supplemental essays william and mary

College of William & Mary 2024-25 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 5

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College of William & Mary 2024-25 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: Two essays of 300 words or fewer

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Community , Why , Oddball

How to Write William & Mary Supplemental Essays

W&M offers five options for your supplemental essay(s) and gives you the option of writing one or two. Read them carefully, as you may be able to recycle something you’ve written for another school! (Talk about living sustainably!) W&M wants to fill their class with students who are “seeking to be challenged & engaged & inspired,” so choose the prompts that challenge, engage, and inspire you to share something admissions can’t learn about you in the rest of your application. And when a college offers you the chance to tell them more about yourself, you should take it, so we recommend drafting that second essay. Keep reading to learn how to write winning W&M essays!

William & Mary Essay Prompt Breakdowns

William & mary is a community that fosters deep human connection. we reflect on the lessons of history to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. we engage diverse perspectives and seek wisdom in bridging differences. together, we are unceasing in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in our communities, the state, the nation, and the world., to help us learn more about you, we invite you to share additional information by answering up to two of these optional short-answer prompts. think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy. (300 words each), are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community.

This is a classic Community Essay, through and through. Tell admissions about a community you are a part of and what significance it holds in your life. Then think about how your involvement in that community will impact the way you show up at W&M. What you address can be a larger cultural community—think race, sexuality, religion—or as specific as your after-school knitting club. Address the role that your community plays in your life, then consider why your particular background or experience within this community will enrich W&M’s campus once you step onto the scene. How will it help inspire and/or inform others? What is important to you and how will your experiences in communities bring something of value to William & Mary?

Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

This prompt will likely jump out to applicants who have a specific major or future career path in mind. To prevent your essay from reading as generic, try to tell a story about the origin of your interest in your chosen area of study or career and be as specific as possible when exploring your interest and motivation. Look ahead five or ten years and imagine what you’d like your professional life to look like. Maybe you’ve been interested in the human brain ever since you were an inquisitive little kid. Will William & Mary’s Neuroscience major aid you on your quest to understand humankind? Perhaps you come from a family of entrepreneurs and you dream of running your own business one day. How will a W&M education help you to achieve your goal? Build a bridge between your past and your future for admissions so they can see your commitment and demonstrated interest in this field. 

How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?

Admissions wants to know what has made you who you are. What has shaped you as a person and how has that made your perspective unique? What you write about can really run the gamut because admissions is giving you a lot of leeway here. Maybe you’ve lived on multiple continents, which has shaped your worldview and made you feel like a citizen of the world. Perhaps you’ve spent every summer at your grandparents’ farm since you were little, where you learned the value of hard work and developed relationships with the animals that you cherish to this day. Whatever story you want to tell admissions here, be sure to infuse your essay with as many details as possible in order to set yourself apart from other applicants.

What led to your interest in William & Mary?

This prompt will likely speak to those of you who feel very confident that William & Mary is the school for you. If that’s the case, lean in. To ace your response, you will want to: (1) demonstrate a solid knowledge of what the school has to offer, (2) leverage that knowledge to clearly show your interest in the school, and (3) connect your past experiences to the ones you hope to have in the future at William & Mary. Start by researching William & Mary (if you haven’t already), directing your attention to the departments, majors, and other opportunities that interest you. What do you want to learn? Read about professors and notable alumni in your field—is there any research going on or awards that interest you? Pick out classes to take and clubs to join, visualizing yourself there. Then connect your interests to experiences you’ve already had to demonstrate fit. For example, if you’re excited about a certain major, have you already taken classes or joined clubs related to that academic area? Stellar answers will also demonstrate a mutually beneficial relationship—their community would gain as much from having you there as you would from attending.

Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.

William & Mary wants to accept students who possess qualities such as resilience, determination, and humility, so tell admissions about a time when you faced a challenge or adversity and how that experience has shaped the person you are today. Once you have a topic in mind, be sure to summarize your challenge in as few words as possible; that way, you’ll have plenty of room to discuss the impact it had on you, what you took away from the experience, and (if you have any extra words at your disposal) how you will apply that insight to your time at William & Mary. Admissions wants to accept thoughtful, reflective individuals to campus, so show them that you fit the bill!

If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

Admissions is giving you the opportunity to think fast, not hard, and roll with the punches—so, take advantage! Maybe you want to encourage admissions to stop by the old diner in your town; you know, the one with photos of Frank Sinatra on the walls, where you have dinner with your grandparents every Sunday. Perhaps a visit to your town is never complete without a visit to the quirky downtown district to check out the latest street art, where you may or may not have left your own mark. Whatever it is about your hometown that you think is worth noting, make sure to connect your answer back to you. After all, like every prompt, this is an opportunity for admissions to get to know you better, wherever you come from.

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How to Write the College of William & Mary Essays 2024-2025

The College of William & Mary, located in the easternmost part of Virginia, is the second oldest institution of higher education in the country, just after Harvard. As such, the school has educated some of the earliest and most influential names in American history, including Thomas Jefferson, John Marshall, Henry Clay, and George Washington. It has since been designated a Public Ivy , signaling its exceptional academics.

