centre college supplemental essays

• How to Apply

International Applicants

Centre College encourages candidates from around the globe to join us on our supportive, student-centered campus.

Challenging academics, personalized attention, and enriching research and internship experiences prepare Centre students for success in the workforce and acceptance into top-tier graduate programs. 

Applying to Centre Application deadlines   Cost of Attendance

Financial Aid Scholarships  Student Support

Centre Is Among the Best Colleges in the Nation

Top 30 most innovative school.

Ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report.

Pursue Advanced Degrees

The majority of our students seek advanced degrees after graduation.

Complete an Internship or Research Opportunity

Our students are guaranteed hands-on experiences.

Medical School Acceptance Rate

Among the highest in the nation.

Law School Acceptance Rate

Quick facts.

• All international applicants are considered for fall term enrollment, which begins in September.
• Complete our Preliminary Application if you have strong interest in attending Centre.
• Completed official applications must be submitted to the Office of Admission by November 15 (Early Decision), December 1 (Early Action) or January 15 (Regular Decision) depending on your application plan. 
• Contact the Associate Director of Admission for more information about Centre and our admission process. 
• If you are admitted and choose to enroll at Centre College, you will need to remit a USD 400 non-refundable enrollment deposit by either February 1 (for Early Decision) or May 1 (for Early Action and Regular Decision) to secure your admission. Centre issues I-20 paperwork after receiving the enrollment deposit.
• If you need more information about going to college in the United States the Department of Homeland Security has a website.

Learn more about going to college in the U.S. 

The Centre Spotlight

Amon Otsuki '21

Amon Otsuki, a Computer Science major from Agatsuma-Gun Japan, talks about the impact Centre has made on his experience as an International student, the people he has met throughout his four years on campus and the work he did with faculty and students in his major.

Preliminary Application 

If you have a strong interest in Centre and want to receive early admission information, fill out our quick pre-application which is accepted through November 15.

The Pre-application asks for some basic information:

• Demonstrate your interest in considering Centre as a college choice. 
• Ensure you receive updates about our admission process, scholarships, and important deadlines. 
• Receive invitations to special online programming for international applicants.

The preliminary application does not replace the official application. To be formally considered for admission to Centre, you must apply using the Common App.

International Pre-Application  

Applying to Centre

It’s easy and absolutely free to apply to Centre online using the Common Application.

Application Deadlines and Requirements

Application requirements.

Our admission process considers a number of factors to help us know more about you including academic records, English proficiency, teacher recommendations, a written essay, and a certificate of finance. Other optional information may be submitted if you feel it’s helpful to your admission.

Official or attested copies of academic records must be submitted from all secondary schools attended, as well as from any university or other post-secondary institution attended. Records should include the subjects studied and the grade, mark, or other evidence that each subject was completed satisfactorily. Records should explain the grading system. If records are not in English, records should be submitted in the original language accompanied by a certified literal translation. Records will not be returned.

All international applicants are required to provide proof of English proficiency. An international applicant can demonstrate proficiency in the following ways:

• Test reports from either the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language), the IELTS (International English Testing System), Pearson PTE, OR the Duolingo English Test (DET). Our required minimum for the TOEFL iBT is 93, TOEFL Essentials is 9.5, IELTS is 7.0, Pearson PTE is 64, and DET is 125.
• Completion of a high school curriculum in English, such as an IB or A-Level program, or attendance at a high school where English is the primary spoken language will also demonstrate English proficiency.
• English is the student’s first/primary language.

If you believe our TOEFL/IELTS/DET requirement should be waived for you, please complete our waiver request form.

Submit a waiver request 

Note: We are only able to evaluate these forms after a student has completed their admission application, including supporting materials. Please note that all students who submit this waiver may be required to complete an interview and/or submit test scores to be considered for admission.

One letter of recommendation must be submitted as well as the School Report found in your application. Teachers who are familiar with your recent academic performance should write recommendations. The writers of recommendations may use the forms provided in the application or submit letters on a separate sheet of paper. The forms in the application can be copied. Recommendations should be mailed from the writers directly to the Office of Admission (or given to the applicant in a sealed envelope with the writer’s signature across the flap).

Applicants are required to submit at least one essay of 500-650 words written in English, included in their Common Application. The content of the essay should address one of the specific questions posed on the application.

All international students MUST submit Centre’s online financial form in order to be considered for admission and scholarships. We do NOT require a separate financial aid application or copies of bank statements for international applicants. Centre does not accept the CSS profile. 

Submit the Certificate of Finance form

Admission Office Contacts

Joy Joy Htet

• Associate Director of International Recruitment
• 859.238.5352
• Send an Email

Eric Matherly

• Admission Counselor
• 859.238.5372
• 859.238.5350

Cost of Attendance

Centre sets its cost each year as a comprehensive fee. This fee includes tuition, all academic fees, student housing, board (meals), and most cultural and athletic events on campus. You can expect college fees to increase slightly each year (on average 3-4%). However, scholarship amounts do not increase annually and students who need additional financial aid after they have enrolled at Centre should contact the financial aid office. While international students are eligible for partial need-based financial aid, it is not common for need-based grants to increase each year. We will do our best to take individual circumstances into consideration for enrolled students. View the cost of attending Centre  

Financial Aid for International Students

Need-based financial aid grants and merit scholarships are available to highly qualified students. Over the last three years, these grants ranged from $3,000-$21,000, with the average grant of $11,000 awarded to highly qualified admitted students who required additional financial support. In most cases, financial aid grants are added to merit scholarships in order to meet the student’s financial need.

For students receiving financial aid, the college has limits to the aid available, leaving an average annual family contribution of $25,000 USD per year for international students. We recommend that students who need significant financial aid to attend Centre, apply on our Early Action or Regular Decision plans, to allow appropriate time to apply separately for scholarship programs.  

Scholarships for International Students

International students are automatically considered for  merit scholarships ranging from USD $7,500 to $29,000 per academic year. Separate scholarship applications are required for Centre’s competitive Lincoln Scholars Program and for the special scholarships listed below.

Learn more about our scholarships

Aid and Scholarships Information

Financial aid.

• 859.238.5365

Have Questions?

Below are some of the concerns we have cleared up for International candidates throughout the years. If you have additional questions, contact the Admission office.

Frequently Asked Questions

All international students must submit our online Certificate of Finance, which states your ability to afford college fees. Certificate of Finance Form

Please know that if a student later intends to enroll at Centre College that they will need to show proof of financial support at the US consulate in order to obtain a student visa. 

We do NOT require a separate financial aid application (ISFAA), copies of bank statements, or the CSS profile for international applicants. A student may submit the ISFAA in lieu of the Certificate of Finance by emailing it to  [email protected]  or uploading to the applicant portal. 

Need-based financial aid grants are available to highly qualified students, and can be combined with merit scholarships. Over the last three years, these grants ranged from $3,000-$21,000, with the average grant of $11,000 awarded to highly qualified admitted students who required additional financial support.  

For students receiving financial aid, the college has limits to the aid available, leaving an average annual contribution of $25,000 USD per year for an international student receiving financial aid. If you are an international student who is unable to afford this approximate amount, you should apply for our competitive premier scholarship. 

Lincoln Scholars Program  

Centre has two scholarship programs that offer full funding for international students. These competitive scholarship programs. 

Lincoln Scholars Program  

Each requires a separate online application. Centre does not offer full need-based funding for international students, and students who require a full scholarship should make plans to apply for the Lincoln program as the best and only ways to secure full funding at Centre. 

Centre sets its cost each year as a comprehensive fee. The estimated total cost for international students for 2020-21 is USD $62,600. This includes the base comprehensive fee of tuition, all academic fees, student housing, board (meals), and most cultural and athletic events on campus + required health insurance, books, transportation to campus, and personal expenses. The cost for each student will vary depending on scholarships and aid that may be awarded.  Please keep in mind that colleges do increase their tuition each year.  

Once you submit your application on CommmonApp.org, our office will send an email with log-in information for your Centre applicant portal, also called CentreNet. You can check the status of your application, see missing materials, and submit certain documents via this portal. 

How to log into CentreNet  

Score reports may be sent from the respective testing services, included on a student’s high school transcript, or emailed to [email protected] by the applicant’s school counselor. Or, an applicant can self-report scores by submitting a screenshot or PDF of the score report via email to [email protected]. This policy applies to SAT, ACT, TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo English Test. Centre superscores both the SAT and the ACT, meaning that if you have taken either test more than once, you should submit all your scores, and we will add your highest section scores together to give you the highest possible combined score. If an applicant who self-reports scores decides to attend Centre, they must submit official copies of test reports prior to enrollment. 

If you believe our TOEFL/IELTS/DET requirement should be waived, please submit a waiver form for consideration. 

English Proficiency Test Waiver Request   

When Centre reviews an international applicant for admission, we need some reassurance that, if admitted, the student will be able to afford to attend our institution. That is why we ask for the Certificate of Finance which states the family’s ability to pay for education. It is sometimes the case that while a student’s credentials would make them a very qualified applicant, we will not be able to offer admission due to a lack of finances. We do sometimes place students on a financial aid waitlist, which indicates that while we would like to offer admission, we are unable to do so unless the student: a) receives a premier scholarship from Centre, or b) the family amends the Certificate of Finance to show a greater capacity to pay educational expenses.

If a student needs a significant amount of financial assistance to afford attendance to Centre College (beyond our general international student merit scholarships), they should apply separately for the Lincoln Scholars Program, which provides full financial support. The Program is open to international applicants and requires a separate online application. The deadline to apply for this program is December 1; finalists are named in February and recipients are named in April. 

Need-based financial aid grants are available to highly qualified students and can be combined with merit scholarships. Over the last three years, these grants ranged from $3,000-$21,000, with the average grant of $11,000 awarded to highly qualified admitted students who required additional financial support.   For students receiving financial aid, the college has limits to the aid available, leaving an average annual contribution of $25,000 USD per year for an international student receiving financial aid. If you are an international student who is unable to afford this approximate amount, you should apply for the Lincoln Scholars Program. If a student wants/needs full funding to attend Centre, they can apply separately for the Lincoln Scholars Program , which is Centre’s only option for covering the full cost of attendance. 

