How to Write the University of Central Florida Essays 2025-2026
As one of the largest public universities in the country, University of Central Florida (UCF) has over 230 degree programs across 13 different colleges. Over 50,000 students apply each year, so it’s a good idea to have strong supplemental essays to help yourself stand out in the application process.
While UCF has three optional supplemental essays that applicants can choose to answer, we strongly encourage students to respond to these essays. Doing so will allow you to share more about yourself with the admissions committee and help you distinguish yourself from other applicants with similar grades and test scores as you.
University of Central Florida Supplemental Essay Prompts
Prompt 1 (optional): Why did you choose to apply to UCF? (250 words)
Prompt 2 (optional): What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community? (250 words)
Prompt 3 (optional): Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (250 words)
Prompt 1 (optional)
Why did you choose to apply to UCF? (250 words)
This prompt is a classic one you will come across many times: the “Why This College?” essay. Schools include this prompt to understand why out of the thousands of schools you could apply to in the U.S. you have chosen their school. What about it gets you excited? What are you looking forward to at UCF? Why is UCF the right place for you?
It’s common for students to get lazy with essays like this and write general statements so they can copy and paste them for other colleges, but do not fall into that trap! In order to demonstrate your genuine interest and commitment to the school, your responses need to be unique to UCF. Let’s look at some dos and don’ts of writing this essay.
DON’T: Talk About The Location, Weather, City, or Surrounding Area
We get it, Orlando is a fantastic place to spend four years, and it might play a role in your decision to apply to UCF. However, your essay is not the place for you to communicate that. There are hundreds of schools in the Southeastern US with warm weather, and there are other schools in Orlando that give you access to the same city.
Think of your essay like dating. You want to flatter the admissions committee and make them feel wanted—don’t make them feel like you are just choosing them for their location.
DO: Include Specific Resources That Align With Your Interests
There are two parts to this. The first is that the reasons you list for wanting to attend have to be specific and unique. If you are talking about a class you are excited to take, look through the course roster and find a class that speaks to you. Don’t pick Biology 101 or Introductory Microeconomics since you can find these at any college. Diversity of Animal Behavior and PR Event Planning, however, are unique classes you should mention (these are not real UCF courses, by the way; this is just to show how specific you should get).
The second aspect of this piece of advice is to make sure the resources you mention relate to your chosen major or your interdisciplinary interests. For example, a student who is passionate about psychology should discuss her excitement about participating in behavioral neuroscience research with a distinguished professor. This aligns with her interest and would allow her to expand on why she is fascinated by the particular topic within psychology.
Yes, you might want to join a soccer club or a painting club for fun, but for the sake of this essay, try to keep the majority of resources you focus on closer aligned to your core academic interests. Towards the end, you can and should share some opportunities you want to take advantage of to demonstrate you will be an active member of the campus community, but you don’t need to spend too much space on that.
DON’T: List Out A Dozen Reasons You Are Drawn to UCF
Along similar lines to the point above, the key is quality over quantity for this essay. Especially since you have limited space, try and limit the number of resources you mention to three to five. Focus on going in depth for each one by providing a personal connection; explain why you are drawn to the particular offering or what you hope to get out of it.
The more reasons you include, the less of an impact each one will have. There might be a lot you love about UCF, but for the sake of being concise, narrow it down to your top picks.
DO: Include an Anecdote or Personal Details
While the main focus of this essay should be on why you are interested in attending UCF and how you will be an active member on campus, this is also an opportunity for the admissions committee to learn about you.
Your essay should be focused around a central theme—ideally related to your academic interests—so a great way to establish that theme off the bat is to open with an anecdote. Given the limited word count, your story can be short and sweet. Just by including a little imagery and some personal background about where you came from, what you are interested in, or what you value will make your essay more engaging and help the admissions committee get to know you better.
Remember, the anecdote as well as the UCF resources you mention should be related in some way!
DON’T: Use Vague Emotional Appeals and Irrelevant Facts
As you’ve probably gathered by now, the key to a successful “Why This College?” essay is to be as specific as possible. Your essay should be composed of details about yourself and the school, so it would only make sense as a brainchild of the two.
It might be tempting to include phrases like “It felt like home” or “I can see myself fitting right in,” but contrary to popular belief, these add nothing to the essay. You could feel at home at a dozen other schools. The admissions committee would much rather hear about the community you will build within the National Society of Black Engineers, for example, to find your home.
Also, don’t include fun facts you learned on a campus visit or brochure in your essay. The admissions committee is familiar with the student-to-faculty ratio and knows the famous alumni who walked the halls. By including details like these over ones that relate to you more personally, it signals to the admissions committee you didn’t spend a lot of time researching, and therefore, you might not care as much about the school.
DO: Describe What You Can Bring to the Campus
Many students are tempted to spend their entire essay praising the school, but don’t forget that you are a catch! Even if you feel like you don’t have much to offer to a world-renowned institution, just know there is so much you can bring to the campus.
Whether it’s your unique perspective from growing up in a different country, an instrument you love to play that you want to teach your roommates, a talent for journalism that you want to bring to the campus newspaper, or something else entirely, there are infinite ways for students to contribute to the community.
This doesn’t have to be a large part of your essay, but sneak in a sentence or two about what you will bring and how you will enrich others with your presence and perspective.
Conclusion
With these tips in mind, you should be able to write a strong essay that is highly unique to both you and UCF. At the end of the day, it’s up to you whether or not you answer this prompt; however, we strongly encourage you to spend a few hours scouring UCF’s website, and once you’ve done that, you will be equipped to write a stand-out essay in no time.
