University of Maryland Essay Questions
Maryland's first-year applicants write one essay of up to 650 words, choosing from a familiar set of seven prompts including background and identity, an obstacle, questioning a belief, gratitude, personal growth, a topic that absorbs you, and a free choice. Transfer applicants answer one 300-word question about their academic path.
The first-year prompts
Seven options, 650 words maximum. They cover a background or identity central to who you are; a challenge, setback or failure and what you took from it; a time you questioned or challenged a belief; something someone did for you that made you thankful in a surprising way; an accomplishment or realization that sparked personal growth; a topic or idea so engaging you lose track of time; and an essay on any topic of your choice.
These will look familiar to anyone who has read the Common Application prompts, which is useful: the essay you write for Maryland is generally the essay you write everywhere.
How to choose among them
Choose the prompt that fits the story you already want to tell, rather than searching for a story to fit a prompt. The seventh option, any topic of your choice, exists precisely so that a good essay is never blocked by a prompt list. Readers do not award points for prompt difficulty.
The transfer question
Three hundred words on your past academic experiences and your reasons for wanting to enroll at Maryland at this point in your academic career. That is a narrower brief than the first-year essay and it wants a specific academic rationale, not general enthusiasm. Name the program, the courses and what your record so far has prepared you for.
What to check before writing
Maryland has used short-answer questions in addition to the main essay in past cycles. Confirm the full set of writing requirements for your application year on the university's own page before you plan your time.
Sources
Read from the university’s own pages and verified on 28 July 2026. Admissions details change, so confirm anything time sensitive before you act on it.