do supplemental essays change every year

Highly-selective colleges and universities often require supplemental application materials. These materials help further personalize the admissions process so that each college’s admissions committee has the information it needs to select a vibrant and diverse incoming class. 

In this article, we will look at 10 supplemental essay prompts from top colleges and universities for the 2022-23 admissions cycle. Once you get a better sense of what to expect from a supplemental essay prompt, we will outline key strategies for answering these prompts, as well as provide practical writing tips to help you get started.

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What are supplemental essays and are they important?

Each college has its own sets of values and criteria that it looks for in applicants. This is why determining college fit is so important. By carefully researching each school on your college list and having several clear and compelling reasons for wanting to attend, you will increase your overall chances of admission.    

One way that colleges gauge whether or not a student would be a good fit for their university is by posing unique supplemental essay prompts. This is why knowing how to write a supplemental essay is so important. Most colleges with supplemental essays will have applicants write the “why this college” essay . 

Many selective colleges will require additional supplemental essays as well. In some cases, you will need to prepare an additional five essays per school, so give yourself plenty of time to complete each essay thoughtfully, write multiple drafts, seek out feedback, and proofread. The college application process can feel overwhelming at times, so make sure you brainstorm ways to stay organized during the college application process . 

Although the style and content of the actual prompts can vary greatly, at the core these prompts have one thing in common: They are designed to get to know who you are as a person, what your values are, and whether you demonstrate compatibility with the university’s overall mission. 

How to write supplemental essays

If you’re looking for supplemental essay tips, you’ve come to the right place! In this section, we will discuss how to write a good supplemental essay, by providing several key application essay tips. 

To start, it’s important to remember that the process of writing supplemental essays is similar to the process of writing a successful personal statement . Review components of a strong personal statement to give yourself a fresh perspective before beginning your supplemental essays.

Tips for writing supplemental essays

Supplemental essays are typically pretty brief. This is why it’s important to learn how to write concisely and powerfully. Having very few words to respond does not mean that you should prepare your responses casually or that your responses shouldn’t include lots of details. Rather, approach each word limit creatively. Whether you have 50 words, 200 words, or 500 words, try to use each sentence and detail to your advantage. One of the best ways to do this is to begin by freewriting. Write down everything that comes to mind. Take time to fully flush out your ideas. Then review what you’ve written and see what feels most important. These are the details you will want to highlight in your response.

Some colleges will require three to five additional essays. Maybe even more! This is why it’s important to be prepared and plan ahead. Supplemental essays are an important part of your college application and they require a lot of time and effort. While some supplemental essay prompts may be similar between schools, in general, you want to avoid recycling your college essays. Admissions officers can tell when a student is tweaking an existing essay to fit a prompt.

While some essay prompts are required, others are optional. In general, try to answer each prompt thoughtfully and creatively. After all, it’s no secret that college admissions are highly competitive so it’s great to give your application “an edge” whenever possible. That said, there are times when you should pass on writing an optional essay. If you’re not sure whether or not you should submit an essay for an optional prompt, begin by drafting a response. Then ask yourself if the essay feels forced or genuine. Does the essay convey something new about you that isn’t included in the rest of your application? If the question doesn’t seem to apply to you and you are genuinely unsure what to contribute, you should probably skip that particular essay. After all, no one wants to read an uninspired essay that doesn’t contribute to your overall application.

2022-23 supplemental essay prompts

As mentioned, supplemental essay prompts can vary significantly. Some prompts ask you to respond in 50 words while other prompts ask you to respond in 500 words. Some prompts focus on academics while others ask you to reflect carefully on your cultural upbringing or life philosophies. Still, other prompts will ask you to introduce who you are as a person or discuss something that you enjoy.

Just as supplemental essay prompts vary in style, your responses will also vary. Some prompts will require you to be thoughtful and serious, while other prompts may encourage you to be humorous or creative. It all depends.

Brown University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Brown University requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

Brown’s culture fosters a community in which students challenge the ideas of others and have their ideas challenged in return, promoting a deeper and clearer understanding of the complex issues confronting society. This active engagement in dialogue is as present outside the classroom as it is in academic spaces. Tell us about a time you were challenged by a perspective that differed from your own. How did you respond? (200-250 words)

Columbia University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Columbia University requires the following supplemental materials: 1 list of 75 words, 1 list of 125 words, 3 essays of 200 words each, and 1 short answer of 35 words. One of their supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

For the following questions, we ask that you list each individual response using commas or semicolons; the items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order. No explanatory text or formatting is needed. (For example, it is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications. No author names, subtitles or explanatory remarks are needed.)  

List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)

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Dartmouth college supplemental essay prompt.

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Dartmouth College requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

“Be yourself,” Oscar Wilde advised. “Everyone else is taken.” Introduce yourself in 200-250 words. 

Duke University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Duke University requires at least one supplemental essay, with the option to submit an additional two supplemental essays. One of the optional supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?

Emory University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Emory University requires two supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

Emory If you could witness a historic event (past, present or future) first-hand, what would it be, and why?

Harvard University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Harvard University requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (50-150 words)

MIT supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, MIT requires five supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:

We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it.

Princeton University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Princeton University requires three supplemental essays and three short responses. One of the short-answer prompts is as follows:

Please respond to each question in 75 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!

What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?

What brings you joy? 

What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?

Stanford University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Stanford University requires three supplemental essays and five short answer responses. One of the short-answer prompts is as follows:

How did you spend your last two summers? (50-word limit)

UPenn supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, UPenn requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows: 

Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)

Yale University supplemental essay prompt

As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Yale University requires the following supplemental materials: 1 list; 6 short answer questions; 1 additional short essay of 400 words. One of the short answer prompts is as follows:

Yale’s residential colleges regularly host conversations with guests representing a wide range of experiences and accomplishments. What person, past or present, would you invite to speak? What would you ask them to discuss? (200 characters or fewer)

Supplemental essay examples

One of the best ways to prepare your supplemental essay responses is to look at successful past examples. In this section, we will look at three examples and explain why each response is successful. 

This first example was submitted as a part of Harvard’s college application. This essay is in response to the prompt: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (50-150 words).

Feet moving, eyes up, every shot back, chants the silent mantra in my head. The ball becomes a beacon of neon green as I dart forward and backward, shuffling from corner to far corner of the court, determined not to let a single point escape me. With bated breath, I swing my racquet upwards and outwards and it catches the ball just in time to propel it, spinning, over the net. My heart soars as my grinning teammates cheer from the sidelines. While I greatly value the endurance, tenacity, and persistence that I have developed while playing tennis throughout the last four years, I will always most cherish the bonds that I have created and maintained each year with my team.

This essay uses rich, descriptive language to evoke a clear sense of movement and place. The first paragraph shows a creative and expert control of language, whereas the second paragraph uses straightforward language to highlight key characteristics. Overall, this response is creative, well-balanced, and uses each word to its advantage. 

Source: https://www.collegeadvisor.com/essay-guides/harvard-university-essay-examples-and-why-they-worked/  

This essay was submitted as a part of an MIT college application. The supplemental essay prompt that it addresses is: Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?

We were moving away from my home of thirteen years to go miles and miles away, from my whole life. Worst of all: away from New York City – the only place in the world worth knowing – or so I thought. The town might as well have been called “Miniscule Ville”. I resented every second of it. The real shocking thing to me was almost that anything existed outside of New York City. NYC is a world of its own, with its own pulses and lifeblood. I still think it’s a great place, and I’ll likely at least visit it someday, but right now, I want to visit everywhere. My move humbled me. I began to love nature walks, the friendly camaraderie of the small town, and saw a world I never imagined. I thought I knew it all just because I lived in New York. Here was a great place, hidden from view. I loved experiencing that new world, learning local history, and most of all, learning the life stories of my new neighbors, each one of whom had a fascinating life. My greatest dream is to be a journalist, covering other countries, and learning about new worlds and neighbors. My old perspective feels so limited. If I can share global stories, I can open up my perspective, and I can share those stories with a thousand homes so readers can learn about other perspectives as well. The world is full of different lives. Everywhere is somebody’s home.

This essay covers a lot of material; most impressively, it shows a shift in perspective and its effect on the student’s lived experience. It also clearly explains the student’s academic and professional goals. The tone of this essay is both confident and humble. It demonstrates who this student is as a person, what their goals are, and what they value.  

Source: https://bemoacademicconsulting.com/blog/mit-supplemental-essay-examples  

This essay was submitted as a part of a Duke college application. The essay addresses the prompt: What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?

Most teachers who taught me talked a big game about wanting students to engage in debate, or “dialectic” as they called it, and to challenge their ideas. In my experience, most of this was a fabrication. The best essay grades and participation marks were found through parroting what was dictated from on high. Did the teacher think such-and-such is the “correct” interpretation of a novel? You did, too, or you lost points. None of that was true for Ms. Jackie Winters. The first essay I sent her came back with the note, “This doesn’t sound like you; it sounds like me.” I asked her about the note, and this initiated a marvelous learning environment, in which I grew faster than I ever have in any other class. Discussions were lively, and the more I presented my authentic views, the more I was respected. My grades were dependent on being backed up by rhetoric, sources, and logic, not by compliance. Due to this engagement, this was the most enjoyable English literature class I had, and I feel like my viewpoints were challenged. I learned to question my ideas and dig into a text for the best results. Best of all, I was putting in more and more effort to find good, quality sources to back up my arguments. I was held to a high standard and shown respect, and I believe that those qualities made for the best learning environment possible

This essay clearly shows a shift in perspective and the effects it had on this student’s ability to think, speak, and write critically. Structurally, this essay uses an anecdote to introduce and contextualize a topic, but the essay itself isn’t overly narrative. Rather, the student explains, in detail, how this teacher’s encouragement and guidance have influenced their willingness and ability to engage with the source material and academic discourse.

Source: https://bemoacademicconsulting.com/blog/duke-supplemental-essay-examples  

Key takeaways and moving forward

Supplemental essays are an important part of your college applications. In fact, they are a key factor in what college admissions officers look for in an applicant . Highly-selective colleges and universities use supplemental essays to further personalize the college admissions process. After all, thousands of qualified students apply to Ivy League institutions each year and only a small fraction are admitted. Supplemental essays allow you to share more about who you are as a person and as a student. Use each prompt as an opportunity to add something new to your college application. If you feel like you could benefit from professional guidance throughout this process, reach out to learn more about our services .

Frequently asked questions and answers

Still have questions about supplemental essays and the effects they have on college applications? Review the following frequently asked questions and answers for further insight on supplemental essays. 

How important are supplemental essays?

Supplemental essays are an incredibly important part of your college applications and should be properly prioritized. If a college didn’t care about your response, they wouldn’t ask you in the first place. Put plenty of time and care into your responses. Write several drafts, seek out feedback, and always proofread.

How long should supplemental essays be?

Always follow directions. Colleges will specify how long each supplemental essay should be, usually right after the prompt itself. Depending on the college, and the prompt, a supplemental essay’s word count may range anywhere from 50 to 500 words.

Do supplemental essays change every year?

It all depends on the college. Colleges often reuse past prompts, but there are no guarantees. This is why it’s important to plan ahead and make a list of supplemental essay prompts early on in the college application process.

Are supplemental essays required?

Sometimes colleges will have both required and optional supplemental essays. That said, the essay prompts are clearly labeled. In short, each college will specify whether supplemental essays are required. 

Do all colleges have supplemental essays?

No, not all colleges have supplemental essays. Highly-selective colleges, however, often require at least one additional essay.

• December 14, 2022

Supplemental Essay Guide for 2022-23 Prompts

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• College Application

Your Definitive Guide to Supplemental College Application Essays

Including supplemental essay examples to inspire your own.

Supplemental college application essays come in a vast range of topics and sizes and are often the biggest challenge for students after getting through the grueling initial application stages. These essays are crucial in the admissions process, as they provide a more personal and detailed context of your candidacy. They allow you to speak about more specific topics than the more general and broadly-structured personal statement or Common App essay that you submit in your primary application.

