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Princeton wants to learn about applicants’ “lived experiences”

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Princeton University has released its 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts for first-year applicants, making it the final Ivy League institution to do so.

The most notable change in Princeton’s supplement from last year is the addition of a new essay of up to 500 words responding to a prompt inquiring about the applicant’s life so far and how it has shaped the applicant in a manner that will allow the applicant to contribute to Princeton’s campus.

2023-2024 Princeton Supplemental Prompts

A.B. and Undecided Applicants Only

1. As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)

B.S.E. Applicants Only

1. Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in, or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. (Please respond in 250 words or fewer)

Your Voice

2. Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? (500 words or fewer; new prompt and expanded word count length this year)

3. Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (250 words or fewer; reworded from last year)

Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!

4. What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?

5. What brings you joy?

6. What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?

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Since The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in June 2023 that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race, a number of selective colleges, now including Princeton, have added new essay prompts to their 2023-2024 first-year applications to inspire applicants to write about how their backgrounds – inclusive of race – have and/or will continue to inform their behaviors, perspectives, and priorities.

What remains uncertain is how such essays will be assessed by colleges’ application review committees. If keeping within the letter and spirit of The Supreme Court majority opinion, application review committees will not give applicants’ essays a higher or lower number of points based on the background or backgrounds applicants choose to write about in their essays.

The number of words students have in order to respond to Princeton’s new “lived experience” essay is also notably higher than any essay has been afforded on Princeton’s supplement in recent years when the highest number of words students could write in order to respond to any Princeton prompt topped out at 350 words.

As most high school seniors applying to Princeton do so through the Common Application, most Princeton applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at Princeton.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Princeton’s Class of 2028. Start drafting!

Meanwhile, the 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts for students applying to be first-year students at fellow Ivy League institutions Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, and Yale were all released in July or early August.

Northwestern University adds six new essay prompts to its application supplement

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Northwestern University Deering Library

Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois has added six new essay prompts to its 2023-2024 supplement to the Common Application for first-year applicants.

At the same time, Northwestern becomes the most selective Common App college to no longer require submission of the Common Application main essay in order to be considered for admission. Yet, if a student applying for first-year admission to Northwestern wants the university’s admissions committee to review his or her Common App essay, he or she can still include it when submitting the Common App to Northwestern.

Regarding Northwestern’s supplement, students applying via the Common App or Coalition App must respond to only one of the six new supplemental essay prompts, and applicants can only respond to up to two of the others. This means that smart applicants who want to make their case through their words will be writing three Northwestern-specific short essays (up to 700 words total) in their attempt to earn admission into Northwestern’s Class of 2028.

2023-2024 Northwestern University Supplemental Essay Prompts

The following question is required for all Common Application and Coalition with Scoir applicants (optional for QuestBridge applicants). Please respond in 300 words or fewer:

  • We want to be sure we’re considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background, your identity, or your school, community, and/or household settings have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?

The following questions are optional, but we encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two. Please respond in fewer than 200 words per question:

  • Painting “The Rock” is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call “Purple Pride”), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?
  • Northwestern fosters a distinctively interdisciplinary culture. We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of diverse ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?
  • Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.
  • Northwestern’s location is special: on the shore of Lake Michigan, steps from downtown Evanston, just a few miles from Chicago. What aspects of our location are most compelling to you, and why?
  • Northwestern is a place where people with diverse backgrounds from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to this diversity of perspectives in Northwestern’s classrooms and around our campus?

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As most high school seniors applying to Northwestern do so through the Common Application, and most are applying to other highly selective private colleges that require the Common App essay, it’s likely that most first-year applicants to Northwestern will still want Northwestern admissions officers to read their Common App essay.

Since The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in June 2023 that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race, a number of selective colleges, now including Northwestern, have added new essay prompts to their 2023-2024 first-year applications to inspire applicants to write about how their backgrounds – inclusive of race – have and/or will continue to inform their behaviors, perspectives, and priorities.

What is not yet clear is how such essays will be assessed by colleges’ application review committees. If keeping within the letter and spirit of The Supreme Court majority opinion, application review committees will not give applicants’ essays a higher or lower number of points based on the background or backgrounds applicants choose to write about in their essays. Northwestern’s new essay prompts use the words “diverse” or “diversity” three times, “background(s)” three times, and “community” or “communities” four times.

Previously, Northwestern’s one and only – and now retired – supplemental essay prompt read as follows:

In 300 words or less, help us understand how you might engage specific resources, opportunities, and/or communities here. We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Northwestern’s Class of 2028.

