Supplemental essays
Each school writes its own supplements, so a list of ten colleges can mean twenty or thirty short essays, often in the last weeks before a deadline. More than half of the essays I have reviewed on Sundial since August 2024 were supplements, and the typical one ran about 300 words.
The most common prompt asks why you want to attend that school. I read those answers with one test in mind: if you could replace the school's name with another and change nothing else, the essay has not answered the question. A supplement should also say something your personal statement has not already said.
One supplement costs $25 plus $0.20 per word. When a school asks for several, the Supplement Set costs $75 plus $0.14 per word and usually costs less once you have three or more. I read a set together so the essays do not repeat each other.
Words/Price
Draft/Measure
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Deadlines
Only the University of California date is specific. The others are common dates for this cycle, and each institution sets its own.