In this blog, our college essay advisors go over the general categories and purposes for the various supplemental essays you may have to navigate, and offer examples of short, medium, and lengthy supplemental essays.

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Article Contents 25 min read

Why are supplemental college application essays so important.

Supplemental essay prompts are usually provided directly by colleges as part of the secondary application, after you’ve submitted your primary application. Some colleges ask for multiple essays of varying lengths while others may ask for just one long-form supplemental essay. The specific prompts and word count requirements vary widely between schools. Every admissions committee creates their own supplemental requirements, including secondary essay prompts, to help them form a holistic picture of the applicant and judge how well-suited they would be for their school.

At the outset, it’s vital to understand that the term “supplemental” does not mean optional or second in importance. A supplement fills or makes up for an absence or imbalance, and that’s precisely the role these essays play in your application. Think of it a bit like adding colored paint to a black and white drawing. Your high school resume , transcripts, and test scores have given admissions committees an initial sense of what your candidacy. Supplemental essays, when correctly attuned to the personal statement, create a more nuanced portrait of your as an applicant.

Supplemental essays present a unique challenge as they have to be written in a short period of time, typically in 2 weeks or a month. Colleges send out secondary applications only after receiving your primary application and they provide strict submission deadlines. Additionally, unlike your personal statement, it’s not always possible to write supplemental college essays in advance since colleges frequently change their exact prompts from one year to the next and secondary essays need to always be tailored in response to specific prompts. However, that doesn’t mean you have to wait till you actually receive your specific prompts to start work on the essays.

A good strategy to tackle advance work on supplemental college essays is to spend 2 to 3 weeks writing rough drafts of the most common supplemental college essay types. Depending on the colleges you’re applying to, you can focus on specific prompts they’ve frequently asked in previous years. You can also check out college essay examples to get a better idea of what kind of content you need to come up with.

As you’re working on your primary application in the summer before senior year of high school or in September/October of your senior year, you can spend a few minutes each day brainstorming ideas for the previous year’s secondary essay prompts from colleges you’re applying to and creating a few rough drafts. For instance, most colleges ask for the “why us” essay, so you should definitely brainstorm your answer to that question in advance for all the colleges you’re applying to.

The advantage of following this strategy is that you will probably be wrapping up your primary application, including your personal statement or Common App essay, just as you begin work on your secondaries. Writing an effective personal statement requires a lot of brainstorming, journaling, introspection, free writing, rough drafts, and revisions. In the process, you’re sure to have spent plenty of time identifying key experiences, events, incidents, and people in your life, and also thinking about your own strengths, weaknesses, motivations, ambitions, and failures. Not all of this would have made it into your personal statement, and you can re-use a lot of this rough material as inspiration for your supplemental essay content. Moreover, you would have already honed your structuring and writing skills working on your personal statement, and the basic written communication skills required for the secondary essays are the same.

The goal of this advanced writing process is to have ideas and inspiration ready for when you actually receive your specific essay prompts. All your pre-writing and brainstorming will give you plenty of base material to work with, and rather than starting from scratch, you can spend the critical time before your supplemental deadline tailoring your essays to respond to the specific prompts and word counts. Remember, this is going to be a very busy period for you: while different colleges have different supplemental application dates and timelines, they generally occur within a similar period of time, typically between October and November for early decision programs and December and January for regular applications. So, you’re bound to have some overlap between the secondary essay deadlines for different colleges you’re applying to. You might end up having to work on secondary essays for multiple colleges within the same 1 month period. That’s why it’s all the more important that you complete your brainstorming in advance and create a few rough drafts of essays in response to the most commonly expected prompts.

Now, let’s discuss some general trends and categories frequently used for supplemental college application essays.

How to Tackle Different Supplemental Essays Prompts

While these categories cover the general focus of most supplemental essays, it’s important to note that schools change their secondary and supplemental essay prompts regularly, sometimes every year, and as a result, topics and categories evolve over time. Nonetheless, these are the most common categories both historically and currently.

Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind while working on any essay type:

The School-Specific Supplemental Essay

What is it?

As we mentioned previously, this is one of the most frequently used supplemental college prompts. These are typically between 250-350 words in length, although this varies widely from school to school. This is actually one of the easiest types of secondary college prompts to answer. Students don’t usually choose their undergraduate institutions randomly, rather, they make their choice after careful deliberation and research. To answer the school-specific essays, use that research! Schools want to know you’re engaged with their overall mission and clearly understand their place in the world, as well as what you specifically hope to get out of the campus experience aside from a Bachelor’s degree.

Sample essay prompts

Dartmouth : While arguing a Dartmouth-related case before the U.S. Supreme Court in 1818, Daniel Webster, Class of 1801, delivered this memorable line: \"It is, sir,\u2026a small college, and yet there are those who love it!\" As you seek admission to the Class of 2026, what aspects of the College's program, community, or campus environment attract your interest? (maximum 100 words) ","label":"Dartmouth","title":"Dartmouth"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

How to write this type of essay

• Provide specific details that tie to an overarching theme : It’s very important to set up the connection between your academic ambitions and what the college has to offer. Think deeply about what you hope to achieve and why you’ve identified this specific college. Back up your thesis with specific details about the college. It’s not enough to say – “I love XYZ college, and I’d love to pursue ABC major there.” The why is crucial. Remember, in this essay, colleges don’t want to see you simply discuss you and your journey; they want to know how that journey led you to them. Back up your claims with details about what attracts you to them, which could be anything from the campus and famous alumni, to the college’s unique values, or their innovative curriculum.
• Go beyond the obvious : This type of essay is, crucially, asking you to do your research and go beyond the obvious. Don’t just talk about a school’s generally known reputation or what’s on their homepage. Instead, try to identify specific projects, academic opportunities, research avenues, extracurriculars, or faculty that interest you, and relate them to your goals.
• Consider what you can do for them : Think not only about why this college is a great choice for you, but why you are a great choice for them. Why do you think you’ll fit into their campus? Are there college traditions you would be proud to continue? Can you contribute to any on-going projects or initiatives on campus? Demonstrate why they should choose you by using a concrete example.

The Extracurricular Essay

In this essay, you may be asked to talk about a particularly meaningful extracurricular activity. You might have already covered the basic details of this activity in the activities section of your application, but supplemental essays dealing with your extracurricular activities get into more overtly personal territory. Remember, the intent here is not to simply get a rehash of your activities section or transcript; rather, in these essays, schools want you to get into the deeper aspects and psychological nuances of your involvement in those activities.

It’s important to keep in mind that most prompts will not directly reference extracurriculars, but the most likely answer to these kinds of prompt will include a discussion of an extracurricular activity. For instance, some colleges ask you to elaborate on an activity where you demonstrated leadership or what helps you explore your creative side.

University of California: Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side. (maximum 350 words) ","label":"University of California 2","title":"University of California 2"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

• Pick the right activity : It’s important to pick the right activities to talk about in your supplemental essays. Research the school’s website and social media to see their mission, values, and what kind of qualities they value in their matriculants, and choose an activity that reflects these. While you obviously want to remain genuine in your essays, it does not mean you cannot be strategic. Choose an activity you know will resonate with the college you’re applying to. Another tip: If you’ve already discussed one activity in detail in your personal statement, avoid repeating that here. Additionally, don’t pick achievement-oriented activities just because you think this might impress the admissions committee. You’ve already communicated your achievements in the activities section – in this essay, you have a chance to share another side of your personality and show the admissions committee more of what makes you unique. So, you can either focus on activities you are passionate about but haven’t mentioned elsewhere, such as cooking, woodworking, non-competitive chess playing, and so on. Or pick a compelling angle for activities you’ve already mentioned. For instance, if you’ve noted being a musician in your application elsewhere, this essay would be an opportunity to discuss why and how it’s been meaningful in your life, and potentially the lives of others.
• Do not be repetitive : Think of the personal circumstances, feelings, failures, and learnings surrounding your extracurriculars and write an essay that elaborates on one of these aspects. For example, even if you do end up picking your top activity from your primary application to write about, make sure the essay you write covers a unique aspect of your experience that you haven’t discussed elsewhere in your application before. Continuing our previous example, don’t just cover the obvious aspects of musical performance, but get into the psychological impact of performing, and of what specific types or music have impacted you through immersive practice or playing. 

Check out this infographic:

This type of essay is often the hardest for students to navigate, and also comes with the longest minimum word count requirement, often 500 or more words. If you’ve had your head down in the grind of coursework and achievement-oriented activities for most of your time in high school, odds are, you haven’t had a lot of time to engage in community service or collective projects outside of school. In a sense, this is a supplemental essay that requires some advanced planning: volunteer or community service work is a widely-understood key to getting admitted to competitive universities, so you will need something to refer to in this regard. Moreover, in this essay more than any other, colleges want to see an account of meaningful experience rather than a mere description of activities performed. They’re looking for long-term involvement, thoughtful self-reflection, and a clear personal growth journey. It’s a lot to ask from a high school student writing a 500 word essay!

However, part of the brilliance of this type of essay is its flexibility. You don’t need to have built a new community center with your bare hands to have impacted your community. Maybe you’ve participated in a group project that benefitted other students, or maybe you took part in planning a school event. Even a part-time job likely had some impact on your neighbors and fellow citizens. You could also discuss “informal” activities, such as helping your elderly neighbor with her grocery shopping, helping your family with a cultural project, your background as a member of a minority group, and so on. Think creatively about the ways you’ve acted in the world, and from that, determine how those actions have impacted others.

MIT : At MIT, we bring people together to better the lives of others. MIT students work to improve their communities in different ways, from tackling the world\u2019s biggest challenges to being a good friend. Describe one way in which you have contributed to your community, whether in your family, the classroom, your neighborhood, etc. (200\u2013250 words) ","label":"MIT","title":"MIT"}]" code="tab3" template="BlogArticle">

• Find what makes you unique : If you’re having trouble identifying which communities you’ve been a part of, or which part of your identity to focus on, try the “what makes me unique?” angle. This is definitely something you would have brainstormed for your personal statement, so bring those notes out! We are all a part of various communities, whether we realize it or not, and we all contribute to them in our own unique way. You might have a unique skill or talent, or maybe it’s a personal quality that helped you deal with an issue in the community. Alternatively, maybe your background and identity are a key part of your life’s journey, and you have many experiences related to that. There’s no “wrong” community you could discuss, whether it’s a Dungeons and Dragons club you created with your friends, the ethnic community you’re a part of, or the neighborhood where you grew up. The key is to identify what makes you unique.
• Focus on your growth journey: The easiest way to discuss community engagement in a “meaningful” way is to focus on how you, individually, found growth and learning through your participation in a larger community, and how you simultaneously impacted them. No matter what the community is, the growth narrative is important. There has to be a clear two-way impact that demonstrates how your engagement and contributions affected those around you.

Create Your Own Class Essay

One of the more creative type of essays, these prompts ask students to come up with their own class, reimagine a whole department, conceptualize their ideal lecture series, and so on. This essay is your chance to show your creative and out-of-the-box thinking, while also expanding upon your academic interests and sharing your passions with the admissions committee. This essay is essentially a more creative alternative to the “why this major” essay.

Boston College : Boston College strives to provide an undergraduate learning experience emphasizing the liberal arts, quality teaching, personal formation, and engagement of critical issues. If you had the opportunity to create your own college course, what enduring question or contemporary problem would you address and why. (maximum 400 words) ","label":"Boston College","title":"Boston College"}]" code="tab4" template="BlogArticle">

• Get creative : You can really use this essay topic to stand out from the crowd. Come up with a creative answer and expand upon it with fun, yet thoughtful details that show your intellectual curiosity and unique perspective on the world.
• Align your answer with the college : Remember, you’re being asked to come up with a course for the specific college you’re applying to. What’s their mission? What kind of curriculum do they have? What type of learning do they value? Find out the answer to these questions and incorporate these details in your essay. For example, if the college you’re applying to values an interdisciplinary learning environment, try to come up with a course that incorporates both science and humanities concepts.
• Use your experience : This prompt is also the school’s way to learn more about your personal goals and experiences. Try to ground your motivation for creating this course in your own life. For example, if you want to create a curriculum that covers the influence of fashion on punk rock culture, try to connect it to your own interests or skills, such as a sewing hobby or your love of underground culture.

