A Strong Howard University Essay Example
Located near the nation’s capital, Howard University is one of the best-known HBCUs in the country. As a school with a competitive admissions process, Howard places significant importance on student essays, so it’s important to write a strong one to help your application stand out.
This post will go over a real applicant’s essay and highlight what it did well, plus what could be improved.
Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized.
Read our Howard University essay breakdown to get a comprehensive overview of this year’s supplemental prompts.
Howard University Essay Example: Why Business?
Prompt: The School of Business has been a model for higher education since its founding in 1970. With dynamic academic departments, ground breaking centers of excellence, esteemed faculty, award winning programs, and over 8,000 alumni across the globe, the Howard University School of Business continues to be ranked among the top business programs in the nation. Describe why you are interested in studying business, and how the program that you have selected will support your particular interests. (750 Words)
Ever since I was a child, I have always loved to travel. Travel has always been a new opportunity for me to learn outside the classroom. At just twelve years old, I marveled at the Eiffel Tower, learning about the different cultural aspects present around Paris and comparing the vibrant city of Paris to the sleepless city of New York. At seventeen, I was able to visit Senegal for the fifth time. Finally, I was mature enough to see the struggle faced by those that live there.
I’ve always wanted to make an impact that would last. So during Junior year, I struggled to find a major that would work for me. I never liked to be locked down to one area as my mind has always loved to travel. So I was ecstatic when I discovered that international business was a major. Not only was I able to study business, but I was able to study business from a global perspective, which is what business is to me. Business is not regional or national. It is international. With the help of Howard, I will be able to learn what it takes to join and thrive in a global atmosphere.
At Howards Business school, I plan to study international business with a regional sequence with concentration in Europe. Given the emphasis on the world around me. I chose to participate in the regional series rather than the functional sequence. I also liked that the regional sequence was more tailored for history nerds; like myself. I have always loved history because of the many topics that seem to intertwine. Furthermore, I will be immersed in Europe’s vast diversity through my studies.
I cannot wait for the opportunity to study alongside Masoud Kavoossi, who has done so much work around the world. His extensive work worldwide will allow me to learn so much from him. Kavoossi will give me insights into issues on many topics around the world, and I cannot wait to hear more about his time with the world bank. With professors like Masoud Kavoossi, I will be given the opportunity to learn what it takes to be a global leader from a global leader.
A big part of international business is studying abroad. At Howard, I will take on the many opportunities to study abroad. Like the IFSA program in Scotland. I plan to spend at least a semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh. My love of Mary Queen of Scots and her life prompted this. I was lucky enough to visit Edinburgh in the summer of my senior year in middle school. I fell in love with the city. It was nothing like New York, which made me fall in love with it more. The castles that date back centuries and the adventurous morning walks excited me to experience IFSA in Edinburgh at Howard. I plan to continue my studies in business while at Edinburgh. In Scotland, I will be in a new environment that will allow me to understand what it means to do business internationally.
Though I am very excited to be shipped off to Edinburgh, I also can’t wait to participate in various clubs at Howard. One club I am excited to join is the African Business club, which promotes business to a worldwide audience, something I would like to continue far into the future.
In high school, I started a “Mentoring For All” club. This project aimed to provide students with the opportunities they need to succeed in high school and after high school. I realized that there was a lack of resources surrounding success after high school at my school. I plan to continue this in college by helping students through Matriculate. A mentoring program that helped many students like me get through the admissions process. I hope to bring this to Howard, possibly starting a club that will allow Howard students to help high school students with their college apps.
I am excited about what’s to come. I cannot wait to start my journey at Howard’s School of Business. First, Howard’s world-class courses will offer me the needed skills to become a global leader. Its revolutionary professors will give me tips that can help me in the future. Lastly, their excellent study abroad programs will allow me to explore the world around me. Every journey starts somewhere, and mine will begin at Howard!
What the Essay Did Well
This essay fits the classic “Why This Major?” archetype, which asks you to detail your interest in the field and your professional goals. By sharing her past experiences and future opportunities she looks forward to at Howard, the writer elaborates on her academic passions and motivation to pursue a major in business through international studies.
It’s clear that the author has a passion for travel, and we can easily see through her experiences in Europe and Senegal that she’s using travel to learn about the culture and circumstances of the world around her. We can understand why she’s drawn to international business specifically.
The author also does a good job specifying her program and how it will support her interests. which is international business with a regional sequence focused on Europe. She briefly outlines her decision to choose the regional sequence (which includes studying emerging countries, Latin America, Europe, Middle East/Northern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa etc.) over the functional sequence (which includes courses in finance, risk management, marketing, accounting, etc.) emphasizing her love for history and the interconnectivity of various topics.
The author also points out specific resources and faculty at Howard, showing that she’s done her research. She mentions her excitement of studying alongside Masoud Kavoossi, a professor with extensive work around the world. She also indicated interest in the IFSA study abroad program in Scotland. She expresses her love for the city of Edinburgh by sharing a personal anecdote and her desire to experience business in a new international environment.
Both of these specific details demonstrate the author’s enthusiasm for learning through different types of opportunities and reveals to readers that she has a concrete plan to obtain a world-class education at Howard.
What Could Be Improved
While this essay shows the author’s enthusiasm for international business and Howard in general, it’s very general and lacks the “why” behind her plans. Some of the language is also repetitive (there are a lot of “I cannot wait”s), and there are some grammatical errors.
Adding more detail to the first paragraph would greatly improve the essay by clarifying why the author is interested in studying international business. The author only generally describes how her perspective on international affairs has developed throughout her childhood, going from enjoying the leisure in Paris to noticing the struggles of those living in Senegal. This would’ve been a great spot to tell a specific story and share how these experiences changed the author’s perspective on international affairs.
For example, it would have been great for the author to discuss the “different cultural aspects” of Paris that excited her and what specifically in her fifth trip to Senegal she noticed that required her to be “mature enough to see the struggles faced” in the country. Providing these details would allow the reader to better understand the student’s “love of travel” and unique perspectives she could bring to Howard.
This same line of thinking can be applied to the specific opportunities the author looks forward to at Howard. As it stands, the paragraph about her interest in studying alongside Professor Kvoossi is very vague and repetitive, and leaves the reader unsure of what specifically the author hopes to study alongside this global leader. The author should include specific examples of the work that Professor Kavoossi has conducted and how this work is intriguing to the student. More specifically, the student could provide an example of a past experience that directly relates to this professor’s ongoing work.
Additionally, when describing Howard’s IFSA program in Scotland, the author mainly focuses on how charmed she was during her recent trip to the country. A better approach would be to highlight more substantial details related to how the culture and history of Scotland will enhance her college experience, and pick out particular features of Howard’s program that she looks forward to.
The details about the African Business Club and “Mentoring For All” club also feel dropped in, and they break the flow of the essay. The author could’ve removed the section on the mentorship club to expand upon why she wants to join the African Business Club and how it would support her goals. She currently only says the club “promotes business to a worldwide audience,” which doesn’t tell us much about its specific resources or activities.
Overall, by providing more specific examples, discussing her past and future engagement in international business, and further elaborating on her goals and aspirations, the essay would offer a more comprehensive and compelling case for why the author is interested in studying at Howard’s School of Business.
Where to Get Feedback on Your Essay
Want feedback on your Howard essay before you submit? That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool, where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.
If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!