Interviews are optional for international applicants. Students who apply to Centre will be invited via email to sign up for an optional virtual interview (Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, WhatsApp, or WeChat) after they submit their application. Interviews are available on a limited basis, and are not mandatory. 

International Student Support

Our welcoming and knowledgeable staff members will help you navigate the admissions, enrollment, and immigration process.

Meet Students and Faculty

Speak with a current student or faculty member to get a feel for our community and culture.

Request to connect with a student or faculty 

Before You Arrive

We will help you complete enrollment paperwork, assist with student visas and other immigration documents, and provide travel guidance and resources.

Documents to Bring

When you come to the U.S., you should bring with you any important documents that relate to your academic, medical, and legal history: 

• Official transcripts from secondary schools, colleges, or universities 
• Medical and dental records, including certificates of immunizations and vaccinations 
• Information about medical conditions or treatments, prescriptions for medication and eyeglasses 
• International driver’s license

Before you leave your home country, if these documents are not in English, obtain English translations and have the translations certified by a U.S. educational advising center or a U.S. consulate or embassy. Retain photocopies of all original documents for your records.

When You Get Here

Attend a special orientation that introduces you to the area where Centre is located, and your fellow international students. You’ll meet your international student mentor who will become one of your friends and help you acclimate to campus life.

During Your Time at Centre

The International Student Services office will support your academic and personal needs, such as getting a driver’s license or finding employment. The International Student Association and Diversity Student Union are two (of many) organizations that enrich our campus and celebrate Centre’s diversity.

International Student Services

Jessica Leonard

• Assistant Director, Centre Global (International Student Services)
• 859.238.6106

Take the Next Step

Supplemental Essay Guide 2023-24

What do the 2023-24 supplemental essay prompts really mean, and how should you approach them? CEA's experts are here to break them all down.

Acceptance Rate

Undergrad population.

• Liberal Arts (51)

* Tuition filtering is based on out-of-state fees

Agnes Scott College 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Alvernia University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide  

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Writing requirements by college

This resource provides guidance to students on what writing questions they can expect within individual college questions!

Aberystwyth University

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university (utah), westmont college, wheaton college (il), wheaton college, massachusetts, wheeling university, whitman college, whittier college, whitworth university, wichita state university, widener university, wilberforce university, wilkes honors college of fau, wilkes university, willamette university, william & mary, william jewell college, william paterson university of nj, william peace university, william woods university, williams college, wilmington college, wilson college, wingate university, winston-salem state university, winthrop university, wisconsin lutheran college, wittenberg university, wofford college, woodbury university, worcester polytechnic institute, worcester state university, wright state university, xavier university, xavier university of louisiana, yale university, york college of pennsylvania, youngstown state university, zaytuna college.

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How to Write the Most Common Supplemental College Essays: A Complete Guide

Note: This post focuses on supplemental essays. If you want advice on the Common App prompts, check out our guide to the Common App essays .

Your grades are in, your test scores have been sent, and recommendation letters have been uploaded…but there’s one last component of your college applications left: the essays. For many students, essays are the final and most daunting hurdle to clear before hitting submit.

Your essays, however, are your opportunity to tell admissions officers how you want them to remember you. Maybe you didn’t do so well on the SAT, or maybe you got a lower grade than you hoped for in Honors Chemistry, but you can’t change your grades or scores.

The essays, however, are entirely in your control. There is so much freedom to tell your story and what makes you unique. Our mission at CollegeVine is to make the essay-writing as stress-free as possible. Read on for our tips and tricks on writing a college essay that will give you the best chance at getting that thick envelope!

Content overview:

• Why this college?
• Why this major?
• Elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience.
• Discuss a community you belong to that has impacted who you are today.
• Crafting the essay
• Avoiding pitfalls

Want to learn more about Supplemental Essays? Check out one of our popular recorded live streams on this topic.

Common Types of College Essays

Colleges will find a hundred different ways to ask a question, but most of the time, the prompt boils down to one of the following common essay themes.

Common Essay #1: Why this college?

Students’ most common mistake on a “Why this college?” essay is lack of specificity; in particular, some students will list attributes that can apply to multiple schools, which is what you want to avoid at all costs.

When it comes to a “Why this college?” essay, you need to discuss qualities and programs specific to that school. It is not enough to merely list or name-drop, however. Instead, talk about why this item is important to you. Here’s how this plays out:

What not to do:

I want to go to the University of Southern California because it is a highly ranked school in Los Angeles. In addition, I like its Cosmic Writers Club, as well as the Incubate USC program. I am especially excited about the abundant film resources.

Why the previous response doesn’t work:

There are many reasons you want to avoid a response like this. Let’s start with the first sentence: replace the school’s name with UCLA and the accuracy doesn’t suffer. What this means is that the sentence is not specific enough to USC. In addition, you never want to state, or even imply, that you’re applying to a school due to prestige or ranking.

The exception for the previous rule is if a school is ranked highly for a specific program of interest. For example, if you want to pursue creative writing and a school has the number one creative writing program in the country, you can mention this because it is a quality specific to that school. A school’s overall prestige, however, should not be mentioned in your essay.

Why else doesn’t this response work? Let’s look at the second sentence. The writer does well to mention specific programs within USC. However, the response fails to discuss why they liked these programs or how they would benefit from having access to them.

What to write instead:

As someone with a lasting love for writing and a blossoming passion for entrepreneurship, I was so excited to find a large urban school like the University of Southern California that would give me the resources to pursue both. From classes with award-winning authors—amongst them Professor T. Boyle, whose environmental fiction works are similar to those I hope to someday publish—to clubs like the Cosmic Writers Club, which unites author hopefuls, USC offers more resources than I could ever exhaust in my journey to publish my first book.

On the business side, USC is known for fostering the type of creativity and innovation needed in pursuing start-ups. In particular, I was so excited to learn of the Incubate USC program, a unique mothership of ideas that nurtures the creativity of students. With the help of this program, I would be able to pursue my growing interest in the world of start-up ventures.

Why the previous response works:

This response not only mentions programs and resources specific to USC, but it shows how the student would take advantage of these opportunities. In addition, this response portrays passion and ambition, infusing elements of the student’s personality while still staying focused on answering the prompt.

Other things to keep in mind:

• The first time you say the school’s name, you should write it out. After that, you can abbreviate.
• Avoid writing what every other applicant is going to write. For example, every NYU applicant is going to mention NYU’s location in New York City. Unless you have a unique twist on this, you should skip it.
• Don’t mention frivolous things like dorms or dining halls. Your reasons for liking a school should be more substantial.
• Do your research. For example, don’t say you’ve always wanted to go to a city if you’re writing an essay for a rural school.
• Do not copy and paste your “Why this college?” essay and simply change the school name. Many non-Harvard admissions officers have received essays from students about why they want to go to Harvard. If your “Why this college?” essay is so general that you can copy and paste it, your reasoning will not impress admissions officers.

For more tips on writing this essay, see our complete guide to the “Why this college?” essay , including a real sample essay.

Common Essay #2: Why this major? 

One of the most important things to remember is that admissions officers are not looking for a résumé. This is not to say you can’t discuss your activities and how they culminated a passion for a specific major. The challenge, however, is to use these activities to tell a story rather than a mere list of achievements.

How do you do this? Share your thought processes. Many times it is the thoughts surrounding an activity more than the activity itself that will show the reader your journey to choosing a major.

Other tips:

• Don’t ever say that your reason for choosing a major is money-making potential. If you want to mention life beyond college, then talk about how this major will help you achieve your dreams. If your dream is to produce a feature-length film and a film major will help you get there, say that. But don’t say your dream is to be a rich film producer.
• Undeclared? That’s totally okay. Just be sure to list a couple potential majors, and explain your interest in those. Under no circumstances should you say you have absolutely no idea, as that will make you look like you don’t care. For more tips, see our post on how to write the “Why this major?” essay if you’re undecided .

For more tips on writing this essay, see our complete guide to the “Why this major?” essay , including a real sample essay.

Common Essay 3: Elaborate on an extracurricular activity or work experience.

Is there an activity or work experience in your application that you have more to say about? Maybe there’s a story behind it that you want to tell. Some questions to consider are:

• How did you become interested in this extracurricular?
• What is your role in the activity or work experience?
• Why do you do it?
• Have you experienced growth within the activity over time?

There are endless angles you can pursue here, but your essay should, in short, show your motivation behind participating in a certain activity or job.

What you don’t want to do, however, is simply restate something that’s been said elsewhere. If you have already spotlighted an activity in another essay for a given college, don’t write about the same activity. Your goal here is to share new information and your breadth of experiences.

As with the “Why Major?” prompt, it is more powerful to share a story with the reader rather than to detail the activity itself.

For more tips on writing this essay, see our complete guide to the Extracurricular Activity essay , including a real sample essay.

Common Essay 4: Discuss a community you belong to that has impacted who you are today.

“Community” can mean many things, so there are many possible approaches to this prompt. Some applicants respond with a community they’re linked to through culture, and others through sports or a club.

One thing you can emphasize is personal growth—or other aspects of who you are as a person—that has come from belonging to this community. The majority of the essay should, in fact, center around how being part of this group has changed or impacted who you are as a person.

What to avoid:

• Do not discriminate against other communities in your response.
• Try not to talk about your community in broad terms, but instead focus on your place within this community.
• Avoid using the essay as a chance to complain. If you choose to talk about challenges in a certain community, find a way to give your essay a sense of resolution. This can consist even of talking about how you’ve grown as a person or learned how to confront these obstacles in a productive way.

Writing the Essay

Phase 1: ideation.

Highlights of this section:

• Thinking of an idea
• Portraying individuality
• Staying true to yourself
• General tips and tricks

Now that you’re familiar with some of the most common types of essay prompts, let’s dive into the ideation process. Here are some questions that it’s good to ask yourself when you’re just starting out, particularly when the prompt deviates from the more straightforward archetypes above:

• What makes you unique?
• What is your story?
• Is there something you weren’t able to say in your application that you think admissions officers should know?
• Did you mention something earlier in your application that you want to elaborate on?

