Tips for writing amazing responses to supplemental prompts
Supplemental essays, required by many schools, allow you to really show a school how you understand their program and how YOU ARE THE PERFECT STUDENT FOR them. You can also learn a lot about the focus of a school by reading their supplemental questions so pay attention to them. They require as much attention as your personal statement so don't wait til the last minute to answer them.
A variation of the 250-350 word "why us?" prompt is asked by Syracuse, Northwestern, American and many others. It requires you to really study the college's website and determine what they offer that makes you the perfect applicant to take advantage of their programs. As I tell students every year, Why American? is NOT Why DC? i.e. it is NOT an essay about how much you love lots of free museums and politics. That essay could be written about Georgetown, George Washington, and American. Instead it is an essay about the program or curriculum or other experience which American offers. If you can substitute AU for GW you haven’t done your homework and the reader will know it.
USC, Loyola Marymount, Fordham and others ask questions about how you plan to be involved outside of academics with their community and the broader community in which they are located. They point to their mission statements and ask you to tell how their educational philosophy resonates with your academic and extracurricular experiences and intentions.
Schools such as UVA, Yale, USC, Chapman, and University of Maryland also ask fast facts or short responses, usually 15 to 30 words. Just because they're short doesn't mean you shouldn't consider them important. These are a great way for you to show schools your personality so do that. Resist the urge to give a few word answer. Here are some examples:
Most first-year Yale students live in suites of four to six people. What do you hope to add to your suitemates' experience? What do you hope they will add to yours? (Yale) "I would be the glue holding everyone together. I go where I’m needed, giving advice and sparking enthusiasm in my suitemates. I hope they add laughter and funny videos (bonus if they’re of cats)."
What's your favorite snack? (USC) "Just half an avocado, maybe some salt on top. Scoop it out and eat it just like that. Trust me."
What can you give a 30-minute presentation on without any preparation? (Chapman) "Why Halloween is the best holiday, it has the best movies, and who doesn’t like all that candy?.
The best supplemental responses require you to do your research, find what makes each school special and why they would benefit from having you. Read their mission statement, research the accomplishments of recent graduates and professors, discuss why you are a match for the program or degree to which you are applying. This requires work on your part, it is not a part of the application that you should leave to the last day. The students who are most successful with their applications spend a lot of time thinking about and crafting their responses.
Schools will start to release their supplemental prompts as University of Virginia has just released theirs and note that while they are similar to last year's they are not the same, so yes it is VERY tempting to use last year's prompts and plan your response to them, but you can't guarantee that they will be the same this year. Prompts will be dribbled out by schools from now until about September 1.
My best advice, sign up for college/program emailsAND READ THEM. They can be a gold mine of information for these responses, and colleges will love that you pay attention to them.
Need help writing supplemental responses which are key to a strong application? Be in touch, here's my calendar, schedule an appointment to talk today.