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BSDS Application – Approaching the Application Short Answer Questions
All students applying to the B.S. in Data Science major are required to provide responses to short answer questions in their application. While the short answer questions may change each year, they provide a student with the opportunity to discuss their background and what deepened their interest in pursuing the data science major. There is no “right” answer to these questions. Any answer that allows the student to be their authentic self is best.
In this blog, BSDS Student Ambassadors Tara Ghose and Max Farnham share their experiences and advice on how to best approach the application short answer questions.
Tara Ghose
Major: Data Science and Economics
Expected Graduation Year: 2027
Hometown: East Hanover, New Jersey
If I were to go back in time to my first-year self, who was very nervous to apply to the BSDS program, I would tell myself to be authentic, trust my interests and curiosity, and use the available resources.
The short answer questions are opportunities for you to express your unique voice and opinions. There are no correct answers, the only thing required of you is to be genuine.
When I sat down to write my short answer responses, I was not sure what direction to go in. I ended up devoting a lot of time to the brainstorming process. I sat down with myself and wrote down any idea that came to mind. After just a couple of minutes, I had many ideas to work with. As I reviewed the topics I came up with, I found myself particularly drawn to a few, which made narrowing down my focus a lot easier.
Another thing I did was review my materials from DS 1001. As I read through my past notes and labs, I was reminded of everything I had learned so far and what I wanted to learn in the future. This gave me specific ideas and examples to draw on when writing my responses. I would recommend looking back on your materials and reflecting on what stuck with you. In the end, allowing myself time to brainstorm and trusting my gut were extremely helpful strategies that helped me produce responses I was proud of.
Using your resources is a great way to feel prepared and confident. I personally used the UVA Career Center to double-check that my responses represented my professional interests well and were strong in clarity and tone. I know many of my peers used the Writing Center and met with teaching assistants from past writing classes to get feedback.
To be successful in your short answer responses, be yourself and speak from within. The admissions team wants to get to know you and your passion for data science. The more personal and specific you are in your responses, the better!
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Max Farnham
Major: Data Science
Expected Graduation Year: 2027
Hometown: Sunnyvale, California
Getting started on your BSDS application can feel daunting at first. However, knowing the right resources to use when writing your short answer responses can make the process much less nerve-wracking.
Oftentimes, the hardest part of writing application responses is choosing topics to write about. It’s important to note that the short answer questions for the BSDS application are purposefully open-ended. The School of Data Science is searching for passion rather than specific topics for you to focus on. No experience or interest of yours is too simple or unusual if you can connect it to the BSDS major.
I suggest taking inspiration from prior college application responses you have written. Even though they may not have been written with data science in mind, they can likely provide a framework for topics you are passionate about. This is how I began my applications. I found that nearly every topic could be connected to traits like collaboration and data-driven problem-solving skills, qualities that are perfect to highlight in your responses.
Once you have decided on a strong foundation for each of your responses, the best way to approach writing them is to present the most genuine version of yourself. The open-ended nature of the application questions allows for a broad range of connections between your topic and the traits the prompts ask you to convey. If you can articulate these connections in a way that feels authentic and creative, your responses will surely shine!
The process of writing your responses might not be easy, but if you would like any help, or just a fresh set of eyes on your writing, I recommend attending an application help session, where current students in the BSDS program can provide assistance. As a first-year student, attending sessions like this personally helped ease my worries. These sessions helped clarify the goals I should have when writing my responses, and I found it extremely helpful to hear from students who had gone through the process before me.
If you have any additional questions about the BSDS application, don’t hesitate to reach out to our student ambassadors or admissions staff. Anybody you contact would be more than happy to help. Best of luck with your applications. We are excited to see what you bring to the BSDS community.
Next Steps
We invite you to attend our upcoming events or read our blog to explore all that the BSDS major has to offer. You are welcome to reach out to us any time at sdsadmissions@virginia.edu.
Learn more about the data science bachelor's degree at the University of Virginia. Request more information, connect with Admissions, or start your application today.
