How to Write the “Academic Interests” Supplemental Essay

If you’re a senior starting to work on supplemental essays for college applications this fall, it’s likely you’ve encountered some version of this question: what do you want to study, and why?

In this blog, we'll provide expert insights on how students can write about their academic interests in supplemental essay questions.

Key Takeaways

• Colleges use supplemental essay questions to assess cultural and academic fit, with a focus on why the student is interested in that college and what they hope to achieve through their studies.
• The most common "academic interest" questions students can expect to answer include questions about major selection, academic exploration, and intellectual curiosity. 
• Most colleges practice holistic admissions and consider every application component when making decisions. For this reason, supplemental essays will never outweigh academics or be the sole determining factor for a student's admission.

Table of Contents

• What are Supplemental Essays in College Admissions?
• Academic Interests Supplemental Essay Questions (and Examples)
• 4 Tips on How to Write the "Academic Interests" Supplemental Essay
• How Do Supplemental Essays Impact Admissions Decisions
• Frequently Asked Questions about Supplemental Essays

What are Supplemental Essays in College Admissions?

Supplemental essays are short essays that colleges require students to answer as part of their college application. Not every college asks for supplemental essays, but the majority of colleges will ask for a few responses from students.

Unlike the Personal Statement, a 650-word essay (topic of your choosing) submitted to multiple colleges, supplemental essays are unique to each institution. Colleges use supplemental essays to assess fit—academic and cultural. Some colleges look to learn more about the student's ambitions, goals, academic interests, or why they are particularly drawn to that college. It's for this reason that supplemental essays play a crucial role in the college application process.

Related: 5 College Essay Examples & What to Avoid

Academic Interest Supplemental Essay Questions (And Examples)

It’s important to understand what the question is asking (I know this seems like a duh, but stay with me). The way the "Why us?" question is asked reveals a lot about the school itself and how you should approach it. For some schools – many liberal arts colleges and universities where it’s relatively easy and encouraged to switch majors – this question is usually phrased as what you want to learn more about. Responses to questions like these should zing with curiosity. For others – more siloed universities where you apply to a particular college and into a specific major – this question is often asked to reveal how much thought you’ve put into your major of choice, both in how you’ve prepared for it and what you hope to do with it in the future.

For some students, if the way the question is asked makes it tough to answer, it may be a sign that the college itself isn’t the right fit. But for most students, it’s more about not knowing where to start. If you’re stuck with how to approach this style of question, this blog post is for you.

First, much like with the “Why us?” supplemental essay, it’s important to know what style of question you’re answering. Once you figure that piece out, the essay is much easier to write. This question usually is asked in one of three ways:

1) Why major?

This is the most straightforward version of the question. It's typically asked by schools focused on major selection. These colleges wnt to understand the following:

• Why are you interested in this major?
• How did you decide on this pathway?
• What do you hope to achieve in the future?

Sample: Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 word limit)

2) What do you hope to study?

This is a more open-ended version of the question above. It invites you to share multiple academic pathways, perhaps if you’re undecided or see many roads ahead for yourself. Popular colleges that ask a version of this question include CU Boulder, UPenn, and Pomona College.

Sample: Please share a bit more about your academic interests. What do you hope to study at CU Boulder? What has inspired your interests in this area? Or if you are undecided, what area(s) of study are you considering? Think about your prior/current coursework, extracurricular activities, work/volunteer experiences, future goals, or anything else that has shaped your interests.

3) Intellectual curiosity

This question is commonly found across liberal arts colleges such as Yale, Stanford, Tufts, Barnard, and Haverford. Since these colleges are known for celebrating academic discovery and exploration, questions about intellectual curiosity encourage students to reflect on what they hope to explore and achieve through their studies. 

Sample: The Stanford community is deeply curious and driven to learn in and out of the classroom. Reflect on an idea or experience that makes you genuinely excited about learning.

As you approach this topic, it’s important to remember that applying undecided does not mean uninterested.  Colleges want to hear your curiosity in these responses. You’ll likely change majors or pathways in college (frankly, it’s what most American colleges are built to encourage). But what leads to academic success is a spark of interest, so make sure you’re demonstrating those sparks.

4 Tips on How to Write the "Academic Interests" Supplemental Essay

Share honest stories about yourself and how you became interested in these subjects

Origins of interest sound like this:

"I've never seen my father angrier than the day I took our family television apart just to see how it worked. I was 12 years old, and Monday Night Football was just about to start.  It wasn't the first time I'd done something like that, but it was the first time I wasn't able to put something back together quickly. It took me three hours, but I did it, just in time for my dad to see his beloved Giants lose. I never made that mistake again, but I've also never stopped trying to learn how things work." 

