Supplemental Essays: A Chance to Showcase Your Interests

May 26, 2014

Don’t know how to approach supplemental essay questions?  Use them as a chance to showcase an interest, a skill, or a defining experience that the admissions officers would not know about otherwise.  It gives them a chance to know who you are as a person and see how you fit into that specific college’s culture. Ellen, a sophomore at UCLA, is interested in going into the business, although she is not exactly sure which specific field she wants to pursue. As of now, she is most interested in finance and data analysis and hopes to work around those areas. See how she incorporated a personal experience into her supplemental essay prompt: 

Most college applications require you to answer supplemental essay questions alongside your personal statement. One supplemental essay question that I remember to be more interesting to compose asked me to tell the college about a fun event I attended. I chose to write about a concert I attended in the beginning of my senior year. The concert featured many popular Asian American artists including singer Kina Grannis, and youtubers Wong Fu Productions and Ryan Higa. I not only wrote about how I enjoyed the concert and had a lot of fun, but I also wrote about how as an Asian American myself, I was inspired by the artists’ success in the mainstream American industry. I also talked about some of my achievements, and why I believe I can be successful in the community we live in even as a “minority.” My essay answered the college’s question, but also incorporated aspects that I hoped would seem desirable about an application to the college reading my essay. For a college application, this essay was quite fun to write!  

To read more about Ellen’s college applications, visit her AdmitSee Profile!



Browse Successful Application Files

VivienneEve23
UC Berkeley


Accepted to UC Berkeley, Brown, Claremont (CMC), Columbia, Cornell, Harvard, Northwestern, Pomona, Stanford, San Diego, Vanderbilt, UCSC, UCSB, UCSD, UCLA, Cal Poly, Cal Poly Pomona, Washington

UC Berkeley Class of 2020
yujin2023
Brown


Accepted to Brown, Amherst, Duke, Emory, Santa Clara, USC, Pacific, Vanderbilt, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSB, UCSD, UC Davis, UC Irvine

Nature lover, STEM nerd. Will likely be late because of who I am as a person.
ashleyzo
USC


Accepted to USC, Dartmouth, Emory, UMich, Rochester, Lehigh, Miami, Alabama, Ole Miss

Hi! I'm a college freshman who was accepted to some of the best universities in the country (most likely due to my essays). Feel free to ask any questions!
BrownDomer
Notre Dame


Accepted to BU, Emory, Swarthmore, Notre Dame

Hello! I'm an international student from Ethiopia and I'll be majoring in Biology. I'd love to share all the tips and tricks I've learned from my rather unique college application experience with you!

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