USC Supplemental Essays: A Strategic Guide

Whether you’re drawn to USC for its global reach, interdisciplinary energy, or vibrant campus life, your application needs to clearly reflect why and how you’ll be a strong addition to USC’s campus through the USC supplemental essays. To make sure that your supplemental essays standout, you’ll first need to have a solid understand of what USC values:

1. Interdisciplinary exploration and flexibility

USC actively encourages students to blend disciplines, mix majors, and push the boundaries of traditional academic tracks. With over 150 Majors and Minors to choose from, you’ll be able to combine courses in order to come up with a selection that feels best for you. Because of this opportunity, USC wants to see students who will take full advantage of this opportunity, embodying creativity and curiosity within their academic goals.

2. A global mindset and cultural curiosity

USC has an abundance of programs that support students as they study abroad, with each of their 23 schools fostering unique opportunities for students to pursue their education globally. Pioneering programs like Viterbi iPodia connects students from around the world, allowing them to share diverse perspective and engage across cultural distinctions. The ideal USC student is someone who wants to engage with international perspectives, tackle big global challenges, and use education to foster meaningful cross-cultural understanding.

3. Leadership and service as a way of life

USC looks for students who lead with intention and integrate service into their core values. Through programs like the JEP (Joint Educational Project)– where students can receive course credit for participating in faculty-led community service initiatives– students are encouraged to apply their individual skills to areas where their impact will be felt the most.

How to Write USC’s Supplemental Essays (2025-2026): Strategy + Tips

Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests and why you want to explore them at USC specifically. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 words)

This is your standard “Why USC?” question, combined with another common supplemental essay question– “why major?”. You’ll want to make sure to keep the following tips in mind as you write your response:

1. Anchor your essay in one to two concrete interests, and try to stress how they inform each other and work as an interdisciplinary pairing. Remember USC’s emphasis on interdisciplinary study, and try to demonstrate how USC will help you uniquely pursue your interests in a way that you wouldn’t otherwise be able to.
2. Name specific resources like programs, labs, classes, or student organizations, and connect them back to how you would take advantage of what they have to offer. Show that you’re thinking actively about how you’ll contribute to the academic community at USC.
3. Try to tie your majors to a bigger problem you’d like to solve or career path you’re interested in that goes beyond just you. USC places great emphasis on service and impact, so you’ll want to demonstrate that you’re already thinking about how your work can fit into a larger societal framework.

Short answers

Describe yourself in three words (25 characters)

What is your favorite snack?

Best movie of all time:

Dream job:

If your life had a theme song, what would it be?

Dream trip:

What TV show will you binge watch next?

Which well-known person or fictional character would be your ideal roommate?

Favorite book:

If you could teach a class on any topic, what would it be?

(100 characters each)

There’s no one way to answer the short answer section; instead, take this opportunity to show off different sides of your personality and highlight a variety of interests or opinions. Avoid using AI-generated answers, and focus instead on being candid and honest.

Viterbi School of Engineering applicants: How will your contributions to the USC Viterbi student body be distinct from others? (250 words)

Like the “Why USC?” question, this question is trying to see how you’re conceptualizing your place on USC’s campus and where you’ll fit in as you explore the opportunities they provide.

1. Engineering is all about the application of knowledge, so make sure to distinguish this answer from the earlier supplement by focusing on how you’re going to use the skills Viterbi will give you.
2. Lead with one defining trait or experience and a quick example, tie it to collaboration and Viterbi culture. Be specific, and leave yourself enough room to elaborate on how your existing skills will flourish and grow given Viterbi’s resources.
3. Connect your contribution to a human-centered outcome. Who do you hope to benefit? How will you understand the progress of your goals? What do you hope to achieve, and where do you want to focus your impact?

Viterbi School of Engineering applicants: Which NAE Grand Challenge is most important to you, and why? (250 words)

The National Academy of Engineering introduces the “Grand Challenges” in 2008, distinguishing fourteen worldwide problems into four broad categories that could be improved through engineering.

1. Pick one challenge and a focused angle through which you see that challenge impacting society. Explain why this issue matters, both to you and to others– you’ll want to show that you understand the issue on a deeper level, extending to different parts of society.
2. Show preparation to tackle that issue by highlighting one project, class, or initiative you’ve done. How have you already begun to develop the skills necessary to approach this challenge?
3. Map out next steps you’ll take at USC to pursue your goals; name mentors or labs, or highlight how you’ll utilize certain resources to work on your solution. Precisely explain the impact you want to make by going beyond stating that you want to simply “solve” the problem. Specify a concrete area of impact.

Dornsife applicants: If you had ten minutes and the attention of a million people, what would your talk be about? (250 words)

The Dornsife College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at USC prides itself on continuously promoting public engagement with communities beyond USC. Here’s how you’ll want to approach showing that you align with this core value at Dornsife:

1. Choose a precise topic and a thesis, not a broad theme. Going too general here won’t demonstrate that you’re ready to think at the higher-level that a college education demands.
2. Use on story or data point as a hook before transitioning into the takeaways you’d like your audience to have. What’s your “why,” and how does it extend out to the world around you? Try to connect your talk either to a local goal and audience, or a more global one– no matter who you choose to address, make sure your choice is informed and purposeful.

Conclusion

With these tools and tips to help you along, you’ll be able to strengthen your USC supplemental essays and make them standout among a competitive group of applicants.

At Essay Cafe, we offer comprehensive essay reviews to make sure your essays are your biggest advocates in the admissions office. If you’re unsure about your essay strategy or need a trusted second opinion, you can request a review or book a 1:1 session by creating an account here.

Curious about how to write the rest of your supplemental essays? Check out more advice here.