The Major or Field of Study Essay

This can be a tricky essay type to handle for college students who are still undecided about their major, which is very natural for high school students. Luckily, not all colleges ask for this type of essay. You can expect this essay mostly from colleges focused on a specific stream of study, who want to know why you’re attracted to that field. Some elite universities, like Ivy League schools , also ask this question because they want to see the applicants’ long-term academic ambitions and how well these fit in with their own mission.

Interested in learning more about how to gain acceptance to an Ivy League School? Check out this video!

Sample essay prompt

MIT: Pick what field of study at MIT appeals to you the most right now, and tell us more about why this field of study appeals to you. (maximum 100 words) ","label":"MIT","title":"MIT"}]" code="tab5" template="BlogArticle">

• Include personal as well as college-specific details : Similar to the “why us” essay, you need to refer to specific details of the college program, faculty, academic curriculum, research opportunities, and campus life. Connect these details with your own experiences and passions and explain why this college or program aligns with your academic or professional interests. Think about key formative events and personal motivators for your interest. For example, if you’re applying to a top science, technology, engineering, or medicine (STEM) college such as MIT, you obviously have a specific passion for one of these subjects. While you can and should expand on your personal ambitions, don’t forget to explain why MIT is the best option to help you achieve them.
• Focus on the long-term : In a way, this type of essay is analogous to the “where do you see yourself in 5 years?” interview question. If you do have a clear plan of how you see your future academic and professional life developing, this essay is where you share it. However, you need to make sure you don’t just spin a beautiful story that isn’t based in reality. Your ambitions should be supported by thorough research, real-world industry knowledge, and a careful consideration of your own strengths and weaknesses. Additionally, don’t just include grand ambitions for the sake of sounding impressive – back them up with personal motivations, or better yet, include concrete, achievable goals. For instance, if you’re applying to the best undergrad business schools , your supplemental essay shouldn’t simply say “I want to be youngest CEO in the USA” or “I want to feature in a 30 under 30 article” – instead, it should focus on specific business interests and goals, for example – “I want to use my leadership skills, business training, and community engagement experience to eventually pay it forward by expanding the economic and business opportunities in my own community.”

The Quirky Essay

This type of essay is meant to catch you off-guard or ask you to write about something not often discussed in the context of admissions. These essays are often among the shortest in terms of length, and generally hope to evince some humor and self-awareness from the writers. Topics for these essays include odd talents, strange experiences, or hyper-specific situational questions like what superpower you’d choose if given the chance. They can also be quite general: Princeton, for instance, includes a prompt asking, simply, “what brings you joy?”.

Princeton: What brings you joy? (maximum 50 words) ","label":"Princeton","title":"Princeton"}]" code="tab6" template="BlogArticle">

• Keep the tone light : When responding to such prompts, don’t get too caught up in trying to be ultra-intellectual, serious, or different from the crowd. Be creative, have fun, and try and show a lighter side of your personality to the admissions committee. Match the tone of the question and don’t overthink this one too much!
• Be genuine : The tricky part about responding to these random and creative prompts is to make your answer humorous while also being as honest and genuine as possible. Sincerity is key – make sure you don’t pick an answer you think sounds funny, or impressive, but that isn’t strictly true and backed up by the rest of your application. For instance, if asked “what kind of bird are you”, if you respond with something like “eagle” and talk generically about your leadership qualities without any specific details, admissions committees will be able to tell you aren’t being genuine. You can give any answer you like here! The important thing is to justify it with real aspects of your personality that add some interesting color to your application.

Now, let’s look at how to structure essays depending on the length. We’ll also go over an example for each essay type. 

Short Supplemental Essay (250 Words or Fewer) Examples

According to our college admissions consulting experts, these can be quite dangerous for some students, so don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because an essay has a short word count, you don’t need to spend much time on it. This can actually be one of the toughest types of essays, since you have very limited space in which to capture the admission committee’s attention and make your point. When you start writing, you might find that by the time you’ve set up your premise, you’re already done with 80% of the available word count! The key here is to include crisp, well-structured sentences to directly address the question being asked. There’s not really any space for a “hook” here, such as a quote, story, or layered personal experience. Only include a story or a personal experience if the question explicitly asks you too. In just 250 words or less, you won’t be able to describe too complex an event or activity, so just cut straight to the point.

Recommended Structure

• Direct opening sentence : Your first sentence should clearly address the essay prompt and set up the topic. Don’t worry about this being a boring or straightforward strategy – that’s what you need here!
• Specific details to support the topic : Add personal details and self-reflections suitable for the prompt to support your opening sentence. Remember, every word is crucial here so leave out any unnecessary facts and descriptions – stick to what’s relevant. Try and focus on a single experience, reflection, opinion, or topic, as you really won’t be able to do justice to any more. At the same time, make sure you don’t sacrifice flow to brevity. Each sentence should connect smoothly to the next, setting up a logical pathway from your opening thesis to your conclusion.
• Conclusion : Add the key takeaway or reflection and tie it back to the prompt.

To see how a short essay should be structured, let’s take a look at this prompt from Brandeis :

“Justice Brandeis once said, ‘If we would guide by the light of reason, we must let our minds be bold.’ Tell us about something bold that you’ve recently done.”

Here’s a sample answer:

Although painting isn't itself an especially wild or bold activity, showing my art for the first time felt very bold indeed. As someone with a motor impairment, I've never been able to draw well, and found art classes throughout elementary school incredibly frustrating and embarrassing. However, discovering the wide and extremely varied world of abstract art a few years ago, I was finally bitten by the art bug, and began experimenting with acrylic paint. At first, I just learned how to operate the varying dilutions and textures of paint, but over time I became obsessed with the idea of color gradients and shading, and how the paint itself can do a lot of work that doesn't depend on a completely steady hand. I amassed a small stack of canvasses, and this past year asked around at the two art galleries in town to see if anyone was interested in putting some of my pieces up. Fortunately, and to my surprise, one independent gallery offered to show my entire collected work for a month. Not only did I receive a tonne of really positive and encouraging messages from visitors to the gallery, but I even sold 3 pieces! I was honestly terrified at every step of the way, but that first sale was about the most confidence-building event I've ever experienced. It felt bold, but also made me hungry to continue making art and sharing it with others. (237 words) 

Medium Supplemental Essay (250-500 Words) Examples

Shorter than your personal statement, longer than a short answer, these essays require you to balance a logical flow with a crisp central narrative.

While the basic structure of this essay can be similar to the long-form 650 word essay, you’ll need to make a few adjustments to suit the shorter length.

• Opening paragraph : You can choose to add an “anchor experience” for these essays, or you can write it in a more direct style, responding to the prompt and getting straight to the point. It depends on what you want to say and how you want to say it. For example, if your essay is focused on personal experiences, then an evocatively described personal experience could be a great hook. However, if the prompt asks you to provide your opinion about a specific issue or creatively imagine a specific scenario, then getting right to the point is a better idea.
• Main body : Here, you describe your central thesis and add further details to support it. You have to be very efficient with your choice of experiences and even with the details of any experience you chose to include. Each sentence should be in service of the essay prompt. Review this section with the questions “Is this related to the essay prompt? Does this help to answer the question being asked?”.
• Conclusion : The key to an efficient, memorable conclusion of a medium length supplemental essay is economy of words. In a single sentence, you should address the question being asked and also communicate your own central thesis, with a focus on what makes you special. Crafting this conclusion will take you time! First, identify the points you want to make, and then figure out a way to compress them into as few words as possible, without sacrificing clarity.

Let’s check out an example of this type of essay.

University of California: Describe the most significant challenge you have faced and the steps you have taken to overcome this challenge. How has this challenge affected your academic achievement? (maximum 350 words)

Growing up as the precocious daughter of hard-working immigrant parents, academic excellence and achievements were always the two key cornerstones of my life. My parents inculcated the importance of doing well in school in me from a young age. After all, it was education that had enabled my parents to escape the poverty and trauma of their homeland and find refuge in this country. With a natural penchant for academics and a love for learning, I never had cause to question this life-long commitment – not until junior year of high school.

That was the year when my parents’ restaurant business took a huge hit, and from a regular middle-class American immigrant success story, we were brought to the brink of bleak poverty. It was a shock to our family that took us through some of the toughest times I’ve ever experienced. We all had to make sacrifices, and one of the most profound changes I experienced in that period was a total shift in my priorities, as I had to work at my parents’ restaurant every day after school to help keep the business afloat. From being a grade-A student, I became a struggling straggler who could barely keep up with tests and exams, much less take on extra credit projects. At one point, I even considered quitting school! The worst part was watching the pain in my parents’ eyes, knowing they couldn’t provide the ideal home environment they had envisioned for me, which they themselves had never received.

However, looking back, I consider that period one of the most significant learning experiences of my life. It tested my commitment to my academic interests, which had previously always been so easy to pursue, and I came through with a system that allowed me to contribute at home and also excel at school. It made me further appreciate the struggles my parents had gone through as immigrants juggling family, work, education, and a major cultural adjustment. And finally, it made me appreciate what a gift and privilege education truly is, and vow never to take it for granted. (347 words)

Want to know a surprising fact? You might actually find the long-form supplemental essays easier to write than their shorter counterparts! These essays are typically 500 to 650 words long, which means you have plenty of space to build a coherent narrative, expand on your thesis, and support it with relevant details. When writing a longer supplemental essay, you can actually re-use many of the same strategies you employed for your Common App essay or personal statement. The basic structure (which we’ll explain in a moment) will be similar, and you can even recycle some of your rejected personal statement ideas to write an exemplary supplemental essay.

You can go for the commonly used 3 to 5 paragraph essay structure here. Include the following:

• Introduction : For longer essays, it’s critical to have a strong opening that hooks the reader and draws them into your narrative immediately. Admissions committees are reading thousands of essays, so you want to shake them out of their “reading fatigue” by capturing their attention with story, personal experience, unique quote, etc. In this paragraph, you should also clearly set up the central thesis of your essay. Critically for supplemental essays, ensure that your central thesis directly addresses or answers the prompt. Tie the “hook” of your opening paragraph in with this central thesis.
• Body paragraphs 1/2/3 : While the 5-paragraph structure is the most commonly used essay format for long-form essays, you can include more or fewer, as per the requirements of your specific narrative. Remember to be selective when you choose the experiences to support your thesis. In these paragraphs, you build on the central narrative you set up in introduction, supported with your self-reflections and personal examples. Include only the necessary details that help to build the central theme of the essay. Your essay should be written in a natural, direct style, but you can try and include evocative details and personal reflections to help communicate your point.
• Conclusion : As with all other supplemental essays, the conclusion is critical. You must include a key takeaway, learning, or crisp one-liner to sum up your answer to the question being asked.

Harvard : An intellectual experience (course, project, book, discussion, paper, poetry, or research topic in engineering, mathematics, science, or other modes of inquiry) that has meant the most to you. (maximum 650 words)

“It is the sandbox of men who care not where they are going; they merely want to know where everyone else has been.”

It’s a hot summer’s day, I’m red-faced, sweaty, and out-of-breath, hunched over a pile of earth, delicately brushing away tiny amounts of ancient mud, and John Bishop’s words suddenly pop into my mind. Our project director, Professor Saltzman, had led a brief session that morning concluding with this memorable quote, and it stayed with me for one clear reason: I felt it perfectly encapsulated my own journey, from a guy who cared too much about where he was going, to someone who now primarily cared about the business of these long, long, dead ancient women and their kitchen tools. The irony of the realization made me chuckle a little, disturbing the earth around the little kitchen mound I was excavating, and then I went back to my gentle brushing, once again fully absorbed.

It was simply not a picture of myself I could have believed merely months prior. From a very young age, I had a vision of myself as a lawyer. I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather, carving an illustrious career that would begin, like theirs, at Harvard, and end with me on the Supreme Court. This dream hit a minor snag when, due to a medical absence is junior year, I missed my AP History exam. Mr. Griffin, my history teacher, suggested that I complete a summer archeology program he was affiliated with to make up the credit. And that was how this “minor snag” actually ended up diverting my passions, interests, and ambitions away from law and firmly into the field of archeology.