Remember that your essays, and application in general, should read like a portfolio in which all components are complementary without being redundant. If the application is like a drawing, then the essays should contribute to creating one coherent image without sketching the same line more than once or leaving gaps in the drawing.

Don’t shy away from being quirky! The more you present yourself as your own unique person, the more likely the admissions officer is to remember you. Take the following cases, for instance:

• A football player who scores a winning touchdown in the last five seconds of the game.
• A football player who knits scarves for residents of a retirement home in his free time.

In the first case, telling this story doesn’t do anything to differentiate this football player from others. However, the second story portrays a unique student with two interests the reader might not otherwise have paired together. Individuality is the goal here.

Of course, don’t exaggerate , lie, or pretend to be someone you’re not. In particular, don’t write something just because you think the admissions officer wants to hear it. They have read enough applications to separate the genuine voices from the insincere. As such, your only job is to put your true self on the page!

Here are some other things to keep in mind while brainstorming college essay topics:

• Narratives will always be more successful because they engage the reader emotionally. They are also an easy way to demonstrate how you’ve changed and grown over time.
• If you have already emphasized something in your application, don’t dedicate an essay to it unless can share an entirely new perspective. When in doubt, choose a new topic.
• Your essay doesn’t have to be about something rare and incredible. You don’t have to have started a company or traveled the world to write a solid essay. In fact, some of the strongest essays have taken a simple, perhaps even everyday occurrence, and portrayed it in a beautiful way that shows a unique way of thinking.
• Be sure to answer all aspects of the prompt while still giving the reader insight into who you are. It’s very easy to speak about some topics in third-person or broad terms (example: “What is your idea of success?”). Don’t do this. Instead, find a way to link the prompt to your own life.

Overall, think of the essays as a way to let the admissions officer get to know you on a personal level. Humanize yourself.

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Phase 2: Crafting the Essay

• Show, don’t tell.
• Perfecting the first and last sentence
• What does the essay say about me?

You have likely heard this next tip a hundred times throughout high school, but it’s vital to writing a strong essay: show, don’t tell . The whole point of essays is to give insight into who you are and how you think. Can you effectively do that if you’re merely listing off things that happened? Nope. Let’s take a lot at two examples:

• An example of telling: The cat ran out the door, and I got scared.
• An example of showing: The doorbell rang, accompanied by the creak of the mailbox as the mailman slipped the day’s envelopes inside. I ran downstairs and threw the door open, knowing today was the day I was going to hear back. My excitement made me oblivious, though, and it wasn’t until I saw a blur of dark fur dash through the open door that I realized my mistake.

The second example takes the facts and turns it into a story. It gives the reader a sense of anticipation as well as a character to identify with and root for. That’s what “show, don’t tell” does for your essay.

Now let’s talk about the two most important parts of your essay: the first sentence and the last sentence.

Your first sentence’s job is to hook the reader. Aim for a first sentence that surprises, even slightly jars, the reader to wake them up and get their full focus on your essay. Here are some examples:

• It wasn’t supposed to be blue.
• Was the car meant to sound like that?

In both cases, the writer has intentionally withheld information, providing just enough to leave the reader wanting to know the rest of the story. What isn’t supposed to be blue? What happens next?

As for the last sentence, its job is to resolve the essay, leaving the reader with a sense of peace and finality. Give the reader one last great impression to remember you by. Here’s an example:

“I’ve learned to hold my failures close; not so close that they burden me, per say, but just

close enough that they can guide me as I journey onward.”

This sentence works because it gives the reader a sense that, though the story continues on in the form of the narrator’s ongoing journey, the story on the page has been resolved. It feels peaceful.

Now then, after you’ve completed your first draft, the next thing you want to do is ask yourself the following question : What three things about me can the reader get from reading this essay? If you’re having trouble answering this question, then the essay needs to share more about you. Otherwise, you’re ready for revision!

Phase 3: Revision

• Careless errors
• Staying under the word limit
• Getting a second opinion

You’ve done the hard work. You came up with a brilliant idea and poured your heart and soul into the writing. Now comes the tedious part: revision.

Most importantly, college essays need to be absolutely devoid of grammatical or spelling mistakes . You don’t want to give your admissions officer the impression that you didn’t care enough to proofread, especially after all of your hard work.

Another aspect that tends to frustrate students is the word limit. If you’ve made it under the word limit, great! If not, here are some methods of cutting down.

• Example: In visiting your campus, it occurred to me that the method with which you schedule your classes is ideal because…
• This can be cut down to: The way you schedule your classes is ideal because…
• Most times phrases such as “I think,” “I believe,” “it seems,” and other similar wording is not necessary and simply takes up extra space. Use your judgement, but generally, these phrases get the boot.
• Keep an eye out for the word “that.” This can almost always be cut.
• If you use a long hyphen (—), no space is needed between words. This will bring your word count down. Don’t get too hyphen happy, though!

If the above tips are not enough to get you below the word limit,  you may need to remove entire paragraphs. If a paragraph does not drive the story forward, or is unnecessary in understanding the progression of the story, you may want to remove it.

Once your essay is mistake-free and below the word limit, your next task is to send it to at least three trusted individuals. Ask them the following questions to guide their suggestions:

• Does it make sense?
• Does it sound like me?
• What does it say about me? (Check that this aligns with what you want it to say about you).

Take note of their responses and decide what changes you want to implement. Be receptive, but remember to stay true to yourself and your vision.

Avoiding Pitfalls:

• Avoid discussion of taboo subjects or things that can be perceived as controversial. Everyone is entitled to their own views, but you don’t want to chance saying something controversial that your reader might disagree with.
• Never appear discriminatory in any way. Colleges tend to be vastly left-wing and progressive.
• Don’t turn in work that isn’t your own. When does accepting another person’s edits become plagiarism? If they are rewriting entire sentences in their own words, it is no longer your own work.
• Avoid clichés! It is okay to write about a common experience (like a sports injury or service trip), but only if you have a unique take on them. Don’t write on a popular topic if you will simply describe the same lesson that everyone else learned.
• Don’t write your essay directly into the application text box or it may not save your work. Write it in a separate document and copy and paste it later. Then, double check that the format is correct.

At the end of the day, your essays should just leave the reader thinking: I want to have a conversation with this student. You want to show that you’re an multifaceted, mature person with an interesting story to tell. At CollegeVine, we’re rooting for you all the way—go get writing!

Want help with your college essays to improve your admissions chances? Sign up for your free CollegeVine account and get access to our essay guides and courses. You can also get your essay peer-reviewed and improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

The Admissions Strategist

How to write the “ why this college ” essay: the ultimate guide.

If you apply to Yale University , you’ll be asked, “What is it about Yale that has led you to apply?”

Similarly, Caltech wants to know, “How do you believe Caltech will best fuel your intellectual curiosity and help you meet your goals?”

And if you’re interested in attending Notre Dame , you’ll need to respond to the following: “What excites you about the University of Notre Dame that makes it stand out from other institutions?”

Okay, you get the idea:

These are just a few variations on what we like to call the “Why This College” essay.

• Most colleges and universities require applicants to answer some form of this question, and it’s one of the most important essays you’ll write.

In this article, we’ll tell you how to rock the “Why This College” essay and increase your chances of acceptance.

Why Do Colleges Ask This Question?

We mentioned above that this is one of the most important essays you’ll write—and that almost every college wants you to write it.

But why? What’s the significance of this question?

In reading your response, colleges are hoping to determine:

• Whether you truly know and have interest in their school
• Whether you’ll be a good fit for the school
• Whether the school is a good fit for you

Are You Interested?

Sure, the fact that you’re filling out the application indicates some level of interest in the school.

• But many students apply to schools simply because they recognize the name, know the school has a great reputation, or even have been pushed in that direction by friends or family members.

Colleges only accept a limited number of students , and they want to admit students who have a genuine interest in and commitment to their school.

• Do you know what makes this college stand out from others?
• Do you know about the opportunities and experiences this school can offer?
• Are you aware of the school’s values, culture, and traditions?
• Have you already spent time picturing yourself here? Are you excited about this possibility?

Click above to watch a video on how to write the Why This College Essay.

As you write this essay, aim to demonstrate your knowledge and enthusiasm for the school in question.

Are You a Good Fit for the School?

As they read your essays, college admissions officers try to picture you on their campus.

• Will you fit in and thrive there?
• What contributions will you make to their college and community?
• Do your interests mesh well with the school’s strengths?
• Is your personality a good fit for the school’s culture and values?

Help the admissions team imagine you as someone who would happily thrive at their school, making positive contributions to campus.

Is the School a Good Fit for You?

Not only do you need to be a good fit for the school, but the school needs to be a good fit for you as well.

• What are your academic and career goals? Can this school help you achieve them?
• Will you be successful at this school? Is the rigor and approach to learning a good fit for you?
• What academic programs, research or internship opportunities, classes, extracurricular activities, and so on will you take advantage of and participate in?

Show that the school you’re applying to has the resources to help you achieve academic and career success.

How to Recognize the “Why This College” Question

Of course, this essay won’t be labeled “Why This College” on applications. You’ll have to be able to recognize it in a variety of forms.

There are two different angles colleges might use to approach this question: “Why us?” and “Why you?”

• Why us? Here, you’ll express enthusiasm for the school and its opportunities and culture. What will you get out of attending this school?
• Why you? In this case, the focus is on the contributions you’ll make to campus and the skills, background, and talents that make you a good fit.

Although these approaches are slightly different, you can include similar information in your answers to both prompt types.

For instance, let’s say you’re really excited about a particular program offered by the university.

• If the university’s asking, “Why us?” you might focus on what an amazing opportunity participating in this program would be, and why you’re so excited about it. You could explain how the program would help you achieve your future goals.
• For a “Why you?” essay, you might describe how your background, experiences, and abilities make you a perfect fit for the program. You could also discuss how your future goals make you someone who would benefit from and take advantage of this program.