Given the caliber of a William & Mary education, it’s no surprise that gaining admission here is competitive. On top of impressive grades and extracurriculars, you will also need unique and compelling essays to set you apart from the crowd. So, although this institution doesn’t require you to submit any supplemental essays, we  strongly  encourage you to do so, and in this post will explain in detail how to ensure your responses are effective.

Want to get personalized odds of acceptance at William & Mary? Calculate your chances for free right now!

College of William & Mary Supplemental Essay Prompts

All applicants (optional).

Prompt: William & Mary is a community that fosters deep human connection. We reflect on the lessons of history to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world. We engage diverse perspectives and seek wisdom in bridging differences. Together, we are unceasing in our efforts to make a meaningful difference in our communities, the state, the nation, and the world.

To help us learn more about you, we invite you to share additional information by answering up to two of these optional short-answer prompts. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy. (300 words each)

Option A: Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?

Option B: Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

Option C: How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?

Option D: What led to your interest in William & Mary?

Option E: Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual. 

Option F: If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

St. Andrews Joint Degree Program Applicants

As an applicant to the joint degree programme you are required to submit an additional 1500–2000 word essay outlining your interest in the particular academic area to which you are applying – classical studies, economics, english, film studies, history, or international relations; and what particularly interests you about the jdp in your chosen major. be as specific as you can. demonstrating that you are familiar with the jdp website—its policies and curriculum—will be helpful to your application, as will examples of your ability to take on a particularly challenging, as well as rewarding, educational experience that demands adaptability, flexibility, and an appreciation for other cultures and institutional practices., all applicants, option a, are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community (300 words).

When it comes to a diverse community essay , many students feel like it has to be a racial or ethnic community, so they avoid choosing a prompt like this because they feel like they don’t have a valuable contribution. That couldn’t be farther from the truth though! Communities can take any shape or form, from extracurricular clubs to sports teams and from online communities to religious groups! Anyone can write a great essay if they just think deeply about some “nontraditional” communities they might be in.

A quick note if you intend to write about your racial or ethnic community: In June 2023, the United States Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions. The ruling, however, still allows colleges to consider race on an individual basis, which is one reason many schools are now including diversity prompts as one of their supplemental essay prompts.

If you feel that your racial background has impacted you significantly, this is one place to discuss that. You might also consider writing the next prompt instead if you want to dig deeper into how your background has affected you.

For this prompt there are two crucial things you need to do.

• Describe a meaningful community you are part of, your role in it, and its impact on you.
• Explain how you will contribute to, and what you will gain from, the William & Mary community.

In order to better understand each component of the essay, let’s look at each in greater detail.

Describe an Existing Community

Your essay should start off by discussing a community that you’re currently a part of. The community you pick should be one that is meaningful to you. Meaningfulness can vary from person to person—you might think a community where you’re a leader is meaningful, while another person might think a community that connects them to their culture is more meaningful—so it’s important that you make it clear why you find your chosen community important in your essay.

The essay should include a thorough description of the community. For example, telling us, “Every January or February, the Chinese families in my neighborhood gather for a giant Chinese New Year celebration,” doesn’t provide us much imagery to understand the community.

In contrast, these sentences provide a wealth of information with their use of imagery:

“Crimson and gold dragons danced around the room, which was crowded with dozens of Chinese families hugging and wishing each other a lucky New Year. Crispy chun juan, sugary-sweet tang yuan, and steaming changshou mian adorned the tables, drawing the attention of hungry youngsters.”

In addition to describing the community, you should also establish the role you play in the community. This helps the admissions committee to better understand your involvement with the community and to think about the role you’ll play in the William & Mary community one day. 

Finally, explain the impact of the community on you . This part is extremely important because it allows for self-reflection and lets you demonstrate how you’ve been shaped by the community. The impact could be emotional (for example, feeling like you’ve found a home) or it could be more tangible (maybe you learned a new skill or got to try something you never had the opportunity to do before).

Connect to the William & Mary Community

Once you’ve established your existing community and the important role it played in your high school life, you need to turn your attention towards future you, and think about the William & Mary community.

There are a few ways you can connect the ideas from the first half of your essay to those in the second half.

Firstly, you might want to find a similar community at William & Mary to join. A student who was in their school’s marching band might want to join the marching band at William & Mary to continue playing their instrument and to connect with other students who share a passion for band.

Another option is to seek out a specific community at college. For example, maybe at home you were part of a large Jewish community and didn’t have to go out of your way to connect with others, but at college you plan to join Hillel to ensure you have that established community.

You might choose to instead discuss how you will engage with the William & Mary community more broadly. In that case, you could talk about how you will apply the lessons you learned from being in your community to college. Maybe you learned patience and negotiation from serving on the student government, and you will use those skills to handle disputes that might arise with your dormmates or classmates.

Or, you could describe how you will find ways to get the same impact from a college community that you had in high school. For instance, being a member of the multicultural club allowed you to explore and appreciate new cultures you were never exposed to before, so you are planning on taking language and anthropology classes to keep feeding your fascination with other cultures.

