Picture Yourself in College
Why supplemental college essays proliferate, why they are a fantastic tool for self-discovery, and how to write the most popular type
Color image of a brown-skinned, curly-haired young woman smiling while wearing a graduation cap and gown. Picture by Andrea Bucelli on Unsplash.
It's early October, and many high school seniors have finished the personal statement, their main college essay. Yes! But just as they breathe a sigh of relief, they realize that they have to write more essays. And the more they look, the more supplemental essays they see.
Many of these will need to be tailored to the particular colleges. These essays are a version of the question, "Why do you want to go to school here?" Here are some of the ways admissions phrase this prompt:
"Describe what you are looking for from your college experience and why Pitzer would be a good fit for you."
"Please describe how you have learned about and engaged with Tufts during your college search process."
"How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago."
Here is why this question is so popular. The Common App has made it easy to apply to twenty schools in an afternoon, and admissions offices are aware of that. As a result, many students are competing, but few have spent time wondering what the right choice of college might be for them. Through the "Why Us?" essay, the college can find out whether the applicant actually wants to be there--and why--or whether they simply worked their way down a ranked list and checked the boxes.
This is an important question that calls for active thinking and meaningful research. It is where the applicant can develop insight into what would work best for them in their college years and what colleges fit the bill. It is also one of the best ways to argue one's case for the school of one's choice.
The biggest barrier to starting this process is that the high school senior has to imagine the person they will be be next year. https://www.olgalivshin.com/post/the-college-essay-as-a-soul-searchthat future self is not yet fully formed in most high school seniors' minds.
Here is how to get through this challenge.
Tapping into your classroom self
What admissions staff are reading for is two types of knowledge: the applicant's awareness of what they want out of a college and their awareness of the offerings at a given school. We will tackle these one by one.
Typically, I see seventeen-year-olds who can imagine the setting of their next four years vividly. Perhaps it is because the college is in their town, so they are familiar with the area. Or they wish to go away to another part of the country, and the college's website feeds their imagination with photos of the quad in October, or the library at night, or a nice coffee shop.
This is not a bad place to start. The next step towards answering the essay is this question: Who am I in the classroom now, and who do I want to become in the next few years?
Next, the applicant should ask:What kind of setting would help me get there? If you are an applicant, take some time and throw around ideas by typing into a Google Doc or writing into a notebook or diary. This is not about a particular school, but rather a type. What kind of place would support you in your growth.
To help get started, here is one extended version of the question. Ask yourself: Would I rather...
A. Go to college that can help me learn a profession while providing a classic American blend of learning, sports, and socializing?
B. Have plenty of discussions about the meaning of society and the world with my professors and other students in a secluded place deep in the country?
C. Learn from the leaders in my chosen field?
D. Go to a college that is well-connected to its surrounding city, providing opportunities for hands-on learning through internships?
If you answered A, chances are that you would be happy at a state university or big private university such as Villanova University in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. If B, you might do well to go to a small liberal arts college, such as Skidmore College in upstate New York. If C, you may be driven to apply to a top research university, such as Northwestern. If you answered D, you have a wide variety of choices; many colleges are located in cities, and you should look to see if they have an established program to set students up with internships.
Looking outward
Having looked inside, let's look outside. Read individual department websites for your likely major to find course offerings. Then see if you can find two or three classes you would actually sign up for. Write them down and figure out what draws you in. If you can't find any classes that interest you, keep going down the list of colleges until you find one that has some.
Once you have two schools on your radar, compare and contrast the classes. What are some similarities and differences? Can you tell what a college specializes in, and does this match your interests?
After seeing if your classroom needs would be supported, find these colleges' pages on student life. See how you respond to each. Would you enjoy being at this university, with its vibrant student life, or that quiet college with a great library to study for long hours? Would you prefer a place that has amazing sports or a stunning concert hall and opportunities to listen to great musicians?
How about learning outside the classroom? If you are interested in internships, study abroad, a specific publication, ensemble, or clinic, look for these specifics. You will soon notice that colleges differ in their offerings, and not all of them will have exactly what you are looking for.
Next, go down your list, pick two schools, and repeat. Do this with the rest of the colleges or universities on your list. Comparing and contrasting allows you to get beyond the feeling of "we are in a ballpark of something good" and test colleges for specifics of what they can give you.
Nothing demonstrates real interest faster than an applicant who has a combination of self-knowledge and the ability to reach past the viewbook and do specific research. The more specific your research, the better.
The applicant can, and should, do this for all their colleges regardless of whether they require a "Why Us?" essay. It's a great tool for developing self-awareness and matching it in the world.
Writing the "Why Us?" essay: the issue of tone
Now that the applicant unleashed their imagination and researched their options, it will be easier to draft the essay. But there is one additional challenge that comes up: How do we show interest without sounding needy, overly excited, or way too sentimental about a college?
This comes up a lot, and for good reasons. First, the student who has conquered the giant task of imagining where they would be happy wants to convey that happiness, excitement, and lively interest. Second, whereas the personal statement gives a lot of leeway in terms of tone, the "Why Us?" essay is a bit like a love letter, addressed to a staff member who works for the coveted school and designed to explain what a great fit the college is.
Still, students would do well to remain polite and professional. They have not met the addressee, and the addressee has not met them.
Here are three suggestions that will help applicants craft the appropriate tone:
Don't compliment the college; this feels like flattering your way through the essay, which can be a turnoff. Instead of saying something is "awesome," convey your excitement about its opportunities by stating your interest in a subject or a student group, then paraphrase your feelings by writing, "I am excited / enthusiastic about [the opportunity]." You can also simply say that you would want to or would like to try various opportunities.
Convey your interest in a subject, major, or club with politeness and courtesy, rather than words you might use when texting with a friend. Here are some phrases that might help: "I want to / aspire to learn more about [a topic] / I would like to explore [a subject] / I would like to participate in / contribute to [name of a club or affinity group] / It would be a pleasure to participate in [name of an extracurricular program]."
Talk about what you imagine yourself doing at this school, but make your statements conditional upon acceptance. Rather than saying, "I can't wait to go to this class on gender and Shakespeare!", try, "If accepted, I would be excited to take Professor LastName's class on gender and Shakespeare." You don't have to say this in every sentence; saying it early in the essay, then using the conditional mood ("would") will signal that you realize you may or may not be accepted.
A Google search will show you many websites that pride themselves on reducing the time you would spend on college applications. But is it such a good idea? The next four years are a crucial time, and may be the only time in a human life when we can consider a wide variety of ideas with people who truly want us to learn. Spending a bit more time and energy on the question of where we want to go, then, is a meaningful investment.
A well-thought-out "Why Us?" essay can be a star in a student's college application: it argues for the fit and shows lively yet polite interest, helping the applicant stand out in a large pool of others.
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