For students applying to UT Austin
UT Austin Supplemental Essays for 2026–27
UT Austin's supplemental essays, drafted from your notes: both required short answers of about 250 to 300 words, plus the optional answer and essay if needed.
Free to start. No card needed.
How to write UT Austin's supplemental essays yourself
Your Common App essay can cover UT's essay, so start with the major answer. UT's review page1 says one review informs both your admission and your major, and it weighs how competitive that major is. UT's FAQ2 notes that even students admitted automatically can miss their first-choice major. It also encourages a major that fits your interests and strengths, not just a career plan. Make the answer about you, not UT: name the field early, then give two or three experiences in order, each showing what you learned about the actual work.
For the activity you're most proud of, pick one and go deep. The prompt itself lists work and family responsibilities, so a weekend job counts. Kevin Martin, a UT admissions counselor from 2011 to 2014, now coaches applicants for a fee. He treats your résumé as the record of what you did3, and the answer as the place for how and why you kept at it. He suggests opening without preamble, as in his sample: "I serve as the National Honor Society President responsible for coordinating seven officers and meetings for 120 members."
Write the optional answer, if you need it, like a short report: what happened, the semester it hit, how your grades moved and what changed after. Skip any pleading. If the application's résumé section can't show all your involvement, UT's FAQ2 suggests sending a résumé too. Let it carry the titles and hours, so the short answers can go deep. Then read the whole set side by side and cut any story told twice. Also applying to Illinois? See Illinois' 2026–27 prompts.
UT Austin's 2026–27 prompts
UT Austin's supplemental essay prompts, word for word
First-year applicants submit one essay and both required short answers. The third short answer is optional. The wording below is copied from UT's essays and short answers page4.
| Prompt | Exact wording | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Essay (required) | Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt or one of your own design. | 500 to 650 words; your Common App personal essay counts |
| Short answer 1 (required) | Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? | Up to 40 lines, about 250 to 300 words |
| Short answer 2 (required) | Think of all the activities — both in and outside of school — that you have been involved with during high school. Which one are you most proud of and why? (Guidance for students: This can include an extracurricular activity, a club/organization, volunteer activity, work or a family responsibility.) | Up to 40 lines, about 250 to 300 words |
| Short answer 3 (optional) | Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance. | 250 to 300 words |
UT's freshman page for the 2026–27 cycle links to these prompts and sets the 250 to 300 word limit for the optional answer. Checked October 29, 2026.
Real examples
UT short answers and an essay to learn from
Kevin Martin, the former UT admissions counselor quoted above, published the first two sets, and he says the major answers came from admitted students. The essay comes from Connecticut College, where its writer enrolled. Read them for structure, not topics to borrow.
Seven first-choice major answers
Admitted students · Tex Admissions · 2025
Answers to the same major question UT asks this cycle, for business, computer science, engineering, advertising and biology. The computer science answer climbs from two dozen cold emails after eighth grade to machine learning research, one step per paragraph.
Read the major answers at Tex AdmissionsEleven answers to the activity prompt
Example answers · Tex Admissions · 2025
Most-proud answers on restaurant work, tutoring, a food bank, research and more. The restaurant answer opens at closing time with a trash bag that splits, then says plainly what the job taught.
Read the proud answers at Tex AdmissionsCooking conjures up a worldview
Elle Yarborough · Connecticut College · Class of 2028
UT lets you write on any topic, and this essay shows how far one ordinary morning can go. A snow-day pancake made with a friend becomes a portrait of who she cooks for and why.
Read Elle Yarborough's essay at Connecticut College
Links checked October 29, 2026.
How it works
What essays and short answers does UT Austin require for 2026–27?
UT Austin asks 2026–27 first-year applicants for one essay and two required short answers, plus an optional third. The essay runs 500 to 650 words on any topic, and your Common App personal essay counts. Each short answer is capped at 40 lines, about 250 to 300 words: why your first-choice major, and the activity you're most proud of. The application won't submit until both are done. Every prompt is quoted above from UT's essays page4.
River's UT Austin supplemental essay writer starts from whatever you paste or drop in: notes, an activities list, a résumé or your Common App essay, up to 10 files. Name your first-choice major, or River asks for it before writing that answer. It plans the set first, so each answer gets its own story and none repeats your essay. Then it drafts each answer under its prompt in your doc, with the exact word count beneath.
River takes every fact about you from what you give it. A missing detail becomes a bracket, like [how many weekends], and it never invents hardships or awards. Any UT program it names comes from UT's own website, linked under the answer. The optional answer appears only when your notes describe something that affected your grades. A closing checklist lists each bracket, the story each answer uses and UT's deadlines. Grade the set with the college essay grader, or plan every school's supplements with the supplemental essay writer.
How it works
From your notes to UT's short answers
Paste your notes
Add your first-choice major, activities, a résumé or your Common App essay, then choose which answers you need.