Another way to approach this option is to explain how you want to play a similar role in the William & Mary community. So, if you enjoyed being a leader on your sports team, maybe you want to join student government in college to continue growing your leadership skills.

Regardless of how you connect your previous experiences to a particular college community at W&M, keep in mind that you need to demonstrate both what you will get from the community at W&M and what you can give to it. Many students forget to explain the contribution they can make—whether it be teaching others, helping people as a leader, or something else entirely—so remember to include that in your essay.

All Applicants, Option B

Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal. (300 words).

Instead of a traditional “Why This Major?” prompt , this option allows you more freedom to discuss any academic interest or goal. While you can totally approach this essay by discussing your interest in your major, if you feel like you’ve already discussed that a lot elsewhere in your application, don’t be afraid to discuss a more niche passion that isn’t directly related to your major.

Also note that you are asked to share an academic interest or a career goal—you don’t have to squeeze both in. That being said, the two often go hand-in-hand, so if your essay naturally flows from your interest to your career goals, that’s completely fine.

In terms of writing the actual essay, the main thing you need to do is communicate your passion for the topic. The prompt doesn’t ask for you to discuss anything in particular, so you can choose from a variety of essay styles.

• You could talk about your first encounter with the academic subject or career.
• You could explain independent research you conducted related to the field.
• You could share your favorite memory related to the topic.
• You could describe your emotional connection to the interest or career.
• You could explain ways in which you’ve engaged with the topic or career outside of school.

However you choose to approach the essay, it’s crucial that you share new information with the admissions committee. This is an opportunity for you to demonstrate the depth of your passion and provide them with more information about yourself, so if you’ve already talked about volunteering at a hospital in your extracurricular section, either pick a specific anecdote from your time volunteering to highlight your love for it, or find a different way to show your interest in becoming a surgeon.

Let’s look at a sample response from a hypothetical student.

“I’ve been fascinated with economics since I first heard of bonds and stocks. The market is a constant force that affects our lives in ways most of us never even think about. But what even fewer of us consider is how our own thoughts and decisions influence the market. This phenomenon is better known as economic psychology.

In 10th grade I was able to fully explore my passion for economic psychology when my history teacher assigned us an independent research project. I decided to look at the psychological factors behind the Black Friday market crash of 1929 and compare it to the factors at play during the 2008 financial crisis. Through countless hours of research, I learned about the complexities of economic psychology and my fascination only grew.

Looking to the future, I cannot wait to take my passion for economic psychology and apply it to organizations. Being able to truly understand the impact individuals have on a market can put a company miles ahead of its competitors and even make it easier to more accurately predict economic downturns.”

While this student does share more about their specific interest in an academic subject, the reader doesn’t get a full sense of why this student is passionate about this topic. The essay is missing elaboration and excitement because the student is telling us everything, not showing us.

To fix this essay, let’s zoom into the research project the student did and use that to explain their interest in economic psychology.

“‘You can’t predict the market!’ ‘History repeats itself!’ Well, which is it? If history repeats itself, shouldn’t market trends be somewhat predictable? This question consumed my every thought during my monthlong 10th grade research project. However, my approach differed from the opinions of erudite academics—understand people to understand the market. Assuming the role of an economic psychologist, it was time to learn how people can influence financial markets.

To most people, the 1920s and early 2000s bear zero resemblance. Velvet tracksuits and hip hop convey a very different aesthetic from that of flappers and the jazz age, but to an economic psychologist, those two decades are like twins separated at birth. The financial crisis at the end of each decade could have been predicted if you look at people’s underlying motivations in markets and their attitudes towards risk. It might make Adam Smith roll in his grave, but economics has far more to do with people than it does with math.

It was this realization that got my blood pumping. Suddenly, there’s a new way of looking at the world—a way that builds people back up from the raw numbers economists strip them down to. Understanding the mechanics of economic psychology in the past opens the door to predict market trends in the future. You could call it sorcery; I call it science.

The future of economic psychology is as limitless as our imaginations. I can feel my mind start revving up to pick apart market trends every time the Dow swings. Who is at the root of that downturn? Is the general public experiencing a sense of security right now? Not only have I come to understand economics in a new light, but my perspective on people has also blossomed through my fascination with economic psychology.”

Notice the huge improvement in the level of detail, and thus the interest in the subject, that the student is able to convey by focusing on a specific example? That’s what you should aim for in your essay.

All Applicants, Option C

How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience (300 words).

This is a fairly direct instance of the common diversity prompt . When colleges have a diversity prompt, they want to know about your own personal background and how it has influenced your worldview and perspectives.

As mentioned for the previous option, in June 2023 the United States Supreme Court struck down the use of affirmative action in college admissions. Nevertheless, colleges can still consider race on an individual basis, which is one reason many schools are now including diversity prompts as one of their supplemental essay prompts. If you feel that your racial background has impacted you significantly, this is a great place to discuss that.

