Parents of 9th-11th graders dreaming of UT Austin: As your child plans activities, remember UT's "Change the World" essay evaluates character and potential impact. Choose academics that highlight intellectual curiosity and passion for learning. Pick extracurricular roles involving leadership, problem-solving and community commitment. This essay is a chance to convey your child’s character development and influences driving their desire to create change. Make activities meaningful to reveal their promise as future changemakers. UT assesses character beyond grades – help your child pick pursuits showing their perspective and readiness to positively transform lives.

Join us on September 24 for our Webinar on

Engaging Your Teen for College: The Why & How of Activity Planning

Looking to help your high school student find activities they love that will also strengthen their college applications? Join our 60 minute webinar where we'll discuss how to guide your teen in exploring interests, increasing involvement, taking initiative, and measuring impact. We'll share ways to spark their engagement through family activities, jobs, creative projects, and community service. You'll learn how students can highlight these pursuits in their essays and extracurricular listings to tell a compelling story to admissions officers. Walk away with a plan to help your student pursue activities aligned with their passions—ones that will serve them now and impress colleges later.

The essay itself enables students to articulate how past experiences have shaped their perspectives and developed character strengths needed to positively change society. They can reference specific activities, classes, mentors, challenges and accomplishments that revealed their passions, abilities and desire to make a difference. However, the essay should go deeper to reflect on personal growth. How did these experiences instill values, shape their worldviews or equip them with critical thinking, communication and leadership skills to drive change?

Encourage your child to avoid vague generalizations or simply reiterating their resume. This essay is a chance to provide a narrative arc demonstrating their character development. What beliefs, principles or experiences motivated them to seek opportunities to lead, create, serve and innovate? The most compelling essays will establish the student's character and seminal influences early, then connect these motivations to specific college and future goals. 

This "Change the World" essay provides a unique chance for students to directly demonstrate the values, perspective and character strengths that UT Austin seeks in its students. It allows applicants to articulate a coherent vision for how their college experiences will empower them to positively impact society after graduation. Viewing activities through this lens will ensure students choose meaningful pursuits that convey their promise as future change-makers.