Everybody knows about the Common App’s infamous Personal Narrative essay. You’ve probably also heard of the unique supplemental essays required by many colleges.
But do you know where to find them? As we previously detailed in our Common App crash course, the narrative essay appears under the Common App tab, while the supplemental essays appear in the My Colleges tab, under the Questions section and the Writing or Essays subsection. But what if I told you there may be a few surprise essays hidden in unexpected places throughout the Common App?
Sometimes, a school will have surprise essay prompts that don’t appear until you’ve filled out a corresponding questionnaire elsewhere in the application, like major choice or academic history. There’s nothing more panic-inducing than discovering one of these just before clicking submit!
Here are four places your supplemental essays may be hiding:
1. Major Choice
Some colleges will require you to respond to essay prompts about your major choice. This question appears under the My Colleges tab → Questions section → Academics subsection. Watch out; selecting a second-choice major may cause yet another essay prompt to appear out of thin air!
Note: This isn’t the only place you may encounter major-related essay prompts. Texas A&M’s Questions section, for example, has an entire subsection titled Engineering Applicants, which houses a required 500-word essay just for applicants to the College of Engineering!
2. Scholarships
Students seeking scholarships should be sure to check for a Scholarships subsection. Look carefully; for schools like Texas A&M University, you’ll need to scroll for miles to find all five of the prompts!
3. General
Pro tip: supplements don’t always appear under the “Writing” subsection! Make sure to check the General subsection, in particular. Here you may find supplemental essay prompts related to major choice, your academic record, extenuating circumstances, or other information.
4. Additional Information
Just below the space where you’ll submit your Personal Narrative essay, you’ll see another subsection titled Additional Information. If you check yes for the questions here, you’ll be prompted to provide one or two optional short essays.
Even though it’s not required, we encourage many of our students to answer the first prompt if their academics, extracurriculars, social environment, physical health, or mental health were in any way impacted by COVID-19.
It’s a good idea to answer the second prompt if there’s anything colleges should know about you that you weren’t able to show them elsewhere in your application. You may also use this space to explain an unusual circumstance like an illness, financial hardship, or other obstacle that doesn’t fall under the first prompt’s description.
Moral of the story: Leave nothing blank! Be sure to fill out every single subsection in both the Common App and the My Colleges tabs as soon as possible, so you don’t end up scrambling to throw together any surprise essays at the last minute.
Essays are massively important to your college admissions (and scholarship) chances; you’ll want to allow plenty of time for the brainstorming, drafting, and revision process! Here at Vanguard, our students go through multiple drafts before arriving at a final, polished essay that best reflects their personality, perspectives, and accomplishments.
For an even deeper dive on all things Common App, check out our How To Common App post. And while you’re at it, keep yourself in the loop about college planning, essay writing, test prep, and more by checking out our full range of college counseling services!
-Madison B.
College Counselor
Washington University in St. Louis (Full-Tuition Merit-Based Scholarship Recipient)
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