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight. I was resistant to what I perceived was a distraction from my true interest, the practice of law – I thought then I’d much rather be shadowing my father in a cushy air conditioned office than sweating it out in a desert, digging for broken bits of ancient pottery. But within a couple of days, I found to my surprise that I loved every second of it. The director of the program, Professor Saltzman, liked to walk us through our findings, however minor, at the end of each day. For the benefit of the younger students present, he often delivered lectures expanding upon the critical contextual history of that period. I was amazed at how these small, faded pieces of pottery could tell us so much about the socio-cultural norms of 8000 years ago; from which countries they traded with to what they ate, from their dominant gender roles to the kinds of currency they used.

Most amazing of all, at least to me, was how archeology could actually help envision the lived reality of these people from long ago. Our key findings in that dig were the kitchen utensils of a woman we nicknamed “Leda”, a widowed fisherwoman with two children. Every day, we would discover a new piece of evidence and spend hours classifying, dissecting, and contextualizing it to discover all it could tell us about how Leda lived her life. I realized that all the physical discomforts were worth the thrill of bringing these tiny pieces of history back to life.

In those 4 weeks, I experienced a kind of wonder, and joy in learning, and intrinsically motivated intellectual curiosity, that I had never experienced before in my life. With law, I was primarily attracted to all the perceived prestige and privileges that accrued to the profession; with archeology, the subject matter itself drew me onwards to push past my prejudices and discomforts. Today, I hope to continue to pursue my passion for archeology by continuing my work under Professor Saltzman as an undergraduate at Harvard, and hopefully discover the secret lives of many more Ledas in the future. (643)

The personal statement is a more general essay with a broader scope, typically submitted as part of your primary application, whereas supplemental essays respond to specific prompts and are submitted with your secondary application directly to each school. You only need to write one personal statement (such as the Common App essay) which goes out to all your colleges, and it should therefore never include any college-specific details. On the other hand, each college asks for their own set of supplemental essays, and they may often ask you to expand upon your interest in the specific college, program, or major you are applying to. A personal statement is a single long-form essay of 650 words or more, whereas colleges can ask for multiple supplemental essays that can range in length from 35 to 650 words.

The most commonly used supplemental college essay prompts are:

• The “why us” essay that asks you to discuss why you want go to a specific college
• The extracurricular essay that asks you to discuss your activities, talents, or skills
• The community essay that asks you to expand upon your identity, diversity, community engagement, and so on
• The “why this major” essay that asks you to discuss your specific academic interests
• The “create a class” essay that asks you to creatively design a major or come up with your own class
• The “quirky” essay that can include creative, zany, out-of-the-box, informal prompts

Supplemental college essays can range in length from 35 words to 650 words. Every college has their own prompts and requirements, so you should check the admissions website of your colleges to learn more.

The “why this school” college essay is one of the most common supplemental college essay types. It’s very important to be college-specific in this essay, and to include details of your special interest in the concerned college supported by your knowledge of their unique offerings. You will have to do some research on the college so you can make your essay as specific and unique as possible.

Yes, supplemental essays are a critical part of your application. They help to personalize and flesh out your application, building on your achievements, transcripts, and scores, to show the admissions committee a well-rounded, unique individual. Crucially, supplemental essays are a chance for you to show how well your thinking and experiences align with the college’s missions and values and why you would be an excellent candidate for their program.

A word count of 250 words or less can pose a significant challenge for students. To write an effective short answer, you need to be concise and direct, addressing the question asked while building a logical flow from introduction to conclusion. There’s no space in such questions for fancy opening hooks and elaborate narratives – just stick to the relevant experiences and reflections and always connect back to the prompt itself.

It depends on the topic! It’s not a good idea to copy paste the essay content for college-specific prompts such as “why us” or “why this major”, where the expectation is that you will talk in detail about the unique features of that college which attract you. However, for more generic topics like “what inspires you” or “how did you serve your community”, you can certainly re-use topics and themes between essays. Just make sure you edit each essay to meet the specific word count and include college specific details wherever possible. Additionally, you should always read and understand the prompt thoroughly before drafting your essay. Respond to the spirit as well as the letter of the prompts in your opening and concluding sentences, even if you’ve re-used most of the main body content from another similar essay.

Supplemental college essays certainly afford you greater room to be creative and informal than your personal statement. However, the extent to which this style of writing would be appropriate depends on the prompts. The short answer, zany, creative prompts, are the perfect place to show a lighter side of your personality and introduce a little humor in your application. But an essay about significant obstacles you’re overcome, or your long-term academic goals, might not be an ideal place to get overtly casual and humorous.

You will receive your secondary application directly from the college after you submit your primary application. The deadline to complete secondary applications varies from college to college. Most colleges ask you to submit your completed supplemental application, including essays, within 2 weeks or a month of receiving the prompts. This isn’t a lot of time, especially considering most colleges will be sending out secondary applications in the same rough time period and you’ll have to work on multiple applications at once. However, you can prepare in advance for your supplemental essays by brainstorming ideas and writing rough drafts in response to previous years’ prompts.

Every college has their own unique secondary application requirements. You should check the admissions websites of your colleges to learn more about their specific requirements. Some colleges may ask for just a single 650-word essay, while others may provide 5 or 6 prompts of varying lengths. Generally speaking, most colleges don’t ask for more than 1 or 2 long supplemental essays (500+ words), along with 2 or 3 shorter essays.

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Can extracurricular activities contain sth like assisting family ,and socal activities that doesn't encounter certificate?

BeMo Academic Consulting

Hello Phoebe! Thanks for your question. Yes, you can definitely consider these extracurriculars, depending on the activity you did. For example, if you assisted a family member after an illness or organized social activities like fund raisers.

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Our Analysis of the 2023-2024 Supplemental Essay Prompts

This year's batch of supplemental essay prompts was released on august 1st. here's what those prompts reveal about the changing priorities at colleges and universities..

Thanks to the perceived essay loophole Chief Justice Roberts’ Supreme Court decision language created—establishing that students can write about racial identity when tied to other experiences and characteristics—there has been much speculation that colleges would scramble to add diversity-related questions to their applications. Now that the Common App has reset for 2023-24, we can see colleges’ new supplemental questions. Did this bear out? So far, we’d say: yes. Yes it did. Here are a few overall trends and changes we’re noticing in the 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts.

An increase in DEIB-related essays

This comes as no surprise. It’s important to note that many colleges already had prompts that asked students to reflect on their identities, on their communities, or on how they would contribute to diverse campuses; schools like Duke, Michigan, and Syracuse have included questions like this on their supplements for years now. But other schools have made notable changes since June’s decision: University of Miami, for example, replaced their question about the ibis (which, admittedly, we are not terribly sad to see go); American University scrapped their “why AU?”; and UVA retooled the essay questions they had only just retooled last year (even though UVA’s Dean J admitted she really liked last year’s version).

Here are the new versions of those schools’ supplemental essay questions:

University of Miami

“Located within one of the most dynamic cities in the world, the University of Miami is a distinctive community with a variety of cultures, traditions, histories, languages, and backgrounds. The University of Miami is a values-based and purpose-driven postsecondary institution that embraces diversity and inclusivity in all its forms and strives to create a culture of belonging, where every person feels valued and has an opportunity to contribute. Please describe how your unique experiences, challenges overcome, or skills acquired would contribute to our distinctive University community.” (max 250 words)

American University

“At American University, Inclusive Excellence is a cornerstone of the academic experience for our students, and we deeply value the learning that is inspired by the diversity of backgrounds and life experiences that all our community members bring with them. Please share why you would like to join this community.” (max 150 words)

All Applicants (300 words or less):

“What about your background, perspective, or experience will serve as a source of strength for you or those around you at UVA?”

(…and read more about UVA’s new legacy-based optional question here ).

More choice for students

Many colleges who have introduced new questions have included these questions as one of several choices. BU, for example, introduced a new question—“Reflect on a social or community issue that deeply resonates with you. Why is it important to you, and how have you been involved in addressing or raising awareness about it?”—but kept their classic “Why BU?” as an alternative option. Offering prompt choices—which schools like Tufts, Boston College, Villanova, Emory, and University of Richmond have done for quite some time—allows for students to write about their identities if they wish and on their own terms.

…Except at Harvard

As one of the defendants in the Supreme Court case, Harvard has lots of eyes on its post-SCOTUS decision making. Its response to the decision? Eliminating the previous optional (er, “optional”) essay and instituting five required essays. Very Harvard of them. And yes, one of them is directly about diversity:

“Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?”

Less emphasis on “why us?” essays

While this isn’t true everywhere, we saw a few surprising changes at some “why us?” stalwarts. Perhaps most notably, Tulane’s “why us?” essay—which, for many years, famously had an 800-word limit—is now a mere 250. And while last year Tulane had three different robust supplemental essay questions, now it’s just the one. Truly, our jaws are on the floor (yes, at this time of year, this counts as Very Exciting News. We essay editors don’t get out much in August). Equally shocking: no “why Indiana?” question for Indiana University in Bloomington. In fact, no supplement at all! That’s one way to lower the barrier to entry and boost application numbers (just ask Northeastern).

For tips on how to tackle these essay questions, check out our College Essay Hub . And if you’re looking for more in-depth, one-on-one support, reach out to our college admissions team!

Caroline Hertz

Stanford University Supplemental Essays Guide: 2021-2022

Not sure how to approach the Stanford essay prompts? With tips from an Ivy League graduate, CollegeAdvisor.com’s guide to the Stanford essay prompts will show you exactly how to write engaging Stanford supplemental essays and maximize your chances of admission.

For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources on Stanford,  click here . Want help crafting your Stanford supplemental essays? Create your  free account  or  schedule a free consultation  by calling (844) 505-4682

Stanford  Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• Stanford has an acceptance rate of 5%— U.S. News   ranks Stanford as a  highly competitive  school.
• We recommend answering all Stanford essay questions comprehensively and thoughtfully.

Does Stanford require supplemental essays?

Yes. In addition to the  Common App  personal statement, there are several specific Stanford essay questions. When building your school list, it may be helpful to keep a running tally of which schools require supplemental essays and how many each school requires. You’ll need to create a timeline for each application with realistic deadlines for drafting and editing your essays.

Sometimes, students struggle to find the best topic for their Common App statement. CollegeAdvisor.com’s  article on reflection exercises  is a great place to start. For additional tips on approaching the Common App, we have  a step-by-step breakdown .

How many essays do you need to write for Stanford?

There are eight total Stanford essay questions. There are three short Stanford essays which are between 100 and 250 words, and five short Stanford essay questions, which are a maximum of 50 words each.

Though they vary in word count, it’s important to take each of the Stanford supplemental essays seriously. A 50-word Stanford essay can mean just as much as a 250-word response!

Which essays are required for Stanford?

All of them! No optional Stanford essay prompts here. The Stanford supplemental essays are on  the Common App site , but you can also visit  the main Stanford website  for a full list of application requirements, including the Stanford supplemental essays. Since you’ll be answering eight Stanford supplemental essays of varying lengths, you’ll want to plan accordingly and give yourself enough time to write and edit each response.

What is Stanford looking for in essays?

This guide will break down each of the Stanford essay examples. In general, Stanford wants to see students whose passion and personality shine through. Be authentic in your Stanford supplemental essays. Don’t just say what you think Admissions Officers want to hear—instead, stay true to yourself, starting with the question below!

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Essay 1

The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning. (100-250 words)

To answer this Stanford essay, think back to a time when you really enjoyed yourself while you were doing something academic. This could be reading a textbook, taking an exam, writing an essay, or learning about a certain topic in class that really interested you.

Here, you should let your genuine passion shine; you’d do best to think of one specific example. Once you’ve got your example, describe  why  it was so exciting to you. Don’t be afraid to get nerdy on this question and showcase a depth of knowledge about your chosen subject. Your Stanford essays are the place to demonstrate your intellectual drive both inside and outside the classroom.

