Highly-selective colleges and universities often require supplemental application materials. These materials help further personalize the admissions process so that each college’s admissions committee has the information it needs to select a vibrant and diverse incoming class.
In this article, we will look at 10 supplemental essay prompts from top colleges and universities for the 2022-23 admissions cycle. Once you get a better sense of what to expect from a supplemental essay prompt, we will outline key strategies for answering these prompts, as well as provide practical writing tips to help you get started.
Each college has its own sets of values and criteria that it looks for in applicants. This is why determining college fit is so important. By carefully researching each school on your college list and having several clear and compelling reasons for wanting to attend, you will increase your overall chances of admission.
One way that colleges gauge whether or not a student would be a good fit for their university is by posing unique supplemental essay prompts. This is why knowing how to write a supplemental essay is so important. Most colleges with supplemental essays will have applicants write the “why this college” essay.
Many selective colleges will require additional supplemental essays as well. In some cases, you will need to prepare an additional five essays per school, so give yourself plenty of time to complete each essay thoughtfully, write multiple drafts, seek out feedback, and proofread. The college application process can feel overwhelming at times, so make sure you brainstorm ways to stay organized during the college application process.
Although the style and content of the actual prompts can vary greatly, at the core these prompts have one thing in common: They are designed to get to know who you are as a person, what your values are, and whether you demonstrate compatibility with the university’s overall mission.
If you’re looking for supplemental essay tips, you’ve come to the right place! In this section, we will discuss how to write a good supplemental essay, by providing several key application essay tips.
To start, it’s important to remember that the process of writing supplemental essays is similar to the process of writing a successful personal statement. Review components of a strong personal statement to give yourself a fresh perspective before beginning your supplemental essays.
Supplemental essays are typically pretty brief. This is why it’s important to learn how to write concisely and powerfully. Having very few words to respond does not mean that you should prepare your responses casually or that your responses shouldn’t include lots of details. Rather, approach each word limit creatively. Whether you have 50 words, 200 words, or 500 words, try to use each sentence and detail to your advantage. One of the best ways to do this is to begin by freewriting. Write down everything that comes to mind. Take time to fully flush out your ideas. Then review what you’ve written and see what feels most important. These are the details you will want to highlight in your response.
Some colleges will require three to five additional essays. Maybe even more! This is why it’s important to be prepared and plan ahead. Supplemental essays are an important part of your college application and they require a lot of time and effort. While some supplemental essay prompts may be similar between schools, in general, you want to avoid recycling your college essays. Admissions officers can tell when a student is tweaking an existing essay to fit a prompt.
While some essay prompts are required, others are optional. In general, try to answer each prompt thoughtfully and creatively. After all, it’s no secret that college admissions are highly competitive so it’s great to give your application “an edge” whenever possible. That said, there are times when you should pass on writing an optional essay. If you’re not sure whether or not you should submit an essay for an optional prompt, begin by drafting a response. Then ask yourself if the essay feels forced or genuine. Does the essay convey something new about you that isn’t included in the rest of your application? If the question doesn’t seem to apply to you and you are genuinely unsure what to contribute, you should probably skip that particular essay. After all, no one wants to read an uninspired essay that doesn’t contribute to your overall application.
As mentioned, supplemental essay prompts can vary significantly. Some prompts ask you to respond in 50 words while other prompts ask you to respond in 500 words. Some prompts focus on academics while others ask you to reflect carefully on your cultural upbringing or life philosophies. Still, other prompts will ask you to introduce who you are as a person or discuss something that you enjoy.
Just as supplemental essay prompts vary in style, your responses will also vary. Some prompts will require you to be thoughtful and serious, while other prompts may encourage you to be humorous or creative. It all depends.
