You’ve been working hard on your big Common App essay, and you’re feeling pretty good about it. You’re almost done! But then you discover that those two really cool colleges you just learned about require supplemental essays. It’s tempting to decide not to apply, but—what if your best life turns out to be at one of those schools? Don’t let supplemental essays (“supps” in the lingo of admissions readers) scare you away!
1. Take supplemental essays seriously.
The best way to reduce supp stress is to plan for them. Even if you’re not going to work on your application yet, find out what each school requires and make a list. That way, you’ll know what you’ll need to do and can plan your time and mindset accordingly. Pay attention to suggested word count: nothing makes a worse impression like a 6-word answer when you’re encouraged to write a paragraph. Structure is important, too: a meandering collection of sentences will not have the same impact as a paragraph with a topic sentence and supporting ideas.
Make sure to allocate enough time to edit and proofread your supps so that they are just as polished as your Common App essay. Successful applications show consistency across all elements, and inconsistencies raise questions.
2. Do your research.
Colleges ask applicants to write supplemental essays because they want information they feel may not come out in the Common App. Some supps are designed to gauge students’ interest in a college/university or to give clues about how well a student might fit into a campus community. Sometimes these questions are about a campus landmark or tradition, so if you aren’t already very familiar with the campus, you should try to learn something about that part of campus culture. If you don’t know a current student or an alum, focus your online research on trying to figure out the significance of the landmark or tradition. Even though your answer should be original and genuine, this context will help you write your supplemental essay—and will prevent you from making gaffes that suggest that you’re less familiar with the school.
3. Be yourself.
Sometimes it’s hard to hear this advice, especially when you fear that “just being yourself” won’t be enough (you are always enough!). Some supplemental essay prompts are more playful and ask you to talk about something that’s meaningful to you. You should do just that! Don’t try to anticipate what will impress an admissions reader. If the prompt asks for your favorite word and you love the word “and,” run with it and write the most thoughtful answer you can. That’s far better than choosing a fancy $100 word (“antidisestablishmentarianism,” anyone?) that you feel no real connection to.
Also, supps that try to elicit what gets you out of bed in the morning give you an opportunity to write about things that didn’t make it into your carefully crafted Common App essay. For example, if your long essay is about your participation in a sport, you might choose to write supplemental essays that demonstrate one of your other interests.
With a little bit of time, focus, and fearlessness, you too can smash those supplemental essays!
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