Stanford Essay Draft Key Questions:

• Does your draft clearly communicate the idea which excites you?
• Do you articulate why your chosen activity matters to you and how it has influenced your growth and identity?
• Does your supplement complement the information present in the rest of your application?

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Essay 2

Virtually all of Stanford’s undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate—and us—get to know you better. (100-250 words)

Of all the Stanford supplemental essays, this may be the most well-known.

The second of the Stanford essay prompts might just be the most difficult question on the application—it is the most direct invitation to talk about yourself, but specifically, your  inner  self. This is the Stanford essay where you can get the most creative. You might try brainstorming a list of characteristics, hobbies, or habits that you’ve noticed in yourself. Once you have a long list, you can decide whether you want to incorporate all of those traits in your letter or just focus on a specific few.

It also might help you to ask close friends or family members about any unique quirks you might have. You should have fun with your writing. Be honest! What do you genuinely want your future roommate to know? Do you stay up all night after watching horror movies because they scare you so much? Are you a show tunes shower singer? Is your love of plants only equal to your ability to kill any of the ones you’ve purchased?

The second of the Stanford essay questions lets you demonstrate more dimension than any other part of your application. It should be one of the most memorable things the Admissions Officers read—and also the most fun!

• Does your response teach the reader something new about you?
• Have you revealed aspects of your personality that both a roommate and an Admissions Officer should know?
• Is your essay’s tone clear and reflective of your identity and personality?

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Essay 3

Tell us about something that is meaningful to you and why. (100-250 words)

Like some of the other Stanford essay prompts, the most important part of this essay is not necessarily the what but the  why.  Stanford wants to understand your underlying passions and drive. In this Stanford essay, you want to demonstrate how you will contribute to the Stanford community. Like with other Stanford supplemental essays, your response should connect back to your overall candidate profile and emphasize the unique skills and interests you bring to the table.

For this Stanford essay, you could pick an activity, club, or academic subject, but be sure you have a compelling reason why your chosen subject is important. You could also talk about a meaningful event or memory. You do not necessarily have to limit yourself to one thing, as long as you can connect each interest or experience you choose to discuss in the same thread. If you choose to talk about an event like a job, internship, or volunteer experience, you should provide tangible evidence of why it was meaningful. Go deeper than generalized statements like “It was challenging,” or “I learned a lot.”

All of the Stanford essay questions aim to let applicants showcase their identities, and this is no exception. Be honest, be genuine, and showcase your values!

• Do you describe in detail something that is unique to you?
• Do you focus on the  why  and not just the  what ?
• Does your essay clearly display what “meaningful” means to you?

Do Stanford supplemental essays change?

From year to year, the Stanford essay questions can sometimes vary, although the notorious “Future roommate” question is almost always guaranteed to appear. You can find all the current Stanford essay prompts on the  Common App website  and all of the Stanford application requirements (including Stanford essay prompts)  here .

While the Stanford essay questions do change, at their core, each of the Stanford essay prompts will always aim to teach the admissions committee more about prospective students on their own terms.

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Question 1

What is the most significant challenge that society faces today? (50 words maximum)

The short Stanford essay questions present a particular challenge. After all, a 50-word limit doesn’t give you much space!

With this Stanford essay, you’ll want to pick a topic that you feel passionately about and that you also have some actionable ideas about. Try not to write about something too niche; however, if you choose a broad topic such as climate change, gender inequality, or racism, you’ll want to narrow it down to a more succinct description. You will then want to suggest what you feel could be done to address your chosen challenge.

Many of the short Stanford essay prompts are designed to see how you can think on your feet. Rather than just pointing to a challenge or problem, Stanford wants to see your capabilities for deeper analytical thought and problem-solving. Towards the end of this (very short) answer, you should demonstrate your critical thinking skills. End your Stanford essay on a positive note with changes that could be useful for reframing how our society approaches your challenge.

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Question 2

How did you spend your last two summers? (50 words maximum)

This question should be one of the most straightforward to answer. You could approach this Stanford essay in one of two ways. You could write out a list, covering a more expansive array of topics and showcasing your diversity of skills and interests, or you could hone in on one or two specific activities that mattered most to you.

Either way, you’ll want the activities you discuss here to reflect other parts of your application. This helps show consistency in your overall candidate profile. You also do not want to waste the beginning with an intro sentence like “Over the past two summers, I have performed a variety of jobs and activities.” Admissions Officers know the question you are responding to, so dive right in!

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Question 3

What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed? (50 words maximum)

The third of the short Stanford supplemental essays are more creative in nature. For this Stanford essay, the historical moment you choose to write about will not be as important as  why  you’ve chosen it. If no historical event immediately jumps into your mind (and it’s alright if not), you might want to flip through an old history textbook or even try some creative googling.

Other applicants may also use Google to help, which means that you’ll want to work a little harder than just clicking on the first link that pops up when you search “important historical events.” The most important thing to do with this Stanford essay is to be sure to describe  why  witnessing this event would be especially impactful to  you .

One way to approach the third of the short Stanford essay questions is to think about what you want to study and how historical events may have impacted your chosen field. Or, perhaps you have older family members who have always told stories about their experience of an event, and you’d like to be there firsthand in order to connect more with these relatives. What will make this Stanford essay stand out for readers is the personal connection or interest you describe in the event. As with other Stanford essay questions, it’s not the  what  that’s important, but the  why .

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Question 4

Briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities, a job you hold, or responsibilities you have for your family. (50 words maximum)

As you’ve likely noticed, the Stanford essay prompts oscillate between the abstract and the straightforward. This Stanford essay is more streamlined, giving you the chance to expand on your interests and experiences.

This is an opportunity to elaborate about something in your activities section or to address something that you were not able to list but still is a large part of your identity (such as caring for family members). Whatever you pick, you will want to choose an activity or responsibility that taught you a lot, that pushed or challenged you, or that was particularly memorable.

You don’t get a  ton  of room in the Stanford essays to expand on your chosen activity, so feel free to be straightforward and direct with your language. You don’t have to waste words setting the scene; like all of these shorter Stanford essay questions, you’ll want to get right into your answer.

Does Stanford have a “why us” question?

Yes. This is the classic supplemental essay question, and the Stanford essays are no exception—all colleges want to know what makes them special to you. This is your chance to showcase any research you have done about Stanford while you’ve been writing your Stanford essays or as you’ve been completing the rest of the application.

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Short Question 5

Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (50 words maximum)

This “Why Us” question is a bit different from the traditional college essay because it asks you to focus on one thing you’re excited about. This Stanford essay is the space to show off your expert investigation skills and name drop a course, a club, a professor, or an undergraduate-specific event or tradition only available at Stanford. Colleges can tell when you swap out their name for another university and submit the same “Why here?” answer, and Stanford specifically phrases this essay prompt to further discourage that.

You will probably have to spend a bit of time investigating Stanford. You may even want to ask an alum or do some intensive research to find a unique answer. Also, you’ll want to focus on why in particular you are looking forward to whatever you choose, rather than just saying “It’s really cool” or “It seems so fun!”

Be authentic in your response in order to make it stand out from more generic answers. Admissions Officers will likely read a lot of similar answers to the Stanford essay prompts, and the “Why Us” question is no exception.

Stanford Supplemental Essays—Final Thoughts

Completing the Stanford essay prompts can seem daunting, but don’t let that discourage you from applying. The Stanford essay questions are a great opportunity to demonstrate who you are for admissions officers reading your application. Your Stanford essays can boost your application if you have a lower-than-average GPA or  SAT score . Use this guide as a step-by-step aid when approaching the Stanford essay questions and start earlier than you think you should.

This is especially true with the shortest Stanford essay prompts; you might think it will be easy to write five essays that are under 50 words, but the shortest Stanford essay questions can be the most challenging. Don’t be afraid to ask for revisions from someone; it’s helpful to have another set of eyes checking your Stanford essay prompts for grammatical errors, tone, and clarity. Good luck!

This 2021-2022 essay guide for Stanford University was written by  Laura Frustaci . For more CollegeAdvisor.com resources on Stanford and the Stanford supplemental essays,  click here . Want help crafting your Stanford supplemental essays? Create your  free account  or  schedule a free consultation  by calling (844) 505-4682.

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College Supplemental Essays: What They Are and How To Tackle Them

Now that the Common App has reset and most colleges have updated their applications as of Aug. 1, college application season is in full swing! Typically, the most time-intensive aspect of this process is essay writing. While many colleges require a general personal statement that can be sent to many different schools, quite a few colleges require students to also write “supplemental essays.” Although these will be sent to only one school, your supplemental essay responses are just as important as your general personal statement — and sometimes, even more important! Read on for tips on how to tackle these essays before senior year begins!

What are supplemental essays?

While the personal statement is written to a more general audience (since it gets sent to all or most of the schools that a student is applying to), supplemental essays are required by specific schools and written with a more specific audience in mind: the admissions team of the school that the prompt is provided by. Supplemental essays can vary in subject and length, and on occasion, the prompts can be quite creative or unusual; for instance, during this year’s admissions cycle some supplemental prompts included “What can actually be divided by zero?” (U Chicago), “What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?” (Stanford), and “Name three songs from your perfect playlist” (Elon). 

More commonly, however, supplemental essay prompts tend to ask students to address topics like their intellectual interests, community involvement, or why they want to attend a particular school. Both these more “typical” prompts and the more unique ones are intended to serve the same purpose: to help schools learn more about a student and where they might fit into that particular school’s academic community.  

The “Why” Essay

By far the most common supplemental essay prompt is what we like to call the “Why” essay, which asks students some variation of “Why do you want to attend this school?” For instance, this is the prompt for UW Madison’s required supplemental essay: 

“Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest (650 word maximum).”  

Note that this prompt asks some questions beyond just why students want to attend the university. It is crucial to carefully read and break down the text of the prompt to make sure that you’re actually answering the question that’s asked! 

It is also important that you take the opportunity to write about both your own interests and the school’s offerings, so that you can demonstrate how they complement each other. (In other words, don’t just write about how great the school is without inserting yourself into the narrative – the school already knows that they’re great, but they want to know why they’re a great fit for you!)

Do your research!

For many supplemental essays (but especially the “Why” essay), it’s good to find opportunities to be specific about what draws you to a particular school and why it is a strong fit for your goals and interests. Colleges want you to show “ demonstrated interest ” in their school, and one way of doing that is to include in your supplemental essays evidence that you’ve done your research about their unique academic offerings and campus culture. Including specific information about courses you hope to take, clubs or organizations you plan to participate in, or campus traditions that you learned about on your tour can be an impactful way of showing that you’re truly interested in the school and see it as a perfect fit.

Questions to Consider

Even before beginning any of your supplemental essays, there are some general questions that might be helpful to brainstorm and use as prompts for freewriting or bullet points:

• What are you interested in studying in college? What academic, work, or personal experiences have led you to this decision, and what skills and experiences do you hope to gain in college related to this subject?
• What kinds of extracurricular experiences do you hope to have in college? What extracurricular activities have been most meaningful to you in high school, and why?
• What communities are you a part of, and how have you contributed to those communities? (Community can be defined broadly – it could refer to location, clubs/organizations, religious affiliation, ethnicity/nationality, friendships and familial ties, and more.)
• What are the main values, traits, or identities that you want colleges to know about that may not show up in other parts of your application?

Doing some of this initial thinking will make it easier to decide how you want to respond to particular supplemental prompts, as well as potentially helping you refine what exactly you’re looking for in a college. Happy writing!

Feeling like you could use some extra support getting started? Get help from our team of experienced essay coaches here at Galin! Email [email protected].

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The Admissions Strategist

College supplemental essays: everything you need to know.

Your personal statement is one of the most important essays you will write for your college application. It shows a side of you that cannot be captured in your GPA, activities list, or anywhere else on your application. You can spend months crafting the perfect personal statement, honing each word and paragraph to convey exactly the right message.

So, why then do so many schools require that you write additional supplemental essays?

