The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing
Follow a clear step-by-step framework to write essays that highlight your academic interests and fit with the university.
Penn Nursing
Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science. Why have you decided to apply to Nursing? Where do you see yourself professionally in the future and how will you contribute to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? (150-200 words)
Step 1: Decide your “why nursing” in one line
Make it specific and profession-shaped. Nursing isn’t just compassion. It’s clinical reasoning, patient advocacy, coordination, education, and evidence-based practice.
Good “why nursing” angles:
- You’re drawn to the combination of science and high-stakes human decision-making.
- You’ve seen gaps in care (communication, access, trust, follow-up) and want a frontline role with systems impact.
- You like the translation work: making medical information usable for real people.
Step 2: Use one experience as proof
In 1–2 sentences, show what put you close to healthcare or human need:
- clinical exposure (shadowing, volunteering, EMT/CNA work)
- caregiving for family
- public health/community service
- research or a health-related project
Name one specific friction you noticed (language barriers, transportation, insurance confusion, stigma, understaffing, discharge gaps). That’s your bridge to equity.
Step 3: Define “equity” as a practical problem you plan to work on
Avoid abstract moral claims. Pick a concrete equity focus:
- maternal health outcomes
- chronic disease management in underserved communities
- mental health access
- language access and health literacy
- preventive care and screening
- rural health access
- immigrant/refugee health navigation
- disability-informed care
Then write one line about what you would actually do: improve education, build trust, support navigation, reduce barriers, measure outcomes.
Step 4: Future professional direction: choose a believable trajectory
You don’t need a perfectly fixed specialty, but you do need direction.
Examples:
- clinical practice plus research
- community/public health nursing
- pediatric/adolescent health
- ER/critical care with an interest in systems quality and safety
- maternal health and advocacy
- global health or immigrant health
Make it grounded: “I see myself working in ___ settings, focusing on ___ problems, and building ___ skills.”
Step 5: Tie it back to Penn Nursing’s mission without copying it
They already know their mission. Your job is to show alignment through action language:
- advancing science (interest in evidence, research, quality improvement)
- global/multicultural care (cross-cultural communication, humility, language access)
- equity (barrier reduction, patient advocacy, community partnership)
Step 6: A tight 150–200 word structure
- 30–45 words: why nursing (specific)
- 60–90 words: proof experience + what you noticed about inequity
- 40–60 words: future direction + how you’ll contribute to equity (what you’ll do, not what you’ll “care about”)
Step 7: Avoid
- “I’ve always wanted to help people” with no evidence
- savior language (“giving voice to the voiceless”)
- vague “I want to make healthcare fair”
- treating equity like a personality trait instead of a systems problem
Do you like this personality?
