CollegeVine College Essay Team December 10, 2024 7 Essay Breakdowns,Essay Guides 2024-25

How to Write the Quinnipiac University Essays 2024-2025

As of this year, Quinnipiac University does not require regular applicants to submit a supplemental essay, however they do have supplemental essays for applicants to special programs—most notably, their healthcare related programs.

Quinnipiac University Supplemental Essays

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This prompt, like all of these prompts, is an example of the “Why This Major” archetype. The admissions committee is looking for you to reflect on your interest in occupational therapy and connect it to your personal experiences. They want to understand not just why you chose this path, but also how your specific life experiences have influenced this decision.

Here, the admissions committee seeks to know just how serious you are about occupational therapy as a career. This is a great chance to demonstrate your knowledge of the school, the field, and yourself. You’ll want to cast each in the best possible light, so let’s talk about how to do that. 

First, doing some research on Quinnipiac’s occupational therapy program is a great idea. This way, you can talk about specific aspects of this school’s offerings and why they appeal to you. Discussing how you came to be interested in physical therapy, and what makes you well-suited for the profession, can further emphasize your rightness for the program. The best essays will connect all three aspects together – you can use your knowledge of the field to talk about how you’ll fit into the field, and describe how Quinnipiac will help you get there. 

A great response will show a strong connection to OT, highlighting specific experiences and explaining your passion to create a lasting impression on readers. You’ll want to avoid listing accomplishments like a resume – while you might be very impressive, this is a place to talk about yourself more deeply, showing more of who you are to the admissions committee. 

Review the following examples, and consider which applicant is more compelling to readers seeking to get to know applicants. 

“Since high school, I’ve been heavily involved in healthcare-related activities, which is why I want to pursue occupational therapy. I’ve volunteered for over 300 hours at a local hospital, where I assisted in various departments, including physical therapy and pediatrics. I was also the president of the Health Careers Club at my school, organizing events where professionals from different fields spoke about their careers, including an occupational therapist. During the summer, I interned at a rehabilitation center, helping with patient intake and observing therapy sessions. I also took a healthcare course in my senior year that covered various medical fields, including occupational therapy. With all this experience, I feel well-prepared and excited to join your program to continue learning about how to help people recover and improve their lives.”

Contrast this excerpt with the following one. 

“Every Wednesday afternoon growing up, I sat beside my younger brother Liam as his occupational therapist guided him through exercises to strengthen his hands. Diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Liam struggled with daily tasks like buttoning his shirt or tying his shoes, but I’ll never forget the day he finally laced up his sneakers by himself. This moment sparked my fascination with OT’s ability to transform lives through personalized care. At Quinnipiac, I’m excited to dive into the hands-on learning in the Center for Interprofessional Healthcare Education, where I can collaborate with peers from other health fields, just like the team-based approach I saw at the rehab center. I’m also drawn to the on-campus OT labs, where I can practice interventions in a simulated environment before applying them in clinical settings. I look forward to gaining the skills and knowledge to design tailored interventions, whether it’s helping a stroke survivor regain mobility or a child with autism improve their daily functioning.”

While the first example is very impressive, it comes across as a list of accomplishments, the tone of which is almost boastful. The second excerpt has a tighter focus, and allows readers to feel like they’re getting to know the writer. It also references specific offerings from Quinnipiac, demonstrating the seriousness of the applicant’s interest. 

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Another example of the “Why This Major” archetype, the admissions committee wants to know why you’re interested in physical therapy and what specific experiences have fueled that passion. This is your opportunity to show your understanding of the field, highlight relevant experiences, and explain why PT is the right career for you.

As you’re crafting a response, you’ll want to focus on making it both unique and personal. You want to stand out to the admissions committee as an individual, so spend some time reflecting on what will make you a great physical therapist, and why you want to pursue this path. The committee may be reading hundreds of these essays, so an essay that’s generic, vague, or inauthentic will push your application to the bottom of the pile. 

On the other hand, an essay that shows a clear link between you, physical therapy, and the program at Quinnipiac will make you a very attractive candidate. A coherent narrative about who you are, why you’re interested in PT, and how Quinnipiac will help you achieve your goals will stick in admissions officers’ minds, positioning you as a strong candidate for the school. 