Colleges aren’t looking to overwhelm you with unnecessary extra work. Each supplemental prompt is meant to get a little more information about your interests, your knowledge about their school or programs, what kind of person you are, or any other number of specific subjects.

In this guide, we will review everything you need to know about supplemental essays and how to write the best essays possible.

Click above to watch a video on Supplemental Essays.

What are supplemental essays?

Many colleges find that they want more information about a certain aspect of your experience, knowledge, or personality than they might be able to find in your personal statement or the rest of your application.

If that’s the case, they will include special essay prompts that are unique to their school.

This could be one extra prompt or several—Stanford University has eight essay and short answer prompts.

These essay prompts can be found on each college’s website, and in most cases can be found through a simple Google search (i.e. “NYU supplemental essays,” “Upenn supplemental essays,” etc.). Our blog has plenty of essay guides for these prompts!

How many supplemental essays will I have to write?

Not every school has a supplemental essay requirement.

A good way to predict your potential workload, though, is to expect around one to three supplemental essays per school. Some schools may have more, some may not have any at all.

So, if you are applying to ten schools, then you could find yourself writing around 15-25 supplemental essays of varying lengths on top of writing your personal statement.

That may seem like a lot, and if you haven’t written a lot of essays in high school, it can feel like a daunting amount of writing.

Don’t fret—although it can be a lot of writing, if you start early (many colleges release their supplemental prompts during the summer), and work smart (more on that later), then you will knock them out before you know it.

How long will writing supplemental essays take?

One of the great things about supplemental essays is that only one school sees your work. They also tend to cover only a few types of questions or subjects.

As a result, you can often reuse large swaths of your work for different schools.

When you first start making your way through these prompts, the writing may take a little longer.  After all, you’re writing those first few essays from scratch.  Following those initial essays, the process should become a little easier.

You will get more familiar with the structure of the questions and answers, and you will be able to reuse the most important pieces from your previous essays.

Early on in the writing process, an essay may take you two or three weeks to write. By the end, you will be able to write several essays within a week.

The one type of prompt that you may need to spend a little more time on, though, are the “ why this school ” prompts. These prompts can come in many forms, but the gist of the question asks for things that you like about their school, program, or major.

Here is a sample of this type of prompt from Northwestern University:

• In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond.

What they are asking for here is research–specific details about professors that you like, or classes you are looking forward to.

Researching these can take slightly longer, but again, once you are familiar with the structure and approach needed for these essays, they will become easier to write.

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Does every school have supplemental essays.

Short answer: No.

As you move from safety schools on up to reach schools, the likelihood of the school having at least one supplemental essay prompt increases.

With that said, several notable schools have chosen to forgo supplemental essays, including schools like Drexel University in Philadelphia, or Northeastern University in Boston. So, not having a supplemental essay isn’t always indicative of a school’s quality or reputation.

The number of required supplemental essays can also depend on the program or major to which you are applying.

For example, the University of Pennsylvania has two supplemental essays that every applicant must answer, but they also require additional essays for more specific programs .

Ultimately, you should look specifically at the website of every school to which you are applying and check if they have supplemental essay prompts.

Why are supplemental essays so important?

Supplemental essays represent an opportunity to speak directly to an individual school on your list.

In general, the essays are the only places on your application where you can control how you are presenting yourself. Everything else is simply a collection of accomplishments, experiences, or scores that likely paint a similar picture to several other applicants.

With the essays, you can finally give voice to those more intangible aspects of your personality, passions, and interests, and the supplemental essays help you hone that information one school at a time.

By necessity, your personal statement needs to be more general.  You can’t include details about a specific school in the personal statement because so many different schools will see that same essay.

With a supplemental essay, only one school will see your answer, which means you can tailor your answers specifically to that school, sprinkling in details about their unique programs, instructors, and more.

This is your chance to show each school why you are the perfect applicant for their program, and why they are the perfect school for you.

Why are supplemental essays more important post-COVID?

Supplemental essays have always been important to a school’s decision-making process, but recently, they have become more important than ever.

As you know, colleges use several sources of information to evaluate potential candidates, including standardized test scores, GPA, activities, essays, etc.

However, COVID disrupted this process quite a bit.

As a result of COVID restrictions, many schools opted to offer test-optional applications for the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 application seasons. This means that they will accept applications that do not submit standardized test scores like the SAT or ACT.

Some schools and school systems were already looking at phasing out or lessening the importance of testing before COVID hit, and In several notable instances, test-optional has already become a permanent offering.

In theory, this gives applicants who were unable to take a test an equal chance at gaining acceptance.

In practice, the process doesn’t always equal the playing field. Sometimes, schools can place an increased emphasis on the other aspects of the application. For example, a test-optional application might now need a higher average GPA than applicants who have scored high on a standardized test, especially at higher-level schools.

With a shift away from standardized tests, and a larger emphasis being placed on other pieces of the application, supplemental essays have increased in importance.

How can I prepare to write my supplemental essays?

Essay writing can feel like a bit of a slog if you don’t prepare properly.

Follow these seven steps to make sure that you can write the best supplemental essays possible without doubling or tripling your work.

• Look up all of the supplemental essays for each of the schools on your list.

These can usually be found with a simple Google search (i.e. “ NYU supplemental essays ,” “ Harvard supplemental essays ,” etc.).

• Read through each prompt and categorize them by their similarities.

All “why this school” essays go in one category, all essays asking about your interest in your major go into another, etc. Keep in mind that some questions may straddle two or more categories.

• Check each essay’s length. Write the longer essays first.

Some prompts require a short answer of 150 characters or 50 words, others might require 450-500 words long.

Supplemental prompts sometimes try to gauge your interest or excitement for the school or a specific program. Look up specific details and mention them in your essay. This can include professors whose work you admire, classes you are looking forward to, or specific programs and facilities that fall in line with your interest. The more pointed the detail, the more effective it will be in your essay.

• Recycle. Recycle. Recycle.

Use the longer essays to help answer the shorter essays whenever possible. This likely won’t be a one-for-one fit. You will need to edit your essay to make it fit each individual prompt.

• Make sure you are answering every aspect of a prompt.

One school’s prompt may be asking for a personal story of leadership, while another school may want a story of leadership that specifically illustrates your grasp of teamwork. The answers to these two prompts may be similar but not exactly the same. Additionally, some prompts may have more than one question. Answer every aspect of the prompt as completely as possible.

• Be creative!

Sometimes, a school just wants you to flex your creativity. Don’t get stuck in a rut with each essay. Make sure you are writing the most interesting answer possible. If a school gives you a strange and esoteric prompt, then chances are they want a strange and esoteric response.

Using these steps, you will have what you need to complete any prompt a school throws at you.

Conclusion: Supplemental Essays for College

This guide should provide you with all the information you need to know about college supplemental essays.

Not every school has them, but when they do, they can be incredibly important for your application .

Check each school on your list for their requirements, and make sure you read each prompt closely and carefully.  Some of the most common mistakes in these essays can be boiled down to not answering the prompt fully or accidentally ignoring part of the question.

Ultimately, the supplemental essays will be one of the main components of your application. They will take more time to complete than any other piece, and answering them properly and creatively can make all the difference between two potential candidates with similar credentials.

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College Supplemental Essays That Worked: Tips & Inspiration

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As summer winds down, it’s time to start thinking about supplemental essays as well! How do they fit into your college application?

College supplemental essays are what makes the application process so challenging. With students applying to 5-8 schools and each school requiring 2-3 additional writing supplements, students are looking at writing 25 essays (including the personal statement!) in 4 months time.

That doesn’t end up being a lot of time, especially given the effort that goes into  brainstorming, writing and editing each essay.

While it’s tempting, students shouldn’t reuse application essays. Most supplemental essays prompts are tailored to the university and reflects what the university is looking for in their student body. Thus, you should also tailor your response to the schools you’re applying to in order to demonstrate good fit.

Supplemental essays may initially seem tedious, but they offer applicants a great opportunity to share more about themselves. You can elaborate on your extracurriculars, your interest in a specific major, your cultural background, or just something unique about yourself that’s not represented in your academics or resume.

Here are 5 supplemental essay writing tips to help you make the most out of them and craft a winning application:

Supplemental Essay Tip 1: Bigger Picture

View your application holistically. Don’t just focus on your personal statement or your supplemental essays, or even your SAT/ACT score as individual components of your application. If they are reviewed by the admissions office altogether, you should aim to do the same. Think of the bigger picture.

Why is this important? To make sure you’ve highlighted everything you want to about yourself in your application. Think strategically about your grades, test scores, classes you took, extracurriculars and recommendation letters—what will each of these components highlight about you? These are things that reflect your high school career that you can no longer change. So consider these anchoring points that you can build off of. 

Is there a particular passion of yours that isn’t readily apparent from reviewing other parts of your application?  Maybe you want to devote more room to discussing a specific major you want to pursue. Or perhaps it’s an extracurricular you dedicated 4 years too that didn’t get much airtime in your personal statement. While your personal statement should highlight the most integral part of your identity, your supplements are a great place to elaborate on aspects of your candidacy that more fully develop you as an applicant. Remember to tie your essays back to why you’re a good fit for the schools you’re applying to.

Read more: UChicago Supplemental Essay Prompts 2018-2019

Supplemental Essay Tip 2: Do Your Research

Supplemental essay prompts are developed by the university’s admissions office, and are often inspired by past successful applicants. You can tell a lot about a university based on their supplemental essay prompts and what they want to know more about from their applicants. In order to respond accordingly, it’s important you do your research.

Research comes in many different ways. You can explore and read the university website or blog, follow them on social media channels, reach out to professors or current students, or visit campus. The point is to learn as much as you can about the school you’re applying to. More than being able to respond to the essay prompts, it’s crucial to make sure you’re applying to the right school for you. Consider incorporating details from the information session or the overnight stay that highlight aspects of the school that appeal to you. It’s also an opportunity to discuss a fact that may be lesser known or speak to an experience that’s personal to you; the more specific you can be about your interest in the school, the better.

Supplemental Essay Tip 3: Know Your Essay Prompts

Universities that require additional supplemental essays usually come in 4 categories of prompts. They will either ask you to respond to one of these prompts, or a combination of the following:

1. ‘Why Us’ School Specific Supplement

This is probably the most common supplemental essay question that is required. With increasing applications every year, universities want to be able to set applicants apart based on why they want to attend their institution. Do applicants really understand what the university stands for? Do they know what the campus culture is like and would they be a good fit? And finally, if accepted, how would they contribute to university’s community?

This is where your research is important. Based on your understanding of the university, respond in relation to your own strengths. This then ties back to thinking about the bigger picture. Is there a quality that makes the university a great fit for you and vice versa? Or a specific major you’re interested in that would be best studied at this institution? This is how all these different elements come together!

Big universities with many different undergraduate schools and colleges will typically offer this as their only additional supplement. If you need help on this particular supplemental essay, here are some tips and examples for the Why NYU supplemental essay  and the Why Cornell supplemental essay . 

2. Extracurricular Supplement

Some universities will ask you to elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. This is a great opportunity for you to share more about your extracurricular resume, especially if you haven’t been able to highlight too much of it in your personal statement. If you come across this supplement, choose the extracurricular that was most important to you, or perhaps the one you’d like to continue to pursue in college.

Admissions offices ask for this supplement to see how you’ve engaged in your community, what you enjoy doing outside of the classroom, and what you’ve learned by participating in it. College isn’t just about going to class, so they want to see how else you’d potentially engage with the rest of the student body if given the opportunity.

This supplement is often disguised as a community question. For example, how have you contributed to your community and what would you contribute to our community? Schools like MIT  and Princeton  both ask for this supplement.

3. Unique Question Supplement

This supplement is usually the one that stumps most applicants. Universities will offer multiple thought provoking essay prompts for applicants to respond to. While it gives students a lot of freedom to be creative and share something different about themselves, it also takes up a lot of time when they are brainstorming and responding to this prompt.

The most stressful part of the process is just breaking down the essay prompts to figure out what they are really trying to ask you. Take Boston College’s supplemental essay prompts  for example. All the prompts are 2-3 sentences long and cover a lot ground. Follow our blog to get the breakdown of all the different supplemental essay prompts. It’ll make it easier for you to choose which one to respond to, and what to write about.

