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Many universities in the U.S. will have a supplemental application in addition to the core Common Application. Often these supplemental essay prompts are unique to that university.
You are responsible for knowing what supplemental essays you have to write for each school, and for meeting all deadlines for review.
There are spaces in the College List spreadsheet (in our folder) to track all of your supplemental essay drafts.
Types of Supplemental Essays
Types of Supplemental Essays
Broadly speaking, supplemental essays break down into three categories:
"Why US" Essay
This essay asks you why you want to attend the university you are applying for. Every single person applying to any given school has to write this essay, so you need to find ways to stand out. The best way to stand out is to actually answer a different question: “Why are you and this school a perfect match?” To answer this question, you should not simply discuss the reasons you like a given school -- rather, you should talk specifically about why YOU are a good fit for that school. For instance, why and how will you be able to excel there, and how will you make the most of the resources available?
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Tips on the "Why US" Essay
Be as specific as possible. Don’t just say “I want to study here because it’s a great school.” Explain what professors you want to work with, what opportunities can this school provide that others can’t? And how do you fit into those unique features?
Do your research. Find out what the school cares about, then find out what students say about the school (all of this can be done online).
Once you’ve finished a draft, go back and review the essay, replacing the college name with a different college. Is everything you said still true, even if you didn’t write the essay about that college? If so, you’re not being specific enough in connecting it to the school. Then, imagine that your friend wrote this essay. Could everything still be true? Then you’re not being specific enough about how you would fit into the school.
Once you’ve written your first draft, underline anything that could have appeared in another student’s essay. Then delete it.
You will write several “Why this university” essays. In each and every one, you need to make a compelling case for why that university is your very top choice (even if it isn’t!).
Tips for using similar content for different essays
Make sure, when you’re switching out variables, that the reasons you’ve written definitely apply to the new courses/ professors/ opportunities you’ve inserted
Quadruple check to make sure you’ve changed all the school names-- and mascots! Otherwise that can be a quick “no.”
Don’t think, because you’re potentially going to re-use your “Why Us” that you should keep things vague. Get super specific. You may be surprised how much can be re-used once you’ve written your first long “Why Us” essay.
Extracurricular Essay
This type of question will ask you to elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities. It should be an activity that you have spent a lot of time and energy on, and ideally should relate to your academic interests. If you have written about an extracurricular activity for your common app essay (which we don’t recommend in the first place!), then choose a different extracurricular for this essay. You want to try to highlight something new that hasn’t been extensively explored elsewhere in the application.
Review College Essay Guy's "How to Write a Great Extracurricular Essay"
School-Specific Supplements
The extracurricular activity essay and the “Why Us?” essay will show up on many applications, but universities may have other supplemental essays that are more creative and unique to that school. Every year, UChicago has a series of somewhat silly supplemental questions looking to get your creative take on things. Stanford asks you to write a letter to your future roommate. Work with your mentor to develop these essays. Get creative. Use the word count given to you to tell a story, not just answer the question.
Review College Essay Guy's "A How-To Guide for the Short Answer Questions for Highly-Selective Colleges"
Additional Resources
Additional Resources
Allows you to quickly search universities and their supplemental essay prompts (always cross check the universities website to ensure that the information from Edi is correct!!). We highly recommend this for mentors as well as students-- it will allow you to easily keep track of and check up on your student’s supplemental essays, and ensure they haven’t missed any prompts!
College Essay Guy is run by Ethan Sawyer, a nationally recognized college essay expert. He provides online courses and one-on-one sessions for students looking to step up their essay game. His blog is focused on the writing that goes into college apps and features articles like “How to Write your Extracurricular Essay without Rockstar Achievements” and “What America’s Got Talent Can Teach You About Your College Essay.”
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