The development of interests sounds like this:

"My junior year of high school, I volunteered to lead a fundraiser to send our soccer team to Europe to compete in a tournament. And while I enjoyed organizing the car wash and the donation drive and the now much maligned "shrimp-a-thon" (Sizzler doesn't mean it when they say, "All you can eat shrimp,” by the way), what I really enjoyed was crafting personal emails to ask for donations, and writing the regular update newsletters I sent to people who were supporting us, and updating the travel blog I wrote during our stay in Europe. Every day, I thought about new ways to share our story with people who might be interested. Yes, we raised money. But we also raised interest. People who had never cared about our team started caring. We developed a following of loyal supporters, and 18 guys who had never been to Europe finally got to go because of it. That experience was the first time I started to understand the power of the well-written word."

Pick stories that show you enjoying what you’re learning

Example:

"I truly enjoy working on complex math problems. There is no better feeling than persisting through difficult formulas and eventually working out the right answer." 

vs.

"My friends and I are the only people I know who have fights about math. Not physical fights (none of us are tough enough for that), but arguments. We spend a lot of our lunch hours sitting at what we call the ‘coolest table’ working through problem sets for the “Math Club,” and you’d be surprised how worked up we get about it. But I love it. I love that I can sit at a table with some of the smartest people at my school and argue about the best way to solve a complex math problem. And the best part is, nobody is ever angry when they’re proven wrong. We love math too much to be mad when someone shows us a faster, better way to solve the problem.”

If the questions “Why major?” or “What are your academic interests?” are asked, tie your interests to future college plans

Imagine yourself studying and learning in a particular college. Do you see a clear picture in your mind? Have you really investigated your chosen major? Have you looked at what classes are required, what will be expected of you, and what types of students seem to flourish there? And when you're answering those questions, how much of what interests you is specific to this school? If the question is more open-ended (version #2), you can paint a picture of multiple pathways – perhaps dabbling in music and biology or using their core curriculum to help you decide on psychology or political science.

If asked about intellectual curiosity, stay open-minded

Remember that your answer to this style of prompt doesn’t necessarily have to align with your potential major choice. We’ve seen great responses to this question that nerd out about Spanish literature from future physics majors, or the paradoxes of time from future English majors. Don’t box yourself into writing about your intended major pathway necessarily. Think instead of what has made you truly excited about learning in the past – whether it’s when you connected the dots in a murder mystery and explored the interplay of psychology and creative writing, or that time you went down a rabbit hole about parallel universes and never got out. These responses should sparkle with inquisitive excitement.  

How Do Supplemental Essay Responses Impact Admissions Decisions?

We've highlighted some of the ways supplemental essays impact decisions regarding fit, but this doesn't mean responses outweigh academics. In other words, a student must be academically qualified to attend that college before they even consider cultural fit.

In most cases, colleges practice holistic admissions, meaning every component of the application is taken into consideration. That said, there are certain situations where admissions committees may reference supplemental essays more to help them make decisions. 

Deferrals

A deferral is a college's way of saying "maybe." Deferrals often mean that colleges are missing key information about you before they can make a final decision. It's following the deferral notice when we encourage students to double down on their interests and reinforce what they highlighted in their supplemental essays (along with other key information, of course).

Related: What to Do When You've Been Deferred

Distinguishing Similar Applicants

Most college applicants meet the requirements to attend college. They have the GPA, the test scores, and are, without a doubt, qualified to take rigorous college coursework. What happens when 80% of applicants are qualified, and you only have room to admit 20%? This common occurrence is when admissions committees turn to essays to help them distinguish qualified and best-fitting students. 

Unfortunately, students will never know when committees are faced with this dilemma, but it makes crafting meaningful supplemental questions that much more important. Authentic supplemental responses that speak to a student's interests, ambitions, and excitement for college can make the job of admissions representatives that much easier. 

Frequently Asked Questions about Supplemental Essays

How Do Supplemental Essays Differ from the Personal Statement?

Supplemental essays tend to be shorter responses, with most colleges limiting word count to 100-350 words. They also ask direct questions whereas the Personal Statement is a more open-ended essay that can be written on virtually any topic a student selects.

How Many Supplemental Essay Questions Does the Average Applicant Write?

The number of supplemental essay questions a student can expect to write depends on the following:

1. The number of colleges they apply to
2. The number of responses required by a college in that application cycle
3. The major they select

The number of required supplemental essays can vary drastically from college to college, and even by major. Each year colleges release their supplemental essay questions between August and September for that application cycle. Students are encouraged to review each question early and take note of how many essays they'd be expected to write. 

While not true for every student, the average student can expect to write anywhere between 8-12 supplemental essay questions. In addition to the personal statement. 

Are The University of California's Personal Insight Questions the Same as Supplemental Essays?

In a way, yes. Although the UCs prefer not to use the term "essay" to describe their Personal Insight Questions (PIQs), they do follow the same structure and intention of traditional supplemental essay questions. 

Unique to the UCs and PIQs, students are presented with 8 prompts, of which they can select 4 to answer. Each response is limited to 350 words. 

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