If this sounds overwhelming, consider these questions to help you brainstorm that perfect response. 

• When did you first become interested in PT? Is there a specific experience that illustrates what you find compelling about the field?
• Have you had any direct experience in the field? What about indirect experiences, things that aren’t specific to PT but will help make you a great physical therapist?
• What qualities do you have that will aid you in physical therapy? How did you develop these qualities?
• What do you know about physical therapy? Where did that knowledge come from?
• What are your professional goals? How does the program at Quinnipiac University factor into these goals?

As you think about the answers to these questions, begin to develop a response to the prompt. Your essay doesn’t need to answer all of the questions above, but it does need to answer the prompt fully, which means first explaining your interest, and then explaining your experience. While you should spend time writing a dynamic, interesting, unique essay — and you should definitely think expansively about what experience might inform your work — you want to make sure you answer both parts of this prompt for a full, compelling response. 

Once again, this prompt is a “Why This Major” archetype, seeking to to understand why you’re passionate about nursing and how your relevant experiences have shaped your decision to pursue this career. This is your chance to reflect on your personal connection to nursing, highlight specific experiences, and demonstrate your commitment to the profession.

This prompt has two main pieces – defining your interest in nursing, and describing your experience. While talking about your interest and where it might come from is pretty manageable, describing relevant experiences might sound daunting. Here, it can be helpful to think expansively about what experiences might be relevant to a career in nursing. Let’s consider some examples of relevant experiences. 

• Shadowing, working, or volunteering in a healthcare setting. 
• Tending to a sick or disabled loved one. 
• Research or academic exploration of healthcare related topics. 
• Health-related clubs, extracurriculars, or activism.
• Working with or spending time with sick or disabled loved ones or community members.
• Certifications or credentials related to healthcare.
• Being a peer counselor or working in a support role. 

For this supplement, you’ll want to pick one or two examples of your relevant experience, so you can really dive deep into them. Listing off accomplishments means you won’t get to go as deep, so for this supplement, think quality over quantity. 

As you choose what experience to highlight, consider what’s most important to you. A personal connection sometimes stands out more than a slightly more impressive one, so weigh these carefully when choosing. If you have something especially unique to talk about, that should also be a consideration, as something that makes you stand out from the crowd may be the most meaningful. 

If this sounds like a lot to consider, it’s okay to take some time to think about it, and try a few different angles. Consider the following student hypotheticals as examples of balancing several different considerations. 

• Elena cared for her diabetic grandmother, administering insulin shots and helping manage her diet. This experience sparked her interest in nursing, particularly the holistic care nurses provide. After volunteering at a nursing home, where she assisted with daily activities and observed nurses in action, Elena became committed to pursuing a career in nursing, drawn to the emotional and physical support nurses offer to patients.
• Carlos has volunteered at a local hospital for three years, where he assists in patient care, observing nurses manage multiple patients in fast-paced environments. He’s inspired by their calm under pressure and the hands-on nature of the work, especially in critical care situations. After seeing how nurses advocate for their patients, Carlos is excited to pursue a nursing career, hoping to eventually work in emergency medicine.
• Anjali was fascinated by her experience in a high school anatomy class, where she was particularly drawn to learning about the circulatory system and patient care. She shadowed a pediatric nurse and loved seeing how the nurse balanced medical knowledge with comforting anxious patients. This combination of science and human connection solidified her interest in pursuing nursing.

Remember, the admissions committee is most interested in hearing about your specific experiences that will make you a passionate and dedicated nurse. There is no “right story” they are looking for; as long as it comes from you, your essay will align with their expectations.

Where to Get Your Quinnipiac University Essays Edited For Free

Want feedback on your Quinnipiac University essays to improve your chances at admission? When you’ve proofread your essay a dozen times, it can be hard to even spot where there’s room for improvement. That’s why we’ve created our free Peer Essay Review tool, where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also sharpen your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays!

Need feedback faster? Get a free, nearly-instantaneous essay review from Sage, our AI tutor and advisor. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!