In general, such a common prompt can be approached with a traditional answer. You might consider answering this prompt with what you think is the most important part of your identity, then a small discussion about how that aspect of diversity is relevant to you and your general life experiences.

Such a response might be written about one of the following scenarios:

• Using your fluency in another language to help members of a specific community.
• Interpreting a text in class differently from your classmates because of your ethnic culture.
• Having a friend of a different background who has changed your perspective on something important.
• Having an illness or disability that helps you view accessibility through a different lens than your peers.
• Taking on more responsibility in your family due to the illness or loss of a parent.
• Approaching a situation involving money differently than a friend from a different socioeconomic background.

Diversity encompasses all the above attributes, but you should strive for individuality and specificity in your response. This prompt, like the others, is an opportunity to showcase your unique life perspective. You don’t want to waste your essay by writing down bland dictionary definitions. Go beyond what makes you diverse and really think about the impact it has had on your life. How has that aspect of your identity contributed to your growth and development? How has it been a challenge?

Make sure your essay digs deep into how you have been impacted. A decent essay will explain a student’s unique background, but a great essay will describe how that background influenced their actions and personality.

All Applicants, Option D

What led to your interest in william & mary.

This classic “ Why This College? ” prompt invites you to reflect on what draws you to William & Mary specifically. Admissions officers want to know why their school is the best fit for your academic and personal goals, rather than any of the other 4,000 colleges and universities across the country. They’re looking for a thoughtful, personalized answer that shows you have done your research and genuinely see yourself thriving at this particular university.

To craft a strong response, you’ll want to avoid surface-level reasons like location or prestige, which could easily apply to other institutions. Instead, focus on the aspects of William & Mary that uniquely align with your interests, values, and aspirations. Ask yourself the questions below to get some ideas going:

• What specific academic programs, majors, or research opportunities at William & Mary interest you?
• Are there professors whose research or classes resonate with your academic goals?
• What extracurricular activities, clubs, or campus traditions do you want to be a part of, and why?
• How does the culture at William & Mary align with your personal values or goals? Which of the school’s values do you feel the most kinship with?
• Have you had any meaningful interactions with the William & Mary community (e.g., campus visit, meeting with alumni, speaking to current students) that reinforced your desire to attend?

A good response will lay out opportunities, resources, or values that can truly only be found at William & Mary. For example, rather than just saying “I’m looking forward to studying under renowned faculty in the English department,” find a specific professor in that department whose interests align with your own. Every school has an English department, but only William & Mary can give you access to this particular scholar.

However, don’t just name-drop resources. You want to describe your own academic interests, experiences, goals, and passions, and explain why your background has led you to these specific offerings at William & Mary. For example, if being in your school’s theatre productions has made you want to learn more about Shakespeare, mention that, and draw a connection to Professor Erin Minear, who studies the musicality of the bard’s plays.

With 300 words at your disposal, you’ll also want to go beyond academics and show that you’ll be an active member of the broader campus community, whether through student organizations, community service, research, study abroad programs, or traditions. Colleges want students who will contribute to their campus in a range of ways, so incorporating non-academic aspects of the school that appeal to you is key.

All that said, you don’t want to spread yourself too thin. Rattling off 20 different things you’d like to do at William & Mary will make your essay feel like a bullet-point list, rather than a personal reflection. While there probably are dozens of things that appeal to you, choose just the 3-5 most attractive ones, so that you’ll have room to describe them in depth.

With all these tips in mind, let’s look at some sample responses, starting with a weak one so you know what not to do:

“I want to attend William & Mary because it’s one of the oldest and most prestigious schools in the country, and I know I will receive a great education there. I’m interested in majoring in history because I’ve always been fascinated by the past, and William & Mary’s strong history department will help me achieve my goals. I’m also excited about the school’s location near Washington, D.C., which will offer me opportunities for internships.”

This example is generic and could apply to many other schools. There’s no mention of specific programs or opportunities at William & Mary, as they could study history anywhere, and there’s also no personal elaboration on why the past is so fascinating to them, or why they want to study near the capital. You could easily swap out “William & Mary” for the name of another prestigious school in the D.C. area, like Georgetown, which is a big red flag.

A revised version might look something like this:

“I’ve always been fascinated by how historical events shape the world we live in today, which makes William & Mary’s approach to studying history perfect. The National Institute of American History & Democracy (NIAHD) offers a perfect combination of coursework and experiential learning that will allow me to immerse myself in history through internships and research projects at nearby historical sites like Colonial Williamsburg. 

I’m also drawn to the Global Research Institute, where I could work on projects that connect history to current global issues, to deepen my understanding of the past’s impact on the present across the world. In particular, I’ve always wanted to understand how individual cities evolve over time, and the W&M Summer program in Florence is a perfect opportunity for me to put my theoretical knowledge into practice–Florence is not known as one of the most significant cities for the modern world, but at the same time, the ripples from its unparalleled achievements during the Renaissance continue today.”

