August is in full swing, which means the Common Application has refreshed with the latest supplemental essays from colleges. Schools design their supplemental essays prompts to help determine students’ fit for their college; supplemental essays show admissions officers how applicants will make their mark on the campus community and whether the resources on campus can support them in their goals. Even though there are several common supplemental essay types—why this college, extracurriculars, community impact, identity and background essays, response to a quotation, difficult conversation essays, quirky essays—here is some advice that will be broadly applicable as you tackle your applications.
Don’t write what’s mentioned in other parts of your application
Often, supplemental essays provide a chance to share more about a side of you that isn’t reflected elsewhere in your application. Consider parts of your identity, interests, and goals that demonstrate who you are and how you’d contribute to a school. Help admissions officers see that you’re a good fit by writing about a unique side of your identity or experience that hasn’t been elaborated on in your personal statement or activities list.
Read the college’s mission statement
It can be helpful to look up the college’s mission statement so you know what they prioritize in their student body. Where do the school’s values lie? What kind of students does it look for? However, don’t just copy/paste keywords from the college’s website. Discuss topics you genuinely care about, while maintaining consistency with the vibe of the campus community.
If characteristics that reflect their values are implicitly included in your response, that is a good sign. Colleges bring together people from different backgrounds whose upbringing and values will inevitably vary. When reading your essay, admissions officers hope to understand how you would fit in their community. Use supplemental questions to allow the reader to imagine how you would fit in on campus, grow as a member of a community, and flourish within their school.
Conduct in-depth research
No matter what the question asks, it’s important to sit down and research the college and know why it’s on your list before actually writing your supplemental essays. During the research process, go beyond information that is easily available on the college website. You must show that you’ve dug deeper than just the homepage of your chosen academic department. Read course descriptions, faculty profiles, and seek out information about special programs students participate in. Campus visits really come in handy here—if you can write about your real-life impressions of a school or a department, that’s great! It’s also a great idea to watch admissions TikToks, student Instagram takeovers, and “day in the life” YouTube videos to get a sense of what daily student life is like. Of course, if you know someone who attends the school, that person can be a wonderful resource, as well!
Once you’ve conducted in-depth research, connect the school’s resources to your interests and make your essays personal. Remember that you’re presenting a picture of yourself, and that should help admissions officers picture you on campus.
Focus on you and your impact
Whether you’re writing about an extracurricular you participate in or a facet of your identity or background, dedicate less space to what that activity or identity is, and more on the impact you’ve made or how it has shaped you. Consider what you want colleges to know about you. No matter what you write about, your response should help admissions officers understand where you come from, what experiences have been meaningful to you, and how you’ll contribute to the diversity of the campus community. No matter how the question is phrased, admissions officers want to know about your involvement.
Read the question carefully and answer all parts of the question
This is particularly important when answering “why this college essays.” For example, a past Syracuse University prompt was
“Syracuse University is a place that seeks to be welcoming to all – and has been since our founding. Explain why you are interested in Syracuse University and describe a personal experience in which you persevered through adversity, rejected discrimination, learned a lesson, or were inspired by the courageous actions of others and how you will apply what you learned to our community in a positive way.”
For such a question, don’t just answer the first part and explain why you’re interested in the college. You also need to describe a time you persevered through adversity or were inspired. Again, make sure you don’t just talk about what happened. Explain the impact you made as well as how the experience shaped you.
Be careful of tone
Tone is a crucial factor to consider when writing supplemental essays. Research the school and the type of students who go there—look up social media profiles and get a sense of the campus vibe. Different campuses really do have different vibes, even if all colleges aim at educating their students. Some student populations will be more proactive and focused on applying what they learn, while others might be more intellectually curious, interested in learning for learning’s sake, or genuinely delight in solving puzzles. Whatever vibe seems like the best fit for you, make sure the tone of your writing expresses that you have the right energy for the campus.
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