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Brown University requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Columbia University requires the following supplemental materials: 1 list of 75 words, 1 list of 125 words, 3 essays of 200 words each, and 1 short answer of 35 words. One of their supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Dartmouth College requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Duke University requires at least one supplemental essay, with the option to submit an additional two supplemental essays. One of the optional supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Emory University requires two supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Harvard University requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, MIT requires five supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Princeton University requires three supplemental essays and three short responses. One of the short-answer prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Stanford University requires three supplemental essays and five short answer responses. One of the short-answer prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, UPenn requires three supplemental essays. One of the supplemental essay prompts is as follows:
As a part of the 2022-23 college applications, Yale University requires the following supplemental materials: 1 list; 6 short answer questions; 1 additional short essay of 400 words. One of the short answer prompts is as follows:
One of the best ways to prepare your supplemental essay responses is to look at successful past examples. In this section, we will look at three examples and explain why each response is successful.
This first example was submitted as a part of Harvard’s college application. This essay is in response to the prompt: Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. (50-150 words).
This essay uses rich, descriptive language to evoke a clear sense of movement and place. The first paragraph shows a creative and expert control of language, whereas the second paragraph uses straightforward language to highlight key characteristics. Overall, this response is creative, well-balanced, and uses each word to its advantage.
This essay was submitted as a part of an MIT college application. The supplemental essay prompt that it addresses is: Describe the world you come from; for example, your family, clubs, school, community, city, or town. How has that world shaped your dreams and aspirations?
This essay covers a lot of material; most impressively, it shows a shift in perspective and its effect on the student’s lived experience. It also clearly explains the student’s academic and professional goals. The tone of this essay is both confident and humble. It demonstrates who this student is as a person, what their goals are, and what they value.
This essay was submitted as a part of a Duke college application. The essay addresses the prompt: What has been your best academic experience in the last two years, and what made it so good?
This essay clearly shows a shift in perspective and the effects it had on this student’s ability to think, speak, and write critically. Structurally, this essay uses an anecdote to introduce and contextualize a topic, but the essay itself isn’t overly narrative. Rather, the student explains, in detail, how this teacher’s encouragement and guidance have influenced their willingness and ability to engage with the source material and academic discourse.
Supplemental essays are an important part of your college applications. In fact, they are a key factor in what college admissions officers look for in an applicant. Highly-selective colleges and universities use supplemental essays to further personalize the college admissions process. After all, thousands of qualified students apply to Ivy League institutions each year and only a small fraction are admitted. Supplemental essays allow you to share more about who you are as a person and as a student. Use each prompt as an opportunity to add something new to your college application. If you feel like you could benefit from professional guidance throughout this process, reach out to learn more about our services.
Still have questions about supplemental essays and the effects they have on college applications? Review the following frequently asked questions and answers for further insight on supplemental essays.
Highly-selective colleges often require supplemental application materials to personalize the admissions process. Let's look at 10 supplemental essay prompts from top colleges for 2022-23, plus key strategies and writing tips to help you get started.
While everyone knows that your high school GPA and list of extracurricular activities are important admissions factors, knowing how your intended college major may affect your chances of admission is a bit more complicated. So, does the major you choose affect admission?
Looking to get ahead of the game this summer and gain some experience colleges look for? Click here for some pre-college summer programs..
How you spend your summer is important for college preparation. Especially regarding what you should be doing the summer before your senior year. Along with working a job, volunteering, or getting an internship, many high school students spend part of their summers in pre-college summer programs. Pre-college programs are designed to help high schoolers prepare for college life and college-level classes. What’s more, countless programs focus on a wide range of subjects.
Pre-college programs are a great opportunity for personal and academic growth. Depending on the program, they may even help you decide on your college major or prospective career. So whether you are interested in a new and challenging experience, or feel like you could benefit from more familiarity with your prospective major, a pre-college summer program may be the right choice for you.
First off, what is a pre-college program? Pre-college programs are offered during the summer and often range from 1-6 weeks. Pre-college summer programs are often offered by universities and are meant to expose students to college life or college-level work.
There are countless opportunities available to high school students, so no matter what your interests, passions, and goals may be, there is likely a pre-college program well-suited for your needs. In this article, we will review 25 of the best pre-college programs for high school students.
The pre-college programs that are most selective are normally inexpensive. Here is a list of some of the best summer college programs, all of which are either free, low-cost, or offer strong financial aid. To start, let’s take a look at some of the top pre-college STEM programs.
