Over the past year, I've noticed a growing trend among colleges and universities: some are reducing or eliminating supplemental admission essays.
Many students will welcome the change. After all, fewer essays mean fewer deadlines, less writing, and one less task to complete during an already busy senior year.
But I think there is a bigger story unfolding.
Colleges are receiving more applications than ever before. Many institutions now review tens of thousands of applications each year, with some receiving well over one hundred thousand. At the same time, colleges compete for visibility, rankings, enrollment goals, and market share. From a practical standpoint, reducing application requirements makes it easier for students to apply.
A student who might have removed a college from their list because of an additional essay can now submit an application with relatively little additional effort.
The result?
More applications.
Yet there is another side to this equation that students and parents should understand. While fewer essays make it easier for you to apply, they also make it easier for everyone else to apply.
As application barriers decrease, applicant pools often increase.
Reduced requirements do not necessarily make admission easier. In many cases, they simply create more competition.
There may be another factor at work as well.
For years, supplemental essays provided colleges with additional opportunities to learn about applicants. Today, admission offices understand that essays may be reviewed by parents, edited by counselors, and increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence. As a result, colleges are evaluating which pieces of an application provide the most meaningful insight into a student's preparation, interests, and potential fit.
Regardless of the reasons behind these changes, I believe students and families should avoid focusing too much on the essays themselves.
The application is not the goal.
It is simply the evidence.
Students sometimes assume that applications tell colleges who they are. In reality, applications reveal what students have done.
The courses they chose to take.
The responsibilities they accepted.
The interests they pursued.
The challenges they faced.
The ways they invested their time, energy, and talents.
Long before applications are submitted, students are building the evidence that colleges will eventually review.
This is why I encourage families to focus less on creating the perfect application and more on helping students understand themselves. When students develop self-awareness, pursue meaningful opportunities, challenge themselves appropriately, and engage deeply in their interests, they naturally build stronger applications.
More importantly, they build stronger foundations for college and life beyond college.
The goal is helping students understand themselves well enough to make thoughtful decisions about their education, their opportunities, and their future. When that work is done well, the application becomes a reflection of the journey rather than the purpose of it.
Whether a college requires ten essays, two essays, or none at all, students still face the same fundamental question:
Who are you, and what evidence have you provided that demonstrates it?