This version adds depth and specificity. We see that the student’s interest isn’t just “history” at large but rather a particular type of inquiry, focused on the link between the past and present. The student also mentions three opportunities (NIAHD, the Global Research Institute, and the study abroad program in Florence) that clearly align with their interests and goals, to paint admissions officers a vivid picture of what their future at William & Mary would look like.

Overall, specificity is the key to this prompt. You want to show that you’ve researched William & Mary in-depth and have identified truly unique aspects of the school that resonate with your academic goals, personal values, and future aspirations. The more precise you can be, the more confident William & Mary admissions officers can be that they aren’t just another school on your list, and that you’ll be ready to hit the ground running as soon as you arrive on campus.

All Applicants, Option E

Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual. (300 words).

This prompt is similar to the second Common Application prompt on overcoming challenges , so if you already picked that prompt for your Common App essay, maybe don’t choose it again for your supplement. If you haven’t written about a challenge yet though, this prompt could be a good choice.

Whereas most prompts asking about a challenge will ask you how you overcame it, this one does not. Instead, it simply wants to hear about the impact adversity had on you. While you can definitely write about the impact in terms of overcoming the challenge, you aren’t limited to discussing a challenge that you conquered. You can just as easily choose a challenge that persists in your life and explain how you’ve learned to cope with it.

If you are choosing a challenge that you didn’t overcome, just be mindful not to make your essay totally negative and hopeless. No one wants to read an essay where a student complains about the adversity in their life and doesn’t do anything to fix it. It’s okay to discuss how you were negatively impacted by adversity—if anything, that can bring more emotion to your essay—but spin it in a positive light or show your growth from the experience.

The most important part of this essay is demonstrating how the adversity you faced impacted you. The majority of your essay should be centered around this, rather than describing the challenge in detail. But how can you make sure you show the impact?

You might consider drawing a comparison between the before and after of the challenge:

“The balance beam was my home. On that four-inch-wide plank my feet had eyes of their own. With a running start, a springboard, and a half twist in the air, I could land one foot miraculously in front of the other, perfectly posed a meter off the ground. But what once came so easily is just a memory. My broken ankle is like a lead ball chaining me to the ground, even years after the cast came off.

Where I once used to flip through the air like a coin debating between heads and tails, I now sit on the side and get to watch other girls feel the exhilaration that used to be mine. I watch their smiling faces after sticking a landing or the sharp jolt of pain cross their features when they fall off the beam, and my expressionless face hides the agony deep down that there will always be a part of me missing.”

You could include your inner monologue to demonstrate the impact adversity had on your thought process:

“The horrifying crimson 60 across the top of my pristine white paper caused my stomach to lurch. ‘HOW?! I worked so hard for this one. Mr. Andersen has no idea what he’s talking about.’ Content with shoving the blame off myself, I stuffed the crumpled paper into my bag and stormed out the room. ‘What do I do with three failing grades in one quarter? Should I talk to him after school?’ The thought of asking for help felt like a betrayal to my independence, but what other choice did I have?

‘It’s just one conversation. How bad could it be?’ Pushing my stubbornness aside, I reluctantly turned around and slinked back into the classroom. After all, facing Mr. Andersen would be easier than facing my parents.”

Another strategy is describe the impact adversity had on your actions:

“No way was I prepared to take no for an answer. Immediately getting to work, I scribbled out a rough petition to increase funding for the drama department. Turning to my friends in the musical, I got my first signatures. In between classes and bites of cafeteria pizza, I collected signatures like they were my oxygen. Before I even hit 200, I began creating slides with pictures from past productions and testimonials from students.

Every night before bed I practiced my speech in the mirror, stressing different phrases to determine the best way to deliver each line to my audience. At last, the night of the board meeting came. Strolling confidently to the center of the room, I felt the familiar heat of lights in my face and expectant faces ready for me to speak.”

You can also choose to focus on your emotional impact:

“Returning from the hospital at 3am, there was a gut-wrenching loneliness that shrouded every object I looked at. But it was her half-finished crochet blanket that caused white hot tears to sting my eyes. It was too small to fully envelop myself in, and it would forever remain that size. With a blanket unable to warm me from the cold numbness spreading through my fingers and toes, I stared at nothing and surrendered myself to the all-powerful grief at last.”

As you can see, there are many ways to demonstrate the impact the challenge had on you. However, challenges can also have multiple impacts. For instance, the last example shows the negative impact of losing a loved one, but the essay could go on to discuss how the student found ways to remember their family member and to harness their grief to think about happy memories. This would be a good example of discussing a sad challenge but not letting the essay itself turn into something overly depressing to read.

All Applicants, Option F

If we visited your town, what would you want to show us (300 words).

This option is the most lighthearted of all, but just because it isn’t strictly academic doesn’t mean it doesn’t reveal a lot about the student. The purpose of asking this question is to see what types of things you value, based on what you want to show someone about your hometown.

A student who takes the admissions committee on a food crawl of their town would probably be a big foodie. Someone who shows off a historical monument and tells an interesting story about the history behind it likely enjoys history and storytelling. Similarly, someone showing off the soccer field by their school might want to demonstrate their determination by showing the place where they’ve spent countless years practicing.