Note: Most of these programs are normally in-person. Check the official websites for the latest information concerning COVID-19.
Ambitious students hoping to pursue a STEM discipline should take time to look into MIT’s summer programs. Research experience offered by summer programs can help you stand out for STEM opportunities in the future. Listed below are a few of the many pre-college programs currently offered by MIT. For a more exhaustive list, visit their site directly.
Underrepresented students spend six weeks on MIT’s campus taking science and math courses. During the program students take one math course, one life sciences course, one physics course, a humanities course, and an elective course. Open to 80 rising high school seniors and free of cost.
Participants take STEM courses before performing research for five weeks. According to its website, “Participants experience the entire research cycle from start to finish. They read the most current literature in their field, draft and execute a detailed research plan, and deliver conference-style oral and written reports on their findings.” Also open to 80 students and free of cost.
A free two-week program where rising high school seniors have the opportunity to work with skilled engineers to build radar systems. Typically held at the end of July.
This program has both online and in-person components and is completed over 6 months, beginning the summer before senior year and concluding after students’ fall semester of their senior year. In this program students take online STEM classes, before arriving on MIT’s campus to give presentations, attend workshops, and work with faculty.
While MIT offers a wide range of engaging and rigorous pre-college programs, there are other STEM opportunities available in different locations throughout the country. Let’s take a look at some of the other notable STEM summer programs available to high school students.
Offers summer programs on 11 college campuses, where underrepresented students spend three weeks attending lectures on artificial intelligence. Most programs are free of cost.
An online summer STEM research program open to high school students entering 10-12 grade. According to the website, “The institute will focus on learning how to do research through close interaction with faculty — collecting data, testing hypotheses, using statistical software, writing code, etc.” Requires a $20 registration fee.
Six-week pre-college summer program that offers STEM seminars and college preparation to underrepresented, first-generation, and low-income students. According to its website, “the program allows students to develop a deeper understanding of STEM via traditional classroom instruction, through hands-on projects, and sustained engagement with world-renowned faculty and skilled staff mentors.” No cost.
Six-week summer program for students underrepresented in Computer Science. The program is “a combination of classroom instruction, hands-on research projects, faculty lectures, and industry engagement with leading tech companies around the country.” No cost.
Week-long engineering research program for rising high school juniors and seniors. Free of cost for many underrepresented groups. Admits up to 54 students.
Free intensive summer program to introduce women to coding. According to its website, “summer program participants get exposure to tech jobs, meet leaders in tech careers, and find community in our supportive sisterhood.” There are two options: a 2-week immersion program and a 6-week self-paced program. Students in 9-12th grade who identify as girls or non-binary are eligible to apply.
Five-week summer program for exploring advanced topics in mathematics. Offered on a different college campus each year and free for low-income students. 120 participants.
A six-week STEM research fellowship in Maine. Offered to 100 students each summer. The program is currently being redesigned for the summer of 2023.
Free week-long introduction to astrophysics and nuclear science experiments and research. Offered on the campuses of Notre Dame and Michigan State University. According to its website, “the program introduces participants to the fundamentals of the extremely small domain of atomic nuclei and its connection to the extremely large domain of astrophysics and cosmology.”
Six-week math program at Boston University “designed to encourage strongly motivated high school students to explore in depth the creative world of mathematics in a supportive community of peers, counselors, research mathematicians, and visiting scientists.” Students who have completed 9-12th grade by the start of the program are eligible to apply. Free for low-income students.
A summer Biochemistry, Genomics, or Astrophysics program each open to 36 high school juniors and taught on various college campuses. Over 39 days, each research team (composed of three students) takes and analyzes original data. Around half of the participants attend free of cost.
These are federally-funded college programs offered to high school students to prepare for STEM careers.
If your primary interests fall outside of STEM subjects, don’t worry! There are lots of interesting and diverse pre-college programs available to you. Whether you are interested in studying journalism, conducting humanities-based research, or simply familiarizing yourself with a college environment and schedule, there is something out there for you. Let’s take a look at a few more pre-college summer offerings.
