How many essays do you actually need to write for college applications?
I'm starting to outline my college application strategy and suddenly realized that every school wants different essays and supplements. My main question is, realistically, how many essays do most people end up writing when they're applying to like 8-10 colleges?
I know there's the Common App personal statement, but then there are all the 'Why Us?' and other random supplements (like community, intellectual curiosity, etc). Are people writing completely new essays for each school, or do you usually just adapt what you already have?
I’m a little stressed because writing is not exactly my best subject, and I’m worried about the workload. Also, are the supplemental essays usually shorter or do some of them get pretty long?
I know there's the Common App personal statement, but then there are all the 'Why Us?' and other random supplements (like community, intellectual curiosity, etc). Are people writing completely new essays for each school, or do you usually just adapt what you already have?
I’m a little stressed because writing is not exactly my best subject, and I’m worried about the workload. Also, are the supplemental essays usually shorter or do some of them get pretty long?
7 months ago
•
291 views
Anonymous
7 months ago
Applying to 8-10 colleges means you'll be writing more essays than just the main Common App personal statement! For most students, the total number of essays (including both new and adapted ones) usually ends up somewhere between 10 and 20, but it can be even higher depending on your school list.
Here's how it tends to break down:
1. The Common App essay is your big, 650-word personal statement, and you'll only write this once, using (with tiny tweaks) for most schools on the Common App and sometimes even schools on other platforms.
2. Supplemental essays: Most selective colleges want 1-3 medium-length supplements each (150-400 words). The most common are “Why Us?”, “Why this major?”, and questions about community, diversity, or intellectual curiosity. For example, University of Michigan asks for a community essay and a "why us"; Yale often asks for shorter responses plus a longer one about a quote or topic.
3. Short answer questions: These are sometimes as short as 35-100 words — and can pile up quickly, especially for schools like Stanford or USC, which are known for having several quick prompts (e.g., short takes on your favorite books, ideas, etc).
So, the total number of unique essays you'd draft depends a lot on:
- How much overlap there is between prompts at your schools (many 'Why Us?' or 'Diversity' essays can be recycled almost entirely, just tweaked for each college's specifics)
- Whether a school has multiple separate prompts rather than just one main supplement
A very typical breakdown for 10 colleges might be:
1 Common App essay
7-8 “Why Us?” or similar essays (many recyclable, each 100-350 words)
2-5 "Community"/"Diversity"/"Academic Interest"/"Intellectual Curiosity" essays (you can often adapt these)
A handful of 30-50 word short answers
All together, you might end up with 15-20 responses, but you’ll recycle and adapt key themes for efficiency.
Supplements are almost always shorter than your Common App essay; most fall in the 100-300 word range, though some have longer ones (like 400-600 words for a school like Chicago or Stanford).
Example: If you write a strong “Why Computer Science?” essay, you could tweak this for several tech-focused schools with small changes about course or faculty specifics.
The key for managing stress and workload is to draft core essays that you can adapt — don’t try to start from scratch each time. Many students keep a spreadsheet tracking word limits, topics, and their progress so nothing sneaks up at deadline time.
You’re not alone in finding this overwhelming, especially if writing isn’t your favorite subject! Spreading the work out and recycling essays when you can will make the process much more manageable.
Here's how it tends to break down:
1. The Common App essay is your big, 650-word personal statement, and you'll only write this once, using (with tiny tweaks) for most schools on the Common App and sometimes even schools on other platforms.
2. Supplemental essays: Most selective colleges want 1-3 medium-length supplements each (150-400 words). The most common are “Why Us?”, “Why this major?”, and questions about community, diversity, or intellectual curiosity. For example, University of Michigan asks for a community essay and a "why us"; Yale often asks for shorter responses plus a longer one about a quote or topic.
3. Short answer questions: These are sometimes as short as 35-100 words — and can pile up quickly, especially for schools like Stanford or USC, which are known for having several quick prompts (e.g., short takes on your favorite books, ideas, etc).
So, the total number of unique essays you'd draft depends a lot on:
- How much overlap there is between prompts at your schools (many 'Why Us?' or 'Diversity' essays can be recycled almost entirely, just tweaked for each college's specifics)
- Whether a school has multiple separate prompts rather than just one main supplement
A very typical breakdown for 10 colleges might be:
1 Common App essay
7-8 “Why Us?” or similar essays (many recyclable, each 100-350 words)
2-5 "Community"/"Diversity"/"Academic Interest"/"Intellectual Curiosity" essays (you can often adapt these)
A handful of 30-50 word short answers
All together, you might end up with 15-20 responses, but you’ll recycle and adapt key themes for efficiency.
Supplements are almost always shorter than your Common App essay; most fall in the 100-300 word range, though some have longer ones (like 400-600 words for a school like Chicago or Stanford).
Example: If you write a strong “Why Computer Science?” essay, you could tweak this for several tech-focused schools with small changes about course or faculty specifics.
The key for managing stress and workload is to draft core essays that you can adapt — don’t try to start from scratch each time. Many students keep a spreadsheet tracking word limits, topics, and their progress so nothing sneaks up at deadline time.
You’re not alone in finding this overwhelming, especially if writing isn’t your favorite subject! Spreading the work out and recycling essays when you can will make the process much more manageable.
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