Essay Prompts

Your admission essay (1 to 3 pages) lets you personalize your application. The writing sample you submit will be considered in both the admission and competitive scholarship selection process. Be sure to include your full name on each page of your submission.

You may upload your essay with your online application, email it to admissionapplication@truman.edu, or mail it to the Office of Admission.

Freshman Students

Freshman Application

Applicants who qualify for TruMerit Automatic Admission will have the admission essay requirement waived for admission review. For competitive scholarship consideration, all applicants are encouraged to submit an essay.

  • Option 1: Please write about a topic important to you.
  • Option 2: “I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” –Lillian Smith
    There is something profoundly intriguing about the telling of a journey – whether it be travel to exotic locales; in-depth personal discovery; a meandering walk through a dense, rich forest; or the realization of lifelong dreams. Tell us about a journey – real, imagined, or metaphorical. Your journey starts here.
  • Option 3:  “As a storyteller, as a human being, each one of us is one of a kind. And until we learn to celebrate our own unique style, culture, and gifts, we cannot appreciate the wealth of diversity around us.” -Doug Lipman.
    Help us to understand and celebrate our diversity by sharing the unique story of “you”.

Transfer Students

Transfer Application

  • Option 1: Please describe why you are interested in transferring to Truman State University. Feel free to include your area(s) of academic interest, including the reasons for your interest in those majors/programs.
  • Option 2: “I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.” –Lillian Smith
    There is something profoundly intriguing about the telling of a journey – whether it be travel to exotic locales; in-depth personal discovery; a meandering walk through a dense, rich forest; or the realization of lifelong dreams. Tell us about a journey – real, imagined, or metaphorical. Your journey starts here.
  • Option 3:  “As a storyteller, as a human being, each one of us is one of a kind. And until we learn to celebrate our own unique style, culture, and gifts, we cannot appreciate the wealth of diversity around us.” -Doug Lipman.
    Help us to understand and celebrate our diversity by sharing the unique story of “you”.

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Admission Spotlight