51 Essays That Got In to University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Updated for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle.
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About University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a top public research university renowned for its powerhouse engineering and computer science programs, alongside strong offerings in business, agriculture, and the fine arts. Founded in 1867, Illinois has been at the forefront of computing innovation for decades, having built one of the first supercomputers and helped pioneer the modern web browser. The twin college towns of Urbana and Champaign give students a classic Big Ten campus experience, complete with a passionate Fighting Illini fan base and one of the country's largest, most active Greek and student-organization scenes. With a massive research budget and deep industry ties across tech and engineering, Illinois offers undergraduates access to world-class labs and faculty rarely available at this scale.
At a glance…
| Acceptance Rate | 42% |
| Tuition | $40,096 |
| Average Cost | $16,109 |
| Average SAT | 1440 |
| Average ACT | 32 |
| Location | Urbana-Champaign, IL |
Real University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Supplemental Essay Examples
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Supplemental Essay Prompts for 2026-2027
All 3 prompts in full. Requirements can vary by school or program, so check your own application for exactly what you need to write.
- #1Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you've taken, or through something else.
- #2Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from Illinois and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
- #3What are your academic interests? Please include 2-3 majors you're considering at Illinois and why.No example yet
Prompt: Explain, in detail, an experience you've had in the past 3 to 4 years related to your first-choice major. This can be an experience from an extracurricular activity, in a class you've taken, or through something else.
In my last three years of high school, I participated in Chicago’s ACE (Architecture, Construction Management, Engineering) Program. My interest in civil engineering was confirmed through working with professionals from each industry, learning about their jobs, and collaborating on designing and building a project as an exercise. Through ACE, I was honored and excited to be awarded a full-time summer internship from a host company: Gilbane Building Company. My scope of work included communicating bid offers to contractors, calling suppliers to get updated lead times on materials, collecting closeout documents from subcontractors to review them for owners, learning Destini Estimator software to perform detailed takeoffs, and applying unit costs to put together estimates. During this time, I observed project engineers use their civil engineering backgrounds to problem solve. This invaluable work experience taught me a great deal about the working world while reaffirming my choice to pursue civil engineering.
Essay by Gracie Wallace
Love watching college sports and hiking!
Prompt: Describe your personal and/or career goals after graduating from Illinois and how your selected first-choice major will help you achieve them.
Studying CS+Education: Learning Sciences at Illinois, I aim to launch an EdTech organization focused on financial education for communities excluded from traditional financial services. In User Interface Design, I'll create adaptive interfaces that accommodate users with visual impairments or limited motor dexterity. Psychology of Learning in Education will deepen my understanding of how neurodivergence impacts learning—crucial for creating inclusive educational technology. Through Illinois's Center for Innovation in Teaching & Learning and Professor Kang's Immersive Data Lab, I'll use augmented reality to make budget planning interactive, enabling visualization and adjustment of expenses using holograms. I’ll contribute my multilingual educational design experience to TIER-ED's research into FAAST, an instantaneous student-teacher feedback system powered by machine learning. I'll get involved with the Education Justice Project's computer lab to develop financial education technology, addressing unique challenges incarcerated students face when transitioning back to financial independence. Illinois will pave my path as an innovative educator.
Essay by Jayana
First Generation Computer Science Student @ UC Berkeley
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