Sneak Preview: University of Chicago’s 2024-25 Supplemental Questions
Supplemental essay prompts for the 2024-25 application cycle become available August 1. Some colleges, like the University of Chicago, may already be providing prospective students with a sneak preview.
What are supplemental essays?
These essays typically don’t have to be as long as your personal statement. But their importance in the college admissions process is very significant, according to Mark Zucker, host of Your College-Bound Kid podcast.
“Supplemental essays are additional pieces of writing required by many highly-selective universities, and they can be just as revealing and important as your personal statement.”
Many colleges have a standard “Why Us?” question. They want to understand why, specifically, you want to go to their college. It’s an opportunity to show you have thoughtfully researched and considered the school’s institutional priorities, academic disciplines, mission, values and more. .
Watch Ethan Sawyer’s How to Write an Awesome "Why This College?" Essay video on YouTube to learn more about this type of supplemental.
While I’m at it, another great resource is Lisa Jacobs’ in-depth explanation of “institutional priorities” and why they matter when it comes to the college application.
How to Prepare for Supplemental Essay Writing
Last year, I helped a few students write supplementals, but I was learning about the process right along side them.
For example, some schools – like MIT and Stanford – require responses to up to a dozen or more essay prompts. (MIT has its own application and doesn’t accept Common App essays.)
Check out my MIT Supplemental Essay Tracker tool for an inside look at the kinds of questions MIT asks.
Many schools craft supplemental questions to better understand who you are in a holistic way and to encourage creativity. Here are few notable ones:
Top 3 things your roommates might like to know about you.* (200 words)
If your life had a theme song, what would it be?
The University of Chicago is an institution that puts a lot of thought into their prompts each year. Last week, the college shared a sneak peak of its supplemental prompts for the 2024-25 cycle. (Check the YouTube promo for the full list.)
They aren't as straightforward as some of the more conventional supplementals. But I do like the invitation for writers to get a bit quirky and creative, to flex a totally different dimension. What do you think?
