Supplemental Essays

Earlier this year several large universities announced that they were eliminating their supplemental essays. Others streamlined or reduced their numbers. Some people thought we were entering a new era of applications, and perhaps this is just the start of a trend that will continue in subsequent years, but when the 26-27 Common App opened on Aug 1, we saw that the majority of colleges that traditionally used supplemental essays still had them. 

At Ignite, we view this as a good thing. While additional writing adds to a student’s to-do list, we encourage students to view it as an opportunity to share additional parts of yourself beyond your main essay and Activities Section. If your application is only in front of the admissions team for 8-10 mins, you’ll want to give them all that you’ve got! Here’s a snapshot of some of the more popular supplemental “types” and how to approach them:

• “Why are you interested in our college?”

  • Demonstrate FIT between YOU and the COLLEGE - don’t just tell them things you like about the school

  • Research the college’s mission statement to get to the heart of their purpose and values

  • Provide specific examples of how you hope to engage with the college academically and outside of the classroom - paint a picture to help the reader envision you on their campus

• “Why are you interested in the major/program you selected / discuss an academic area that excites you?”

  • Demonstrate INTELLECTUAL CURIOSITY

  • What have you done to start to explore this major (electives, extracurriculars, informational interviewing, shadowing)?

  • What specific area of this major/field do you think you want to go into (don’t worry, you are not bound to it, but it makes your story more interesting!)

  • If you don’t know for sure, that’s okay! What areas are you currently drawn to? What challenges would you like to work on?

• “Discuss an extracurricular activity that was most important to you”

  • Demonstrate INTERESTS and PASSION

  • This gives you a chance to share more details of an activity from the Activities Section

  • Describe why it was important to you, and most importantly, what impact did you make?

• “Describe a community you are a part of and your role within it”

  • Demonstrate IMPACT

  • What community do you consider core to your identity (club/team, cultural group, neighborhood, school group)?

  • How have you contributed to this community? What was your specific role? What was the outcome or impact?

  • How might you contribute to one of the college’s communities on campus?

• “Share a time you had a difference in opinion, or had a difficult conversation with someone with an opposing viewpoint”

  • Demonstrate INTERPERSONAL SKILLS

  • Describe how you listened, negotiated, changed your mind, or reached common ground

  • Your process is more important than the actual issue at hand - the college wants to understand how you will interact with classmates of different backgrounds on campus

• Short Answer Questions: E.g., “Give us your Top 10”, “Three words to describe yourself”, “What’s your favorite ___?”

  • Demonstrate PERSONALITY

  • The more detailed and specific, the better

  • Have fun with these!

• “Optional” Essays

  • Demonstrate COMMITMENT to the college

  • Unlike “test-optional”, essays aren’t really optional if you want to show you are interested in the college

  • Remember, these are an opportunity to show another piece of your story!