River maps your stories
It gives each answer a different story and asks for your major if your notes leave it out.
Read your drafts
Each answer appears under its prompt in your doc, with an exact word count and brackets for missing details.
Finish in your voice
Fill each bracket, grade the set, and revise every answer in your own words before you submit.
UT Austin short answers · example
- Why your first-choice major · openingDad and I spent two summers rebuilding the engine, brakes and clutch of a 1994 Ford Ranger that hadn't run since I was nine. I want to study mechanical engineering because [what the rebuild taught you about machines].
- Activity you're most proud of · openingWe lost our first five matches because our robot tipped over on turns. I was drivetrain lead, and the design was mine.
- Plan · one story per answerMajor answer: the 1994 Ford Ranger. Proud answer: the robot that kept tipping over. Essay: the bait shop, already written for the Common App.
What you'll get
UT Austin's two short answers and essay drafted from your notes
- A first-choice major answer built from experiences you've actually had
- A most-proud-of answer that goes deep on one activity, job or family duty
- Word counts on every answer, plus the optional circumstances answer when you need it
Before and after
Your notes in. UT's short answers out.
Corpus Christi. Rebuilt a 1994 Ford Ranger with my dad over two summers (engine, brakes, clutch), it hadn't run since I was 9. FTC robotics, drivetrain lead junior year. We lost our first 5 matches because the robot tipped on turns. My design, so I lowered the center of gravity and we made regionals. Weekends at my uncle's bait shop since 15, it opens at 5 am, I count the minnows. Want mechanical engineering at UT. Common App essay is about the bait shop.
Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major? (opening) Dad and I spent two summers rebuilding the engine, brakes and clutch of a 1994 Ford Ranger that hadn't run since I was nine. I want to study mechanical engineering because [what the rebuild taught you about machines]. Which one are you most proud of and why? (opening) We lost our first five matches because our robot tipped over on turns. I was drivetrain lead, and the design was mine. Over [how many weekends], I lowered its center of gravity, and we made regionals. [What fixing your own design taught you.]
The truck goes to the major answer, the robot to the proud answer, and the bait shop stays in the essay. Brackets mark what only the student knows.
What lands in your doc
What's in your UT Austin answers
- A first-choice major answer that names the major early and traces how your interest grew
- A most-proud-of answer that goes deep on one activity, job or family responsibility
- The optional special circumstances answer, brief and factual, written only when your notes call for it
- A 500 to 650 word essay on any topic, if you don't have one yet
- Exact word counts under every answer, with each short answer kept between 250 and 300 words
- A closing checklist of brackets to fill, the story each answer uses and UT's deadlines
Questions applicants ask
Common questions
How many supplemental essays does UT Austin require?
UT Austin requires one essay of 500 to 650 words and two short answers. A third short answer, on special circumstances, is optional. Your Common App personal essay can fill the essay slot. That leaves two new answers of about 250 to 300 words each, one on your first-choice major and one on the activity you're most proud of. Most freshman honors programs5 add their own prompts.
Can I use my Common App essay for UT Austin?
Yes. UT's essays page4 says your Common App personal essay completes the essay requirement, and you don't need other Common App essays because UT reviews only what it requires. On ApplyTexas, you can send the same essay: UT's prompt accepts one you've already written. UT encourages the Common App, but its FAQ2 says your choice won't affect your decision. No essay yet? The college essay writer drafts one.
Should I answer UT's optional special circumstances prompt?
Only if something real affected your grades, such as an illness, a family move or long work hours. Otherwise leave it blank. UT's review page1 lists the optional short answer among supplemental items to send if they help convey your qualifications. If you answer, keep it to 250 to 300 words, and give dates and what changed afterward.
When are UT Austin's 2026–27 deadlines?
The regular deadline is December 1, 2026, and remaining materials, including official SAT or ACT scores, must arrive by December 10, per UT's FAQ2. Early Action closed October 15, with materials due October 22. Honors applications5 are due December 10. Early Action applicants get a decision or a deferral by January 15, 2027, and everyone else hears by February 15, 2027.
Can I use AI to write my UT Austin essays?
AI can help you plan and draft, but the final words must be yours. UT's review page1 says everything submitted with an application "must be accurate and original." If you apply through the Common App, its fraud policy says intentionally misrepresenting an AI platform's substantive output as your own original work may be fraud. Treat River's draft as a first pass and rewrite it in your words.
How do I write my UT Austin short answers with River?
Paste your notes, activities or résumé into the box at the top of this page, or drop in files such as your Common App essay. Name your first-choice major and pick the answers you want. River gives each answer its own story and drafts them in your free River workspace, with word counts and brackets for details only you know.
Is the UT Austin supplemental essay writer free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your UT Austin answers open in a River workspace, where you can edit them, share them or ask River to change them. You can add the essay there later if you need one. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
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