Guide/04 School-by-School Supplements
School-by-School Supplements: 2026–27 Overview
The 2026–27 supplement workload at 29 top schools, which prompts overlap so you can reuse material, and the order to write them in.
Every selective school asks its own questions, and the workload adds up fast. This section has a guide for each of 29 top schools: the exact 2026–27 prompts, what each one is really asking, and how to approach it.
Start with this page. It shows how much each school asks for, which prompts overlap (so one strong story can serve several schools), and what changed this year.
What changed for 2026–27
- UVA, UNC Chapel Hill, and Georgia Tech dropped their supplemental essays entirely. Your Common App essay and activities carry more weight there. See Schools With No Supplements.
- Cornell removed its university-wide essay. You now write only the essay(s) for the college you're applying to.
- MIT has new essay questions, including new 40–50 word short responses.
- Michigan replaced its first essay with a prompt about leadership and citizenship.
- Vanderbilt asks a single ~250-word essay built around its motto, Crescere aude ("dare to grow").
- UChicago released five new extended-essay options, as it does every year.
- Princeton still requires a graded written paper, and 2026–27 is its last test-optional year.
The workload at a glance
Approximate required writing beyond the Common App personal statement. "Optional" essays aren't counted.
| School | What they ask | Roughly |
|---|---|---|
| Brown | 4 essays | 700–800 words |
| Caltech | 5 STEM-focused short answers | ~1,000 words |
| Carnegie Mellon | 3 essays | 900 words |
| Columbia | A list + 5 short answers | 850 words |
| Cornell | 1–2 college essays (varies by college) | 650–800 words |
| Dartmouth | 3 essays | 600 words |
| Duke | 2 essays (+1 optional) | 500 words |
| Emory | 2 essays | 350 words |
| Georgetown | 4 essays on its own application | ~1,700 words |
| Harvard | 5 short answers | 750 words |
| Johns Hopkins | 1 essay | 350 words |
| MIT | 4 essays + 4 short responses | ~1,000 words |
| Michigan | 2 essays | up to 850 words |
| Northwestern | 1 essay + 1–2 encouraged | 500–700 words |
| Notre Dame | 4 short responses | ~450 words |
| NYU | 1 essay | 250 words |
| Penn | 3 essays | 600 words |
| Princeton | 5 essays + graded paper | ~1,150 words |
| Rice | 3 essays + "The Box" image | 800 words |
| Stanford | 5 short answers + 3 essays | 1,000 words |
| Tufts | 2 short answers | up to 350 words |
| UChicago | Why UChicago + extended essay | ~1,000 words |
| USC | 1 essay + 10 quick answers | ~350 words |
| Vanderbilt | 1 essay | ~250 words |
| WashU | 1 essay | 250 words |
| Yale | 2 essays + 3 short takes | ~700 words |
| UVA, UNC, Georgia Tech | None | — |
University of California schools use the four Personal Insight Questions instead. See UC Personal Insight Questions.
Reuse material across schools
Many prompts ask the same underlying question in different words. Write one strong version, then adapt it (never paste it unchanged) for each school.
| Underlying question | Schools that ask a version of it |
|---|---|
| Disagreement / dialogue across differences | Harvard, Columbia, Georgetown, Yale (option), Duke (optional), Emory (option), Dartmouth (option), USC (optional) |
| Community, background, and what you'll contribute | Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, Brown, Duke, Northwestern, Rice, Vanderbilt, Penn, Michigan, Johns Hopkins, NYU, Caltech |
| Why us | Columbia, Duke, Dartmouth, Rice, UChicago, Tufts, USC, Michigan, Cornell, Brown, Notre Dame (sort of), CMU |
| Why this major / academic interest | MIT, Yale, Princeton, Rice, Emory, Notre Dame, Penn, Cornell, Columbia, Georgetown, WashU, USC, Caltech, CMU |
| Quick, personality-revealing short answers | Stanford, USC, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Harvard, Brown, Notre Dame |
The order to write them in
- Finish your personal statement first. Every supplement should add something it doesn't say.
- Early-deadline schools next (ED, EA, REA), usually due November 1 or 15.
- Long essays before short answers. The long ones take the most revision.
- Batch by question type. Write all your community essays in one week, all your Why Us essays the next. You'll get faster and more consistent.
- Quirky short answers last. They're quick, and they're better when you're relaxed.
For the full method, see Planning Your Supplements. Track every prompt and draft in the Application Tracker.
Related chapters
- Planning Your SupplementsHow to organize dozens of supplemental prompts — the spreadsheet, the prompt-type map, what to write first, and how to reuse material without recycling essays.
- The “Why Us” EssayThe most common supplement — how to research a school in an hour, the three-column method, and templates for 100-, 250-, and 400-word versions.
- How Admissions Essays Are ReadWhat your essays are actually for, how a reader moves through them, and the plan this course follows from blank page to submitted supplement.
This resource reflects personal experience and general educational information. Admissions policies and requirements change, and nothing in this guide guarantees admission to any institution. Always verify current requirements with individual colleges and official sources.