If your teen has to write a supplementary essay
“What is a supplemental essay and how do you write one?”
Every university and program has its own requirements regarding essays, portfolios, and other information they require as part of the application process.
In general, your teen can expect 11 types of supplemental essay prompts:
The key behind these questions is to gain more insight into the applicant as a person. It also allows them to better understand how you think and approach problems.
Undergraduate programs, including highly competitive programs such as life sciences, business, engineering, and even computer science programs are increasingly having students submit supplementary essays.
It makes sense after all.
There are more applicants than there are available spots.
Schools need a way to distinguish who gets accepted, especially when most students coming in have stellar grades.
A well-written essay highlights YOU and tells them what makes you a great candidate for the school and for the program.
Here are 3 key tips to keep in mind:
1. Read the prompt carefully and make sure you answer it
This seems obvious, but students often miss the question being asked and go off on tangents that do not give an appropriate response.
Underline each major component of the question to make sure you have answered every part.
If the prompt asks you to showcase an experience related to leadership, diversity, community involvement, or a quotation of interest, remember…
First, describe your experience.
Second, describe the lesson you learned from this experience and why it was significant.
This reflection on the significance lets the admissions officers see that you have grown from these moments and gained insight for future scenarios.
2. Show. Don’t Tell.
Yes, your English teacher was right. It’s about showing, not just telling.
Give specific examples that demonstrate how you embody leadership, respect for diversity, passion for helping others, and more.
What steps did you take to complete a project?
What issues did you identify?
How did you resolve them?
What were the results?
What did you learn and how did you grow from the experience?
Be precise. Use numbers or statistics if they’re relevant.
3. Clear is better than fancy.
It should be obvious that proper grammar, spelling, sentence structure, and punctuation are a must.
What else do you need in order to be clear?
Consider these 2 sentences. Which one do you think showed up in a successful Ivy League Application Essay?
A: “While I learned a lot in the classrooms of GHP, I feel that most of my growth occurred outside of the classroom.”
B: “All of these factors come together to illustrate that the daily occurrences of an immigrant contain a vast number of struggles that can further exacerbate the difficulties of living in an entirely new locale particularly as the living environment is not shaped around these individuals, but rather immigrants are forced to assimilate into Canadian society.”
If you guessed Option A, give yourself a gold star!
Clear is better than fancy.
Advanced vocabulary is something to showcase, but not if it gets in the way of the reader understanding what you’re trying to say. The idea is to be articulate and demonstrate a strong command of language and written expression. Wordy, pretentious, awkward sentences will NOT help you write an outstanding essay. In fact, given the hundreds, even thousands, of essays that admissions officers have to go through, concise and interesting is likely to beat puzzling and overcomplicated.
Something else to remember is that some schools will have their own unique questions that might be completely unexpected.
If this happens, remember that supplemental essays tell the school more about you.
Make sure to give yourself enough time to:
Brainstorm
Create a first draft
Get feedback from trusted peers and advisors
Proofread and edit
Write your final version
P.S. - The strategy behind a standout application is something we cover extensively with students. Reply to this email with the word ‘ESSAY’ to learn how we help applicants with university preparation and supplementary statements.
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– Benjamin Franklin
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