Episode 5: Supplemental Essays Explained: How to Write “Why Us,” “Why Major” & Short Answers
Podcast Description:
Supplemental essays. The 250-word ones buried in the application portal that students look at on a Friday night, decide they have all weekend to write, and then somehow end up finishing in a Sunday night panic spiral. Sound familiar?
In this episode of Drop In, Lisa and Josh break down every major type of supplemental essay: what colleges are actually asking, what admissions officers are actually looking for, and how to write answers that sound like a specific human being instead of a Google search with a word count.
They cover the "Why Us" essay (it's a love letter, not a thank-you note), the extracurricular essay (your activity list already told them what you did, and now tell them why it matters), the perspectives essay (it's not asking you to win, it's asking you to grow), and the "Why This Major" essay (show evidence your interest exists outside the classroom). Plus...the sneakiest challenge in the entire supplemental process: those super short 50-word prompts that look easy until you're staring at a blank box for 45 minutes.
Real examples from Texas A&M, Georgetown, the University of Florida, Wake Forest, and UT Austin. And Lisa shares a story from her recruiting days that every student needs to hear before they hit submit.
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Timeline:
00:00 Welcome to Drop In!
03:23 Episode 5 Intro: Supplemental Essays Are Not What You Think
05:33 The "Why Us" Essay: How to Write One That Actually Works
10:06 Texas A&M and Georgetown: Real "Why Us" Essay Examples
11:36 The Extracurricular Essay: Show Don't Tell (University of Florida)
13:21 The Perspectives Essay: How to Write About Different Viewpoints
15:25 The "Why This Major" Essay: Show Your Curiosity Outside the Classroom
16:52 UT Austin and the "Why This Major" Essay: Specific Examples
19:41 Super Short Supplements: The Sneakiest Challenge in College Applications
20:20 Wake Forest and the 50-Word Essay: How to Write Less and Say More
22:51 Hot Take: The "Why Us" Essay Is a Love Letter, Not a Thank-You Note
25:49 Drop the Mic: Every Supplemental Essay Is a Conversation
27:05 Read the Mission Statement Before You Write a Single Word
27:42 Next Week: Standardized Testing, Test-Optional, and What It All Really Means
Josh: Every week we drop the noise and drop some knowledge.
Lisa: Drop the stress. Welcome to Drop In, the College Admissions Podcast by Decision Drop. If you would like to learn more about our services or have Josh and I help you and your family through this process, please head on over to decisiondrop.com and check us out.
Josh: I'm Josh.
Lisa: I'm Lisa. Let's go!
Josh: Lisa, how are you?
Lisa: I'm okay — I'm sorry, I just love when I say "let's go" and look into the camera. It's my favorite part about this whole podcast.
Josh: Hey, listen — whatever motivates you and gets you going, I think that's a good idea. And you know where else things are going? England. They're going home. Well, actually, they're not going home — they're going to the third place game.
Lisa: They are in Miami. They're going to Miami. They're coming to my home state.
Josh: We just finished watching an exciting game — exciting if you're an Argentina fan, not so much if you're a fan of England. I genuinely thought that England was going to win. I genuinely thought the stars had aligned for England to ascend to the World Cup final.
Lisa: I know — I felt it too. After England scored first I was like, this doesn't feel right. It feels like Argentina's going to come back. And sure enough, they did.
Josh: You know what it reminded me of? We're about the same age, so do you remember those old school slasher movies from the 80s? Where you thought the people who survived had initially defeated the villain — they knocked them down, turned around with a sigh of relief — and everyone in the audience is screaming "turn around, turn around." That's Argentina in this World Cup. They were down in the match before this one and came back to win three to two. Even when England was up, it just felt like they hadn't quite killed the villain yet. They turned around, sighed, maybe had some tea and biscuits — and Argentina got right back up.
Lisa: That's true. And I would like to say, on my FIFA bracket I have Spain winning. I've had Spain winning the whole time. Even though Korea is my team, I have Spain winning. And I get BTS in the halftime show — I feel like I'm winning out of everyone.
Josh: BTS is in the halftime show? I got Bieber. They keep adding people. What's going on with it?