Wake Forest Introduces Exclusive Early Action (EEA)

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Considering how much the word “inclusive” is bandied about these days, Wake Forest University would, at first glance, appear to be taking a big risk by creating a new Early Action admissions option that will be the exclusive domain of only certain applicants based on their demographics alone. Yet, that’s exactly what Wake Forest is doing while promoting its new Early Action admissions option as a tool to promote inclusivity.

On June 29, the day when The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that race can’t be a factor in admissions decisions, Wake Forest University’s President Susan R. Wente wrote, “We write to affirm that Wake Forest University will not waver in its commitment to creating and sustaining inclusive, diverse learning communities; our mission and values have not and will not change. We will continue to recruit and enroll academically qualified students of diverse backgrounds who seek an intellectual home at Wake Forest where they belong and thrive, and in compliance with the Court’s ruling.”

Just a few weeks later, Wake introduced a new essay prompt for first-year applicants to complete during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle that invites students to explain how their identity or lived experience will help them contribute to the Wake Forest community.

Now, Wake Forest has announced a new Early Action admissions option “specifically for first-generation students to provide an additional pathway of opportunity.” Those who are not considered by Wake to be first-generation college students may not apply to Wake using this new Early Action option, thus making it the very definition of exclusive, which is why for the remainder of this article, and in order to differentiate it from traditional Early Action options that do not prevent certain students from taking advantage of them, Wake’s new admissions option will be referred to as Exclusive Early Action, or EEA. Wake’s new Exclusive Early Action applicants must apply by November 15 and will receive their admissions decisions by January 15.

For years, Wake Forest has met 100% of the demonstrated financial need of eligible admitted undergraduate students while also offering Early Decision I (students apply by November 15 and get their decisions by December) and Early Decision II (students apply by January 1 and get their decisions by February 15) application options, both of which are officially binding in nature (meaning a student must attend – in most cases – if admitted), and Regular Decision (students apply by January 1 and get their decisions in late March/Early April), which, just like its new EEA option, doesn’t require admitted students to accept or reject their offers of admission until May 1. Yet, three pathways to opportunity, all of which are open to any and all potential applicants, were deemed insufficient to those making executive level decisions at Wake Forest. Why?

From Wake’s perspective, offering Exclusive Early Action is a way to get “first dibs” on in-demand first-generation students and avoid having to directly compare a cohort of such applicants to applicants with the perceived advantages associated with being born to one or two parents with degrees from four-year colleges.

A critical paragraph of the June Supreme Court majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, included this line:

“…universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today…'[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,’ and the prohibition against racial discrimination is ‘levelled at the thing, not the name.’ Cummings v. Missouri, 4 Wall. 277, 325 (1867).”

US Census data from 2022 indicate that the percentage of adults age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more was 41.8% for the non-Hispanic White population, 27.6% for the Black population, 59.3% for the Asian population, and 20.9% for the Hispanic population. Thus, being a first-generation college student is a real, though imperfect, proxy for race.

Presumably, the upshot for students of applying EEA to Wake will not be learning of their decisions early, as many, though not all, first-generation students will want to wait to compare all of their offers of admission and financial aid. Rather, the upshot for students is that it is likely that the acceptance rate for EEA applicants will be higher than the acceptance rate for those applying in the competitive Regular Decision cycle, as most colleges that offer Early Action and/or Early Decision have higher acceptance rates for such options relative to their Regular Decision options.

Thus, for someone who really wants to go to Wake Forest but who doesn’t want to commit to attending Wake Forest until he or she receives all of his or her admissions and aid decisions, Wake’s new EEA option seems like a great chance to keep one’s options open and increase one’s chances of admission to Wake – and potentially elsewhere since it allows such students to apply to an Early Decision college or two and unlimited traditional Early Action (EA) colleges concurrently – all in one fell swoop. Of course, a lot of high school seniors would like to get in on this. But only some will be allowed to: those considered by Wake Forest to be first-generation college students.

Which brings us to who exactly Wake Forest considers a “first-generation college student.” Colleges have not agreed upon a standard definition of the term, especially since two parents of a child may have very different backgrounds and not all children live with or have relationships with both parents.

