The Decline of Written Supplements
Photo by Vitaly Gariev at Unsplash
My top choice school eliminated their supplemental prompt this year! Hooray? Oh no? Actually, it’s both. Here’s why that may have happened, why it’s both a pro and a con, and what you can do about it.
Why did it happen?
Volume and AI, mostly.
Volume. The number of applications that many highly selective institutions receive has been on the rise. Here is a stripped-down summary of the cycle: colleges get more selective → students apply to more schools in response → colleges receive more applications but admit the same number of students → acceptance rates go down yet again. Admissions offices struggling to effectively review so many applications are streamlining in order to reduce the load.
At the same time, some colleges are removing essay requirements in an effort to draw in more applicants. (How many times have we heard a student say: I threw in an application to Northeastern/Colby/Middlebury because they don’t have a supplement?) Pivoting to the no-supplement strategy is a reliably effective tool that admissions offices use to increase volume if they perhaps didn’t hit their enrollment targets in the prior cycle. It’s also a tool schools use to look more selective on paper: we received 30% more applications this year and our admit rate went down to 10%!
So for admissions offices dealing with a surge and those trying to inspire a surge, eliminating extra writing can be a good strategic move.
[Note that many of them attribute this move to access: fewer application requirements = fewer barriers to apply. This isn’t not true, but it also isn’t the whole story.]
AI. More students are using generative AI tools. This means that essays are becoming more generic and adding less value. This is not a suggestion to write your applications with AI—in fact, the opposite! But if the essays are proving to be less useful to admissions offices, then why read through a pile of them?
The upside.
Mostly, less work. Fewer essays means more time to do an excellent job on the supplements that you do need to write. Hopefully, this marks the end of those sad drafts that we see come December when everyone is tired and over it.
The downside.
Fewer opportunities to tell your story. Maybe you have both a strong STEM profile and a deep passion for service, but when you can only send your Common App essay and activities list, those pieces need to do some heavy lifting. It might be tricky to communicate your multifaceted skills and interests, not to mention your specific reasons for applying to that college, with just one piece of writing and ten experiences.
More applicants (and therefore more competition). Schools that eliminate writing supplements see a rise in applications, and those like Northeastern that have long avoided written supplements consistently have high volume.
So what can you do?
Be strategic about your Common App essay. Make sure that you pick a topic that is showcasing some experience, interest, or value that highlights the contribution you can make to a campus community rather than choosing a niche topic for the sake of being different.
Also be strategic about your Common App activities & experiences list. Spend time picking what to include and curate your descriptions to maximize impact, particularly highlighting awards and accomplishments, concrete deliverables, and quantifiable metrics (for example: boosted engagement by 25%).
Send extras (when appropriate). If you are a good candidate for a research or arts supplement (see related blog post here), send one. If a school allows for a video submission or an interview, take advantage. If you have extenuating circumstances (for ex: health challenges, family commitments, learning differences), use the “Additional Information” section of the Common App. When there are opportunities to provide more context or meaningful content, leverage them.
Show demonstrated interest. Colleges still want to accept applicants who they are relatively confident will matriculate. So, visit in person if you can, visit virtually if you can’t, attend regional admissions events, and otherwise engage with the schools on your list. If your top school has eliminated their writing supplement and offers a binding Early Decision (ED) program, give ED serious consideration.
In short, take this trend not as an opportunity to do less but to do more with less.
