College Essay Resources

A "Why Us" essay (also called a "Why This College" essay) asks why you want to attend a specific school, but underneath, it asks two questions at once: what do you know about us, and what does that tell us about you? The standard advice (name real programs, avoid brochure language, pass the swap test) is necessary but not sufficient: you can follow every rule and still write a paragraph any applicant could have written. The fix is to make every school detail a mirror, not a w

The Additional Information section is an optional 300-word box on the Common App for context that doesn't fit anywhere else: an activity that needs more room than a 150-character Activities List entry, an academic decision that needs a sentence of explanation, or a circumstance a reader would otherwise misread. The limit is 300 words for first-year applicants (down from 650, starting with the 2025-26 cycle) and 1,500 characters for transfers. Hardship that shaped your transcr

A community essay is a college supplemental essay that asks you to describe a community you belong to and your place within it — one of the most common supplemental prompts (Michigan, Brown, Duke, and many others use versions of it, typically 200-300 words). The single most important rule: the community is the setting, not the subject. Weak drafts spend most of their words describing the group; strong drafts spend most of their words on the student's specific actions, choices

The University of Chicago supplemental essays for 2026-27 are two required pieces: one Why UChicago essay (300-600 words) asking how UChicago satisfies your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future, and one Extended Essay (500-700 words) chosen from five student-written prompts Food for Thought, Origami Engineering, Mixed Metaphors, The Mundane Olympics, and Mistaken Identity of Acronym or a choose-your-own-adventure option. Neither has a strict word li

The UC essays for 2026–2027 are eight Personal Insight Questions (PIQs). First-year applicants choose four to answer, each capped at 350 words, and the same four responses go to every UC campus you apply to. There is no campus-specific supplement. The eight prompts cover leadership, creativity, your greatest talent or skill, an educational opportunity or barrier, a significant challenge, an academic subject, a community contribution, and a catch-all on what makes you a strong

Cornell requires a college-specific essay or set of essays for the single Cornell college you apply to. Most colleges require one essay of 500–650 words (CALS is 500; Arts & Sciences, AAP, Brooks, and Dyson are each 650). Engineering requires six responses: two 200-word essays and four 100-word short answers. Crucially, Cornell admits you to a specific college, not to the university as a whole — so the college essay must argue fit with that college, not just with Cornell. Ear

Dartmouth requires three supplemental essays for the Class of 2030: a 100-word Why Dartmouth essay (Essay 1, required of all applicants); one 250-word essay chosen from two options (Essay 2 — describe your environment, or introduce yourself); and one 250-word essay chosen from seven options (Essay 3 — the "character menu" covering excitement, purpose, reading, difficult conversations, your nerdy side, difference, and failure). Dean of Admissions Lee Coffin describes what he r

Brown University requires three 200–250-word essays (Academic Interests, Growing Up, and Joy) plus three short answers (a 3-word self-description, a 100-word class pitch, and a one-sentence Why Brown capped at 50 words). PLME applicants write two additional essays (500 + 250 words); BRDD applicants write one additional 650-word essay. Dean Logan Powell describes Brown's central criterion as "excellence in context" — students who excelled within their specific environment. Ear

The Columbia University supplemental essays for 2026 consist of six required responses: a reading list, a lived experience essay, a dialogue essay, an adversity essay, a Why Columbia essay, and a Why Major essay. Together, they form one of the most unusual supplements in Ivy League admissions — shorter than most, more varied in format, and more explicitly interested in how you think and engage with other people than in what you have accomplished. This guide covers every Colum

Writing your University of Pennsylvania supplemental essays? Get expert tips on prompts, word limits, and examples to help you succeed in 2026.

Learn how to write MIT supplemental essays in 2026 with prompts, word limits, and real examples to help you craft standout, competitive applications

Learn how to write the Stanford Supplemental Essays in 2026: prompts, word limits, and examples to craft strong, authentic responses.

Learn how to write the Princeton supplemental essays for 2026 with prompt breakdowns, examples, strategy tips, and guidance from a college coach.

Complete guide to Yale supplemental essays with all prompts, word limits, strategy breakdowns, and real 400-word and short answer examples.

Complete guide to the Harvard supplemental essays, including all five prompts, word limits, strategy and strong example essays with analysis.