Write a Killer “Why Major” Essay

6 Easy Steps to Brainstorming Your Best "Why Major" Essay

The Origin Story Method for writing the “Why Major” essay is a tried and true brainstorming approach. It’s also kind of a fun process to go through! 

(Reason #1 This Method is Kinda Fun: YOU are the main character this time!)

Think about it. Many of our favorite movies lean on origin stories to provide essential (and often fascinating) background information necessary for the audience to understand their main character. 

You undoubtedly know some of the most popular origin stories out there. 

Spider Man: Peter Parker is bitten by a radioactive spider and has to learn to embrace his role as a superhero.

Iron Man: Billionaire engineer and inventor Tony Stark builds his first suit after being captured and held in a cave. 

Batman: Bruce Wayne transforms into his superhero alter-ego after witnessing the death of his parents and vowing to avenge them.

(Reason #2 This Method is Kinda Fun: Origin stories are popular in superhero movies.)

Why use origin stories? Because they help storytellers achieve a couple of key things that might also be essential to your “Why Major” essay. 

Origin stories create: 

• Emotional Investment – Allowing audiences to understand a character’s motivations, struggles, and evolution, making them more relatable.

• Character Development – Offering insight into a character’s strengths, flaws, and the choices that define them.

• Fresh Perspectives – Reframing a character’s journey, revealing new layers that weren’t previously explored.

• Fan Engagement – Creating intrigue and anticipation, especially when they provide answers to long-standing mysteries.

Let’s be honest. If the “Why Major” essay you create achieves all of the above for the admission officer reading it, that would be pretty amazing, right? 

Here’s the brainstorming process to begin the process of writing your own origin story in the specific context of your “Why Major Essay.”

Step One: Reflection

Start by looking back… waaaaaaay back. Imagine that your story is being told in the opening scene of a movie. The narrator’s voice rises over the opening scene to say, “In the beginning….”

And now it is your job, as the main character and primary author, to take your audience all the way back to the earliest memory you have of feeling connected to this major. 

Ask yourself: What is my earliest memory tied to my first-choice major?

Really challenge yourself to think about this question. Perhaps the answer is very clear, but there may be moments or experiences in your very early life that you can tie to your major, even if you didn’t know at that time what the connection was. 

For example, maybe a business major identifies an early example of running a lemonade stand. However, by really challenging themselves, maybe they can connect an interest in studying business to being part of a family that ran a small business. Maybe it was actually watching their parent(s) work through the ups and downs of business ownership that acted as the initial spark of interest in this area of study. 

GET STARTED:

While brainstorming, use bullet points and quick notes, even fragments, to capture these early memories and connections to your major. Take as much time and space as you need to capture your memories and reflections.

Your outline might look something like this: 

First-Choice Major: Unspecified Business

• Running a lemonade stand

• My earliest memory of “business” = the family business

Step Two: Focus on Details

Once you have captured your earliest memories, read back through your bullet-pointed outline. This time, as you read, add context and details to each memory that could be important to helping connect that memory with your evolving interest and connection to your major. 

Use these prompts to help get your revision started:

• How old were you in this earliest memory? 

• What connection to your major do you specifically remember making, or do you now understand you were making at the time? 

• Was the connection to a dream career? A growing skill? A growing interest area? 

• What was happening in the earliest memory? Take the reader there by using your senses to describe the memory.

• Who was with you?

• What exactly were you doing? 

• What do you recall hearing, smelling, tasting, touching?  

Your revised bullet points might look something like this: 

First-Choice Major: Unspecified Business

• My earliest memory of “business” = the family business

• Lemonade stand

• Kindergarten – probably 5 or 6 years old

• Remember seeing dad at work on site from the playground and telling all my friends about what he did. It was hot, sun out, walked to the farthest border of where we were allowed to go on the playground and yelled/waved arms to get dad’s attention. Remember being proud of him

Step Three: Start Moving Forward in Time

Now, keep moving forward along the timeline of your earlier life experiences, memories, feelings, learning moments – to capture the evolution of your interest and the variety of experiences that followed this origin story. 

To do this, keep asking yourself, “Then what?” 

