Last Minute Tips to Finish Your College Application Supplements

It is almost the end of the year, and many high school seniors are spending their breaks trying to finish their college applications. Deadlines vary based on the specific school, but many selective colleges have deadlines in the first ten days of January. Here are some tips to get those supplemental essays finished and submitted on time.

1. Schedule time to write and make a checklist. You only have a few days left to finish your applications, so be disciplined.  Set aside time to work on your supplements and have goals of items to be completed at the end of each day. 

2. Strategize how you will answer each question on an application. If you haven’t done so already, review the supplemental questions next to your activities and interests list. Use your list as a guide for what to include in the answers to your supplemental essay questions. Try to fit in references to the activities and intellectual pursuits that are important to you. An important strategy for completing the supplement application questions is to look at all the questions as a whole and decide which aspects of your intellectual pursuits, extra-curricular activities, and personal interests you want to include. Ideally, each supplemental answer should tell the reader something different about you. Remember, if you are using the Common Application, the college admissions committee will also see that essay, so use the supplements to tell them something different about yourself.

3. Save the open-ended questions for last. If you are stuck on a supplemental essay question that allows you to choose the topic, such as Harvard’s additional essay question, it is fine to save it until you have completed other applications. As you work on your other applications, it should become clearer to you what you want to focus on for this kind of essay. Your goal is to finish all of the applications, but don’t waste time if you are stuck on a specific question. Move on and come back to it later.

4. Stick to topics, activities, and interests with which you are already familiar. The answers to these questions are the time for you to show what you have done and also what interests you have pursued. Try to discuss interests that you have explored in some way during high school, whether by joining a club or participating in some other extracurricular. Avoid off-hand references to interests you have not pursued because it may put you up against other students who have significantly more experience in that area than you do. Stick to your strengths.

5. Be specific in your answers. Illustrate why the activity or topic is interesting or important to you using specific terms. This is especially important in answering the “Why this College?” questions. You need to research the college and know about specific departments for this question, but it is also important to focus on yourself in your answer. Selective colleges know that they have good reputations, so focus on discussing the specific classes, majors, and extracurricular activities that you will participate in at that particular school and why these are of interest to you. 

6. Use the word limit effectively. The word count is there for a reason.  Try to fill in each answer with information about yourself, and try not to include empty words and phrases.  When you begin to draft your essay answers, try writing them without paying too much attention to the word counts because it is fairly easy to edit a good answer to meet the limit.

7. Don’t be afraid to show your personality. In the stressful circumstances of applying to college, many students feel nervous about showing too much of their personalities. However, you should use your supplemental answers to give the readers insight into your character. Be authentic, and do not try to force either humor or intellectual depth. Admissions readers can spot this from a mile away.

8. Reuse answers very carefully! Depending on how many applications you have to complete, the number of answers can be daunting. You can rework certain answers for different schools. For example, if you have written a 250-word answer about something you are passionate about, you can edit it and use it for a 50-word answer on another application. However, make sure that you do not have any references to another school name or other school-specific details.

9. Ask for help if you need it. Time is running short, so ask a trusted adult for help if you need it. Your answers need to be your own work, but it is fine to ask someone you trust, like a teacher, counselor, or parent, to proofread your answers. Just make sure that whoever it does not change any of your answers in a way that is not true to who you are. Parents especially have to be careful not to have a heavy hand in editing their children’s applications.

10. Submit the completed applications on time. All of your hard work will be wasted if you do not submit the applications on time. Know the deadlines, and try to submit them at least 24 hours before. 

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