What are Supplemental Essays?
In addition to the Common App essay, many colleges require you to write additional or supplemental essays. The number of these essays varies, and their lengths can range from 50 to 700 words, depending on the school's requirements. These essays are crucial for demonstrating your fit with the university, highlighting how your values and goals align with what the school offers. Each university and each essay prompt requires a separate, tailored response. While it is okay to reuse some content across essays, never copy and paste entire essays for different schools. Each essay should be uniquely crafted to address the specific prompt and university.
π£οΈ veronica says...
Veronica Lee
Admissions ExpertβA good supplemental essay starts with a thorough college search! To demonstrate a college fit, you first have to understand what the college is looking for, what their unique offerings are, and how that college will help you achieve your goals.β
7 types of Supplemental Essay Types
Sample Supplemental Essay Prompts
As we discussed in the previous section, every university has its own prompts, so here are a few examples to give you an idea of what you might be asked.
Brown University - Why Major X Essay
Brown's Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown.
Columbia University - Why College X Essay
Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia.
NYU - Quotation Essay
We are looking for peacemakers, changemakers, global citizens, boundary breakers, creatives and innovators β Choose one quote from the following and let us know why it inspires you; or share a short quote and person not on our list who inspires you, and include why.
Vanderbilt University - Extracurricular Activity Essay
Vanderbilt offers a community where students find balance between their academic and social experiences. Please briefly elaborate on how one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences has influenced you.
Tufts University - Community Essay
How have the environments or experiences of your upbringing β your family, home, neighborhood, or community β shaped the person you are today?
Tips for Crafting Compelling Supplemental Essays
How to research a specific university
The first step in writing any good supplemental essay, especially the "Why College X" essay, is researching the university. It's extremely important to be specific and remove any arguments that could apply to another university, such as "esteemed faculty" or "diverse student body". Here's how you can learn what is truly unique about each school:
π£οΈ veronica says...
Veronica Lee
Admissions ExpertβA "Why College X" essay is ultimately a "Why You" essay. Therefore, it's important to not only discuss what you want to gain from the college, but also show why you are a great fit for the school and what you will bring to their community.β