Wake, in a statement announcing the new admissions option, and on its admissions site, defines first-generation as follows:

“First-generation students are those whose parents did not graduate from a four-year accredited college or university. First generation can also include the children of parents who earned a degree in another country, immigrated to the United States, and are underemployed in the U.S. Whether domestic or international, if the student resides with and receives support from only one parent, the ‘first generation’ classification is based on that parent’s education.”

Eric Maguire, Wake Forest’s Vice-President for Enrollment Management, in response to an inquiry from the author of this article, further clarified that, “an international student can be considered first generation if their parents did not graduate from an accredited university or if they meet all three of the following criteria: earned a degree in another country, immigrated to the United States, and are underemployed. We would determine ‘underemployment’ based on the accepted definition as found in Merriam-Webster: ‘having less than full-time, regular, or adequate employment.'”

In 2007, right before Wake Forest became ACT- and SAT-optional in its admissions process, first-year student enrollment at Wake was 84% White, 6% Asian, 6% Black, 3% Hispanic, and 1% Native American. In Fall 2022, first-year student enrollment at Wake was approximately 63% White, 11% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 7% two or more races, 6% Black, 2% unknown, and less than 1% Native American. Only time will tell if the latest adjustments to Wake Forest’s first-year admissions process alters the racial or ethnic composition of its future entering classes or inspires other institutions to offer their own versions of EEA.

Wake Forest’s new supplemental essay prompt builds on a trend and guest stars Maya Angelou

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Since The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in June 2023 that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race, a number of selective colleges have added new essay prompts to their 2023-2024 first-year applications to inspire applicants to write about how their backgrounds – inclusive of race – have and/or will continue to inform their behaviors, perspectives, and priorities.

What is not yet clear is how such essays will be assessed by colleges’ application review committees.

If keeping within the letter and spirit of The Supreme Court majority opinion, application review committees will not give applicants’ essays a higher or lower number of points based on the background or backgrounds applicants choose to write about in their essays.

Yet, if an essay demonstrates certain personal attributes such as grit, perseverance, fortitude, superficiality, immaturity, or poor writing skills – all of which can be demonstrated by applicants of all backgrounds – such attributes can be cause to give applicants’ essays a higher or lower number of points.

The key, of course, will be for review committees not to assign certain attributes on the basis of race, but on the basis of reality, as in what the details included in the application demonstrate about the real character and disposition of an individual applicant. Any such attribute considered can’t simply be a proxy for race.

Enter Wake Forest University, which introduced test-optional admissions into its application process fifteen years ago. At the time, Martha Allman, then director of admissions at Wake Forest, said, “By making the SAT and ACT optional, we hope to broaden the applicant pool and increase access at Wake Forest for groups of students who are currently underrepresented at selective universities.”

On June 29, 2023 the day when The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that race can’t be a factor in admissions decisions, Wake Forest University’s President Susan R. Wente wrote, “We write to affirm that Wake Forest University will not waver in its commitment to creating and sustaining inclusive, diverse learning communities; our mission and values have not and will not change. We will continue to recruit and enroll academically qualified students of diverse backgrounds who seek an intellectual home at Wake Forest where they belong and thrive, and in compliance with the Court’s ruling.”

Just a couple weeks later, Wake revealed its 2023-2024 supplemental short response/essay prompts for first-year applicants, which includes a brand new prompt that guest stars famed American poet Maya Angelou:

1. Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution. (limit 150 words)

2. List five books you’ve read that have intrigued you.

3. Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world’s complexity. This can include a work you’ve read, a project you’ve completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved. (limit 150 words)

4. Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person’s dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou’s powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community? (brand new prompt; limit 300 words)

5. Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.) (limit 100 characters per line)

Of particular note is the new essay prompt built around a Maya Angelou quote that invites students to explain how their identity or lived experience will help them contribute to the Wake Forest community.

A relatively straight-forward approach many students may take when responding to this prompt will be for them to point to how their expression of their race, religion, or some other identity, experience, or value system will add new dimension or vitality to Wake’s campus; yet, by doing so, this has the potential (in cases where race is the focus of students’ responses) to come perilously close to students making an argument for Wake to do something Wake as an institution can no longer legally do – namely to admit someone on the basis of race.

In response to this prompt, I would encourage students write about attributes they’ve demonstrated that are not race-based, such as persistence, patience, and positivity so that they can be judged on these non-race dependent metrics. This doesn’t mean they can’t focus on these metrics or attributes in the context of discussing their race; race simply shouldn’t be the attribute at the center of students’ responses.

