Penn’s writing supplement asks, “How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania?” Is it ok if I mention my interest in Penn’s LGBT support groups and how I plan to be an LGBT activist at Penn? Or is this not considered a “intellectual/academic interest”? I don’t want to stray away from the prompt too much and wasn’t sure if this was acceptable. Thanks!
Basing my answer off of my experience with last year’s prompt, I would say that it would be acceptable if you limited such a discussion to 100 words or so.
The majority of what they’re looking for is pretty intensive research into classes, courses, and professors that draw you to Penn. Provided that you can adequately prove to them that you have done said research, then you are somewhat free to branch out into whatever else might make Penn a good fit for you.
Always answer the direct question first, though.
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate it 