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. However, while applying to multiple colleges, writing these supplemental essays take a lot of time and effort as well. In this article, we will go through the top colleges without supplemental essays. Additionally, we will also go through the advantage & disadvantages, and application tips.
Supplemental College Essays
A supplemental essay gives you an opportunity to tell the admissions committee about something you weren’t able to cover in your main essay. These supplemental essays are usually shorter than the main college essay, but they are equally important. Some colleges ask for just one supplemental essay while others may require several.
Supplemental essay prompts come in all shapes and sizes. In some cases, schools let applicants choose from several options. In addition to the Personal Statement, many colleges require applicants to submit supplemental essays. Students need to respond to a wide variety of topics like their most meaningful activity, their interest in a particular college or major, or an important community they belong to.
Supplemental essays give the opportunity to applicants to give more information to an admissions committee to further show why they are a good fit for a school. Prospective students should keep in mind not to repeat something that has already been covered in their main essay.
Pros and Cons of applying to colleges without supplemental essays:
Colleges do care about supplemental essays as your writing gives colleges extra insight into who you are as a person beyond your grades.
Strong supplemental essays give you an advantage in your application to many different schools is your chance to prove that you know what makes the school special and that you are excited to attend that particular institution.
Good supplementary essays highlight two points, that you are a good fit for a college and simultaneously complement the college by discussing its unique strengths.
Colleges that do not require a supplemental essay help students pad their numbers, apply to more schools, and have more options. It is recommended that most students apply to 8-12 colleges—that is two safeties, four targets, and two reaches. This strategy boosts you from getting into multiple schools, increases your options, and supports negotiating for more financial aid.
Key Advantage of Applying to Colleges without Supplemental Essays
Applying to many schools is time taking, especially considering that many schools require supplemental essays as part of their application. Applying to 10 colleges could mean that you need to write 10-20 extra essays. But there are many schools that do not have any extra essays beyond the Common App essay or personal statement; you can balance out your list without the additional writing.
Disadvantages of Applying to Colleges without Supplemental Colleges
Applying only to schools with no supplement would limit your options severely, and is not recommended. Supplement essays are proof of how much you care about a particular college and if you are really excited to attend a particular college, you will not mind extra application work; after all, it gives you a chance to show a college why they should accept you.
On the other hand, if you are turned off by writing a supplemental essay, it could indicate that you are not as excited about a school as you thought you were.
So, what should you do?
To conclude, supplemental essay requirements should not be your major deciding factor as to whether or not you apply to a school unless you are truly short on time. What is most important is whether or not you will fit in with the school academically and socially.
How to improve admission chances if no Supplemental Essays are required:
As you begin the college application process, you realize that applying to colleges can take a lot of work. Putting together a personal statement that helps demonstrate to colleges what type of person you are, an activity list, and supplemental essays are time-consuming and you spend months preparing it.
Over the years, the number of applications submitted to Common App, one of the biggest college application platforms, has increased. First of all, it is important to build a balanced college list rather than applying to only the most competitive schools keeping safety, matches, targets, career, major goals, financial aid, school size, location, and more.
Once this information has been gathered, students can start categorizing their school list into safety schools, match schools and reach schools. A mixture of these three types of schools can help you create a balanced college list- Safety schools. Match schools. Reach schools.
Key Components to Focus on while Applying to Colleges without Supplemental Essays
As you do not have to write essays, the only way you can convince admissions officers that you are a strong applicant is by taking advantage of the following components –
Personal Statement
The personal statement is a common essay that is submitted to all the colleges you apply and colleges that don’t require supplemental essays are no exception to this rule.
The most common of these are the Common App essay prompts. You only have to write about one of the prompts provided by the Common App. The word limit is 650 words, which is a very small number to narrate a powerful story without leaving out too many important details. At the end of the day, you can write about anything, as long as it tells a story unique to you.
Activities List
When it comes to building a strong extracurricular activities list, it’s important to prioritize your passions, career interests, and ways to establish yourself as a leader. Prestigious colleges want to see tangible achievements and commitment toward activities you enjoy.
If you see a gap in the activities at your school or find an opportunity to involve a greater community, go ahead and take initiative. Once you have built your extracurricular profile, make a list of your activities and describe what you did in order of impressiveness.
Letters of Recommendation
A college recommendation letter is a note from someone who knows you well academic or professional setting. Your teacher or counselor can do justice to this role, highlighting your best qualities and why they recommend you for a position or institution you’re applying for. In most cases, colleges require letters of recommendation from two persons; a teacher or a counselor who knows you the best.
List of Top Colleges without Supplemental Essays:
Liberal Arts Colleges that do not require Supplemental Essays
- Albion College
- Allegheny College
- Bates College
- Beloit College
- Coe College
- Colby College
- Colgate University (optional)
- College of the Holy Cross
- Connecticut College
- Denison University
- DePauw University
- Dickinson University
- Drew University
- Franklin and Marshall College
- Furman University
- Gettysburg College
- Goucher College
- Grinnell College
- Hamilton College
- Hanover College
- Hollins University
- Hope College
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Juniata College
- Kenyon College
- Middlebury College
- Muhlenberg College
- New College of Florida
- Oberlin College
- Rhodes College
- Ripon College
- Sewanee—University of the South
- Siena College
- Skidmore College
- Spelman College
- St. John’s College (essay optional except for Pharmacy program)
- St. Lawrence University
- Susquehanna University
- Thomas Aquinas College
- Union College
- Ursinus College
- Wesleyan University (there are essays only for international students)
- Whitman College
- Willamette University
- Williams College
National Universities that do not require Supplemental Essays
- Binghamton University
- Case Western Reserve University
- Clark University
- Clemson University
- DePaul University
- Drexel University
- Florida State University
- Gonzaga University
- Miami University
- Michigan State University
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Northeastern University
- Ohio State University
- Purdue University
- Seton Hall University
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Stony Brook University (Honors College has an essay requirement)
- SUNY Buffalo
- Temple University
- Tulane University
- University of Alabama
- University of Arkansas
- University of Colorado -Denver
- University of Connecticut
- University of Dayton
- University of Delaware
- University of Denver
- University of Iowa
- University of Minnesota
- University of Nebraska—Lincoln
- University of New Hampshire
- University of the Pacific
- University of Pittsburgh
- University of St. Thomas