Hey there, Seniors (and parents wanting to nudge your Senior into gear)! November early admissions deadlines right around the corner, so it’s time to shift your focus to school-specific supplemental essays. With the right strategic thinking and proactive structure, you can write your way into college.
Supplemental essays provide you with an exciting opportunity to show admissions officers more about your true self beyond grades and test scores. So admissions officers are looking at these essays to find your unique personality, experiences, and qualities, while trying to determine the kind of student you’ll be on their campus.
We understand that it’s hard to get started when you’re not sure what colleges are looking for. Here are some hot tips we use at Colledge to help our students approach supplemental essays and showcase their very best selves.
FREEBIE: At the end of this blog, we’ve included an exclusive Colledge Video Jumpstart to boost your writing process. Director Kelsey Torosyan goes inside the infamous Why Our College essay. Check it out!
Top 8 Supplemental Essay Tips
- Start Early: Give yourself ample time to brainstorm, draft, revise, and edit your essays. Rushed essays are more likely to contain errors and lack depth.
- Understand the Purpose: Read each prompt carefully to understand what they are really looking for before formulating your response. Talk through the prompts with a friend: what are they asking? What elements of your experience might fit into the answer? Do you need to do more research about the college to answer the question? If yes, do it!
- Brainstorm & Organize Intentionally: Create a spreadsheet with all of your colleges and their supplemental prompts (you can find them on CommonApp.org). In your “Ideas” column, brainstorm possible stories for each type of prompt that show strengths not already covered in your personal statement. The Supplementals + Personal Statement should show colleges a multi-faceted picture of you.
- Showcase Your Authentic Self: Admissions officers want to see the real you, not a polished version of what you think they want to see. Think about what sets you apart from other applicants. What are your strengths, passions, and interests? How have your experiences shaped you?
- Research the College: Tailor each essay to the specific college or university you are applying to. Mention specific programs, courses, professors, or campus features that resonate with your goals and interests. Show that you’ve done your homework and that you genuinely want to be a part of their community.
- Stay Concise and Focused: Adhere to the word or character limits specified for each essay. Admissions officers review numerous applications, so being clear yet concise is essential. Avoid rambling or including unnecessary information. Select the story or example(s) that best show the traits or experiences you are discussing and focus there.
- Seek Feedback: Share your essays with teachers, counselors, or trusted peers for feedback. They can provide valuable insights and help you refine your writing.
- Be Proud of Your Work: Now that you’ve shown colleges how excited you are about them, show yourself some love too! It’s time to treat yourself to your favorite ice cream or boba, and celebrate what you’ve accomplished.
We know there is a lot on your plate, but remember that your supplemental essays are a chance to make a strong impression and stand out in a competitive applicant pool. By approaching them with structure, time management, deeper thinking and authenticity, in many instances, you can increase your chances of admission.
Why Our College? Essays: Get Them Right
As Kelsey mentions in the Video Jumpstart below, Why Our College essays are so tricky because they can feel like a test, like admissions officers are trying to see how well you’ve done your research. They’re not!
Check out the video below for how to rewrite that narrative and approach these unique essays with inspiration.
Protip: think of it like making a new friend 🙂
Instead of writing your Why Our College essays for the college, write them for yourself. Before you start researching colleges, take a beat and write about yourself. What is your college mission statement, your reason for going to college? Think through these questions:
What are you hoping to find in a community?
How do you think you might grow or how do you hope you might grow?
What do you hope to contribute?
How will you use your voice for positive change on campus?
Who are your people and who are you as a scholar?
These answers are completely unique to you and aren’t going to change no matter which college you’re applying to. Then look at your colleges with yourself in mind:
When you imagine yourself on a specific campus, what do you see yourself being excited to do?
What classes might you take?
Are there research or service opportunities that you can’t wait to participate in?
The best Why Our College essays are completely unique to the student and at the same time completely unique to the school. It’s your opportunity to nerd out about all of the reasons you actually are applying to this specific college so remember to start with you, be specific and show them why they are the perfect fit for you.
Start Now, Don’t Wait
These essays need time to percolate, just like your Personal Statement. After reading through our hot tips and watching our expert Video Jumpstart, try to bang out your drafts, so you have time to reflect on your Why and revise.
And parents, if your student needs support identifying their Why and getting these essays to the finish line, we have a few remaining spots in our Class of 2024. Get in touch today.