Prompt 2 (optional)
What qualities or unique characteristics do you possess that will allow you to contribute to the UCF community? (250 words)
In this essay, UCF wants to know about your individuality and worldview through your personal characteristics and identity, so they can better understand the type of student you will be at their school. What will you be involved with? How will you interact with others? This essay should highlight aspects of your past to show how you will contribute to the campus community in the future.
You can think of this prompt as a combination between an Impact on Community and Diversity archetypes. Showcase how your unique perspective will benefit the UCF community and how you will engage with others based on your prior experiences.
Essentially, you are being asked to reflect on the aspects of your identity, skills, and personality that will shape how you engage with UCF’s residential campus community. Admissions officers want to know how you can enrich the experiences of your future neighbors, as well as what you hope to gain from living in a diverse and tight-knit environment. It’s an opportunity to highlight your ability to contribute to a communal space, while also demonstrating humility and openness to learning from others.
To brainstorm some ideas for what you’ll write about, think about the following questions:
- What personal experiences or aspects of your identity (culture, family background, hobbies, talents) would shape your role in a residential community?
- How have you contributed to your community in the past? How would that translate to a college campus or dorm environment?
- What specific values or qualities do you want your living space to reflect?
- What are you curious about learning from others who may have different backgrounds or interests than your own?
- How do you envision creating meaningful relationships with your neighbors?
Like any supplemental essay, a good response will be specific and personal. Make sure to share details about your life that impact how you interact with others; this could include any aspect of your identity, including ethnicity, race, culture, religion, socioeconomic class, gender and sexual orientation, hometown, illness or disability, and even interests and hobbies.
How can your experiences or abilities related to one of these dimensions enrich the lives of the people around you? Think about how you already contribute to your community or how you will once you get to college. Then, dive into what you hope to gain from your peers to express your openness to learning from others—engagement is mutual, and showing you appreciate the two-way relationship in your essay shows maturity.
Check out these examples below:
Good Example: “I’ve always felt that food is a way to bring people together. Growing up in a Filipino household, Sunday afternoons were spent cooking lumpia and adobo with my cousins. I want to recreate this sense of warmth and familiarity in my life at UCF by hosting cooking nights where we can share our favorite family dishes. I can already imagine the smell of sizzling garlic and soy sauce filling the kitchen as we cook and talk about the comfort foods that remind us of home. But more than that, I hope my neighbors will share their own stories and traditions with me—whether it’s teaching me a new dance move, introducing me to their favorite songs, or showing me a special recipe that I can add to my collection.”
This example gives a vivid picture of how the student will contribute to the residential community by sharing memories and traditions related to their cultural background. It also balances their desire to learn from others, creating a sense of true exchange. The focus on food as a way to connect adds a personal and tangible element with elements of storytelling.
Bad Example: “In the UCF dorms, I would bring a positive attitude and help others when needed. I’ve always been someone who people can count on, and I hope that my neighbors will see that I am trustworthy to talk to when they need help. I also hope that I will meet people from different backgrounds who can teach me about their experiences when they come to me to talk something out. It will be great to live with people who are different from me and learn from them. Creating authentic connections with my neighbors is an important way to create a community and make sure everyone feels supported.”
This example is generic and doesn’t show any specific aspects of the student’s background or personality. While it mentions wanting to help others and learn from peers, it lacks detail on how the student plans to engage with the community. It could be written by anyone and doesn’t provide any personal reflection or depth to the writing.
Your response should be intentional and reflective when it demonstrates how your personal background and abilities will enrich your residential community at UCF. This will help show admissions officers that you’re ready to be an active, engaged, and open-minded member of the campus community who contributes to the culture of the college.
Prompt 3 (optional)
Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (250 words)
This is a classic Extracurricular essay. Here, admissions officers want to know the story behind an activity that is important to you—including what you’ve learned from it, why you participate, and why it might be important to you. Let’s go over how to do that.
First, you’ll have to pick an extracurricular. You can write about any activity, not just one you have a lot of accolades in or spent the most amount of time on. Choose something you care about and enjoy and think is central to understanding who you are. Remember, while your Common App “Activities” section is to-the-point and reminiscent of a resume, this essay will be a reflective, values-driven narrative, so choose your activity accordingly.
A good response will showcase your values or best qualities, show growth, and keep the scope tight, as you don’t have a lot of space to explore various aspects of your chosen activity. This might sound like a tall order for 250 words, so let’s look at an effective example to help you consider your own response.
“The cash register beeped as I scanned yet another gallon of milk, but my favorite part of the shift came when Mrs. Alvarez stepped into my line. “The usual, David,” she grinned, sliding her bread and café Bustelo toward me. Over two years, I’ve memorized dozens of these “usuals”—Mr. Singh’s bananas and rice, the twins’ obsession with Kit-Kats—and each one has turned a minimum-wage job into something more meaningful.
At first, I thought bagging groceries would be nothing more than a way to cover gas money. But as the months went by, I realized I was learning to pay attention in a way I hadn’t before. I noticed how Mr. Singh’s order changed when his grandkids visited, how Mrs. Alvarez lit up when I asked about her garden, how the twins rushed in after soccer practice, still in cleats. These patterns reminded me that everyone carries their own routines, joys, and struggles—and that being present for those small details can matter more than we realize.
Working at the grocery store taught me to notice people, not just products. A simple “How’s your day going?” could ease someone’s loneliness, and remembering an order could make someone feel seen. In life, I may not always have a register to stand behind, but I’ll carry with me the knowledge that empathy, patience, and attention can transform everyday interactions into something that makes people feel cared for and valued.”
This essay does a great job of expanding on an extracurricular that otherwise would have been a singular line item on a resume. The story is highly visual, painting an image of the activity of working at the grocery store, as well as the interactions this student has. It goes beyond a description of the extracurricular to provide two paragraphs of reflection. Through this student’s writing, it’s extremely evident how this extracurricular has had an impact on them.
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