I wish Wake Forest admissions officers good luck with adhering to the law and internal directives when assessing these essay responses as part of their holistic review process, and I hope Wake reveals to the public how responses to this essay prompt will be assessed.

In related news, last week the university has announced a new exclusive Early Action admissions option “specifically for first-generation students to provide an additional pathway of opportunity.” To learn more click here.

Rice University adds new 500-word required essay to its application

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Rice University in Houston, Texas has decided to add a new essay requirement to its first-year application that explicitly mentions race just weeks after The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race.

Previously, Rice only had two 150-word short answer response requirements on its supplement to the Common Application. Now, it also gives students a choice between responding to one of two new prompts in up to 500 words.

2023-2024 Rice Supplemental Essay Prompts

1. Please explain why you wish to study in the academic areas you selected above.

2. Based upon your exploration of Rice University, what elements of the Rice experience appeal to you? Required (150 words max)

3. Please respond to one of the following prompts to explore how you will contribute to the Rice community:

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The two prompt options from which first-year applicants have to choose are interestingly phrased. The first requires the respondent to show himself or herself sharing traditions, experiences, or perspectives with fellow future Rice students, while the second only requires that respondents share perspectives shaped by their background, experiences, upbringing, and/or racial identity that inspires them to join a future community of change agents at Rice. The reason this distinction is important is that it could be read as meaning Rice will be assessing respondents to the first option based on what they choose to share with future fellow students while assessing respondents to the second option based only on their choice of

“At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise. See, e.g., 4 App. in No. 21–707, at 1725–1726, 1741; Tr. of Oral Arg. in No. 20–1199, at 10. But, despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today. (A dissenting opinion is generally not the best source of legal advice on how to comply with the majority opinion.) “[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,” and the prohibition against racial discrimination is “levelled at the thing, not the name.” Cummings v. Missouri, 4 Wall. 277, 325 (1867). A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination. Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

I wish students good luck as they draft their responses, and I also wish Rice admissions officers good luck with adhering to the law, internal directives, and their consciences when assessing these essay responses as part of their holistic review process.

As the vast majority of high school seniors applying to Rice do so through the Common Application, most Rice applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at Rice.

Johns Hopkins Introduces New Supplemental Essay Prompt for 2023-2024

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Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland has released a new supplemental essay prompt for students applying during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

All first-year applicants to Johns Hopkins (JHU) will now have respond to a prompt that explicitly references race even after The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in June that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race.

2023-2024 JHU Supplemental Prompt

Tell us about an aspect of your identity (eg. race, gender, sexuality, religion, community, etc…) or a life experience that has shaped you as an individual and how that influenced what you’d like to pursue in college at Hopkins.  (This can be a future goal or experience that is either academic, extracurricular or social).  300 word limit (though currently the Common App provides 350 words for students to respond to this prompt).

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Last year’s Johns Hopkins’ first-year applicant essay prompt read as follows:

Founded in the spirit of exploration and discovery, Johns Hopkins University encourages students to share their perspectives, develop their interests, and pursue new experiences. Use this space to share something you’d like the admissions committee to know about you (your interests, your background, your identity, or your community), and how it has shaped what you want to get out of your college experience at Hopkins. (300-400 words)

A new year, and new JHU! As most high school seniors applying to JHU do so through the Common Application, most JHU applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at JHU.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Johns Hopkins’ Class of 2028. Start drafting!

WashU unveils new supplemental essay prompts for 2023-2024 admissions cycle

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Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) has released new supplemental essay prompt options for students applying during the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

In addition being required to respond to the first prompt, which is a returns from last year, all first-year applicants to WashU will now have the opportunity to respond in 250 words or fewer to one of the additional three optional prompts.

2023-2024 WashU Supplemental Prompts

REQUIRED: 1. Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why. Undecided about your academic interest(s)? Don’t worry—tell us what excites you about the academic division you selected. Remember that all of our first-year students enter officially “undeclared” and work closely with their team of academic advisors to discover their academic passions. You can explore all of our majors and programs on our website. (200 words max)

OPTIONAL: 2. WashU is a place that values diversity of perspectives. We believe those perspectives come from a variety of experiences and identities. Respond to one of the following prompts to help us understand “Who are you?”: Optional (250 words max)

Option 1: Discuss a fresh perspective or opinion you brought to a collaborative setting or project.

Option 2: Describe a community you are a part of and your place within it.

Option 3: Tell us how your identity has impacted the way you view or interact with your community.