It’s important that you include explanations about why you’re choosing to show this in your essay to help the admissions committee understand its importance to you and your values.

For example, the student showing a monument shouldn’t say, “I’d show you the statue of Teddy Roosevelt in the park because he was an influential president.” Instead, they should say something like this:

“Looking up at Teddy Roosevelt’s figure, I’d explain how his model of diplomacy changed the landscape of international relations in the 20th century, making him a key figure to understand in a postcolonial world.”

You aren’t limited to just showing physical locations or places. If someone came to your hometown you might want to show them the solar-powered toy car you and your friends built because it isn’t easily transportable. Or maybe you want to take the admissions committee to your chorus concert so they can see the hard work that went into the five part harmonies.

Perhaps you would even want to show them something that has changed dramatically or that doesn’t exist anymore, like the corner where you opened your first lemonade stand or your favorite restaurant that went out of business a few years ago.

Here are a few more tips to help you approach this essay:

• Keep your list relatively short. You might be tempted to show off a few different places, but try to keep it to three or fewer. It’s a better idea to give more background and depth for an individual place than to create an itinerary that lacks detail and is full of different stops.
• Have a central theme connecting your places. If you decide to include multiple places, make sure they are all related in some way. For example, you could show the two dance studios and describe your growth in dance as you progressed from one to the other. Or you could pick the three cafés in your town that have the best coffee that gets you through your day.
• Try to avoid generic places. While you might like to show people your house, school, or local mall, there are far more unique options for you to pick that will excite the admissions committee more. Take your time brainstorming to come up with something that is personal to you and won’t be overdone.
• Include anecdotes. The best way to show the reader why the place is important to you is to tell a story about its significance. Bring the reader into one of your memories at the place to show why this is one of your favorite places in your hometown.

This prompt is asking a few different things. First, it wants to know why you’re interested in the particular subject you’re applying to. Second, why the Joint Degree Program? And third, what experiences have you undertaken that prove you want to learn more about other cultures and institutions?

While this prompt isn’t exactly either archetype, it may help you to look at CollegeVine’s guides to the “Why This Major?” prompt and the “Why This College?” prompt .

You can begin the essay by talking about your interest in, and experience with, the major you are applying to. If it’s film studies, for example, open with the story of when you first fell in love with film. Maybe watching Birdman , uniquely filmed to look like a never-ending shot, made you want to learn more about camera angles and the science of cinematography. This is a good way to lead into how you have pursued this interest (i.e., your experience in film studies). Prove that you have lasting passion for the academic area, rather than choosing one on a whim.

Next, you need to demonstrate that the Joint Degree Program is the best way for you to study this topic. That’s going to require specificity, and in order to get there, you need to extensively research the program both at William & Mary and at St. Andrews . As you research, take notes on what makes both institutions unique in this area of study.

Continuing with the example of film studies, here’s an example of some things to note at both schools:

At William & Mary:

• WMTV is a student-run television show at W&M
• Students can submit their films or volunteer at the W&M Global Film Festival

At St. Andrews:

• The Film Studies boardroom has unique virtual reality facilities
• The Byre conference room has 3D projection
• St. Andrews’s library has one of the best cinema collections in the world, with over 9,300 pieces of AV material

You’ll want to note specific characteristics at each school, but you have to make it clear that simply attending one of the institution’s programs is not sufficient to help you reach your goals. This is an important point to stress in your essay to make sure that your interest in the fusion of the two schools is clear. For help with this, be sure to check out the majors page to read up on your chosen subject through the lens of the Joint Degree Program.

As an example, the film studies major in the JDP has students work on an independent research project. Perhaps you are fascinated by the influence of national identity on mainstream media and hope to research this by using W&M and St. Andrews as contrasting case studies. Whatever your story may be, make it clear that the JDP is a fit for your interests and goals, and show that you have done research on the program.

Finally, the third part of the prompt asks you to validate your interest in learning about other cultures and institutions. Perhaps, in the case of film studies, you created a short film in which you interviewed first-generation immigrants in order to study global perspectives and the impact these perspectives have on living and working in America. Show your interest in acquiring a global perspective.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to explore this interest concretely, discuss ways in which you hope to study it in the future. Conclude your essay by tying this back to your aspirations for the future and to how the JDP will help you achieve them.

Where to Get Your William & Mary Essays Edited For Free

Do you want feedback on your W&M essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

Need feedback faster? Get a  free, nearly-instantaneous essay review  from Sage, our AI tutor and advisor. Sage will rate your essay, give you suggestions for improvement, and summarize what admissions officers would take away from your writing. Use these tools to improve your chances of acceptance to your dream school!

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{{youtube:medium:right|0PcmV9e_tpo}} William & Mary is a story over three centuries in the making. We celebrate our past while always looking to our future. Our first-year students are that future, and their applications share their unique stories.

W&M currently accepts the Common App . Your transcript and optional standardized test scores tell your academic story, your extracurricular activities, recommendations, essay(s) and background tell your personal story. Once submitted, every application will be read at least twice and at least one read will be your regional counselor .