TIP: Keep in mind that this question is framed specifically in the context of your major, so ask, “Then what happened in my life that I can connect to the evolution of my own interest in this field of study? "

Your third revision might create something a little more like this: 

First-Choice Major: Unspecified Business

• My earliest memory of “business” = the family business

• Lemonade stand

• Kindergarten – probably 5 or 6 years old

• Remember seeing dad at work on site from the playground and telling all my friends about what he did. It was hot, sun out, walked to the farthest border of where we were allowed to go on the playground and yelled/waved arms to get dad’s attention. Remember being proud of him

• 7-18 years old: worked on house sites with tasks that increased in difficulty based on age – painting, filling nail holes, sweeping, pouring concrete

• 12 years old – met realtor and potential buyer at jobsite to sell home

• Always live in homes dad built – felt really proud – sort of unique that I actually worked on every house I live in growing up

• Took accounting and personal finance classes in high school

• Took econ class – hated it but understood the fluctuations of housing market more

• Took debate class – can connect those skills to sales

TIP: Think about adding important information like: 

• Lessons learned, skills learned, academic topics learned through school

• Connections your extracurricular activities might have to your developing/evolving interest in this major

Step Four: Revise for Curiosity’s Sake

If you haven't already, you will likely hear about "intellectual curiosity" at some point during your university application process.

Put simply, intellectual curiosity is the desire to learn more for the sake of learning. It is when you independently ask "why" or "how." Intellectual curiosity is when you feel compelled to go beyond classroom requirements and follow your interests simply because you want to.

There are many ways to demonstrate intellectual curiosity, including:

• Reading books or articles outside of class.

• Asking thoughtful questions in class.

• Creating your own independent project or research.

• Watching educational videos or podcasts for fun.

• Starting a club or activity to explore a niche interest.

• Learning a new language on Duolingo—just because.

• Teaching yourself how to code or build something.

• Asking your swim coach about the physics of movement in water.

Exploring ways that you have demonstrated intellectual curiosity is valuable for every essay you write. The “Why Major” is no exception. 

Review your Origin Story bullet points above. Make special notes about anything already included in your bullet points that represents intellectual curiosity. 

If there are new ideas for how you could work moments of independent or deep learning not already captured in your bullet points, add them in now. 

Here are some prompts to help you think about your intellectual curiosity:

• Think of a time when you asked a big question that no one had assigned to you.

• Think about a time when you became interested in something weird, random, or fun and followed that interest. Maybe you were so interested that you seemed to lose all track of time.

• Think about a time that you learned something simply because you wanted to. How did you learn about the topic? What did your independent study teach you? How is it connected to your major?

• What is one thing that you are super nerdy about? How is it tied to your major? 

  
  

Add any ideas to your bullet points now.

Step Five: Look to the Future

This is the final step in revising the bullet-pointed list you are creating for your "Why Major" essay. 

Add the final bullet point to your list that shares your intentions for the future, again in the context of this major, and where it will help you go. If you’re not sure about your future plans, here are some prompts to get you thinking about your last bullet point. 

• How will studying this major enable you to achieve something significant to you?

• Do you have a dream job? Dream career? 

• Is there a larger contribution that you feel motivated to pursue? 

• Is there a cause you feel passionate about? 

• A contribution to a community you feel strongly about? 

• How will this major help you impact what matters to you most?

Example: A student interested in economics might describe their desire to use economic policy to mitigate income inequality.

Step Six: Draft

I love this brainstorming method because the bullet-pointed approach, paired with laying out the experiences chronologically as your interests evolved, produces an instant outline! 

For this to work for you, pause at this point in the process, review your bullet-pointed list, and rearrange any of the bullet points that might not be in chronological order.

Once this is complete, use your bullet-pointed outline to create a first draft of your “Why Major” essay. 

For your first draft, don’t worry about word count. Don’t worry about creativity or craft. Just focus on telling a chronological narrative of your evolving self and your growing interest, talents, and skills that make you ready to pursue this major. 

Final Thoughts

The "Why Major" essay is a common essay prompt used in the university application process. As such, the time and energy you invest into making this an outstanding essay and detailed retelling of your personal development in this area of your life will pay for itself as you move through more admission applications!

Want more essay writing help? Blue Admission can help with more helpful blog postings and one-on-one advising.