Lisa: I know — hopefully this isn't just clickbait where BTS sings one song, but we'll see.
Josh: Well, I think everyone's pretty much rooting for Spain in this one.
Lisa: Well, I know the House of Clays is.
Josh: We shall see. Maybe Spain has learned their lesson — you can't turn your back on Argentina. You have to make sure they're fully finished before you start celebrating.
Lisa: One hundred percent. Here goes, let's see.
Josh: But this isn't a football podcast, so we will get back to our regularly scheduled programming. Lisa, episode five — we're five in now. Last week we talked about the personal statement, also known as the college essay, 650 words. And this week —
Lisa: We're going to stay on the essays, but we're going to zoom in on something that students, I think, consistently underestimate.
Josh: The supplemental essays.
Lisa: The supplemental essays — dun dun dun. I'm making my own sound effects. I know, I know.
Josh: We have to get sound effects. But anyway — with the supplemental essays, it's the ones that colleges bury in the application portal. It's that 250-word one that students sometimes think, you know what, I'm going to look at it on a Friday night, think about it, and then I have the whole weekend and I'll get to it on Sunday.
Lisa: Right.
Josh: And then Sunday morning becomes Sunday afternoon. Sunday afternoon becomes Sunday around dinnertime. Sunday dinnertime becomes Sunday night — and that's when the panic sets in. And that's when, in our experience, very questionable essays get written at a speed that doesn't produce anything good, let alone something that is going to resonate with a college admissions officer.
Lisa: True. And that is exactly how a student can tank an otherwise strong application. Because here's the thing — supplemental essays aren't a formality. They are a school talking directly to you, asking you specific things about them, about you, and about how the two of you belong together.
Josh: Yes. These essays are short — but short doesn't mean simple. Short means that every single word has a job to do.
Lisa: Every single word. One hundred percent.
Josh: Today we're going to spend some time talking about the most common types of supplemental essays, what colleges are actually looking for in each one, and some advice on how to write them in a way that actually works.
Lisa: I love it. Let's do it.
Josh: Alright — we're going to start with the most common supplemental essay question, and also the one that trips students up the most: the dreaded "Why Us" essay.
Lisa: The "Why Us" essay, Joshua. This is the one that could do so much work for a student, and yet students waste it all the time. So here's what I always say: when a student sees this essay on their application, before they put pen to paper or think about anything else — go read the mission statement. Before you look at the campus tour, before you scroll their Instagram or TikTok, before you start writing about the pretty library — go to the mission statement.
Josh: That's pretty important. Let's say that one more time.
Lisa: Read the mission statement before you do anything else, before you write a single word. Because the mission statement — here's the secret — it tells you exactly the kind of student the school is looking for. It tells you their priorities. It tells you what they believe their education is for. And if you can connect yourself authentically to that mission statement, you are already ahead of ninety percent of the students who just sat down to Google cool things about said university.
Josh: Exactly. Because what the "Why Us" essay is really asking is: why do you and this school belong together? It's not just "why do you like us" — it's asking the student to think about why this specific version of you fits into this specific community.
Lisa: Right. And we cannot stress this enough — do not write a "Why Us" essay that can be copied and pasted into any other school's application. I promise you, Josh and I can both agree on this because we have been on the other side. Admissions officers have read thousands of these, and they know immediately when a student just swapped out a school name and called it a day.
Josh: I've read some of those essays. You can tell right away — sometimes the student actually forgets to change the name of the school. But even when they do change it, there's nothing specific in there. Nothing that could only have been written by that student about that specific school.
Lisa: Right. So what does a strong "Why Us" essay actually do? It helps the college picture you there. Not because you told them how beautiful the campus is or that a professor is amazing — but because you showed them exactly how you would plug into their community from day one. Here's the question I want every student to ask themselves: what kind of student am I going to be on this campus? How will I participate? How will I contribute? And when I leave, will this community be better because I was a part of it?
Josh: That's exactly right. Colleges aren't just admitting students — they're building a community. They want to know that you're going to show up, contribute, connect, and add something real to the campus. So show them that.
