Syracuse is a private research university located in Central New York about an hour away from Lake Ontario. Founded in 1870, the university is comprised of thirteen schools and boasts 200 majors, 100 minors, and 200 advanced degree programs. With nearly 15,000 undergrads, Syracuse is no small school upstate. The University has something for everyone, but they are very proud of their D1 sports. You don’t have to love sports or play sports to go to Syracuse, but you might want to take in a basketball game while you are there. Their acceptance rate is around 45%, though to certain programs it can vary slightly.

Villanova is a private, Catholic research school in Villanova, Pennsylvania. An NCAA Division I school, Villanova is known for its athletics. There are 6,800 undergrads. The acceptance rate was 25% for the class of 2025. The supplement is pretty straightforward, but what’s interesting about Villanova is they offer a number of on their website. Be sure to check those out before you get started. Here’s some advice on how to tackle the supplement:

The College of William and Mary is a medium-sized, public research university located in historic Williamsburg, Virginia. It is the second oldest college in the United States, being founded in 1693 by King William and Queen Mary. W&M is known mostly for their STEM programs, and has an acceptance rate of 37.7%.

Colorado College is a small, private liberal arts college located in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Colorado College is known for their innovative “Block Plan,” in which students take one class for three and a half weeks, and then have almost five days off between blocks. Their acceptance rate in 2020 was 13.5%, and they only have one supplemental question. Shocking no one, it asks about the Block Plan. We’ve covered Colorado College before, but the questions have changed from last year. Let’s dive in.

Colgate University is a small, private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. Colgate is famous for its dedication to environmental consciousness, and went carbon neutral in 2019. Sustainability is a big mission for Colgate, and it is incorporated into every part of their campus, from the classroom to the dining hall. It is also known as a “Hidden Ivy” or “Little Ivy” and has a 22.6% acceptance rate. We recently did an analysis of how they’ve changed their admissions process here.

William Marsh Rice University, better known simply as Rice, is a private research institution in Houston, Texas. Rice boasts eleven residential colleges and eight schools of academic study. TLDR: they have a lot of programs. Rice sits right next to Houston’s Museum District and Hermann Park. Their acceptance rate hovers for regular decision, but jumps up to 20% for early decision candidates.

Colby College is a small, private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It is one of the most selective liberal arts colleges around, with a 9.7% acceptance rate and a little under 2,000 undergraduates in total. Colby also doesn’t have a supplemental essay. We can see the light go out behind your eyes as you realize this is a whole article on how to write the Colby College supplement. “But TKG,” you say, “there is no supplement!” Not with that attitude!

Washington and Lee is a small liberal arts school in Lexington, Virginia. While it’s one of the oldest schools in the nation, It only became a coed school in the 1980s. Washington and Lee is a liberal arts school through-and-through. There’s also a big emphasis on the outdoors and the surrounding Shenandoah Valley environment. The school is known for its semester scheduling, with a short spring semester where students focus, in-depth on a single course. There are about 1,800 undergrads and the acceptance rate for the class of 2025 was 19%.

Brandeis is a private university located just outside of Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts. Named in honor of the first Jewish Supreme Court Justice (Louis Brandeis), the school maintains a strong secular Jewish identity. Brandeis has an acceptance rate of 29.9%, and slightly under 6,000 undergraduates.

Smith College is a women’s liberal arts college in Northampton, Massachusetts. There are about 2,500 undergrads, making it the largest of the Seven Sisters women colleges. Smith is part of the Five College Consortium with which students can take classes at all of them. The acceptance rate is about 31%. The supplement is short and prompts creativity, much like Smith itself.

Bryn Mawr is a women’s liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1885 as part of the Seven Sisters, seven women’s colleges founded as educational equivalents to the traditionally all-male Ivy League schools. Bryn Mawr is a pretty tiny school, with around 1,300 undergraduates. Their acceptance rate hangs around 33%.

Harvey Mudd College is a private college located in Claremont, California. With less than 1,000 undergrads, Harvey Mudd itself is tiny, but the college is a part of the Claremont Colleges consortium. The Claremont Colleges is made up of 7 schools all located in Claremont, and they all share a central library. Pretty cool. Harvey Mudd’s specialty is STEM, and has a 14% acceptance rate.

Carleton College is a private liberal arts college located in Northfield, Minnesota, with only around 2,000 students. Carleton offers 34 majors and 36 minors, ranging from a minor in Biochemistry to a major in Physics and their acceptance rate is 19%. The questions for Carleton’s supplement have changed from last year, with our least favorite section becoming the main question -- but no fear, we’ve updated our guide to help you navigate this year’s supplement.

Claremont McKenna College is a small, private liberal arts college located in Claremont, California. It is a part of a consortium called the Claremont Colleges that shares resources with seven other colleges in Claremont. Each school specializes in something different, and Claremont McKenna is mainly focused on degrees in the social sciences, like government and economics. CMC has roughly 1,300 undergraduates and has a 10.3% acceptance rate.

Haverford College is a small liberal arts college in Haverford, Pennsylvania. All students live on campus for all four years. The acceptance rate was 17.8% for the class of 2025. As you’ll be able to see in the below (long!) prompt, the Honor Code is quintessential to the school’s ethos. They take it pretty seriously. Classes are small and largely seminar-based. The nice thing about supplements is they give the applicant a chance to get a sense of the school’s vibe. They’re telling you what’s important to them in their incoming classes below. Make sure you read everything carefully before diving in:

Pomona College is a liberal arts college located in Claremont, California, and is a part of the consortium known as the Claremont Colleges. The Claremont Colleges (sometimes known as the 7C’s) share a central library and have adjoining campuses with shared resources. With under 1,400 undergraduates, Pomona is tiny, but for many, that is part of the draw. Pomona had an for the class of 2024, making it a very selective school.

Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The school was initially founded in 1900 as Carnegie Technical Schools and has a little over 7,000 undergraduates. The school also has degree-granting campuses in Silicon Valley and Qatar, among others. CMU has a 15% acceptance rate. Their Common App has three supplemental questions, which we gotta say, aren’t bad.

Boston University (BU) is a private research institution located in--you guessed it--historic Boston, MA. With more than 34,000 students (undergraduate and graduate) Boston University is actually the biggest school in the state of Massachusetts. Boston University has an overall undergraduate acceptance rate of 19%, and an Early Decision acceptance rate of 30%.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The acceptance rate for in-state students for the class of 2025 was 47% and the out-of-state acceptance rate was 13%. There are about 19,000 undergrads.

Pitzer is a private liberal arts college in Claremont, California, about 30 minutes outside of Los Angeles. It’s part of the larger Claremont Colleges comprised of five schools. Pitzer places a large emphasis on sustainability, among other values (more on that below). Its dining options are also consistently rated some of the top in the nation. The student body consists of about 1,000 students and the acceptance rate is 18.3%