You’ve written your personal statement that illustrates your values and beliefs. It’s been proofread and polished by parents and peers. You’re finally done writing! Right?

Wrong.

Even though most colleges accept the Common Application and pay a great deal of attention to the Common App essay, many schools require an additional essay or two. Colleges or universities not requiring extra essays for admission may have optional or required essays for admission to specific programs.

The “Why Us?” Essay

The most common supplemental essay prompt by far is some variation of the “Why us?” essay — out of all the colleges and universities, why are you applying to this one?

While it may seem straightforward, the “Why Us” essay is crucial. Admissions officers don’t want to build an incoming class of students who don’t want to be there or haven’t given it much thought.

This supplemental essay is a great way to prove that you’ve done your research and show why you’re a great fit for their school. Before you start, do the following:

Read the prompt carefully.

The prompt often hides the secret of what a school wants in its students. When I applied to Boston University, the “Why us” essay prompt was: “What about being a student at Boston University most excites you?”

BU wasn’t asking why applicants think they’d be a good fit. They didn’t exactly ask why applicants want to go to BU.

They asked applicants what about BU most excites them. This question signaled that BU hoped for an excited, enthusiastic student body. So, I used this observation to inform the word choice in my essay.

Apply the same thinking to any “Why Us?” essay. The prompts can have subtle differences that should inform your response. Here are a few examples of potential “Why us?” prompts:

• Why do you think you’d be a good fit for this college?
• Why did you decide to apply to this college?
• How will you pursue your goals at this college?

Be specific.

For this type of essay, spend at least an hour on the college’s website and social media researching ideas to inspire your approach. A college visit can be a gold mine for college-specific supplemental essay material.

These essays typically have a pretty short word count, so try to maximize the amount of content in a concise response.

Make a list of clubs you’d like to join, classes you’d like to take, professors you’d like to do research with, and specific aspects of the program you’re applying to that sparked your interest in that school. Don’t dwell too much on the location, size, climate, or anything else that could apply to other schools.

While it's tempting to reuse material from other supplemental essays, try to target each “Why Us” essay for each school. Since these essays must be specific to the individual school, if you can reuse a “Why Us” essay, it’s probably not specific or original enough.

Be genuine.

Empty specificity can only take you so far. Rattling off a list of obscure classes and random professors only proves that you read the website, and admissions officers will see right through your strategy.

Want your essay to “scream” sincerity? Be honest. Only list specific classes you’d actually like to take. Mention a club that you’d truly like to join. Explain how the program you’re applying to checks every single one of your boxes.

By the end of your “Why Us” essay research, chances are you’ll be excited about attending that school, and the essay will write itself. On the flip side, if you’ve done your research and still struggling to justify why you want to attend a certain school, take a moment to think about what attracted you to that college in the first place.

When I reread my “Why BU?” essay to write this blog post, I realized just how genuine I was in that essay.

Those two courses that I mentioned? I took one of them freshman year, and I’m now a teaching assistant for the other. I mentioned a dance group, which I’ve since joined. I mentioned the school newspaper, the Daily Free Press, and it’s become a cornerstone of my college experience. That study abroad program I mentioned? I just got back in May.

The Community/Contribution/Diversity/Identity Essay

When the 2023 Supreme Court decision effectively ended affirmative action, many colleges and universities altered their essay requirements.

According to the majority opinion, the only circumstance in which a student’s race or ethnicity may legally be considered in the application process is if it is mentioned specifically in relation to a student’s individual qualities or qualifications. Here are the examples given in the decision:

• “A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination.”
• “A benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university.”

In response to the ruling, many colleges changed their essays in some way, either extending the word counts or providing new prompts altogether.

Many of the additional essays on themes like diversity and inclusion are optional or listed among many topic choices, while other schools require them. And like the “Why Us” prompts, they vary.

The most common prompt asks how students will contribute to the campus community. For example: “Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?”

In a way, this essay is the inverse of the “Why Us.” Draw upon your own life experiences, and don’t fear showing your vulnerability.

As always, read the prompt carefully and be sincere. Remember, this is another chance for you to show them why they should pick you.

The “Big Idea” Essay

One of the most difficult supplemental essay prompts I remember encountering was what I call the “Big Idea” essay. This category includes prompts like: If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?

It also includes the silly prompts — those that have you reading and rereading your computer screen to verify you read the prompt correctly.

Knowing where to start is tricky with a broad or unique prompt. The hardest part with these essays is getting started.

If you’re really stuck or just want to get your creativity flowing, try free writing. Maybe halfway through the essay you thought you were writing, an entirely new topic will emerge, and you’ll pivot. That’s okay! Do whatever you can do to avoid staring at a blank page.

The “Optional” Essay

In many cases, a college may list supplemental essays as optional. Don’t be fooled. Write them anyway.

As always, there are exceptions. For example, if you are given five prompts and explicitly directed to answer two of them, don’t go overboard. As a general rule, though, take advantage of every opportunity you’re given to express interest and introduce admissions officers to the person behind the GPA.