How to Write High Quality Supplemental Essays Every Time
How to Write High Quality Supplemental Essays Every Time
A while back we looked at ways you can make your personal statement shine. If you missed it, check it out here. For most of you, however, this is not the only piece of writing that will be necessary for your college applications. Many schools that use the Common Application also require you to write supplemental essays that are more specific to their institution than your personal statement. These essays, which are generally also shorter than your personal statement, help admissions officers understand why you may be a good match for their school and the various academic programs offered within it. They also provide a great opportunity for you to set yourself apart from other applicants. Let's take a look at ways you can produce high quality supplemental essays for the schools on your list.
Be Specific
Speaking generally will not do you too many favors in this part of your application. The more specific you can be about the college in question or your activities, the easier it is for you to stand out from the crowd. Chances are that many of the schools on your list will have important traits in common. Further, it's likely that at least several of them will ask supplemental questions that touch on similar themes. While there may be some necessary overlap, it's important for you convey to each college that you have thought of specific reasons why that school makes sense for you. If you struggle with coming up with this, take a step back and make sure that it's a school to which you really want to apply. If so, you should be able to identify particular reasons why.
Do Your Research
Know your subject. The real goal of every supplemental essay question is to find out whether you've done the work of investigating why the school to which you are applying fits you well. If you haven't visited, met with an admissions officer, or at least spent significant time doing research online, it will be hard to answer this question effectively. Carve out enough time in your search process to properly investigate all the colleges of potential interest to you. Before you commit your time to putting together a great application, be sure you’ve uncovered specific reasons why that school is special to you. Looking for other sources of information? Ask any friends or peers who attend colleges that interest you what they love or would change about their school. Talk to your high school counselor, or consider working with an admissions consultant who can shepherd you in the right direction.
Make Every Word Count
A low word count does not automatically mean that the essay is less important. Many admissions officers will begin reviewing your writing samples with the supplemental essay question, since that one is the most school specific. Go beyond the obvious. Strive to say something that informs and compels. A smaller word limit is no reason for your essay not to tell a full story. To get started, you can create a comprehensive outline to map out the big picture objectives of your supplemental essay, enabling you to choose your words more carefully.After you've written your first draft, go back through your work to identify places where you can tighten your prose. Don't try to impress with lofty phrases where simpler ones will do. Consider reading your essay aloud to catch and eliminate any redundancies.
Be Concise
Just as you should choose your words carefully, so too limit your subject matter when writing supplemental essays. You will not have room to cover many topics, so figure out what is most important and stick to that. If, for example, a school asks why you are interested in it but only gives you 300 words to address the question, you’ll have to pick your top one or two reasons and skillfully describe why they compel you and make the school a good match for your academic goals. Admissions officers don't expect you to make every possible point in such a confined space. They really want to know the essence of what you are thinking. And they want to gauge your ability to express yourself clearly but succinctly.
Approach with the Same Intensity as Your Main Essay
Some students fall into the trap of spending all their time developing a wonderful personal statement and throwing together their supplements at the last minute. Avoid this at all costs.For every piece of writing that you turn in, make sure that you've approached it with the same professionalism and attention you gave your main essay. If the quality of your supplemental essays is lower or the tone is drastically different, it will send red flags to the admissions officer who reads them. However, if you create consistent high-quality work, you will instill confidence about how you might thrive on their college campus. The only way to achieve this consistency is by creating a repeatable writing process: research, brainstorm, outline, write, rewrite, repeat.
Avoid the Obvious
Go beyond the surface level when writing supplemental essays. Don’t regurgitate facts you find on the school’s website. Dig deeper to make a personal connection to that college.Some schools have well-known traditions. The University of Michigan, for example, has the largest football stadium in America. And while it is undoubtedly fun to be among over 100,000 fans on game day, mentioning that in your supplement isn’t really helpful to the admissions office. They don’t need help finding fans. Think about how you might be able to utilize a college’s resources to improve your own learning and positively impact the community. Go beyond the obvious and highlight your particular path.
A Word About Optional Supplements
Applications that provide the chance to submit additional supplemental essays give you more space to share about your unique qualities. Take advantage of this to show sides of your personality and interests that you didn’t have room to highlight elsewhere in your application. Make sure you aren’t being redundant or retelling things that admissions officers will already learn about you in other sections of your application. Get creative and specific about sharing a new side of you here. If a college has supplemental essays that they list as “optional,” write them. Admissions teams want to know that you are willing to put the work in to paint the strongest picture of yourself possible; and wasting the opportunity to do so could negatively affect their perception of how much you really want to attend their school. Remember, you are competing against other very interested, very qualified students. Your essays are your greatest opportunity to tell your story in your own words. Take advantage of the space available to you to make sure the admissions office knows why you belong on their campus.
Write Supplemental Essays that Move the Needle
By this far into your college process, you are probably well aware that the schools which interest you will have more qualified applicants than they have room to admit. Give yourself the best chance of gaining admissions by writing supplemental essays that persuade admissions officers you belong on their campus.
The expert admissions consultants at Wise World Prep have helped hundreds of students maximize their potential of being admitted to their top choice colleges and universities. Over 20 years, we have successfully guided students through each stage of the application process – from choosing competitive high school courses to building an appropriate college list to drafting winning essays to writing persuasive update and appeals letters. We would be happy to answer your questions and partner with you to create a successful admissions roadmap.
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