Highly selective seven-week research and enrichment program at Texas Tech University. Offered to 12 high school juniors and seniors. Free of cost and accommodates a wide variety of disciplines.
A free and very selective six-week seminar on a topic in the arts and humanities. There are four different topics each summer. High school sophomores and juniors are eligible to apply.
According to its website, “If you participate in TASS, you will attend a three-hour college-level class each weekday, which will typically include discussions, small-group work, lectures by faculty, and other activities. You will be expected to read books and articles, view films and art, and participate in other class activities. You will also write essays during the summer, with help and feedback from the instructor team.”
Fully paid 10-day program for students interested in journalism. Students attend workshops and lectures, tour news organizations, and start projects of their own.
According to its website, “During the residential program, students have the opportunity to tour major news organizations, such as The New York Times, Huffington Post and Bloomberg; cover a professional sports event; cover news events in the Princeton area; film and produce a short documentary; attend a film or theatre production; conduct an investigative project; author a group blog; and report, write, edit and design their own newspaper, The Princeton Summer Journal, which is published on the program’s last day.”
Fully paid six-day journalism training camp. According to its website, “AAJA’s JCamp is a national multicultural journalism program for high school students. The six-day training camp brings together culturally diverse students from across the nation to learn from veteran journalists and leading media executives. JCamp participants will receive hands-on training and produce multiplatform news packages for the program’s news site, JCamp Live.”
This 2-week program is available to rising high school students (grades 10-12) and graduating seniors. According to its website, “courses are taught by reporters, editors, and other industry experts who have an insider’s knowledge of the terrain and will guide you to out-of-the-way places and unique experiences.”
Each year, 10 to 15 high school students are selected to attend an intensive workshop held in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. During this free academic workshop, students are exposed to topics such as multimedia reporting, writing, editing, graphics, photography, production, and basic communication skills. Hands-on learning is emphasized, with students publishing a newspaper and website under the direction of the faculty and visiting professionals.
This intensive 2-week writing program, offered both in-person and online, is taught by graduates of the renowned Iowa Writers’ Workshop. During this program, students may choose to focus on: fiction, poetry, TV writing, or playwriting. They may also enroll in a “creative writing” concentration that includes elements of fiction, poetry, and personal essay.
According to its website, “To supplement the core courses, we’ll also offer readings by exciting published writers; workshops on process and aspects of craft; discussions on writing-adjacent subjects (literary translation, film, revision, mental health); [and] collaborative projects to allow small groups of students to work together.”
During this five-week music program, students receive one-on-one instruction with Berklee’s renowned faculty and enroll in courses that award college credit. High school students 15 or older are eligible to apply.
According to its website, students will “learn how to groove in a band, develop improvisational and reading skills, and improve [their] technique in weekly private lessons. [They] will also have the chance to explore areas of the music industry such as songwriting, music production, music business, music therapy, and more through elective coursework.”
Three-week college preparation program on Bovard’s campus. Free of cost. Participants attend panel discussions, college application essay writing workshops, SAT/ACT test preparation classes, and practice exams
This list is only the beginning. Keep a lookout for similar or related summer programs that may interest you. Ivy League colleges, such as Brown University and Harvard University, also offer summer pre-college programs, where admitted students are invited to explore prospective majors by taking a non-credit-bearing class. Through rigorous verbal and written assignments, students are challenged to think critically and engage thoughtfully with their peers.
Remember that all of these programs are highly selective. Depending on the program, attending a pre-college program may help bolster your college applications, especially if you are interested in attending a highly-selective institution such as an Ivy League college. That said, admissions officers know these programs are competitive and do not expect you to attend a summer program. However, regardless of whether or not you attend a pre-college program, it is important to use your summer vacation productively.
If you are considering applying for pre-college summer programs, make sure that you will have something to do in case you do not get accepted. Always plan ahead and remember that these programs are only one of many ways you can spend your summer. Research volunteer opportunities and continue to engage in your extracurricular activities. If you feel like you could benefit from professional guidance as you start to consider attending college, reach out to learn more about our services.