Finally, don’t forget to think about the bigger picture. Go back to the qualities you want to show off with your application and see if there is an essay prompt that gives you the opportunity to do that.

4. Short Questions

Last but not least, there are the short questions. A few universities will have a few questions for you to list out your favorite film, book, website, role model, and so on. This is another way for the admissions office to learn more about you as an individual. Don’t agonize over these short questions and waste too much time on them. Just be genuine about who you are and let your voice come through in how you answer these (meaning word choice and tone). It’ll read authentically to the admissions officer if you do. 

Supplemental Essay Tip 4: Be Genuine

If there’s one advice that is constantly reiterated by people in the college admissions field, it’s this: “Be Genuine.” It seems intuitive, but it is a hard to do when you are trying to appeal to these selective universities to choose you over thousands of other applicants. It goes without saying that you certainly should not lie about anything in your application, and also be careful you’re not exaggerating any of your achievements. When applicants try to make certain activities sound more impressive than they are, this often backfires. Same goes for trying to sound too mature or intellectual; if your essay doesn’t sound like your writing, it’s easy to spot (admissions officers have been doing this a long time!). Give the admissions officers a chance to know the real you, and they, too, will give you a chance at their university.

Read more: UNC Chapel Hill 2018-2019 Essay Prompts

Supplemental Essay Tip 5: Pay Attention to Detail & Plan Ahead

At best, you won’t have any supplemental essays to write (woohoo!). At worst, you’ll have 24 additional writing requirements. So, finalize your school list and create a list of supplemental essay prompts you have to respond to. You don’t want to find out late in the game you’ve missed a prompt for one of your schools, and have to scramble last minute.

One more time: think about the bigger picture. Consider all  the major themes you want to convey with your essays, then attribute them accordingly to each essay prompt. Look at your application as whole and strategize what you should emphasize in what essay. It’ll be helpful to plan ahead, so it doesn’t feel like you’re starting fresh every time you begin a new supplemental essay—you have a plan.

Don’t slack off just because these are “supplemental” essays. They should receive the same kind of attention as your personal statement. Get your friends, family or a trusted teacher to proofread them. Everything you submit with your application should be meaningful and impactful. Make everything count.

If there are any additional supplemental essay prompts you need help breaking down, comment the school name below! For supplemental essay examples, you can now search by supplemental essay topics on our search page. Or, you can check out our curated packages to find what you’re looking! For further access, upgrade to our  premium plans  offer different levels of profile access and data insights that can help you get into your dream school. 

About The Author

Frances was born in Hong Kong and received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. She loves super sad drama television, cooking, and reading. Her favorite person on Earth isn’t actually a member of the AdmitSee team - it’s her dog Cooper.

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When Do College Essay Prompts Come Out?

If you’re gearing up for the 2019-2020 college admissions cycle, you may be wondering when you’ll have access to complete college applications. While filling out information like activities and honors may be fairly standard, college essay prompts change from year to year and many students are anxious to get a start on them during the summer months.

In this post, we’ll discuss when you can expect college essay prompts to be released and how you can best prepare for them.

When Are Prompts for the Common App, Universal App, and Coalition App Released?

We have good news for you—the essay prompts for these applications, which will likely account for the bulk of your college applications, have already been released.

In January, the Common Application announced that the prompts for the 2019-2020 application cycle would remain the same as they were the prior year. This is not unusual. Typically the Common App tends to change up their prompts only every couple of years, and even then it is usually only one or two of the seven prompts that change. For our top tips on tackling these essay prompts, don’t miss our post How to Write the Common Application Essays 2019-2020 (With Examples) .

Coalition App

The Coalition Application also released their prompts earlier this year. They can be found on the Coalition Application Essay Prompts page, and they consist of five choices. Like the on Common Application, one of the essay prompts provides students the chance to write about the topic of their choice. Don’t miss our post How to Write the Coalition Application Essays 2019-2020 to learn more about them.

Universal College App

The Universal College Application prompts are a little different in nature than those requested by the Common App or Coalition App, but they still provide applicants with the chance to write about essentially anything they want. You can read more about them on the Universal College Application Essay Instructions page.

When Will Supplemental College Essay Prompts Be Released?

In addition to the essays required for the Common App, Coalition App, or Universal App, many colleges also require a supplemental essay. These supplements range in how extensive they are, from Harvard’s optional single essay to Princeton’s four required supplements, which in the past have asked students to discuss their activities, their summer pursuits, answer a number of short questions, and write an additional 500 word essay.

Typically these supplements are released at some point during the summer. You can expect all supplements to be released by September 1st, but most will come out in July and August. Once you have finalized your college list, you should check the application websites weekly to see if supplemental prompts have been published.

Another easy way to track supplemental essay releases is to sign up for updates from CollegeVine. CollegeVine’s Essay Prompt Database contains supplemental essays for the 100 top colleges along with tips for how to tackle each. You can sign up for updates to receive the latest news once supplements are out.

3 Ways Prepare for College Essays Now

Even though you’re still waiting for more college essay prompts to be released, you can still get started with your preparation process.

1. Brainstorm

Most college essays are broad enough that you can shape the most intriguing parts of your personal story to fit at least one prompt. Get started by creating a list of topics that inspires you to write. These could be things about yourself, personal experiences, movie quotes, books, or even places that inspire you. Keep a running of list of these sources of inspiration so that you can refer back to it later in the writing process.

2. Know What a Good Essay Contains

Consider the intention behind a college essay. The admissions committee wants to learn more about you, like who you really are and what makes you tick. Keep this idea central as you prepare for college essays. At CollegeVine, we know that a solid response to a college essay question addresses these Core Four questions:

• “Who Am I?”
• “Why Am I Here?”
• “What is Unique About Me?”
• “What Matters to Me?”

3. Start Writing

Just because the supplements aren’t out yet doesn’t mean you can’t get started on the essays prompts provided on the Common App, Coalition App, or Universal App. Summer is a great time to start these because you probably have fewer commitments and more time to write freely.

Also, don’t be discouraged if your essay doesn’t seem to flow at first. This is why you are starting early, and starting over at this point is no skin off your back. Try a few approaches and when one of them seems to click, run with it.

How CollegeVine Can Help

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

When Do College Essay Prompts Come Out?

Time to write your college essay, but when do college essay prompts come out we’ll cover essay prompt release dates for all applications., for common app 2022, for coalition application, 2021-2022 common application essay prompts, 2021-2022 coalition application essay prompts, when do colleges release essay prompts, frequently asked questions (faqs),     1. do college essay prompts change every year,     2. is the common app open for 2022,     3. what colleges have released supplemental essay prompts.

Do essay prompts change every year? Answered

I'm currently in 12th grade and will be joining college from fall 2022. I wanted to start drafting my essays. Do essay prompts of colleges and the common app change every year? (In that case, I'll wait till new prompts are uploaded).

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The common app essay prompts mostly stay the same year-to-year, with one or two new options every couple of years. However, these prompts have already been released for the 21-22 admissions cycle ( https://www.commonapp.org/blog/2021-2022-common-app-essay-prompts ), so you can go ahead and start drafting that essay!

College-specific prompts tend to change year-to-year, so I'd hold off on writing those--check back around July or August. If you want to get a head start on supplementals, I would suggest starting to brainstorm possible essay topics--your values, experiences, memories, aspects of your identity, life lessons you've learned, formative moments, groups you're a part of, important people/places in your life, etc. Anything meaningful to you. While the essay prompts may be somewhat specific, there will be ways to work in these brainstormed stories and tell them in a way that answers the prompt.

Best of luck, and have a great day!

Thanks a lot. I'll keep those points in mind!

Hi, thank you for asking your question! I totally agree with @jw26 here. They point out that the Common App essay prompts tend to recycle year to year in a predictable manner. So it probably does not hurt to start writing a response to one of the prompts.

Additionally, supplemental essays (which are specific to each school) tend to have thematic ideas that parallel the previous years. However, the exact wording of the prompts and targeted questioning can be different so I would recommend holding off till about August 1st. This is when the CommonApp and similar application platforms officially open and you will be able to see all the prompts for schools on those platforms.

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College Reality Check

Unlocking the Hidden Power of Supplemental Essays

Forbes has a list of 80+ schools that do not require supplemental essays.

College-bound teens who hate writing essays or believe that essay writing is not their strongest suit rejoice!

By choosing strategically, they can apply to college without writing a single literary word.

Unfortunately, chances are you may have to write several of them if your college list contains selective schools, given that most of them require supplemental essays.

Secondary essays.

College-, school-, or institution-specific essays.

Regardless of the name, these are the same things. They’re all supplemental college essays .

If a college asks for one (or more in most circumstances), you must submit it.

Many college admissions agree that supplemental essays account for about 25% of the weight of your college application as they provide information about you that your GPA, class rank and test scores can’t.

It also allows college admissions officers to see whether or not you know the school you’re applying to.

College Essay vs. Supplemental Essay: What’s the Difference?

A college essay comes in different names.

They include:

• Common App essay
• Coalition App essay
• Application essay
• Admissions essay
• Personal essay
• Personal statement

You can call it any name you like, but a college essay is an entirely different type of written composition from a supplemental essay, though both can help you get into the college of your preference.

It Only Takes One College Essay to Apply to All

A college essay is anywhere from 250 to 650 words or 500 to 650 words.

It all depends on which college application platform you intend to use or the college of your liking accepts — the Common Application has a lower minimum word requirement than the Coalition App (250 vs. 500).

What’s nice about a college essay is that you must write it only once .

The one you include in your college application will reach all the colleges you apply to.

So, in other words, college admissions officers from different institutions will read the same essay, although those who don’t consider it in the application process won’t look at it.

That’s nice — just one essay for all the schools on your college list!

However, including colleges that require supplemental essays on your list changes everything.

Supplementals are Usually Shorter but More Than Just One

As mentioned, supplemental essays are also called school-specific essays.

That’s because they’re exactly that — you write each essay with a particular school in mind.

Compared to personal statements, supplementals are usually shorter , although it’s not uncommon for some colleges to set the maximum word count to 650 or sometimes more.

But then most of them are anywhere from 35 to 250 words long.

There are shorter ones (sometimes just a single word!), which is why they’re called short-answer questions .

Although you usually need fewer words to write a supplemental essay, you often have to write more than just one supplemental essay when applying to a single college.

On average, colleges require two to three institution-specific essays.

Applying to ten postsecondary institutions requiring supplementals could leave you writing anywhere from 20 to 30 college supplemental essays in a single admissions cycle!

Why Supplemental Essays Matter in College Admissions

College admissions officers, especially at competitive schools , want to know applicants in a certain way.

They want to learn not only about your academic accomplishments, personal achievements, unique life experiences, individual strengths, core values, and prospective goals.

They also like to know how those would fit on the campus of the specific school you’re applying to!

Due to this, supplementary essays are college-specific.

Colleges Want to Know How You’ll Fit on Campus

Your college essay alone may not reveal how you would make a perfect addition to a specific campus.

Again, every college you send your Common App or Coalition App to will be able to read it, which is why it’s crucial for your personal statement to focus on you as an individual and a learner, not the institution you like.

On the other hand, a supplemental essay should focus on what makes you a good fit for the college.

If you may, think of a writing supplement as an opportunity to convince college officers that you are a better choice than another applicant with the same academic profile as yours.

Show that your positive traits, hobbies, interests, and personality all fit on campus.

Talking about your weaknesses is fine, too, although it would be a great idea to point out you are working on them and how attending the college you are applying to can turn them into your strengths.

Of course, you won’t be able to write about how you’ll fit on campus without knowing the college.

Colleges Also Want to Know How Much You Know Them

College admissions officers want to know what you can add to the campus community.

Similarly, they want to know how the school can meet your academic and career goals .

Supplemental essays are an opportunity for you to discuss both and prove to your top-choice college that you are applying to the right school and also show that you are the right applicant .

For this, you must know what sort of academic program can make your professional dream happen.

