save time or money. Try to think of more profound reasons why this program is an excellent fit for you personally and what you have to offer to the university in return.

How to Get Your Drexel University Essays Edited for Free

It’s challenging to evaluate your writing objectively after re-reading your essay so many times. That’s why we created our helpful, free Peer Essay Review tool, where you can get a thorough, unbiased review of your essay from another high school student. They can help you determine if you’ve answered the prompt thoroughly and avoided cliche topics, and they can also help you determine if your personality shines through in your essay!

You can also use the tool to review other student’s essays to help improve your writing skills and expertise. Give it a try, and let us know what you think!