Schools / 2025-2026
University of Maryland, College ParkSupplemental Essays
All 3 required prompts, taken apart one by one: what each is really asking, plus two annotated example essays each, so you can see more than one way to do it well.
- 6
- Required short answers
- 650 characters (~100 words)
- Limit per answer
- Complete-the-sentence + diversity prompt
- Format
- Test-optional through Fall 2027
- Testing
Deadlines Early Action deadline Nov. 1, 2025 (non-binding) · Early Action decisions By Feb. 1, 2026 · Regular Decision deadline Jan. 20, 2026 · Regular decisions By April 1, 2026 · Enrollment confirmation May 1, 2026 Admit rate Around 44% of applicants are admitted, but Maryland reads more than 60,000 applications a year, so the short answers do real work in separating students with similar grades. Essays are listed as an important factor alongside course rigor, talent, first-generation status, and state residency. Prompts verified from Maryland’s official requirements ↗
University of Maryland does not assign a traditional one-page supplement. Instead, first-year applicants answer six required short responses, each capped at 650 characters, which is only about 100 words apiece. Five are playful complete-the-sentence prompts, and the sixth is a longer question about your experience with diversity and community. Maryland is test-optional through the Fall 2027 cycle, which means these answers, your grades, and your activities carry more weight, not less.
The core challenge is not length. It is restraint. You have roughly a tweet and a half to make each answer land, so vague, safe, or list-like writing dies fast. Specificity is the whole game here. A reader skims all six in under two minutes, so each one needs a concrete detail, a real voice, and a reason it could only have come from you.
With 650 characters there is no room for throat-clearing. The answers that work name a specific place, fact, person, or moment in the first few words. Maryland readers reward a vivid noun far more than a smooth-sounding sentence.
The complete-the-sentence format is built for personality. A dry joke, an odd obsession, or an honest small confession reads as human. Trying to sound impressive across all six is the fastest way to blend in.
Treat the answers as a set, not six separate essays. If every response is about your intended major, you waste the format. The strongest applicants show a curious mind, a sense of humor, a value, and an academic spark across the group.
The diversity prompt is not asking you to prove hardship. It rewards a clear, specific story of how some part of your background or experience shaped how you think, learn, or show up for others.
Plan all six answers together before you write any of them. Sketch what each one reveals (a curiosity, a quirk, an academic spark, a value, a moment of growth) and make sure you are not repeating yourself. Maryland is reading for a whole person across the set, so if three answers all circle back to the same robotics project, you have shown them one thing five times instead of five things once.
Then attack the character count by cutting, not padding. Write each answer at full length first, then strip every word that is not doing specific work. "I have always been passionate about" can almost always become a concrete image. The students who win this format are the ones whose answers feel effortless and exact, which only happens after several rounds of trimming.
In addition to my major, my academic interests include…
This is the closest thing Maryland has to a "why us / academic fit" prompt. They want to see that your mind does not stop at your intended major and that you will use the breadth of a large research university. Note that Maryland asks you to select an intended major elsewhere in the application, so this prompt is your chance to show what else pulls at you.
Maryland is a sprawling public flagship with strong programs far outside any single department. Readers use this to picture you wandering into a class or lab you were not required to take. It signals intellectual curiosity, which predicts who actually thrives there.
Pick one field that genuinely tugs at you and give one concrete reason it does, ideally one that connects in an unexpected way to your major.
Describe a specific question or topic you keep reading about on your own, with no assignment attached, which proves the interest is real.
Reference a real UMD course, minor, or living-learning program that lets you chase the side interest, to show you have looked rather than guessed.
“In addition to my major, I have always had a wide range of academic interests and love learning about many different subjects.”
“In addition to computer science, I want to keep taking linguistics classes. I started after I tried, and failed, to teach my code to rhyme.”
- 1Answers the prompt in the first seven words. No runway, no throat-clearing, which is essential at 650 characters.
- 2A specific, slightly funny origin story. This is a real moment, not a claim about being curious.
- 3Shows the side interest is genuine and self-directed, exactly what the prompt rewards.
- 4Names a real UMD path, proving the student looked rather than gesturing vaguely at fit.
- Outside your intended major, what topic do you read about with zero assignment forcing you to?
- Is there a surprising bridge between your major and a totally different field that you find satisfying?
- What Maryland minor, course, or program would let you keep chasing that second interest?
- Did I name a specific second field, not just "lots of subjects"?
- Did I give a concrete reason or moment, not a generic claim about loving to learn?
- Does this answer avoid repeating what I already say about my major elsewhere?
Something you might not know about me is…
Maryland is handing you an open door. This prompt wants the real, slightly off-script detail that does not fit anywhere else on the application: an odd hobby, a quiet skill, a surprising responsibility, a contradiction. It is a personality test more than an achievement test.
Across 60,000 applications, the readable, human answers stick. This is where you stop sounding like a resume and become a person a reader remembers. The best responses make an admissions officer smile or lean in.
Share an odd hobby or obsession with a specific detail, not a polished accomplishment dressed up as a fun fact.
Name a responsibility or job you quietly do at home or in your community that never shows up elsewhere on the application.
Reveal a true tension in yourself (loud onstage, shy offstage) and show it honestly rather than smoothing it over.
“Something you might not know about me is that I am a very hard worker who never gives up on my goals.”