Let’s take a look at what these two different approaches look like.

Examples of “Why This College?” Prompts

In some cases, the college will literally ask you, “Why [college name here]?” making this prompt very easy to identify.

Alternatively, they might ask you:

• What do you like best about our university?
• Why are you interested in our school?
• Why do you want to go to our college?
• What aspects of our college most excite you?

Some examples:

• “Why Brown?” – Brown University
• “Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why.” – Columbia University
• “What are the top five reasons you want to be a Hokie?” – Virginia Tech
• “Please submit a one page, single-spaced essay that explains why you have chosen Carnegie Mellon and your particular major(s), department(s) or program(s).” – Carnegie Mellon

Examples of “Why You?” Prompts

These prompts focus more on you, asking questions like:

• What are your interests or goals and how will you pursue them here?
• What will you contribute to our school?
• Why are you a good match/good fit for us?
• What do you want to study and how does this fit well with our programs?
• “Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why?” – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• “How will you explore your intellectual and academic interests at the University of Pennsylvania?” – University of Pennsylvania
• “Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC.” – University of Southern California
• “Please relate your interest in studying at Georgetown University to your goals. How do these thoughts relate to your chosen course of study?” – Georgetown University

No matter how they word it, these schools are asking the classic “Why This College” question.

How to Write an Impressive “Why This College” Essay

The key to a stellar “Why This College” essay is to give specific, precise details about what you and the university can offer to one another.

You also need to convey your enthusiasm and excitement about the college and the unique opportunities available there.

Here’s how:

Do Your Research

First, you need to gather information about your college(s) of choice.

And we’re not talking about the generic info yielded by a two-minute Google search.

This type of research will take some time, but earning an acceptance letter from your dream school will make it worth the effort.

You’re looking for precise details about:

• Courses and programs
• Extracurricular and internship opportunities
• Events and activities
• Campus culture
• The latest news about your college and its achievements

How can you find this information?

Use a variety of resources, including:

• The school’s website and other materials
• College fairs
• Campus tours
• Conversations with current students

Let’s take a closer look at how to take advantage of these sources.

The School’s Website and Other Materials

You can find great information on the university’s website, but try not to pull info from the overview you’ll find on the front page.

Many students might use this technique, so you could end up sounding just like other applicants (which you want to avoid).

Instead, take a deeper dive.

• Look through the course catalog, go to specific professor’s websites, review the particular programs you’re interested in, and so on.
• As you do so, be sure to take notes!
• Also, record your reactions to the information you’re finding—are you especially excited about a certain course? Why?

You can find similar info in the school’s newspaper, alumni magazines, brochures, social media, and more.

Gather as much material published by the school as you can, and take your time combing through it for opportunities that you find particularly exciting.

College Fairs

Visiting college fairs is another effective way to gather information about schools.

In addition to getting brochures and other materials, you can talk to the college reps.

Ask them questions about their university and what makes it unique, then jot down notes so you can include these details in your essay later!

Campus Tours

Mentioning a campus tour you’ve taken demonstrates your genuine interest in the school.

You and your family have made the effort to travel to campus and take a tour—that’s a good sign!

You can also find tons of unique details about the college by visiting campus and taking a tour. As always, be sure to take notes.

• Are there any buildings that stand out to you? Sculptures?
• Do you see students doing anything that makes you want to be part of this campus community?
• Try to sit in on some classes if possible. Write down the course name, the professor’s name, and anything intriguing that you hear or see during the lecture.
• Talk to students if you can, asking them what they like best about the school or what makes their school different from others.
• If you go on a tour, write down the name of your tour guide, along with anything surprising or funny that your tour guide says about the school.

Note your overall impressions and anything you see that you especially like, no matter how small. These seemingly insignificant details are what make your essay!

And if you can’t go on a physical tour, try to take a virtual one. Many schools offer virtual tours on their website, or you can search sites like Youtube.

Current Students

As mentioned above, talking to students can give you a perspective you won’t necessarily find online.

• Is there anyone from your high school that now attends this college?
• Try contacting them through social media, or see if anyone knows their phone number.
• College students are often happy to discuss their university with prospective students.

Visiting campus is another way to find students to talk to, and some admissions websites list contact information for students you can email with questions about life at the university.

Get personalized advice!

How to brainstorm the essay.

Once you’ve gathered enough information about your college or university, it’s time to brainstorm !

Sift through all of your research and notes to find 3-5 aspects of the school that appeal to you the most. Make sure these are specific details!

• Don’t choose broad statements like, “The historic brick buildings on campus are beautiful,” or regurgitate info from the school’s front page, like, “This school is known for its strong engineering curriculum.”
• Try to focus on what interests you and fits well with your goals and background, as well as on what makes the school stand out from others.
• Are you excited that your school is near a beach, or that it’s located in Chicago? Lots of schools are located near beaches, and there’s more than one university in Chicago. Dig deeper. What makes this school unlike any other?

Here’s the bottom line:

You need to choose 3-5 details that:

• Are specific to you (Don’t just praise this school, but explain why this quality is great for you , or how it connects to your background and future goals.)
• Are specific to the school
• Make you eager to attend this university (Your interest and enthusiasm should shine through in this essay.)

Here are a few ideas:

• Talk about how a specific program or opportunity can help you realize your career goals.
• Does the school have facilities or equipment that you can’t find at many other schools, and that you’re excited to work with? This could include a specialized laboratory, an observatory, a library with rare manuscripts or first editions, etc.
• Mention a class you find fascinating and can’t wait to take. This is especially effective if you were able to sit in on the class or have spoken to a current student who loves it.
• Is there a professor you can’t wait to learn from? Maybe his research is related to a science fair project you did in high school, or you’ve already learned a lot just from reading one of his books.
• Describe an experience you had on the campus tour, or an impactful interaction you had with students or staff.
• Do you have a unique story about how you became interested in the school? Maybe your family had time to spare on a vacation in the area, and you stopped by and fell in love. Or perhaps your high school attended a competition hosted there.
• Are you planning to continue work, research, or involvement with an organization from high school? How will you be able to do so at this university?
• What programs or activities do you plan to get involved with, and what qualities or experiences will you bring them?
• Are you the perfect match for a research or internship opportunity? Why? Maybe you’ve done relevant academic work, have already worked in this field, have been exposed to it via your parents or another relative, etc.

However, you should avoid focusing on:

• Sports . Unless you have a unique story about your passion for the sports teams, or you’re planning to be an athlete yourself, try to avoid discussing that you’re a fan of the school’s teams. There’s nothing wrong with this—it’s just an overused topic!
• Generic praise . Although praise is nice, it’s not what admissions officers want to hear. They want to know how you personally connect with the school.
• College rankings . Sure, this college might be ranked #3 for happiest students. But it’s probably pretty similar to other schools ranked in the top 10. What makes it different?
• The beautiful campus . If there’s something specific about the campus that spoke to you, feel free to talk about it. But many, many students write about the gorgeous campus or say, “The moment I stepped on your campus, I knew I was home.” You want to avoid clichés, and the truth is that most college campuses are pretty.
• Your major . Talk about your major, by all means. But don’t merely focus on why you want to study this major. Focus on why you want to study it at this college .

Try to choose 3-5 details that are unique to this college, specific to you, and super exciting!

Writing the “Why This College” Essay: Do’s and Don’ts

Now that you’ve honed in on 3-5 details, it’s time to write. Be sure to follow the do’s and don’ts below.

• Be authentic . Mean what you’re saying, and write in your own voice. Believe it or not, insincerity will come through in your essay. When the admissions team reads your essay, they should feel real passion and enthusiasm for their school.
• Be specific . You’ve probably seen the word “specific,” a lot in this article, and that’s because it’s super important! Specificity shows that you’ve taken the time to do your research and envision yourself at this school, and it’ll ensure that your essay is not like any other. Mention professors, courses, clubs, and other opportunities by name.
• Mention it if you plan on attending here if admitted . If this is your first choice school and you absolutely plan on attending if admitted, say so. Colleges want to accept students who will accept them in return. But if the school isn’t your first choice, don’t lie.
• Revise and edit . Check over your spelling, grammar, and word usage. Ask a trusted friend, family member, or teacher to look over your work as well. But keep in mind that no matter how many times you revise your essay or how much advice you get, it still needs to sound like you !
• Waste space on an introduction and conclusion . You’ll likely have a limited number of words, so don’t bother with an introduction or conclusion. Just jump right into your reasons. Your first paragraph should focus on your main 1-2 reasons, while the next paragraph should go into slightly less detail about the remaining reasons you’ve selected.
• Recycle the same essay . This essay requires a specific response that is tailored to the college you’ve selected. If you use the same essay for multiple colleges, it will sound generic, boring, and forgettable. Even worse, you might forget to change the school name!
• Misspell the college’s name . This seems obvious, but many admissions officers have mentioned students misspelling the college’s name in their applications. Double and triple check to ensure all mentions of the school are spelled correctly. The same goes for names of programs, professors, and courses.

Excellent “Why This College?” Examples

Let’s look at a few examples of stellar “Why This College” essays that worked.

These examples come from students who were accepted to Tufts University.

Depending on the word limit for the colleges you’re applying to, yours may be a bit longer.

I spent my Tufts campus visit in a “Sociology of War and Peace” class. The discussion was rich as ideas were tossed back and forth, comparing and contrasting modern warfare in different regions and cultures. The dialogue instantly excited me, but when the students I was sitting with invited me to come to lunch with them, to continue talking about the Middle Eastern conflict, I knew that Tufts was the kind of environment I was looking for: an open community that values dialogue, and a campus with a strong intellectual pulse, even outside of the classroom.

-Jesse Ryan ‘21

Here, Jesse mentions a specific course that he was able to visit during a tour of Tufts. He details the discussion he observed in the class, as well as an interaction that followed with Tufts students.

He then explains why this experience was significant to him personally .