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The St Andrews Joint Degree Programme combines William & Mary’s liberal arts  and sciences  education with St Andrews’ specialized study. Students complete two years at each institution and earn a single diploma—a Bachelor of Arts (International Honours)—with the insignia of both institutions.

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William and Mary Supplemental Essays 2024-25 — Prompts & Advice

August 7, 2024

Founded in 1693, the College of William & Mary is the second oldest institution of higher learning in the entire United States. With an acceptance rate that was 33% for the Class of 2028, W&M is a very selective school. It is even more challenging to gain admission for out-of-state students. With that in mind, it’s important to put maximum effort into every aspect of your application. Of course, this includes the William and Mary supplemental essays.

 (Want to learn more about How to Get Into W&M? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into William & Mary  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

When applying to an institution like the College of William & Mary that rejects roughly two-thirds of those who apply, you’ll need to put maximum effort into every area of the application, including the Common App and supplemental essays. Below are William and Mary’s optional essay prompts for the 2024-25 admissions cycle. Additionally, you find our advice for composing strong essays.

Should I answer an optional essay?

In such a  hypercompetitive college admissions environment , not filling out an essay would be a suboptimal decision for a prospective applicant. With such cutthroat competition at a highly selective school like William & Mary, it would be foolish not to avail yourself of every opportunity to make a strong case for admission. Applicants applying to a dozen or more schools may be exhausted after already plowing through countless other supplemental prompts. However, this is simply not the place to cut corners.

Unfortunately, skipping an optional essay of this nature could hurt your candidacy at William and Mary, as this institution only offers non-evaluative interviews with current W&M seniors. As such, there are limited ways to connect with an admissions officer, and the supplemental essay(s) will be one of your very best opportunities.

William and Mary Supplemental Essays – Optional

William and Mary gives applicants the option to choose one or two of the six available prompts. Additionally, you’ll have 300 words of space for each prompt.

1) What led to your interest in William & Mary?

This is a classic “Why Us” essay. If you select this option, here are some ideas of how you can most productively utilize the space:

• Cite specific academic programs, professors, research opportunities, experiential education programs, study abroad programs, student-run organizations, W&M’s mission, etc. Be sure to discuss why they interest you and how you hope to take advantage of them.
• Share how W&M will support your past/current endeavors.
• Discuss why you decided to apply, particularly if connected to a William & Mary-related personal experience, such as a campus visit, conversation with an admissions rep, event you attended, etc.

2) Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?

Keep in mind that William and Mary has already seen the President’s Volunteer Service Award and the impressive number of hours you volunteered at multiple nonprofit organizations. They know that you have been an active member of your high school/local community. The admissions committee now desires to understand precisely how you will contribute to  their  community of undergraduate students. Highlighting the link between your past efforts and future aims is critical here. For example, if you dedicated many hours to volunteering at your local animal shelter throughout high school, it will be more impactful when you now express your commitment to joining William and Mary’s Animal Rights Club.

The strongest William and Mary community essays show evidence of meaningful school-specific research. In addition, this research process will actually give you a better idea of how you would sincerely like to become engaged at each prospective school on your list. Admissions officers will appreciate a William and Mary-centric answer far more than a generic (often recycled from app to app) response.

3) How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?

Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. You are essentially invited to talk about any of the following topics:

• A perspective you hold
• Your upbringing
• Your cultural background
• Your religious background
• Your family background
• Your race/ethnicity
• Your sexual orientation or gender identity

William and Mary Supplemental Essay Prompts (Continued)

Although this prompt’s open floor plan may feel daunting, a good tactic is to first consider what has already been communicated within on other areas of your application. What important aspect(s) of yourself have not been shared (or sufficiently discussed)? The admissions officer reading your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words, so—within your essay’s reflection—be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and/or insightful about what you learned and how you grew.

You’ll then need to discuss how family, culture, and/or background has influenced your life and perspective, and in what ways.

4) Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

Out of everything on this Earth, what makes you tick? What keeps you up at night? What subject makes you read books and online content until your eyes bleed? Immerse the reader in your intellectual journey of choice. Share what made you interested in the topic and how you’ve pursued knowledge. Finally, be sure to address what you’ve learned about yourself and how you hope to continue pursuing this interest in the future (tip: this is a great place to incorporate William and Mary specifics).

Alternatively, if you happen to have clear-cut career goals, such as becoming a physician, attending law school, or addressing coral bleaching, you can take this opportunity to tell the admissions committee more about it. How did this career goal develop, and what have you done to pursue it so far? Moreover, how do you intend to work toward your goal at William and Mary in particular?

5) Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.

Of course, some teens have faced more challenges than others, potentially related to an illness or medical emergency, frequent moving, socioeconomic situation, natural disaster, or learning disability, to name a few. However, you don’t have to have faced a significant challenge to write a compelling essay (and even if you have faced a significant challenge, you don’t have to write about it if you’re not comfortable doing so). Writing about a common topic like getting cut from a sports team, struggling in a particular advanced course, or facing an obstacle within a group project or extracurricular activity is perfectly fine.

