Boren Award Essays (official site)

The essays on the Boren Awards application are critical to the selection process for Boren Scholars and Fellows. The Boren Awards application process does not have a semi-finalist or interview phase, so everything an applicant would want the selection committee to know should be stated clearly in the essays and other application materials.

Before beginning drafts of the essays, Boren Awards applicants are advised to review the official selection criteria. These include both program design criteria explained in greater detail on the Selecting an Eligible Study Program section of the website, as well as forming the basis for the essay prompts discussed below.

In addition to reviewing the guidance below, applicants can boost their chances of success by watching Boren Awards webinars relevant to their proposed programs and working with their Boren Awards campus representatives early and often throughout the application cycle.

This is where Juli's narration of Boren slides will go.

The Writing Center will host two interactive Zoom workshops on writing Boren essays and invite you to attend. 

• Thursday, January 6^th, 12-1:30pm
• Tuesday, January 12^th, 12-1:30pm

**In the meantime, you will be able to access recorded versions of past webinars here starting on Tuesday, December 8^th. **

These handouts offer useful suggestions and strategies for writing Boren essays:

• Tips for Crafting Competitive Boren Essays (U of Southern California)
• Boren Application Tips (DePaul U)
• Crafting Competitive Essays (U of Washington)