Lisa: And please — do not write a "Why Us" where you list a professor's name, a student club, and a study abroad program and call it a day. That's not a "Why Us." That's a Google search with a word count. Admissions officers can tell when a student scraped the school's website for a few details to sprinkle in without connecting any of those things to who they actually are.
Josh: And that's the difference between listing and connecting. Connecting is what this essay should do.
Lisa: Right. And yes — I'm bringing back show don't tell from last week. Shocker, I know. Don't tell me you want to attend this university because it has a strong program and a diverse student body. That could be written about almost any school. Show me your curiosity that led you there. Tell me about the research you've been doing, the problems you cannot stop thinking about before you go to sleep, the book that changed your perspective, the project you started building before anyone told you to. Those are the connections. And then connect those to the school — what specific class, professor, lab, program, or opportunity is going to help you take that curiosity further? That is where the essay starts to feel real.
Josh: That's the difference between listing and connecting. And connecting is what this short answer question should do.
Lisa: Okay — let's give an example. How about Texas A&M? I'll go back to my recruiting days. Texas A&M has an incredibly distinct culture, one that is genuinely unlike any other university in the country. Love it or hate it — it's very A&M. The Aggie Network, the traditions, the Corps of Cadets, the commitment to service and community. If you're applying to Texas A&M and your "Why A&M" essay could have been written about any other large public school in Texas — I will not name names, even though it's kind of right over my shoulder —
Josh: Which school could you possibly be talking about, Lisa?
Lisa: Maybe my alma mater. But if you can swap it for any other large institution in Texas, you have not done the work. Because A&M isn't just a school. It's a community with a very specific identity. And if you understand that, you are genuinely going to be part of that community. So what does it mean that you want to be there? What are you going to bring to Aggieland specifically?
Josh: And another example — schools like Georgetown, which is very different from Texas A&M, but also has a very specific mission rooted in things like service, social justice, and global engagement. Taking the time to read their mission statement is essential because Georgetown is going to ask, in one way or another, whether you understand what they stand for. And if your essay doesn't reflect that understanding, it's going to feel tone-deaf no matter how well it's written.
Lisa: Right. Okay — so we've covered the "Why Us." Now let's move on to the second big supplemental type, and one we see a lot with the students we work with. The University of Florida specifically asks students to describe a meaningful extracurricular activity and explain why it's important to them.
Josh: And the immediate instinct again is for students to summarize, to narrate — basically just restate their activity list or their resume.
Lisa: Which is something you absolutely should not do.
Josh: Definitely not. The activity section on the Common App already tells them what you did. This prompt is asking you why what you did matters. What did it do to you? What did it reveal about you? How did it change the way you see yourself, other people, the world?
Lisa: So this is where show don't tell shows up again — shocker. Do not tell us you're a leader because you have "captain" next to soccer on the activity list. Show us what leadership actually looked like when nobody was watching. Tell us about a hard decision you had to make, a teammate who needed your help, the moment when listening was harder than speaking up. Tell us something we would never get from just reading your resume. That's what actually shows us you're a leader — not just tells us.
Josh: And connect it forward. What do your activities tell the college about the kind of student and community member you're going to be on their campus? They're not just asking about your past — they're trying to gauge your future. Who are you going to be on campus?
Josh: Okay — let's talk about the perspectives essay. The prompt usually sounds something like: describe a time you interacted with someone who had a different viewpoint than your own. What did you learn from that experience?
Lisa: Honestly, this is one of my favorites when a student does it well. And it's the most revealing when they don't.
Josh: What are they actually asking in this one?
Lisa: Great question, Josh. They're asking: are you curious about people who are different from you? Are you someone who can sit in discomfort? Because most people can't — let's be honest, even most adults struggle with that. Are you an active listener? Have you actually grown from this experience? The whole question underneath the question is: are you going to be a positive presence in a diverse community?
Josh: And the trap students fall into is picking a safe, nonspecific example — like learning about history from their grandfather — or going in the other direction and turning it into a story about how they were right and the other person was wrong.
