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Harvey Mudd is an amazing college. It’s small, with under 900 undergraduates, and located in Claremont, CA. Its primary focuses are math, science, and engineering, but it’s a liberal arts school with strong humanities departments as well. Their supplements require thought and storytelling. We break it down below:

Ok! So we’ve covered , , , and now we’re in the final stretch of our Supplement Series: the 500(ish)-word answer. We’re adding ‘ish’, because (as you will see) these longer-form supplements have been known to range from 400 to a whopping 800 words, but the same strategy applies for all of them. Basically, each one of these is like a Common App essay where you don’t get to choose what you write about, but you should take it just as seriously. The awesome thing is that you are getting the intel on how to ace it from us, so they shouldn’t be a problem. If you want more, we even have that break down specific supplement questions, outlining our strategies for success! If we haven’t written a post on the supplement for a school you’re applying to, . While the tips below will give you a firm foundation, we’d love to help you build an amazing application :)

Welcome to the third part in our supplement series! We’ve covered , and , but most of the supplement questions come across fall into the 200-300 word range. Colleges like the 250(ish)-word length because it’s concise enough to be a quick read, but it gives the student enough space to either do a really good job or to raise some admissions red flags. We want you to do a really good job, so we’re here to help you out.

Welcome to the second part in our four-part supplement series! We have a bunch of that dig into specific supplements, but we get a lot of questions from students about how to address the word limits in their supplements more generally, so we decided to dig in, go deep, and help you write the best supplements you possibly can.

Supplements are annoying, supplements are hard, and supplements are really important. Really important. REALLY important. The common app essay matters because it shows a school who you are, but the supplements show a school why you should matter to them specifically. Think about it like this, the common app is the present, and the supplements are the bow on the present. You can be a perfectly awesome present, sorry, applicant, without that bow, which is why some colleges go supplement-free, but having an awesome bow can cover up mistakes in the wrapping job. If that makes any sense...Anyways, the point is that we put a lot of emphasis on supplements because they are the thing that many students forget to set aside time for. Fall rolls around, school starts up again, things get lost in the shuffle, and the supplements end up rushed. Let’s not let that happen.

Over the last few years, more and more schools have been adding one question to their supplement. Wake Forest, Columbia, Stanford, and MIT, among others, all ask their applicants to detail books that they are reading, have read, or just a list of a student’s favorite books. We’re noticing this as a growing trend, so we thought it best to connect with you on it. So how do you for these colleges’ supplements? The key is to keep it focused, as per usual, and keep it relevant. The more specific that you are in your choices, the better, and it’s an opportunity to highlight a specific or unique interest.

The Vassar College supplement, on first glance, seems relatively easy to tackle and somewhat straight-forward. What we’ve learned from years of advising students on this supplement is that a) it’s a bit more complex than it seems but also b) it’s more work than you think. There are three optional components. We implore you to explore at least two of those three, and not just because many students will overlook them (though that fact will help you). The first two responses are limited to 350 words. We assure you, 350 words is longer than you think. Keep that in mind when brainstorming. Additionally, we encourage students to keep Vassar’s culture and community in mind while they write this. Vassar is a free-spirited, very liberal place with a diverse community. This should be in the back of your mind while you’re writing. Let’s get going.

Dickinson College is a liberal arts school of about 2,400 students in Carlisle, PA. The campus itself encourages students to take a seat and observe the world around them—there are literally red Adirondack chairs scattered all around campus for students to take advantage of and do work in, sit with friends, or meditate. Students live on campus all four years and swear by their mascots: a red and a green devil. The green devil is regarded as the red devil’s environmentally conscious cousin. We break down this college’s supplement below:

Bowdoin College is a small liberal arts school in Brunswick, ME of about 1,800 undergraduate students. In addition to its location (truly in the middle of nowhere of gorgeous [albeit cold] Maine), Bowdoin has a number of unique offerings including the main pillars of the college, which are addressed in question 2. Their supplement contains three parts, all of which we break down for you below.

Barnard College is an all-women’s college in uptown New York City. 2,500 undergraduates attend Barnard, which has a unique relationship with Columbia University, just across the street. Barnard students are able to take advantage of the resources that Columbia has to offer paired with the smaller, more intimate community culture that is cultivated at Barnard. As such, Barnard is one of our favorite colleges. Its supplement has 4 questions, all of which are incredibly different. Our breakdown of the supplement follows:

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