Schools design their supplemental essays prompts to help determine students’ fit for their college. No matter which kind of supplemental essays await you, our tips—from tone to focusing on impact—can guide you through writing strong responses that best support the rest of your application

Colleges that have released supplemental essays 2026-2027 including Yale, Cornell and more. Plus, how to answer common questions!

This summer, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tulane University, the University of Georgia, and the University of Miami have all announced that they will no longer require supplemental essays as part of their application.