It’s vital to know, too, which type of campus community can make you a well-rounded student and equip you with the skills necessary to succeed beyond college.

You can tailor your college application to fit the school’s needs through supplementals.

They allow you to demonstrate how you will fit with its culture, values, and mission.

Ultimately, they let you express why sending you an acceptance letter is worth it.

Increasing Your Admissions Chances Through Supplementals

Because supplemental college essays are major role players in the admissions process where they are required, I cannot stress enough the importance of giving your best when writing them.

What you say in them can spell the difference between an acceptance and a rejection.

College application is stressful , and writing various supplementals can make it even more nerve-racking.

But avoid panicking.

It’s of utmost importance for you to take a deep breath, compose yourself, and then pay attention to blowing the minds of college admissions officers with your supplemental essays.

That can be a challenge , but totally doable.

The secret is to know the steps necessary to nail those supplemental essays.

• Research. Before writing a supplemental essay, ensure you have researched the college or university enough. Study its values and culture. Examine its alumni members. Look into its programs and facilities.
• Introspect. It’s not enough that you know about the college — it’s also a must to explore why you intend to go to it. Determine what you want academically, socially, and professionally.
• Stick to the prompt. Most of the time, institutions allow applicants to pick from various supplemental essay prompts. Choose well and ensure that you talk about what your selection asks of you.
• Be genuine. No matter how tempting it is to exaggerate your achievements and capabilities to increase your admissions chances, don’t! Showcase your true self and write what you believe the college needs to know.
• Write well. Besides your writing supplement’s content, your writing skill also counts. Mind your grammar, punctuation, and sentence structures. Remember to draft for flow and organization.
• Proofread. Misspelled words, missing punctuation marks, grammatical slip-ups, etc. — they can take away from a well-thought-out and well-written supplemental college essay.
• Get feedback. Before college admissions officers read your supplementals, ask others like your parents, teachers, or mentors to check them out and provide suggestions.

Supplemental essays allow your application to stand out, so grab the opportunity in every way you can!

Independent Education Consultant, Editor-in-chief. I have a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering and training in College Counseling. Member of American School Counselor Association (ASCA).

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Supplemental Application Essays

When you apply to Caltech through the Common App or QuestBridge Application, you will also submit the Caltech Specific Questions (for QuestBridge applicants, these questions come if you become a Match Finalist and you ranked Caltech). These questions change annually, are updated, and published in the summer.

The essays are an opportunity to tell us about yourself in your unique voice. There are no right or wrong answers but we do have some advice:

• Remember, Caltech is an unapologetic STEM institution . Literally, there is no way to write about too much STEM in your supplemental questions. So lean all the way in on the STEMiest of STEMmy topics (yep, those are made-up words but totally appropriate). Review our What We Look For page before you get started.
• Faculty at Caltech review files of the most competitive applicants. So don't worry that your science won't make sense to a lay-person because our faculty with PhDs conducting research that will change the world will understand what you're saying. We promise.
• If there is anything important about who you are, what you've done, or how you've experienced your life - we want to know about it. Holistic review means whole person review. We're here for whatever you want to share.

All Fall 2024 applicants will be asked to review Caltech's guidelines on the ethical use of AI before submitting their supplemental essays.

Required Academic Question

Because of the rigorous courses in the core curriculum, Caltech students don't declare a major until the end of their first year. However, some students arrive knowing which academic fields and areas already most excite them, or which novel fields and areas they most want to explore.

If you had to choose an area of interest or two today, what would you choose? Why did you choose that area of interest? (Max: 200 words)

Required Short Answer Questions

• At Caltech, we investigate some of the most challenging, fundamental problems in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Identify and describe two STEM-related experiences from your high school years , either in or out of the classroom, and tell us how and why they activated your curiosity. What about them made you want to learn more and explore further? (Min: 100/Max: 200 words for each experience)
• The creativity, inventiveness, and innovation of Caltech's students, faculty, and researchers have won Nobel Prizes and put rovers on Mars . But Techers also imagine smaller scale innovations every day, from new ways to design solar cells to how to 3D print dorm decor. How have you been a creator, inventor, or innovator in your own life? (Min: 200 / Max: 250)
• Openness and enthusiasm for having preconceptions challenged
• Respect and appreciation for the idea that, while we are all members of the same community, the opportunities we've had to develop, showcase, and apply our talents have not been equal
• Passion for the ideal that science can and should meaningfully improve the lives of others

Optional Short Answer Questions

We know, we know ... you see optional and start to wonder if we mean it. but in this section, we truly do see these as completely optional opportunities to show us more of your personality., optional. we promise..

• If there are aspects of your life or social or personal identity that you feel are not captured elsewhere in this application, please tell us about them below. (Max: 150 words)
• When not surveying the stars, peering through microscopes, or running through marathons of coding, Caltech students pursue an eclectic array of interests that range from speed-cubing to participating in varsity athletics to reading romance novels. What is a favorite interest or hobby, and why does it bring you joy? (Max: 100 words)
• Did you have a hard time narrowing it down to just one interest or hobby? We understand – Caltech students like to stay busy, too – tell us about another hobby or interest! (Max: 50 words)

Optional Academic Short Answer Questions

OPTIONAL: Have you had any extenuating circumstances (such as limited course selection or disruptions), that have affected your coursework, but that are not described elsewhere in your application? If so, tell us about them here.

Some Caltech applicants engage in STEM competitions locally, nationally, or internationally (eg., AIME, Science Olympiad, International Science Olympiads). If you have received any STEM honors or awards, list them here (with scores, if applicable).

Do supplement essay's change each year?

<p>Hey guys, i was just tryna get a head start on my college essays.</p>

<p>i know the common app already released its essays for the 2014-15 school year, but i realized many school’s didn’t reveal their supplemental essays.</p>

<p>so i was wondering if i could just assume that the supplemental essays for last year will be the same again for this year. Do they change a lot each year, or no?</p>

<p>Im applying to MIT, CalTech, U of M, Columbia, Harvard, etc etc.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance!</p>

<p>It honestly depends on the school. If you want to get working, check their websites, and maybe draft an essay about your most meaningful extracurricular activity - this is a common supplemental essay question, and you can morph it to fit different types of supplemental essay questions as well.</p>

<p>If you happen to be on facebook, join the MIT Class of 2019 Applicants page. One of the admins who is a currently a student at the school posted the supplemental essays for this year, he said that they didn’t change and I believe that. Here they are:

• We know you lead a busy life, full of activities, many of which are required of you. Tell us about something you do simply for the pleasure of it. (100 words) 2.Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (100 words) 3.What attribute of your personality are you most proud of, and how has it impacted your life so far? This could be your creativity, effective leadership, sense of humor, integrity, or anything else you’d like to tell us about. (250 words) 4.Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations? (250 words) 5.Tell us about the most significant challenge you’ve faced or something important that didn’t go according to plan. How did you manage the situation? (250 words)</p>

<p>I’m fairly confident these are the prompts, but if you’re unsure, I would find another way to confirm before you begin to commit your time to working on these essays</p>

<p>@Unis25 The admin who posted the prompts is not a student at MIT. He is still in high school.</p>

<p><a href=“ Our Essay Questions | MIT Admissions ”> http://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/our-essay-questions&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt ;

<p>This was posted last year but if I’m not mistaken the essays don’t change much over the years (4 of the 5 last year were the same as previous years… They just swapped one).</p>

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Do supplement essays change often?

So I’m planning to shotgun and apply to around 30 colleges. However, I also want to have quality essays for each of the colleges, so I’m planning to start on my supplement essays soon. I was wondering how often does supplement essays for colleges change?

More From Forbes

College essays that worked and how yours can too.

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CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS - JULY 08: A view of Harvard Yard on the campus of Harvard University on ... [+] July 08, 2020 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have sued the Trump administration for its decision to strip international college students of their visas if all of their courses are held online. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The college essay is a pivotal piece of the college application showcasing your individuality and differentiated outlook to admissions officers. What makes an essay truly shine? Let’s dive into the words behind three standout essays highlighted by university websites and a school newspaper's brand studio so you can get into the right mindset for crafting your own narrative.

Embracing Differences: Finding Strength In Uniqueness

Essay Excerpt: ‘Bra Shopping ’ (Harvard)

Featured by the Harvard Crimson Brand Studio , Orlee's essay recounts a student's humorous and insightful experience of bra shopping with her grandmother, weaving in her unique family dynamics and challenges at her prestigious school.

What Works:

• Humor and Honesty: The student's humor makes the essay enjoyable to read, while her honesty about her challenges adds depth.
• Self-Awareness: She demonstrates a strong sense of self-awareness, embracing her uniqueness rather than trying to fit in.
• Resilience: Her narrative highlights resilience and the ability to find strength in differences.

For Your Essay : To write an essay that embraces your uniqueness, start by identifying a quirky or challenging experience that reflects who a key insight into your experience. Think about how this experience has shaped your perspective and character. Use humor and honesty to bring your story to life, and focus on how you have embraced your differences to become stronger and more resilient.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, finding connections: humor and self-reflection.

Essay: ‘Brood X Cicadas ’ (Hamilton College)

As an example on Hamilton's admissions website, Nicholas writes about the cicadas swarming his hometown every 17 years and draws a parallel between their emergence and his own transition to college life. He uses humor and self-reflection to create a relatable and engaging narrative.

• Humor: Nicholas uses humor to make his essay entertaining and memorable. His witty comparisons between himself and cicadas add a unique twist.
• Self-Reflection: By comparing his life to the cicadas’, he reflects on his own growth and readiness for change.
• Relatability: His narrative about facing new experiences and challenges resonates with readers who have undergone similar transitions.

For Your Essay: To infuse humor and self-reflection into your essay, start by identifying an ordinary experience or object and think about how it relates to your life. Write down funny or insightful observations about this connection. Use humor to make your essay more engaging, but ensure it still conveys meaningful self-reflection. This balance can make your essay both entertaining and profound.

Persistence and Multicultural Identity: Life Lessons From Tortilla Making

Essay: ‘ Facing The Hot Griddle ’ (Johns Hopkins University)

In this essay published by Hopkins Insider, Rocio uses the process of making tortillas to explore her multicultural identity and the challenges she has faced. Her story beautifully weaves together her Guatemalan heritage and her experiences growing up in the United States.

• Metaphor and Symbolism: The process of making tortillas becomes a powerful metaphor for the student’s journey and struggles. The symbolism of the masa harina and water mixing parallels her blending of cultural identities.
• Personal Growth: The essay highlights her perseverance and adaptability, qualities that are crucial for success in college.
• Cultural Insight: She provides a rich, personal insight into her multicultural background, making her story unique and compelling.

For Your Essay: To write an essay that explores your identity through a metaphor, start by thinking about an activity or tradition that holds significant meaning for you. Consider how this activity relates to your life experiences and personal growth. Use detailed descriptions to bring the activity to life and draw connections between the process and your own journey. Reflect on the lessons you've learned and how they've shaped your identity.

A winning college essay isn’t simply about parading your best accomplishment or dramatizing your challenges. It’s not a contest for which student is the most original or entertaining. Rather, the essay is a chance for you to showcase your authenticity, passion, resilience, social awareness, and intellectual vitality . By sharing genuine stories and insights, you can create an essay that resonates with admissions committees and highlights your unique qualities.

For you to have the best possible essay, mindset is key. Here’s how to get into the zone:

• Reflect Deeply: Spend time thinking about your experiences, challenges, and passions. Journaling can help you uncover deep insights.
• Discuss and Share: Talking about your stories with friends, family, or mentors can provide new perspectives and emotional clarity.
• Immerse Yourself: Engage in activities that you are passionate about to reignite the feelings and memories associated with them.
• Draft Freely: Don’t worry about perfection on the first try. Write freely and honestly, then refine your narrative.

The secret to a standout college essay lies in its authenticity, depth, and emotional resonance. By learning from these successful examples and getting into the right mindset, you can craft an essay that not only stands out but also provides a meaningful insight into who you are. Remember, your essay is your story—make it a piece of writing that you will always be proud of.

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