“Something you might not know about me is that I have memorized the bus schedule for three counties.”
- 1Specific role nobody could guess from the activities list. It reveals responsibility without bragging.
- 2A precise, slightly wry detail. The juxtaposition does the emotional work in very few characters.
- 3Names a transferable skill quietly, so the answer has weight without becoming a lesson essay.
- 4Ends on voice and humor, leaving the reader with a clear, likeable sense of the student.
- What do your close friends know about you that no teacher or counselor would?
- Is there a role you quietly play at home or in a group that never shows up on paper?
- What is a small, genuine obsession of yours that says something true about how you think?
- Is this actually surprising, or just a softer way of bragging?
- Did I use a concrete detail instead of an adjective like "hardworking"?
- Does it sound like me talking, not a college-essay narrator?
Because we know that diversity benefits the educational experience of all students, the University of Maryland values diversity in all of its many forms. This includes (but is not limited to) racial, socio-economic, gender, geographical, and sexual orientation. We are interested in hearing about your own individual life experiences. In a few sentences, will you please describe how you have learned, grown, been inspired or developed skills through one or more components of diversity.
This is Maryland's signature identity and community prompt. It asks how some component of diversity in your life (which can be your own background or an experience that put you among people unlike you) actually changed how you think, learn, or act. The verbs matter: learned, grown, inspired, developed skills.
Maryland cares about who will add to its community, not just who will benefit from it. Readers want evidence that you can move through a different perspective and come out changed, because that is what living and learning on a diverse campus demands every day.
Pick a single specific relationship or moment, not a sweeping statement about valuing differences, so the reader can actually see it.
Anchor the answer in a concrete scene, then name the skill or shift in thinking it produced, matching the prompt's verbs.
Be honest about a moment of surprise or discomfort, because growth reads as real when it clearly cost you something.
“I have always believed that diversity is important and that we can all learn from people who are different from us.”
“Mr. Okafor ran the only halal cart on our block, and arguing with him about chess is where I learned to listen.”
- 1Opens on a single concrete relationship and scene, exactly what the prompt asks for. No abstractions.
- 2Establishes a real difference in background without turning it into a lecture about diversity.
- 3Names a specific, honest shift in thinking. This is the "grown" the verbs are asking for.
- 4Closes with a concrete, transferable skill, tying the experience to who the student is becoming.
- When did you spend real time among people whose background or perspective differed from yours, and what specifically changed in you?
- Is there a part of your own identity that shaped how you learn or lead?
- What is one habit or skill you developed because of that experience that you still use?
- Did I tell one specific story instead of a general statement about valuing diversity?
- Did I name what I actually learned or how I grew, using the prompt's verbs?
- Is the growth honest, including any friction, rather than a tidy slogan?
Mistakes that sink Maryland essays
650 characters is a ceiling, not a target. A sharp 60-word answer beats a 100-word answer stuffed with filler. If you can say it cleanly and stop, stop.
Readers see your activities list already. If five of six answers are about your sport or your STEM club, you have wasted the chance to show range. Spread your interests across the set.
"My favorite thing about last Monday was" wants a small, true, human moment, not a humblebrag about your internship. The charm is in the ordinary detail you noticed.
It asks how you have learned, grown, or developed skills through a component of diversity. Show a specific experience and what it taught you, not a generic statement about valuing differences.
Maryland essay FAQ
How many essays does the University of Maryland require for 2025-26?
Six short responses. Five are complete-the-sentence prompts and one is a longer diversity and community question. Each is capped at 650 characters, roughly 100 words. There is no separate long supplemental essay beyond the Common App personal statement.
What are the University of Maryland short answer prompts for 2025-26?
They are: "If I could travel anywhere, I would go to..."; "The most interesting fact I ever learned from research was..."; "In addition to my major, my academic interests include..."; "My favorite thing about last Monday was..."; "Something you might not know about me is..."; and a longer prompt asking how you have learned, grown, or developed skills through one or more components of diversity. Always confirm the exact wording on admissions.umd.edu.
How long should each Maryland short answer be?
Each response has a hard limit of 650 characters, including spaces, which works out to about 100 words. That limit is a ceiling, not a goal. Tight, specific answers beat padded ones.
Is the University of Maryland test-optional?
Yes. Maryland is test-optional through the Fall 2027 application cycle, so SAT and ACT scores are not required. With scores optional, your grades, activities, and these short answers carry more weight.
What are the University of Maryland application deadlines for fall 2026?
The non-binding Early Action deadline is November 1, 2025, with decisions by February 1, 2026. The Regular Decision deadline is January 20, 2026, with decisions by April 1, 2026. The enrollment confirmation deadline is May 1, 2026.
How hard is it to get into the University of Maryland?
Maryland admits roughly 44% of applicants from a pool of more than 60,000, so it is selective but not in the single digits. Because so many applicants have strong grades, the short answers and your demonstrated fit can meaningfully tip a decision.
Prompts and facts verified against UMD Application Deadlines (official), UMD Freshman Applicants (official), UMD Freshman Application FAQs (official), College Essay Guy: Maryland Supplemental Essays 2025-26 and College Transitions: UMD Supplemental Essay Prompts 2025-26 (University of Maryland, College Park, 2025-2026 cycle). Supplements change yearly, re-verify each cycle.
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