As an artist, I believe that one’s work should reflect the world beyond it. Thus, I’m most attracted to Tufts SMFA’s combination of rigorous artistic study with a challenging liberal arts curriculum at the School of Arts and Sciences. I want to inform my art-making with in-depth exploration of sociology, justice, and international relations, creating works that comment on global issues–a prospect uniquely possible at Tufts SMFA. With numerous opportunities for combining art and community work on campus and in Boston, the SMFA program shows art isn’t only meant for the classroom; it’s meant for the world.

-Isaac Joon-hyuk Choi ‘21

Isaac’s essay starts by explaining his own personal philosophy as an artist.

Next, he reflects on how a specific program at Tufts perfectly complements this philosophy.

His response shows a deep knowledge of the program he’s interested in, and he even discusses how he will use the skills he acquires in this program in his future art-making.

I vividly remember stepping onto the roof of Tisch Library and seeing a group of kids sitting in hammocks, overlooking the Boston skyline. I briefly tuned out my tour guide’s presentation and began to eavesdrop. The students covered everything from physics to what they had for lunch that day. When they spoke about physics, they did not speak with pretension; instead they spoke with passion. Likewise, when they spoke about something as simple as lunch, they did so with witty intrigue. Tufts students are as interesting as they are interested. This description not only resonates with me, it defines me.

-Christopher Sprunt ‘21

Notice that Christopher mentions a school facility by name in his first sentence, also providing a vivid description of a Tufts memory that resonated with him.

In his final sentence, he explains why this experience was personally significant.

Christopher is not only pleased by what he’s seen and heard from Tufts students, but he also feels that his personality is a great fit.

More “Why This College” Essay Examples!

Written by Stanford student:

Name one thing you are looking forward to experiencing at Stanford. (50 word limit) Hikes to the Dish. I imagine I’ll need an occasional break from the rigor of CS221, and I can see this tranquil exercise evolving into a haven for startup nomenclature, debates about Lebron James’s legacy, and convoluted stories involving the giant radio telescope and its potential otherworldly applications.

From an MIT applicant:

Although you may not yet know what you want to major in, which department or program at MIT appeals to you and why? (100 words or fewer) From the first “Hello World!” to recent work with artificial intelligence, I have developed an insatiable appetite for turning lines of code into computer programs with real-world applications. When developing, I often ponder: can machine learning solve all of the world’s problems — technical and humanitarian? Are cryptocurrencies just a fad that will be gone in five years? As the field offers up as many questions as it does answers, I am drawn to  MIT’s Computer Science, Economics and Data Science program, which would enable me to decipher both computer science’s inner workings and its ramifications on the world at large.

Written by a Purdue student:

How will opportunities at Purdue support your interests, both in and out of the classroom? (100 words) I can easily picture myself as a Boilermaker: after spending office hours talking to Dr. Bareinboim about the future of machine learning and causal Bayesian networks, the hoops aficionado in me hurriedly makes his way across Stadium Avenue over to Mackey Complex to partake in the tradition that is Indiana vs. Purdue basketball (where I remind others that we have historically had the better record). All the time, I cannot stop thinking about the BlueSky Pitch Competition, which makes me wonder if I should take a quick Uber over to Discovery Park just to practice one last time…

From a Purdue Honors student:

Explain your vision, ideas, or goals for how you hope to shape your honors experience while at Purdue. Please put this in the context of the four pillars which are the foundation of the Honors College. (300 word maximum) If I had to describe the effect of high school on my personal outlook in one word, it would be open-mindedness. In fact, this transformation can be attributed to the four pillars of the Honors College extending into my high school tenure. At McVay High, I made sure to step out of my comfort zone and take an assortment of humanities classes which piqued my interest in economics. Furthermore, my time at the National Cancer Institute has shown me that computer science and the sciences are not mutually exclusive; in fact, intersections of computer science with other disciplines are the foundation of the next medical breakthrough. Simply being in my diverse community and taking part in various service activities through honor societies has opened my eyes to the disparities that exist within my community, prompting me to become a leader not only to direct projects but also to envision and build new ideas never before implemented. Due to my experiences in high school, I became more open-minded, which meant welcoming new ideas, subjects, and individual perspectives. Thus, as much as I intend to explore the realms of computer science and work primarily for private corporations, I believe that Purdue will once again be another step in my journey that will open my eyes to new avenues. Whether I decide to pursue undergraduate research rather than an internship at a big tech company; start an interdisciplinary academic class that combines computer science and economics; study abroad to build my community and global experiences; or even develop my leadership skills by becoming an executive member of the Association of Multicultural Computer Scientists, I know that because of the four pillars at Purdue — pillars that have guided me my entire life — I will lead a life that is more fulfilling.

A Why Tufts essay by a now-Tufts student:

Which aspects of the Tufts undergraduate experience prompted your application? In short, ‘Why Tufts?’ (100-150 words) The undergraduate experience at Tufts is my ideal ice-cream sundae.  With an emphasis on interdisciplinary learning, I can mesh scoops of political science, community health, and biology, combining disparate perspectives to explore complex healthcare issues. Over this, I will pour indulgent caramel in the form of an internship in Washington, D.C., allowing me to immerse myself in a health policy research project. Next, comes the countless brownie bits of activities, like Tufts’ prestigious Mock Trial Team, the Sarabande Repertory Dance Ensemble, and Hillel.  No sundae is complete without a cherry on top. When I toured Tufts, I was amazed by my guide’s friendly interactions with every individual he encountered. Surrounded by passionate, supportive, and motivated individuals, I know Tufts is the manifestation of my perfect collaborative environment. This positive atmosphere embodies the maraschino cherry on the already overflowing ice-cream heap, ensuring my undergraduate experience satisfies the sweetest of cravings. 

A Why Michigan essay from a now-Wolverine:

Describe the unique qualities that attract you to the specific undergraduate College or School (including preferred admission and dual degree programs) to which you are applying at the University of Michigan. How would that curriculum support your interests? (Required for all applicants – 550 words) During my 3rd-grade class’s wax museum, I dressed up like Mark Zuckerberg, wearing just his typical gray shirt and blue jeans. On long car rides, I listened attentively to my father describe moments from Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs , retelling captivating tales of Jobs’ innovation and self-reflection. Ever since I was a kid, I knew I wanted to start my own tech company. Today, you can catch me watching either the hysterical antics of Silicon Valley or soaking in the insightful remarks made by guests on Guy Raz’s How I Built This podcast. At the University of Michigan, I’ll be the kid you see scarfing down a slice of South U’s BBQ Chicken Pizza (or what I like to call the future fuel of my entrepreneurial spirit), loudly chanting “Go Blue!” when we play the Spartans, and taking part in the Ann Arbor Street Art Fair. However, behind the scenes, I’ll be feeding my obsession with building the next unicorn through the College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship. You’ll find me propelling technological innovation by starting a venture at the TechArb Student Venture Accelerator or helping build companies through the Entrepreneurs Leadership Program. The University of Michigan’s intimate environment of innovation and Italian food is the perfect next step for me. In fact, the University of Michigan’s strong focus on entrepreneurship would enable me to make my technology startup, Big Time Tech, bigger and better. Wolverines place a large emphasis on social entrepreneurship through the Business+Impact program. Given the program’s diverse group of mentors, including the non-profit Board Fellow Program, I would be able to get sound advice crucial to extending the reach of my social venture. In addition, through the Detroit Engagement initiative, I would be able to deploy my product in an area thirsty for the types of opportunities on my platform. Having the ability to minor in entrepreneurship would mean that I could apply the knowledge I learned in classes about venture capital and digital product design to raise money and develop beautiful landing pages for my company, not just finish homework. Finally, on the nights when I will inevitably stay up late, you’ll find me growing my venture in the Innovate Blue Innovation Space. Becoming a Wolverine would allow me the opportunity to better understand the intersections of technology with other academic disciplines. Whether I’m drawing upon my work at the National Cancer Institute to aid in Dr. Honglak Lee’s research on high fidelity video prediction with large neural networks, funding student startups as a partner at Wolverine Venture Fund, or listening to a tech talk at Shapiro Library, the diversity of opportunities will provide a road map of the avenues I can take with technology. Only at the University of Michigan can someone sell a platform as a digital student loan advisor (LoanSense) or turn dorm room ideas and simple news headlines into applications that help researchers find employment (Perch) and detect counterfeit antimalarial medications (Neo Health). I cannot wait to become a Wolverine and join a community that cultivates my entrepreneurial and technological ardor.

An example of Why Columbia?

Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why. After an hour and a half commute and a quick glance at Tom’s from Seinfeld, we finally made it onto campus. Following our tradition of taking panoramas and making a quick stop at the bookstore, we walked up the steps to Low Library and checked in for our campus tour. A booklet in a newspaper rack caught my eye   The title read “Connecting the Dots – Using Data to Engineer Smarter Urban Spaces.” Throughout high school, I committed myself to find ways to use technology to lessen the disparity that exists among my community’s members, especially as it relates to finding opportunities best suited for their futures. Whether it be through helping others find jobs, internships, or volunteer positions through my app, Rainy Day, or providing a platform to find reliable, free, tutoring help, high school taught me that creating technology could be utilized to help others find and connect with opportunities. As I perused this dense booklet, I began to discover Columbia’s strongest intangible — how the intersection of technology and social good was at the heart of all of its engineering. I had been on numerous college visits before, but while other institutions lined the pages of their advertising materials with “machine learning” and “entrepreneurship,” Columbia’s pamphlet focused on sustainability, secureness, and connectedness. From the  cover story — which discussed how Columbia engineers used data science to map dangerous intersections and other obstacles to traffic flow — to the section on Dion Khodagholy’s work — which outlined how a new class of noninvasive, biocompatible devices could interface with the brain to heal neurological disorders — it was evident that Columbia is a place where technology is used to change the world for good.

Advice From an Outside Expert

Sweet Briar College is a great liberal arts school known for its personalized academics and diverse study opportunities.

The college asks applicants to pen an essay (or similar deliverable) about why they want to attend SBC.

