How to Recycle Supplemental Essays
Do you have limited time but multiple essays to write? If so, a good solution is to reuse supplemental essays you’ve already written. Continue to read to find out how.
1. Why Recycle?
Why should you reuse supplemental essays? Chances are you’ll be applying to several colleges during the college application process and they may require extra essay prompts to be answered. However, if you look closely, you’ll notice that the instructions for each college are remarkably similar.
That’s right: the prompts may look different, but the questions they’re asking of students are likely to be the same. For instance, the ones that inquire how you contributed to a community or pursued an academic interest are some of the most popular college essay prompts.
Therefore, to save time and improve the quality of your writings, consider reusing supplemental essays with similar topics.
2. Why You Shouldn’t Copy & Paste the Whole Essay
Please note that recycling essays does not mean copying and pasting the entire essay. There are two significant potential risks with doing this: first, a few word choices can completely ruin your chances of being accepted. For example, you might have mentioned the name of a specific college in the essay.
Another risk is that, although some prompts may look similar, they could require different structures or points to be made. Let’s say two colleges asked why you chose English Literature as the major you’re applying to. Even though the prompts are the same, the curriculums of the two colleges may be different. In this case, you need to do research on each college’s English Literature curriculum, and incorporate them in your essays.
3. How to Recycle Supplemental Essays
“Why this major” essay
Let’s start with the essay prompt we mentioned above. How can you reuse a “why this major” essay? First, go over the essay and summarize the events that piqued your interest in the major. And now you can reuse the main points from the summary!
However, make sure to change the points you make about wanting to pursue this degree further based on the curriculum provided by the specific college. Keep your career goals, but adjust how you plan to achieve them in college based on the activities and classes offered.
Key points to include: Events that made you interested in the major
Refinement tips: Research the curriculums of each college you’re applying to and incorporate them in your essays.
Example: Pick what field of study at MIT appeals to you the most, and tell us more about why this field of study appeals to you. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
“Why us” essay
I’m not going to lie — “why us” essays are a tricky prompt to recycle. However, that doesn’t mean it’s impossible!
First, read the “why us” prompt you wrote and summarize the points you made about how the college you’re applying to is different from other colleges. This can be anything from academic curriculums to culture.
Next, compare these characteristics to those of another college you’re applying to. Are there any similarities in their cultures or courses? Maybe both colleges have a residential college system or a core curriculum? These are the points you can reuse! Don’t forget to modify the specific names related to the college.
However, the colleges you’re applying to may not be similar in any way. In this case, although you won’t be able to recycle huge chunks of the essay you wrote, you can still repeat the same points such as a career path you want to pursue!
Key points to include: Similar characteristics of colleges
Refinement tips: Modify names of college systems (e.g.: Dartmouth’s D-Plan)
Example prompt: Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (Columbia University)
“Community engagement” essay
“Community engagement” essays ask you to elaborate on how you plan to contribute to diversity. Re-read the “community engagement” essay you wrote and summarize how you influenced a community you were part of. These are the key points you can recycle!
You must, however, distinguish your writing from now on. The colleges you’re applying to probably have different visions and characteristics. Choose a quality about yourself in the story that is relevant to the college you’re applying to and link the two together.
This is where you’ll have to start writing new paragraphs. One college, for example, may seek students who are committed to helping the community. But another college you’re applying to may be more interested in students who engage in social issues they’re passionate about. So, modify the qualities you derived from your experience according to the specific college!
Key points to include: How you influenced a community
Refinement tips: Modify the parts where you connected yourself to the college you’re applying to
Example prompt: What have you done to make your school or your community a better place? (University of California)
“Originality” essay
“Originality” essays are the prompts that ask you to discuss how you are different from other candidates. Read the essay you wrote and summarize the paragraphs where you talked about what made you the person you are now. What is a key message you want admissions officers to take away from your essay? Based on this message, modify the points or structures of the essay.
Key points to include: What made you the person you are today?
Refinement tips: Modify the points you made about a quality of yourself that you want to convey to the college you’re applying to.
Example prompt: Harvard has long recognized the importance of student body diversity of all kinds. We welcome you to write about distinctive aspects of your background, personal development, or the intellectual interests you might bring to your Harvard classmates. (Harvard University)
“Intellectual passion” essay
“Intellectual passion” essays ask you to elaborate on how you utilized your critical thinking skills. Summarize the paragraphs where you broke down the thought processes of a time when you questioned something mundane. Think about an aspect of yourself that you want to convey to each individual college. Connect that quality to the experience you wrote about in the original essay!
Key points to include: The thought processes you went through when you questioned something
Refinement tips: Modify the parts where you talked about a quality of yourself that can be derived from the experience
Example prompt: Tell us about a life situation, media story, or topic — beyond or outside of a classroom or formal assignment — that has captivated you, inspired your curiosity, and led you to delve more deeply into learning about a subject on your own. (California Institute of Technology)
Summary
- Recycle to save time and increase the quality of your essays!
- Don’t copy & paste the entire essay
- Modify the specific names of colleges’ courses or systems you mentioned
- Differentiate the points you made that are connected to the qualities of the colleges you’re applying to