Lisa: Neither of those works. The essay isn't asking you to win. It's asking you to grow. Show me the moment your thinking actually shifted. Show me the thing you walked away believing that you didn't believe before. That's the whole essay. Hard stop.
Josh: And don't be afraid to pick an example that's genuinely uncomfortable. Admissions officers aren't looking for students who only interact with people who already agree with them. They're looking for students who can engage with difference and come out more curious, not more defensive.
Lisa: One hundred percent. Okay — here's another one: the "Why This Major" essay. This one is especially important at schools that admit by major. If you're applying directly into a specific program, this essay is doing a lot of heavy lifting in your application.
Josh: And the version of the "Why This Major" essay that doesn't work sounds like: "I've always been passionate about biology. I want to be a doctor and help people."
Lisa: Josh, if I had a penny for every time I've read that sentence, I would be a gazillionaire.
Josh: And then we could afford some sound effects for this podcast. Maybe start collecting those pennies.
Lisa: I will start now. Okay — so let's break down what the "Why This Major" essay actually needs to do. It needs to show evidence that your interest in that subject exists outside the classroom. What have you explored on your own? What have you built, read, researched, created, or experimented with — not because a teacher assigned it, but because you were genuinely curious? That genuine love for learning — that's what they're looking for.
Josh: Genuine curiosity. Self-directed learning. The thing a student did because they just couldn't not do it.
Lisa: And here's the part students sometimes miss. They connect it to the school's offerings — but sometimes they overconnect it. So let's use UT Austin as an example. Don't just say you're excited about a highly ranked program or name-drop a professor. Show them why that specific program at UT makes sense for the questions you are already asking and the work you have already started doing. How does your curiosity continue there? How will UT give you a place to explore it more deeply? That is true whether you're interested in the Moody College of Communication — which has given degrees to some very important people, myself included — or the Cockrell School of Engineering. UT already knows what they offer. The question is: what are you going to do with it? Don't just say the names of the programs. Show them what you're going to bring.
Josh: And for students who genuinely don't know what they want to major in — which is completely fine and far more common than most people think — the "Why This Major" essay can become a "Why This Direction" essay. You don't have to have it all figured out, but you do have to show that your curiosity is real and that you've already been following it somewhere.
Lisa: What have you been interested in lately? What have you read, watched, or explored that wasn't assigned? What have you wondered about? That's your starting point. And then show the school how that curiosity connects to what they offer. And still — still — do not regurgitate your activity list. Reveal something about yourself that isn't obvious from your transcript. This essay, like every supplemental, is a chance to show a dimension of yourself that hasn't shown up anywhere else in the application.
Josh: And to put a through line across all of these supplemental essays — I'm going to borrow your favorite catchphrase, Lisa — the show don't tell principle applies just as much here as it did in the personal statement. These essays are short. There's nowhere to hide. If you're performing, it shows. If you're genuine, that shows too.
Lisa: The one that works is where a student sounds like a specific human being with a specific perspective writing about a specific school. That's the formula. Specific human being, specific perspective, specific school.
Josh: That's a lot of specifics. Okay — before we get to our hot take, I want to spend just a minute on something we haven't touched yet, and honestly something I think is the sneakiest challenge in the entire supplemental process. The super short supplements.
Lisa: Yes — the super short supplements.
Josh: We're talking about the ones that are fifty words, sometimes less. The ones that look so small you might scroll right past them — until the portal tells you something is missing.
Lisa: And then when you sit down to write them, you realize they might actually be the hardest thing on the entire application.
Josh: Wake Forest is one of the best examples. They're consistently recognized as having one of the top supplemental essay experiences in the country. They ask questions that are genuinely thoughtful, specific, and really short. Things like "What Moves You?" or "What Is Your Top Ten List?" I was working with a student just the other day on that top ten prompt — they stared at it and said, "Top ten of what?" That's the point. It's YOUR top ten list. You have to answer that in a very limited word count without getting to fully explain it.
Lisa: It's your perspective. You get to be creative. You get to do whatever you want. One of my favorites was a student whose last name was Wood — and for their top ten list, they wrote their favorite kinds of wood. I loved it. Another student wrote the most obscure quotes from The Office. But students sit down thinking "it's just fifty words, I've got this" — and then they stare at a blank box for forty-five minutes.