Amy Ostroth, director of communications at Sweet Briar College, gave this advice to students who want to attend the school. You can use her advice for any “Why This College” essay you write:

The best answer is one that is specific to Sweet Briar College. Don’t craft an answer that could be sent to any school on your list, but tell us why Sweet Briar is special. For example, you might describe an interaction you had with a faculty member that stuck with you. Maybe you had a meaningful conversation with a student or attended an interesting class during a campus visit. Perhaps you met an alumna at a college fair who stood out to you. Maybe a member of your family has told you stories about their time at Sweet Briar. In short, describe what was happening when you first thought, “This is the place for me.” Tell us a story that emphasizes what is special about Sweet Briar and what will be most important to you about your college experience.

Conclusion: Writing the “Why This College” Essay

The “Why This College” essay is important because schools want to ensure that you understand what makes their school unique and that you and the school are a great fit for each other.

Although the prompt may be phrased as either “Why you?” or “Why us?” these questions are essentially the same.

• Either way, you’ll talk about both what the college can offer you and what you can offer the college in your essay.

To really nail this essay, you’ll need to spend a significant amount of time researching the school.

• Once you’ve compiled notes and research, choose 3-5 details that you personally connect with and that are unique to the university or college.

Finally, you’re ready to write the essay! Jump right in, with no introduction or conclusion, and be authentic and enthusiastic. Revise and edit , and absolutely don’t misspell the name of the college!

Follow these tips, and your “Why This College” essay can help you stand out from the crowd—and earn that acceptance letter you’ve been dreaming of!

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How to Write a Supplemental Essay for College Applications

Discover tips for tackling writing supplements, and read a sample essay from a current student.

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A supplemental essay gives you an opportunity to tell the admissions committee about something you weren't able to cover in your main essay.

Prospective students are usually aware that they must write an essay as part of the college application process . But they may not know that some schools will ask for additional writing samples such as a supplemental essay.

Avoid These College Application Mistakes

Courtney Rubin and Cole Claybourn July 26, 2023

These writing supplements are usually shorter than the main college essay , but they're no less important, experts say.

"Every word counts in getting your story across," says Deborah Davis, president and founder of Davis Education & Career Consultants LLC, based in Ridgefield, Connecticut.

Some colleges ask for just one supplemental essay while others may require several.

For example, Wake Forest University in North Carolina had six additional questions for prospective students to respond to on its 2020 undergraduate admissions application. However, a couple of the questions asked applicants to write lists – for instance, a personal top 10 list – rather than a full paragraph or two.

Supplemental essay prompts come in all shapes and sizes. In some cases, schools let applicants choose from several options. For instance, the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill 's fall 2019-20 application included four prompts – such as "What do you hope will change about the place where you live?" – from which prospective students had to select two.

Davis says two of the most common prompts she's seen are "What do you want to major in?" and "Tell us about a favorite activity."

While word counts for supplemental essays vary, they tend to be limited.

Wake Forest has a 150-word limit for each of its supplements, says Tamara Blocker, the university's senior associate dean of admissions. UNC caps applicants' short answer responses at 250 words each, according to the school's website.

In contrast, The Common Application , a platform that allows students to apply to multiple colleges at once, has a suggested 650-word limit for the main essay and 250 words for others.

These types of written responses are more like vignettes or snapshots, rather than full-blown essays, says Stephen Farmer, vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions at UNC.

"I think – I hope, anyway – that students feel the opportunity maybe in the shorter responses to worry less about form and just be a little more open with us," he says.

To help prospective students familiarize themselves with supplemental essays, U.S. News obtained an example from Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. Ryan Sheehan from Wallingford, Pennsylvania, wrote the short piece and is a computer science major in the class of 2021.

As part of his application, Sheehan responded to the following prompt: "There is a Quaker saying: 'Let your life speak.' Describe the environment in which you were raised – your family, home, neighborhood, or community – and how it influenced the person you are today."

"As the son of two journalists, I have grown up under a lifelong inquisition: How is your room such a mess? Can you please stop chasing the cat? Will you come down from the tree already? Granted, those are all from this past year, but the point still stands. Like any good journalists, my parents have also always had a propensity for uncovering the truth. On the third night that I had my license, I decided to go to the library to study. Before 15 minutes had passed, I noticed the librarian peering at me through the shelves before quickly averting her eyes and whispering, "He's here," into her phone. Even so, regardless of how many spies they've hired over the years, I have always looked up to my parents immensely. However, I have found my inherited inquisitiveness to be a trait most useful in a place far from the realm of reporting: the robotics lab. After four years of spending almost more time in the lab than at home, I have learned that nothing is more important than asking the right questions. As a programmer, I need to be able to communicate with my builders. Come press time, if I don't interview them properly, our robot will invariably end up as a hunk of unresponsive aluminum. To make a machine, the team must work as one. So although I may be writing source code instead of a breaking story, I am glad I had such nosy parents after all."

Karen Richardson, former dean of undergraduate admissions and enrollment management at Tufts who is now dean of admission at Princeton University in New Jersey, explained why she liked this response: "This is a great essay because, in just 250 words, it shows rather than tells the reader who Ryan is and the things that matter to him. It gives us a sense of his family life and academic interests, and it even shows us he has a sense of humor. As an admissions committee, we learned a lot about Ryan in just one paragraph."

Here are five additional tips from admissions officers to help prospective college students craft strong supplemental essays.

Answer the Question

This may seem obvious, but applicants should carefully read a supplemental essay prompt and make sure they understand what it is asking before answering it, Richardson says.

Prospective students may want to reuse an essay they wrote for another college, but that doesn't always work because supplemental questions tend to be more tailored to an individual institution, she says.

Start With an Outline

Applicants may have their own writing process, but Davis encourages those she works with to create outlines. She says prospective students should brainstorm the personal qualities, skills or experiences they would like to convey in their supplemental essays.

Don't Repeat Yourself

Supplemental essays are a chance for applicants to give more information to an admissions committee to further show why they are a good fit for a school, Davis says. So prospective students should make sure they aren't repeating something that's already been covered in their main essay.

Narrow Your Focus

Probably the biggest mistake applicants make in supplemental essays is choosing a topic that's too big, Farmer says. For example, he says prospective students may attempt to settle a complex political issue in just one paragraph.

"I think it's better to do something small and do it well than to do something big and skate over the surface," he says.

Maintain Your Voice

It's a good idea for applicants to ask another person for editing help, but too much input can be detrimental to an essay, experts say. If lots of people – teachers, parents, peers – read and weigh in on an essay, they can weaken how clearly a student's voice comes through in the writing.

"It's great to read something that sounds like it was written by an 18-year-old and not by a machine," Farmer says, "or by someone who's trying to be prematurely middle-aged."

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CollegeVine's essay prompt database

Find your college’s application essay prompts for 2023-24

Latest essay prompts for the top 100 schools.

At CollegeVine, our goal is to make the college application process a little less stressful, so we’ve compiled the latest essay prompts for the top 100 schools in one easy, searchable database.

Also, every year we create free guides on “ How to Write X School’s Essays ” for the top 100 schools. In these guides, we give you tips and tricks on how to approach each prompt. As such, our prompt database also contains a link to each school's Essay Breakdown.

Manage your college essays in one place for free.

College Supplemental Essays: What They Are and How To Tackle Them

Now that the Common App has reset and most colleges have updated their applications as of Aug. 1, college application season is in full swing! Typically, the most time-intensive aspect of this process is essay writing. While many colleges require a general personal statement that can be sent to many different schools, quite a few colleges require students to also write “supplemental essays.” Although these will be sent to only one school, your supplemental essay responses are just as important as your general personal statement — and sometimes, even more important! Read on for tips on how to tackle these essays before senior year begins!

What are supplemental essays?

While the personal statement is written to a more general audience (since it gets sent to all or most of the schools that a student is applying to), supplemental essays are required by specific schools and written with a more specific audience in mind: the admissions team of the school that the prompt is provided by. Supplemental essays can vary in subject and length, and on occasion, the prompts can be quite creative or unusual; for instance, during this year’s admissions cycle some supplemental prompts included “What can actually be divided by zero?” (U Chicago), “What historical moment or event do you wish you could have witnessed?” (Stanford), and “Name three songs from your perfect playlist” (Elon). 

More commonly, however, supplemental essay prompts tend to ask students to address topics like their intellectual interests, community involvement, or why they want to attend a particular school. Both these more “typical” prompts and the more unique ones are intended to serve the same purpose: to help schools learn more about a student and where they might fit into that particular school’s academic community.  

The “Why” Essay

By far the most common supplemental essay prompt is what we like to call the “Why” essay, which asks students some variation of “Why do you want to attend this school?” For instance, this is the prompt for UW Madison’s required supplemental essay: 

“Tell us why you would like to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In addition, please include why you are interested in studying the major(s) you have selected. If you selected undecided, please describe your areas of possible academic interest (650 word maximum).”  

Note that this prompt asks some questions beyond just why students want to attend the university. It is crucial to carefully read and break down the text of the prompt to make sure that you’re actually answering the question that’s asked! 

It is also important that you take the opportunity to write about both your own interests and the school’s offerings, so that you can demonstrate how they complement each other. (In other words, don’t just write about how great the school is without inserting yourself into the narrative – the school already knows that they’re great, but they want to know why they’re a great fit for you!)

Do your research!

For many supplemental essays (but especially the “Why” essay), it’s good to find opportunities to be specific about what draws you to a particular school and why it is a strong fit for your goals and interests. Colleges want you to show “ demonstrated interest ” in their school, and one way of doing that is to include in your supplemental essays evidence that you’ve done your research about their unique academic offerings and campus culture. Including specific information about courses you hope to take, clubs or organizations you plan to participate in, or campus traditions that you learned about on your tour can be an impactful way of showing that you’re truly interested in the school and see it as a perfect fit.

Questions to Consider

Even before beginning any of your supplemental essays, there are some general questions that might be helpful to brainstorm and use as prompts for freewriting or bullet points:

• What are you interested in studying in college? What academic, work, or personal experiences have led you to this decision, and what skills and experiences do you hope to gain in college related to this subject?
• What kinds of extracurricular experiences do you hope to have in college? What extracurricular activities have been most meaningful to you in high school, and why?
• What communities are you a part of, and how have you contributed to those communities? (Community can be defined broadly – it could refer to location, clubs/organizations, religious affiliation, ethnicity/nationality, friendships and familial ties, and more.)
• What are the main values, traits, or identities that you want colleges to know about that may not show up in other parts of your application?

