How many essays are required for college applications?

The number of essays you’ll write for college applications really depends on your list of schools, but you're absolutely right that it can add up fast! Almost every student writes at least the main Common App personal statement (650 words), but after that, the supplements vary a lot by college.

Most selective schools have at least 1-3 supplemental essays, though some may ask for even more—think short answer questions, 'Why this college?' essays, diversity prompts, or community contributions. For example, if you applied to just 6 colleges, it wouldn’t be unusual to end up writing around 10-18 essays total, since some schools (like Stanford or the University of Chicago) ask for several. One student I know applied to 10 schools and wrote 22 essays!

But before you panic: Often the supplemental essays have similar themes or questions, like 'Describe an extracurricular activity you're passionate about' or 'Why do you want to attend our school?' With careful planning, you can recycle and adapt your essays for different colleges. For example, the answer to 'How will you contribute to our community?' at one school can often be adapted for a diversity or leadership prompt at another.

To make things easier:
- Create a spreadsheet to track which essays are required for each college
- Group similar prompts, so you can reuse or tweak essays when possible
- Start early—draft the personal statement first, then tackle supplements
- Don’t underestimate short answer questions; some 100-150 word prompts take as much time as longer ones

Nearly all seniors are in the same boat, and while it can feel overwhelming at times, it’s totally doable if you stay organized and pace yourself. Most students feel stressed at some point but manage to get everything done, especially if they break up the work over several months rather than trying to do it all at once.

If you narrow your list to 8-10 schools, you should expect to write around 12-20 essays in total, but the exact number depends on your schools and how strategically you can reuse content. Balancing them is about staying organized, giving yourself plenty of lead time, and not being afraid to ask for feedback on your drafts.