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This is the first time that WashU has asked applicants about their identity in an essay prompt, which is ironic considering The Supreme Court of the United States ruled in June that colleges can no longer admit students on the on the basis of race.

WashU also gives students the chance to upload a short video on the WashU Pathway portal after they submit their application, and within its supplemental instructions WashU notes, “If you prefer, you may focus your optional 90-second video submitted through the WashU Pathway on addressing one of these three questions.” Students who choose to submit a written response to one of the optional prompts may still opt in to sharing an optional video.

As most high school seniors applying to WashU do so through the Common Application, most WashU applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at WashU.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Washington University in St. Louis’ Class of 2028. Start drafting engines!

Penn unveils new supplemental essay prompts for 2023-2024 admissions cycle

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University of Pennsylvania has released its 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts for first-year applicants.

All first-year applicants to Penn will complete several Penn-specific short essays; yet, for the first time, the exact prompts students respond to will depend on the school within the university that they are applying to.

2023-2024 Penn Supplemental Prompts

Required of All Applicants:

1. Write a short thank-you note to someone you have not yet thanked and would like to acknowledge. (We encourage you to share this note with that person, if possible, and reflect on the experience!) (150-200 words)

2. How will you explore community at Penn? Consider how Penn will help shape your perspective, and how your experiences and perspective will help shape Penn. (150-200 words)

Required of College Applicants Only:

3. The flexible structure of The College of Arts and Sciences’ curriculum is designed to inspire exploration, foster connections, and help you create a path of study through general education courses and a major. What are you curious about and how would you take advantage of opportunities in the arts and sciences? To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about academic offerings within the College of Arts and Sciences at college.upenn.edu/prospective. This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of how the study of the liberal arts aligns with your own goals and aspirations. (150-200 words)

Required of Engineering Applicants Only:

3. Penn Engineering prepares its students to become leaders in technology, by combining a strong foundation in the natural sciences and mathematics, exploration in the liberal arts, and depth of study in focused disciplinary majors. Please share how you hope to explore your engineering interests at Penn. To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about Penn Engineering and its mission to prepare students for global leadership in technology here. This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of academic pathways within Penn Engineering and how they align with your goals and interests.

Required of Nursing Applicants Only:

3. Penn Nursing intends to meet the health needs of society in a global and multicultural world by preparing its students to impact healthcare by advancing science and promoting equity. What do you think this means for the future of nursing, and how do you see yourself contributing to our mission of promoting equity in healthcare? To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about Penn Nursing’s mission and how we promote equity in healthcare here.  This information will help you develop a stronger understanding of our values and how they align with your own goals and aspirations. (150-200 words)

Required of Wharton Applicants Only:

3. Wharton prepares its students to make an impact by applying business methods and economic theory to real-world problems, including economic, political, and social issues. Please reflect on a current issue of importance to you and share how you hope a Wharton education would help you to explore it. To help inform your response, applicants are encouraged to learn more about the foundations of a Wharton education here. This information will help you better understand what you could learn by studying at Wharton and what you could do afterward.

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Penn also has additional essay requirements for first-year applicants applying to its highly selective special programs, which include DMD: Digital Media Design Program, DMD: Digital Media Design Program, Huntsman: The Huntsman Program in International Studies and Business, LSM: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences and Management, M&T: The Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, NETS: The Rajendra and Neera Singh Program in Networked and Social Systems Engineering, NHCM: Nursing and Healthcare Management, Seven-Year Bio-Dental Program, and VIPER: The Roy and Diana Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research. 

As most high school seniors applying to Penn do so through the Common Application, most Penn applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at Penn.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Penn’s Class of 2028. Start drafting!

Meanwhile, the 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts for students applying to be first-year students at fellow Ivy League institutions Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, and Yale have now also been released. Only Princeton has yet to release its supplemental essay prompts for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

Brown University 2023-2024 Supplemental Essays: A Real Bear

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Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island.

Brown University’s 2023-2024 supplemental short essay prompts for first-year applicants have now been made public as a result of the Common Application’s launch for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

All first-year applicants to Brown will write responses to the following seven Brown-specific prompts. With these responses, applicants now have up to 1,003 additional words to further differentiate their applications for first-year admission. This compares to only three required supplemental essay prompts seeking up to 750 words from applicants on last year’s Brown supplement to its first year application. This makes the 2023-2024 Brown supplement a real bear (Brown’s mascot is Bruno the Bear, a brown bear). We kid – have a sense of humor!

