My son is applying to VT and these are the questions he’s responding to (all max 120 words):
Virginia Tech’s motto is “Ut Prosim” which means ‘That I May Serve’. We are interested in learning more about your interests and how you have been involved and/or served. Briefly describe a group, organization, or community that you have been involved with. Is this a special area of interest for you, and why? How long have you been involved? What role did you play? What contributions have you made to this group? Were you able to influence others and/or influence decisions for the good of the group?
Resilience is defined as the ability to adapt and learn from a difficulty. Reflect on a time that you have experienced resilience. What growth did you see in yourself after this experience?
Share a time when you were most proud of yourself either as a role model or when you displayed your leadership. What specific skills did you contribute to the experience? How did others rely on your for guidance? What did you learn about yourself during this time?
Describe a goal that you have set and the steps you will take to achieve it. What made you set this goal for yourself? What is your timeline for this goal? Who do you seek encouragement or guidance from as you work on this goal?
You need to write your own essays that are true to you and your experiences. Using other people’s essays to decide what to say defeats the purpose. That said, pay attention to the point of each prompt. For instance, VT believes that people who set and pursue goals are more successful in college, so use the essay as a chance to show how you are capable of doing that. We all know that the ‘essays’ are ridiculously short, so just hit home the main points so they can check off the right boxes for you.
My children found the discriminatory one difficult. Not all schools and communities have major issues in that regard. Everyone has different experiences. My son wrote about a student that was having a difficult time in school from a social perspective (not exactly discrimination but lack of social acceptance). Hope that helps. There is no right answer just be sure to answer all points of the question in your own way.
Also, it does not only have to be racial discrimination. So if you have witnessed religious or gender discrimination that might make a good topic. They really are just checking boxes with these ‘essays’, so just make sure that the described situation is an obvious example of discrimination and tie it to what you did or what you should have done (i.e. what you learned about discrimination). Flowery language is not necessary. They literally have university faculty and staff grade these and they are just looking to see if you answered the prompt.