Josh: Because here's the thing about super short supplements: you have no room to warm up. No time to set the scene, build context, or ease into your point. You have to land immediately. The very first word has to be doing something. Every sentence has to carry weight.
Lisa: And the show don't tell principle is even more important here. You cannot have a vague opener. You have to trust that the reader is going to meet you where you start — and start somewhere real.
Josh: My advice when working with students on super short supplements: write them long first. Don't worry about the word count. Give yourself two hundred, two hundred and fifty, three hundred words. Get everything out. Then start cutting. What survives that process is usually exactly what the essay needed to be the whole time. The fluff falls away and what's left is not only what matters — it's actually a really good supplement.
Lisa: And after you cut it down, read it out loud. At fifty words, one clunky phrase is a quarter of your essay. It has to sound exactly like you. Clear, specific, real. That's the formula.
Josh: And these are not throwaways. At a school like Wake Forest, these short supplements give the admissions office a window into who a student actually is. So these aren't the ones you leave until Sunday night.
Lisa: Look at that circle back — because we already know what happens on Sunday night. It's not good.
Josh: Right. Okay — it is our Hot Take or Hard Truth segment. My hot take this week is about the "Why Us" essay. Students treat it like a thank-you note when it's actually a love letter to the college. Your "Why Us" essay should show that you did the work — that you know this school, that you thought seriously about why you and this specific institution belong together. A generic "Why Us" doesn't just fail to help you — it can actually work against you, because it signals to admissions officers that you haven't really thought about whether you actually want to be there. And if you haven't thought about it —
Lisa: Three thousand percent. And can I add one thing? Go back and read every supplemental before you hit submit. Every single time. When I was recruiting for UT Austin, I saw multiple students submit essays that ended with "that's why I want to go to Texas A&M." And when I was recruiting at Texas A&M, I saw plenty of A&M essays that ended with "hook 'em" — which was a very big no-no. It's not because those students weren't trying. It's because they were rushing. So my hot take: slow down. Reread every word. That thirty-second check can save you from the most avoidable mistake in this entire process.
Josh: Bingo. Okay — it is Drop the Mic time. Lisa, take us home.
Lisa: Here is what I want every student to sit with after this episode. Every supplemental essay a school asks you to write — think of it as a conversation they want to have with you. They are not giving you busywork. If a school puts something on their application, it's because they genuinely want to know the answer. Why would they ask if they didn't? So give them that. Connect yourself to their campus — not through a list of things you found on their website, but through what you actually like about it. Put yourself in their shoes and tell them what you are going to bring to the campus. Show them the student you're going to be in their community. Show them that you're going to show up, contribute, connect, and leave that campus better than you found it. That's what makes a supplemental essay work. Not the word count, not the polish — the realness.
Josh: And my final thought for students this week: go read the mission statement of every school on your list before you write a single supplemental essay. Reading that mission statement will tell you more about what the school is actually looking for than any rankings list, any college website tour, any advice video you find on social media. Read the mission statement. Then write the essay.
Lisa: That's it, Josh. And kiddos — that's the work. It's not glamorous, it's not a shortcut, but it is absolutely worth doing well.
Josh: Next week, we're shifting gears entirely. We've spent two weeks on essays. Next week, we're going to talk about something that causes a whole different level of stress for students and families.
Lisa: Standardized testing. The SAT, the ACT, test-optional policies, what those policies actually mean, and the question every family is asking — should the score go on the application or not?
Josh: Because test-optional does not mean test-blind. And that distinction matters a lot more than most families realize.
Lisa: Because the answer is not always send it, and it's not always hide it. The answer is — it depends. Which we know is the most annoying answer we can give you in this process. But we're going to explain why. You're going to want to tune in next week.
Josh: Definitely don't miss it.
Lisa: Remember — we're Decision Drop, making your college journey collaborative, simple, and most importantly, yours. If you want to learn more about our services or have Josh and I help you through this process, please head over to decisiondrop.com and check us out.
Josh: Alright — thanks for dropping in. We'll see y'all next week.