2023-2024 Brown Supplemental Essay Prompts

1. Brown’s Open Curriculum allows students to explore broadly while also diving deeply into their academic pursuits. Tell us about any academic interests that excite you, and how you might pursue them at Brown. (200-250 words)

2. Students entering Brown often find that making their home on College Hill naturally invites reflection on where they came from. Share how an aspect of your growing up has inspired or challenged you, and what unique contributions this might allow you to make to the Brown community. (200-250 words)

3. Brown students care deeply about their work and the world around them. Students find contentment, satisfaction, and meaning in daily interactions and major discoveries. Whether big or small, mundane or spectacular, tell us about something that brings you joy. (200-250 words)

4. What three words best describe you? (3 words)

5. What is your most meaningful extracurricular commitment, and what would you like us to know about it? (100 words)

6. If you could teach a class on any one thing, whether academic or otherwise, what would it be? (100 words)

7. In one sentence, Why Brown? (50 words)

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As most high school seniors applying to Brown do so through the Common Application, most Brown applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at Brown.

Good luck to all those students applying to join Brown’s Class of 2028.

Meanwhile, the 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts for students applying to be first-year students at fellow Ivy League institutions Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Penn, and Yale have now also been released. Only Princeton has yet to release its supplemental essay prompts for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.

Harvard 2023-2024 supplemental short essay prompts revealed

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Harvard University’s 2023-2024 supplemental short essay prompts for first-year applicants have now been revealed with the launch of the 2023-2024 Common Application. This news comes in the wake of Harvard’s past use of affirmative action being ruled unlawful by The Supreme Court of the United States earlier this summer.

Unlike last year, when Harvard allowed applicants to upload an essay on any topic of their choice to its supplement to the Common App or Coalition application, this year, Harvard is now requiring first-year applicants to respond to five supplemental short answer prompts in up to 200 words each. This is up to 1,000 additional words of supplemental writing applicants can use to further differentiate their applications for first-year admission.

While four of the five new prompts are relatively direct and innocuous, the first of the five new prompts, though not referring specifically to the affirmative action case Harvard just lost at The Supreme Court, does take advantage of the following paragraph of Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion in the case:

“At the same time, as all parties agree, nothing in this opinion should be construed as prohibiting universities from considering an applicant’s discussion of how race affected his or her life, be it through discrimination, inspiration, or otherwise. See, e.g., 4 App. in No. 21–707, at 1725–1726, 1741; Tr. of Oral Arg. in No. 20–1199, at 10. But, despite the dissent’s assertion to the contrary, universities may not simply establish through application essays or other means the regime we hold unlawful today. (A dissenting opinion is generally not the best source of legal advice on how to comply with the majority opinion.) “[W]hat cannot be done directly cannot be done indirectly. The Constitution deals with substance, not shadows,” and the prohibition against racial discrimination is “levelled at the thing, not the name.” Cummings v. Missouri, 4 Wall. 277, 325 (1867). A benefit to a student who overcame racial discrimination, for example, must be tied to that student’s courage and determination. Or a benefit to a student whose heritage or culture motivated him or her to assume a leadership role or attain a particular goal must be tied to that student’s unique ability to contribute to the university. In other words, the student must be treated based on his or her experiences as an individual—not on the basis of race. Many universities have for too long done just the opposite. And in doing so, they have concluded, wrongly, that the touchstone of an individual’s identity is not challenges bested, skills built, or lessons learned but the color of their skin. Our constitutional history does not tolerate that choice.”

2023-2024 Harvard University Supplemental Essay Prompts

1. Harvard has long recognized the importance of enrolling a diverse student body. How will the life experiences that shape who you are today enable you to contribute to Harvard?200 words)

2. Briefly describe an intellectual experience that was important to you.200 words)

3. Briefly describe any of your extracurricular activities, employment experience, travel, or family responsibilities that have shaped who you are.

4. How do you hope to use your Harvard education in the future?

5. Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you. (200 words)

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As most high school seniors applying to Harvard do so through the Common Application, most Harvard applicants will also need to respond – and respond well – to one of the Common App’s main essay prompts in order to be considered for admission at Harvard. Good luck to all those students applying to join Harvard’s Class of 2028.

Meanwhile, the 2023-2024 supplemental essay prompts for students applying to be first-year students at fellow Ivy League institutions Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Penn, and Yale have now also been released. Only Princeton has yet to release its supplemental essay prompts for the 2023-2024 admissions cycle.