When the Common Application came along with the premise of making the college application process easier than the many individual applications for each college, students and teachers rejoiced.
That was then….
NOW, most colleges seem to have 3 or 4 of their own supplemental essays in addition to what’s asked on the Common Application. Why? Because they DO want to know more about you such as why are you applying to their school and what has been your most meaningful activity in high school (a prior question on the old Common App).
Some schools however, are bucking the supplemental essay trend and relying only on the Common Application. Why? Well, maybe because they’d like a LOT more applicants so they can have a more qualified pool from which to select. With no supplemental essays students might thing, “SURE, I’ll just throw one in because it’s easy.”
Or, maybe colleges just want a lot more applicants so they can reject more and their acceptance rates will go down making them appear more prestigious. Perhaps they don’t have the manpower to handle them all or maybe they’re just trying to make your life as a student a smidge easier during a tumultuous and stressful time. Whatever the case may be there are many great schools that don’t require supplemental essays.
If you are a senior, now is the time to get your college application essays done before senior year work ramps up. It can be overwhelming because many schools have supplements that have students addressing upwards of seven random essays IN ADDITION to the essay on the Common Application.
Some students, especially those late to the admissions game, will inquire about schools that don’t require supplemental essays simply for sake of ease as they’re running out of time. Regardless of why YOU want to know which schools don’t require any extra essays, we’ve got you covered. See below sample schools that don’t require extra essays this year.
SAMPLE LIBERAL ARTS SCHOOLS WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS
- Albion College
- Allegheny College
- Beloit College
- Coe College (Personal essay optional for students who meet Coe’s minimum academic standards)
- Colby College
- Connecticut College
- DePauw University
- Drew University
- Furman University
- Gettysburg College
- Goucher College
- Grinnell College
- Hanover College
- Hollins University
- Hope College
- Illinois Wesleyan University
- Juniata College
- Kenyon College
- Middlebury College
- Muhlenberg College
- New College of Florida
- Ripon College
- Sewanee—University of the South
- Siena College (Option to submit a graded paper in place of an essay on Sienna application)
- Skidmore College
- Spelman College
- St. John’s College (essay optional except for Pharmacy program)
- St. Lawrence University
- Susquehanna University
- Ursinus College
- Washington University in St. Louis
- Wesleyan University
- Willamette University
- Williams College (optional essay)
SAMPLE UNIVERSITIES WITHOUT SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS
- Baylor University (Short answer responses recommended)
- Binghamton University
- Case Western Reserve University
- Clark University
- Clemson University
- DePaul University
- Drexel University
- Fordham University
- Miami University—Oxford
- New Jersey Institute of Technology
- Ohio State University
- Purdue University
- Seton Hall University
- Stevens Institute of Technology
- Stony Brook University (Honors College has essay requirement)
- SUNY Buffalo (Some SUNY campuses have supplemental materials)
- 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
- University of Vermont
FLIP SIDE
Many colleges typically want more than what the Common App asks applicants and we definitely work with our students to craft a proactive approach to all those ‘extra’ essays. Whether your target list of schools requires supplemental essays or not, we’re here to help you share your voice, your vision and your true scholarly selves to the college admissions world.