Doing some of this initial thinking will make it easier to decide how you want to respond to particular supplemental prompts, as well as potentially helping you refine what exactly you’re looking for in a college. Happy writing!

Feeling like you could use some extra support getting started? Get help from our team of experienced essay coaches here at Galin! Email [email protected].

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Sample Supplemental Essay for College Admissions: Why This College?

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Most college applicants fail to put adequate time into a supplemental college essay. The Common Application's personal essay allows a student to write a single essay for multiple colleges. The supplemental college essay, however, needs to be different for every application. Thus, it's tempting to dash off a generic and vague piece that can be used at multiple schools, resulting in a  weak essay .

Don't make this mistake. Your "Why This College" essay must be specific, demonstrating a high level of interest in and commitment to this particular school. To better understand how to ace this supplemental essay prompt, let's analyze a sample essay written for Oberlin College .

The essay prompt reads:

"Given your interests, values, and goals, explain why Oberlin College will help you grow (as a student and a person) during your undergraduate years."

Sample Supplemental Essay

I visited 18 colleges over the past year, yet Oberlin is the one place that most spoke to my interests. Early in my college search I learned that I prefer a liberal arts college to a larger university. The collaboration between the faculty and undergraduate students, the sense of community, and the flexible, interdisciplinary nature of the curriculum are all important to me. Also, my high school experience was greatly enriched by the diversity of the student body, and I am impressed by Oberlin’s rich history and its current efforts connected to inclusiveness and equality. To say the least, I’d be proud to say I attended the first coeducational college in the country.

I plan to major in Environmental Studies at Oberlin. After my campus tour , I took some extra time to visit the Adam Joseph Lewis Center. It’s an amazing space and the students I chatted with spoke highly of their professors. I became truly interested in issues of sustainability during my volunteer work in the Hudson River Valley, and everything I’ve learned about Oberlin makes it seem the ideal place for me to continue exploring and building upon those interests. I am also impressed by Oberlin’s Creativity and Leadership Project. I’ve been a bit of an entrepreneur ever since second grade when I made a dollar producing and performing The Runaway Bunny for my extended family. I’m drawn to a program that supports the move from classroom learning to creative hands-on, real-world applications.

Finally, as the rest of my application clearly demonstrates, music is an important part of my life. I’ve been playing the trumpet since fourth grade, and I hope to continue performing and developing my skills throughout college. What better place than Oberlin to do so? With more performances than days in the year and a large group of talented musicians in the Conservatory of Music, Oberlin is an ideal place for exploring my love of both music and the environment.

Understanding the Essay Prompt

To understand the strength of the essay, we must first look at the prompt: the admissions officers at Oberlin want you to "explain why Oberlin College will help you grow." This sounds straightforward, but be careful. You're not being asked to explain how college, in general, will help you grow, nor are you being asked how attending a small liberal arts school will help you grow. The admissions offers want to hear how  Oberlin , in particular, will help you grow, so the essay needs to include specific information about Oberlin College.

A strong "Why This College" essay will make a case for why the school in question is a good fit for the student. The case should be made by connecting facts about the school—unique opportunities, educational values, campus culture, et cetera—with the student's goals, values, and interests.

From the Admissions Desk

"We want to see [in the "Why This School" essay] that students understand the unique educational model at High Point University. We know that students have access to more information than ever before and that most colleges focus on the classroom experience. We want students who desire 25% of their time to be experiential ... who want to grow as people of character with strong values and to fully immerse themselves in our life skills education."

–Kerr Ramsay Vice President for Undergraduate Admissions, High Point University

A good way to see if you've responded to the prompt well is to swap out the name of the college you're applying to with the name of any other college. If the essay still makes sense once you do a global replace of the school name, you haven't written a good supplemental essay.

A Critique of the Supplemental Essay

The sample essay certainly succeeds on this front. If we were to substitute "Kenyon College" for "Oberlin College" in the essay, the essay would not make sense. The details in the essay are unique to Oberlin. Demonstrated interest can play a meaningful role in the admissions process, and this applicant has clearly demonstrated that she knows Oberlin well and her interest in the school is sincere.

Let's look at some of the essay's strengths:

• The first paragraph makes several important points. First of all, we learn that the applicant has visited Oberlin. This may not seem like a big deal, but you'd be surprised how many students apply to a large number of colleges based on nothing but the schools' reputations. Also, the student notes that she wants to go to a  liberal arts college , not a larger  university . This information isn't really specific to Oberlin, but it does show that she has thought about the options available to her. The final point in this first paragraph gets more specific—the applicant is familiar with Oberlin and knows the school's socially progressive history.
• The second paragraph is really the heart of this essay—the applicant wants to major in Environmental Studies, and she is clearly impressed with the program at Oberlin. She has visited the Environmental Studies building, and she knows of some of the unique opportunities offered at Oberlin. She has even talked with Oberlin students. This paragraph can't help but make a favorable impression on the admissions folks—the applicant is drawn to Oberlin, and she clearly knows exactly  why  she likes Oberlin.
• The final paragraph adds another important dimension to the application. Not only does the student find the Environmental Studies program attractive, but her love of music makes Oberlin an even better match. Oberlin has a top-rated music conservatory, so the applicant's dual love of music and Environmental Studies makes Oberlin a natural match for her.

Admissions officers can't help but feel that Oberlin is a great match for this applicant. She knows the school well, and her interests and goals line up perfectly with Oberlin's strengths. This short essay will certainly be a positive piece of her application.

A Final Word About Supplemental Essays

The content of your supplemental essay is extremely important, and poor decisions on this front can lead to a weak supplemental essay . But content isn't everything. You also need to focus on the presentation of your ideas. Make sure your essay is entirely free of any grammatical errors, and be sure to avoid common stylistic problems . The admissions officers need to conclude that you are sincerely interested in attending their school and that you are an excellent writer.

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Know How to Write Supplemental College Essays

The request differs from one college to another – it could range from just one additional essay, to writing out numerous essays. The length of the essay will also vary between colleges and so will the cues or prompts that they want you to write about. 

Many students make the mistake of taking their Personal Statement seriously and treating it like the main question to be answered in an exam. They subsequently tend to treat the supplemental essays as subsidiary questions and therefore don’t apply themselves with the same level of passion while attending to them. While the Common App Essay is significant and gives you a better opportunity to write about yourself, you must not sideline the supplemental essays.

After perusing your Personal Statement and letters of recommendation , the college admission staff will turn to your supplemental essays for further information about you. They will also be looking for a match in what’s mentioned in all these documents so that they have a picture of you which is validated in all three papers. Your supplemental essays should give them further information about you rather than repeat what’s already mentioned in your Personal Statement and letters of recommendation.

Instead of comparing your the Common App Essay and supplemental essays to exam questions, let’s compare the similarity with your interview . When your interviewer says – ‘Tell me something about yourself’, it’s like the Common App Essay. The interviewer is giving you a chance to showcase yourself and since you will have gone well prepared to answer such a question, you will do so with elan and style.

Further into the interview, when the interviewer asks you why you have chosen their college, or what your preferred extracurricular activities are and why, how will you respond? You must be prepared with an equally enthusiastic response to such questions too so that the whole interview goes off memorably.

Supplemental essays usually have different word limits and the requirement of colleges differ but whatever guidelines the colleges set, it is still important that you write your supplemental essays using the same methods - of writing a synopsis, drafting and reworking like you did for your Common App Essay.

The thought of going through the whole difficult exercise all over again will most probably put you off but supplemental essays should not be taken lightly. Since you have already done it once, you will find the task of doing it all over again simpler and easier to handle. So it’s best that you prepare your supplemental essays using the methods of writing a Common App Essay that we discussed earlier.

You will encounter a variety of questions in the supplemental essays section while applying to various universities. However, don’t be surprised to find some specific cues or types of cues popping up repeatedly. It will help you to know beforehand about the basic kinds of secondary and supplemental essays you may be asked to write about.

Below are common supplemental essay questions and a plan of action to tackle them:

1. The 500 - 650 word essay

This could be an extra opportunity that a college gives you to write about yourself besides the 650-word Common App Essay. For example, the following is the supplemental essay question from Yale University:

Besides the 650-word Common App Essay, write a 500-word essay (maximum 650 words and not less than 250 words). Choose from the topics listed below to set in motion your narrative about a person, happening or encounter that gave meaning to your moral principles or altered how you respond to a situation or to the world at large. Please ensure that the content of this essay is in no way a repetition of what you have already put down in your Common App Essay.

• Write about somebody who has impacted you immensely.
• “The best way to get things done is to begin.” Robert Charles Post was the Dean and is a professor of law at Yale Law School. This is a motivational quote that he has shared on the Internet.
• “The democratic tradition offers better resources than the going alternatives for ensuring that political claims and counter-claims are tested for their veracity in the public arena, and for protecting those individual rights that best embody the aspiration for human freedom.” Ian Shapiro is Sterling Professor of Political Science and Henry R. Luce Director of the MacMillan Center at Yale University. This quote is from his book ‘The Moral Foundations of Politics’.
• Begin your essay by putting down a quote from a book or article that you’ve read in the last couple of years and narrate to us how an incident or encounter validated your moral principles or altered how you respond to a situation or to the world at large. Please start your essay with the quote, title, and author.

Stanford University : The University has a thriving community of creative and accomplished people from around the world and prepares students to make meaningful contributions to society as engaged citizens and leaders in a complex world. How do you see yourself playing a part in adding value to Stanford with your outlook and approach to life? (500 words) 

This will be version 2 of your Common App Essay so you need to rewind and replay all that you did at the beginning of writing your Personal Statement. Revisit all that you penned as the first steps to writing. Now begin your brainstorming by like you did for your Common App Essay and go the whole hog in writing your supplemental essay.  Refer to the first part of this guide.

