CollegeVine College Essay Team October 9, 2025 7 Essay Breakdowns,Essay Guides 2025-26

How to Write the Virginia Commonwealth University Essays 2025-2026

Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), located in Richmond, is a dynamic public research university known for its robust programs in the arts, health sciences, and social innovation. 

For the 2025-2026 application cycle, VCU has one required essay for all applicants to respond to about why they are interested in attending VCU. Additionally, applicants to the VCU Honors College will have to submit another essay. In this post, we’ll share our advice for writing both of these VCU essays.

Virginia Commonwealth University Supplemental Essay Prompts

This is a prime example of the “Why This College?” prompt. Colleges want an idea of who you are, what motivates you, and what you want to do in the future. Through this kind of prompt, the admissions committee can see how you will fit in the college and how you might use its resources to achieve your goals.

Before you begin writing, you should outline your college goals. Are there specific skills or topics you want to learn? What career do you want to pursue? Are there extracurriculars you plan to get involved in?

Once you’ve figured out what you want to do in college, it’s time to establish a connection to VCU. Do some research on VCU’s website to see how the college can support your goals in a unique way. If you are interested in a special program or a specific major, look at the program page to find specific courses, events, and research projects, as well as student organizations, teams, and music groups that align with your goals. The key to this essay is specificity, so look for courses, programs, or professors that you can mention by name in your essay. You might also want to talk to alumni or consider a campus visit to help establish a tangible connection with the college.

You can also try to establish an intangible connection with the college. This involves things that aren’t physical, such as values. Does VCU or a specific program within it care about interdisciplinarity, environmental justice, religious faith, or intellectual creativity? See if you can find a program or group within VCU that resonates with you on many levels.

Once you have accumulated a list of unique things about VCU that interest you, narrow it down to 4-5 points that really stand out, so you can elaborate more within the word limit. Share your goals and then explicitly show how those resources make VCU the perfect environment for you.

For example, consider a prospective Environmental Studies major who is passionate about aquatic conservation. She is particularly interested in the modeling and monitoring of bodies of water. Part of her response to this prompt might look like this:

This example is strong because it describes some of the student’s background and motivations, then pivots into very specific resources at RPI that will empower her to achieve her career goals.

When writing your response, you’ll want to avoid generalizations such as “great professors,” “many opportunities,” or “strong academics.” These things can be found at any college; they won’t reflect your interest in VCU specifically. Additionally, don’t just name-drop random classes or professors without describing why they’ll be important to your college experience. And finally, try to minimize any empty flattery. Sure it’s nice to be nice, but it’s a much better use of your space to discuss why VCU is the right fit for you rather than just why it’s a nice school in general.

Be honest about what draws you to VCU, but also try to be as specific as you can without being disingenuous. This specificity will elevate your essay and will leave an impression on the admissions committee.

To be considered for VCU’s Honors College, you will need to submit this essay. Although it might seem like the prompt asks quite a lot from you, you can actually simplify it to sharing your past, present (time at VCU’s Honors College) and future with the admissions committee. You want to take them on a journey of what your goals are, where they came from, and how being a member of the Honors College will help you accomplish them.

The best essays weave these three ideas together into a clear throughline:

Let’s look at some example students to understand how you can weave all these ideas into one cohesive response:

• Layla – Public Health & Health Equity: Layla’s essay would open with her translating for her grandmother at doctor’s appointments, realizing how language barriers can shape health outcomes. This experience sparked her interest in public health communication. She might describe volunteering at a free clinic and how she started a community health workshop in her neighborhood, teaching families about nutrition and preventive care. At VCU Honors, she would highlight opportunities to research health disparities through the Honors Undergraduate Research Program and collaborate with faculty in the School of Population Health. Her goal is to become a physician who not only treats patients but also advocates for culturally competent care and community outreach, using her bilingual skills to bridge trust between medical institutions and underrepresented populations.

• Ethan – Biomedical Engineering: Ethan’s curiosity began when he built a homemade prosthetic hand for his science fair project using 3D-printed parts. He’d discuss how this moment led him to explore biomechanics, joining an engineering mentorship program and teaching himself CAD software. His essay would show his love for problem-solving — tinkering in his garage, experimenting with new materials, and learning from failure. At VCU Honors, he hopes to join the Biomedical Engineering Society and take advantage of the Honors Healthcare Innovation study abroad program in New Zealand that will teach him new ways to think about designing healthcare solutions. Ethan’s future goal is to design affordable prosthetics for children in underserved areas, combining technical skill with compassion and civic purpose.

• Violet – Psychology & Art Therapy: Violet’s essay could start with her painting as an outlet to process anxiety during the pandemic. Later, volunteering at an after-school art program for kids struggling emotionally, she saw firsthand how creativity could promote healing. She’d describe researching art therapy independently and designing a small capstone project for her AP Psychology class that combined neuroscience and visual arts. At VCU Honors, she’s drawn to the interdisciplinary environment that would let her major in psychology while exploring studio art and volunteering through the Rams in Recovery program. Her long-term goal is to become an art therapist who supports youth mental health and advocates for emotional education in schools.

As you can see, all of these examples have a common throughline that ties the different elements of the essay together. Everything connects back to highlighting that specific interest the student has—their opening anecdote, the previous experiences they highlight, the VCU Honors resources they discuss, and their future career goals. Essays that have this level of focus will be far more successful than ones that try to share every last detail about you.

Remember, even if you don’t have a career goal that is as clearly defined as the examples above, you can still discuss the type of difference you hope to make in the world. Do you see yourself as someone who solves problems others are facing or do you hope to be someone who brings joy and distraction in hard times? Do you imagine yourself bettering the world through helping the environment or helping people? You don’t have to have the specifics worked out to discuss the general way you want to impact others.

Finally, keep in mind that the guidance we shared is just a general outline. However, you might want to share additional information about yourself or approach your essay from a different structure—that’s completely fine! At the end of the day this is your essay and your chance to convince the Honors College you would be an asset to their community, so you can do that in whatever way makes the most sense for you.

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