How to Write the Best Supplemental College Application Essays

​What do you need to know as you begin writing your supplemental college application essays? First of all, the purpose is to really dive deeper into your interests and personality.  Admissions committees will use these essays to form their freshman class.  The admissions committees will narrow their search to qualified candidates, and within that pool they will start forming smaller groups.  Perhaps their freshman class needs more people that have had internships in robotics.  Perhaps their freshman class needs more people that have played in All County Orchestra.  Perhaps their class needs more students that speak French fluently. You see, while all of those students are qualified on paper, the college wants to form a freshman class in a way that they think will best benefit the school as well as the students during college and beyond.  
 
How does this impact how you write your supplemental essays?  This is where you really need to let your personality shine.  This is a chance to be creative and think outside the box (while still generally maintaining an academic tone).  
 
Here is an example.  One of Yale’s supplemental essay prompts is  You are teaching a new Yale course. What is it called?  When answering this question, don’t list a class that has already been taught at Yale.  Think of a topic that you are passionate about, something that you could talk a lot about.  Don’t be afraid of being very specific.  If you have a love for gardening and an interest in medical school, perhaps you would teach The Impacts of Hydroponic Gardening in Long-term Care Facilities.  Describe what you would teach about and why.  I like this course title, because it shows the blending of the student’s interests, it demonstrates a love of learning and connecting two disciplines, and it illustrates an interest that probably wasn’t listed anywhere else on the application (gardening).   

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