by Kennon Dick, former admissions officer at Swarthmore College

This is the time when many seniors are turning their attention from their personal statements, like the Common App main essay, to the range of questions colleges ask via supplemental essays. Not every college requires these additional essays, but the ones that do represent a range of schools, from small liberal arts colleges to large public universities. The essay prompts also vary; they may ask about everything from academic interests to favorite movies or TV shows. One of the more popular questions colleges ask is about a student’s interest in a major.

by Elyse Krantz, former admissions officer at Barnard College

Your love of playing cello…

Your fascination with mountain biking…

Your desire to speak out against prejudice…

Your journey to become student body president…

A strong Common App essay can be written on virtually any topic.

How’s that college essay coming? Not well? Then check out this insight from former Reed College admissions officer Ian Fisher on how to approach your personal statement in this installment of the College Coach video series, Ask the College Admissions Expert. Ian lets you know what college admissions officers are looking for in an application essay, how to choose a good college essay topic, and how to get started.

by Ian Fisher, former admissions officer at Reed College

Last week, the Common App announced it will add a short COVID-19-themed essay question for students applying to college this fall. This came as little surprise to those of us at Bright Horizons College Coach, where one of our more prescient educators even had a dream about this addition, way back on April 10. We have long anticipated that colleges would offer a way for students to express how this global pandemic has upended the ordinary parts of their lives, and the question below will give them an opportunity to do exactly that:

The Bowdoin supplement asks applicants to first identify which of the lines from “The Offer of the College,” a poem written in 1906 by Bowdoin president William DeWitt Hyde, most resonate with them. Applicants are then invited to provide an optional short essay of 250 words to reflect on their chosen line and how it has meaning for them.

The first time I read over Smith College’s supplemental essay question, my response was, “Wow! This one is different!” See for yourself:

We know that colleges ask a lot of hard questions on their applications. This one is not so hard and we promise, there is no hidden agenda – just have fun! If you had a theme song – a piece of music that describes you, what would it be and why? Please include the name of the song and the artist. (200 words)

You know you love Harvey Mudd, but now it is time to articulate why by clearly showcasing the synergy between you and the college and providing the admissions committee with a holistic picture of who you are and what you will bring to their community. 

While many might think of Carleton College when they hear “Northfield, Minnesota,” there’s another fabulous school in this small town—St. Olaf College. Like its neighbor, St. Olaf is a small, liberal arts college. But if you’re planning to apply, you’ll want to be sure you demonstrate deeper knowledge of the college and its culture in your supplemental essay responses than that! So let’s look at what those questions are and how you might answer them.

Over time, I have had a number of students struggle with writing their responses to the Emory University supplemental essay prompts, and this year they seem to be equally, if not more perplexing.  The difficulty of writing something really illuminating in 150 words or less makes it even more challenging, and having multiple prompts to choose from doesn’t seem to mitigate student’s stress very much.

Over the years, I’ve found it hard to articulate the response that past students have had to Chapman University in Orange, California. My brother used to live down the street from campus, and I once spent a week there for a conference, enjoying the sunny weather and brunching in their cute little downtown. It’s a beautiful campus in a part of Southern California that students don’t often consider, and it has a really strong program in film and screenwriting. It’s small but not too small; big but not too big, at just under 10,000 students. But the most striking aspect of Chapman, from where I sit, is that there are some students that go to visit and come back to proclaim that they just love it there.