Common App Essay vs Supplement: Which Carries More Weight?

Hey everyone, stressing a bit here. I've been working on my Common App essay and it’s coming along, but I just started looking at the supplements for the schools on my list. So, I gotta know, how important are those supplements compared to my main personal statement? Should I be putting just as much effort into those? Thanks!

The short answer is that both are crucial components of your application, as they play different roles in creating a comprehensive picture of who you are. For most schools, the Common App essay is a chance to see your personality and values at a high level. It's the only essay every college you apply to through the Common App will see, which is why it's so important. Since you're not catering your response to any one school or group of schools, what you say is entirely up to you, and that freedom means schools can learn a lot about you based on what you choose to include.

Supplements, on the other hand, are a way for colleges to gauge your interest in their specific institution and to determine how you might fit into their community. While there are certain values like intellectual curiosity, open-mindedness, and altruism that all colleges value, each school also has its own set of criteria that it looks for in applicants, which can vary slightly from one institution to another.

Ideally, you should put equal effort into crafting both your Common App essay and your supplemental essays. You also want to make sure you aren't repeating yourself in your responses—if you wrote your Common App essay about volunteering at your local animal shelter, and you have to write a supplement about an extracurricular activity, you should probably write about something else, so that admissions officers learn something completely new about you from your response.

If you want help with any school's particular supplemental essays, you can check out CollegeVine's essay breakdowns on our blog. Best of luck!