Like your Common App Essay, the supplemental essay will also comprise five paragraphs – paragraph one will be the preamble followed by spelling out loudly your story, then two paragraphs with the main content and then the finale. A story or a particular incident will work best as a narrative structure. ‍

2. ‘Why do you want to study here?’ essay

Many colleges ask applicants to spell out the reasons for wanting to study there. Some instances of ‘Why do you want to study here?’ are

• ‍ Williams College : Mention the reasons why you chose to apply to Williams College? Why do you think you will fit in well here? (100-250 words)  ‍
• College of William and Mary : Why did you choose us? (250-300 suggested word limit) ‍
• Dartmouth College  : In the case at the US Supreme Court in 1818, Daniel Webster said the unforgettable words “It is, Sir ... a small college. And yet there are those who love it!” Tell us why you have applied here? What features of our study program, community, or campus environment appeal to you? (100 words or less)

The answer to this question revolves primarily around you. Such an essay is simply another version of a “why you” essay. The admission department wants to hear the right reasons for why they need you on their campus, what exactly you will contribute, and how you will benefit the college down the line.

This essay focuses just as much on you as the college. In our opinion,  t his essay is one where you should write positively only about that particular school or college. If there’s any sentence that can be applied to any other institution, we recommend you to simply eliminate it.

In essence, you need to write an essay full of reasons as to why you are the perfect fit for them. To start you off, we propose an idea that might help you find the ideal answer.

Start by drawing two columns on a sheet. On one side, you need to come up with cool stuff about yourself, and on the other, you can write the fantastic things about this institution that drew you towards it. Once you have both lists, all you need to do is check for the points where these columns overlap, and just like that, you’ll have the perfect answer!

Now, we get that coming up with specifics about the college can be a challenge, so below listed are a few pointers that you can consider while conducting your research:

• Keep a tab on the online student newspaper. It may have certain articles or events which may interest you.
• Connect with the professors you find interesting.
• The best pointers can be listed if you have visited the college. You can list the features that caught your eyes.
• Keep a check on the admission department’s social media accounts. This way you can be sure of mentioning a thing or two about something that they profiled recently.
• 9 out of 10 times, the website of most colleges lists exactly what they're looking for in their prospective students. Being up-to-date with the website can thus prove to be quite fruitful.
• Being incorporated with the in-house events can take you a long way, you can check out the campus activities to understand what you can contribute in any of them.

3. Extracurricular activity Essay

A few colleges may request you to tell them more about one of the extracurricular activities that you have stated in your CommonApp Activities Section. It is only because you’ve been specifically asked that you can talk more about something that’s already mentioned in your application.

Examples prompt will be please tell us a bit more about one of your extracurricular activities or work experience that meant a lot to you. (About150 words)

Select an activity that you find significant or which could be a feather in your cap simply because of the way you write about it. The first rule is to never repeat what you’ve already written in the Common App essay!

You might want to use this section to profile an extracurricular for which you didn’t have the space to shed light on completely. Moreover, you can also talk about a certain quality of yours that you feel is relevant and something that the admission officer should know.

4. Why this major Essay

A few colleges will want you to choose a particular major at the onset itself while some may ask you to mention your choice. There are other colleges who don’t expect you to have thought through the options and state the major you hope to pursue.

• ‍ University of Florida: What is the reason for your choosing this particular major? Please convey what fascinates you about this major and if there are any incidents that have influenced your selection. In particular, discuss how studying from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the University of Florida will help you achieve your educational objectives. ‍
• Syracuse University : Please mention why you want to pursue the program that you have indicated in your application. Are you in doubt or still in two minds of which programs at Syracuse will correspond with your interests? Then, broadly speaking, mention the educational subjects or points of discussion that keeps you preoccupied. (150 words limit) ‍
• University of Michigan : Describe your academic objectives and how you will accomplish them at the University of Michigan. You can discuss your primary selection and second major choice. (250 words limit)

The colleges are actually asking you to address two questions in this essay – so it’s a dual essay. It is a ‘why us’ essay integrated with where you see yourself a decade from now.

Browse through the undergraduate program or major on the website of the college that you are applying to. Check their alumni too. Does anyone mentioned inspire you? Describe them and what you find inspiring.

Thereafter, describe where you see yourself in a decade. Look into the future and see yourself living your dreams and describe to the college admission staff how the major you want to pursue will help you make it a reality. You should be as accurate and explicit as possible as this is what is driving you to take up that program and aspire for a future that you’ve envisioned – it’s reality, not a story.

5. Create a Program or Major Essay

A few colleges more so the ones that have a liberal arts base may request you to devise a seminar or even envision a complete department.

Examples are the following:

• ‍ Washington University: There is one typographical error – a misspelling from an extra, missing, or misplaced alphabet, in the name of each department at the Washington University due to clerical oversight.  ‍
• Bowdoin College : The focus of Bowdoin College is to offer undergraduate programs primarily in the liberal arts with excellent training, personal growth, and participation in vital matters. Given a chance, what kind of study program would you devise? Which single perennial problem or concurrent issue would you confront and why?
• Duke University : What will your academic program look like if you had a chance to create something new that is in keeping with Duke’s principles of inventiveness, cooperation, enterprise, and exploration? How would such a program effect and influence your classmates and your education? (500 words)

Here’s a chance for you to let go and have some fun – wear your creative hat and demonstrate some adventure and enthusiasm at having an opportunity to learn something unique and different. But take this seriously and project fun and excitement in your essay as the college has a reason for posing such a cue – they want to be assured that you are a good fit for a college that puts a premium on cerebral curiosity.

What is the new major you’ve devised and want to pursue? Mention the reasons why it appeals to you. What classes or subjects do you want to concentrate on in this program? Possibilities that you can choose from are Computer Science, Languages and Literatures, Art History – take your pick from the complete list of unaltered majors. ‍

6. Offer the Community Essay

When a college cue asks you to write an essay about what you will offer to the college community, what the college actually wants to know is how you will bring something different and add to the mélange in their college community. Your response can be based on your identity – racial, cultural, gender, socioeconomic, or whatever else, but there is no compulsion to do so. All that such a cue seeks is for you to describe what new experience and difference you as an individual will bring to the college campus and community.

• ‍ Rice University : The educational experience and Residential College System at Rice are largely determined by the distinctive ethnic traditions and life experiences that every student brings with them. What individual outlook or perspectives will you enrich the life at Rice with? (500 words) ‍
• Cornell University : Cornell constantly looks for students who will become a part of a wide variety of human experience as we are convinced that a mélange of students gives more strength to our community. Would you like to tell us about your perspectives and outlook? Or are there some life experiences pertaining to your ethnicity, community, or something else that will give us a better picture of you? It will be really helpful if you do as real people will read what you have to say and we wish to know as much as we can about all our applicants (250 words)

Is there anything about you that makes you stand out among your classmates? Usually, there is something about you that’s perhaps not easily seen by others but seems obvious to you. Or maybe you think things differently and can bring your unique perspective to your community.

7. Snappy Responses

A few colleges may request you to respond with snappy, short answers in about 35 words.  Some instances are

• ‍ Stanford University : The residential colleges at Stanford often present informal conversations with guests who come with varied achievements and experiences. Mention a person – past or present, whom you will invite. What is that one question you will ask him? ‍
• Harvard University: Which two adjectives will your friends use to describe you? What’s your favorite word? ‍
• Columbia University: Name the snack that you love the most. Which TV show do you love?

Your answers must be genuine and honest. Some colleges may go to the extreme of having somebody read out the snappy questions - like they do in ‘rapid-fire’ session in programs, and reply spontaneously. Use this opportunity to sound like the real you – the person your family and friends know. 

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Free Resources

2023-24 Supplemental Essay

Essay prompt.

On Colorado College's Block Plan, students immerse themselves in one class at a time, fostering deep engagement and courageous conversations with peers and professors. We embrace diverse perspectives, encouraging students to think differently.

In seeking to identify students who will thrive at CC, we’d like to know more about your background and experiences.

In answering one of the prompts below, feel free to highlight any aspects of your self-identity that will help us know you better. This could include, but is not limited to, gender identity, first-generation status, race, ethnicity, political views, socioeconomic background, spirituality, or geographic origin. With respect to race in particular, please note that in a 2023 majority decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, Chief Justice John Roberts stated, “Nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected the applicant’s life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise.”

• Tell us about a time when you learned from an experience that challenged your perspective.
• Provide one or two specific examples from your life that demonstrate your potential to advance CC’s commitment to antiracism.
• Describe how your personal experiences with a particular community make you a student who would benefit from Colorado College’s Block Plan.

Recommended length: 250 to 300 words.

Tips and Advice

• Be specific: while we know you may have several short essays to write for different colleges, please take the time to customize your response to Colorado College.
• The choice is yours: We offer three different prompts with no preference for one over the other. Select the prompt that you feel like you can best use to give us better insight into your interests and potential.
• Be authentic: we ask this question to better understand who you are as a student and community member. Share the things with us about yourself that are true to who you are, but don't feel obligated to include information that is painful or traumatic.
• Proofread: Take the time to carefully review your response before you submit. Read it out loud, ask a friend or family member to take a look, and don't rush!

For more advice, check out this quick video from our dean of admission, Karen Kristof:

• Victor Mukhin

Victor M. Mukhin was born in 1946 in the town of Orsk, Russia. In 1970 he graduated the Technological Institute in Leningrad. Victor M. Mukhin was directed to work to the scientific-industrial organization "Neorganika" (Elektrostal, Moscow region) where he is working during 47 years, at present as the head of the laboratory of carbon sorbents.     Victor M. Mukhin defended a Ph. D. thesis and a doctoral thesis at the Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia (in 1979 and 1997 accordingly). Professor of Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia. Scientific interests: production, investigation and application of active carbons, technological and ecological carbon-adsorptive processes, environmental protection, production of ecologically clean food.   

Title : Active carbons as nanoporous materials for solving of environmental problems

Quick links.

• Conference Brochure
• Tentative Program