Any story told in an emotionally compelling, honest, and connective manner can resonate with an admissions reader. The bottom line here is that there are no trite topics, only trite answers. The important thing to keep in mind is that the challenge/story itself is  less important  than what it reveals about your character and personality.

Given the 300-word limit, your essay needs to be extremely tight and polished. Accordingly, getting this one precisely right will involve a round or two of revision, ideally with some insight/feedback from a trusted adult or peer in the process.

6) If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

No matter where you live, local spots of interest abound, so take this opportunity to show admissions something you genuinely love or appreciate about where you’re from. Perhaps it’s your local farm stand, a museum, a restaurant, a public art installation, the beach that you run on in the mornings…regardless of your answer, the most important part of this response will be why. Why do you want to show this particular location to an admissions officer, and what do you hope they learn about you in the process?

How important are the William and Mary supplemental essays?

W&M lists 12 factors as being “very important” to the admissions committee: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, standardized test scores, essays, recommendations, extracurricular activities, talent/ability, character/personal qualities, state residency, volunteer work, and work experience.

So, we know that the  Common App essay  and the optional supplemental essays are among the top dozen factors in what is a genuinely holistic admissions process. It is fair to say that the essays will be read carefully. Further, they can be a separating factor between two comparable “on the cusp” applicants.

Want Personalized Essay Assistance?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your main Common App essay and William & Mary supplemental essays, we encourage you to get a quote  today.

Looking for additional writing resources? Consider checking out the following:

• Common App Essay Prompts
• 10 Instructive Common App Essay Examples
• College Application Essay Topics to Avoid
• How to Quickly Format Your Common App Essay
• Should I Complete Optional College Essays?
• How to Brainstorm a College Essay
• 25 Inspiring College Essay Topics
• “Why This College?” Essay Examples
• How to Write the Community Essay
• College Essay

Kelsea Conlin

Kelsea holds a BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Tufts University, a graduate certificate in College Counseling from UCLA, and an MA in Teaching Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Her short fiction recently appeared in Chautauqua .

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How to Write the William & Mary Supplemental Essays 2024–2025

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The College of William & Mary (W&M) is a highly ranked public research university located in Williamsburg, VA. Chartered in 1693, W&M is the second-oldest university in the United States and accepts around 34% of applicants each year. Their accomplished alumni include George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Jon Stewart, Mike Tomlin, and Michelle Horn. Hoping to join their ranks? First, you’ll need to nail the William & Mary supplemental essays. Let’s dive in.

William & Mary’s 2024-2025 Prompts

Choose up to two prompts from the list below to answer. Unsure of which prompt(s) to choose? Take a look at our General Tips below!

Optional Short Essay Questions (300 words or fewer)

• Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?
• Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.
• How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?
• What led to your interest in William & Mary?
• Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.
• If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

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General Tips

There are six William & Mary supplemental essays. Writing essays for W&M is optional, but we encourage you to respond to at least one prompt. You can respond to as many as two of the prompts, and each essay permits a maximum of 300 words. Writing an essay or two for W&M will demonstrate your interest in attending, as well as give you more opportunities to tell the admissions team about yourself. Moreover, the more time the admissions officers spend thinking about you and your application, the higher your chances of scoring an acceptance letter. Although you need not write any essays in order to be accepted, a strong essay or two can only boost your application.

That said, there are a lot of prompts here to choose from. Let’s go over why each one might be right for you—or not!

1. Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?

This prompt is a great choice for a community-oriented student. If you engaged in community service throughout high school, then you may want to bring that up here. Alternatively, if you have no evidence of community involvement elsewhere in your application, and yet community is important to you, then this is your chance to help your application feel a bit more well-rounded.

If community isn’t especially important to you, then don’t force it, and give this essay a pass. If you were never really connected to any communities growing up, or you have a negative or traumatic relationship with your community, then this also may not be the prompt for you.

2. Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

If you haven’t been able to thoroughly or comprehensively address a personal academic interest or career goal, then here’s your chance. If your career goal might seem obtuse to a reader—it’s not directly related to your major, for instance—then you may feel it is beneficial to explore this goal further in an essay.

On the other hand, if your academic interests are not particularly defined and/or you don’t know what you want to do with your career yet, then this may not be the prompt for you. Furthermore, if you have fully addressed these topics in, say, your Common App personal essay, you should not repeat that discussion here.

3. How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?

Everyone has some family, culture, or at least background to speak of. Thus, this prompt is a strong option for most applicants. In addition, many other universities ask similar questions to this one. Thus, you may already have a fully formed idea in response to this topic. Similarly, you may have a completed essay that just needs a few edits in order to fit within the word count. If so, choosing this prompt could save you a lot of time.

That said, if one of the other prompts speaks to you more or you simply have more to write about with one of the other prompts, then turn your attention there. In addition, if you have the time, it can be beneficial to write a new and unique essay versus recycling another essay.

4. What led to your interest in William & Mary?

This prompt is also a strong choice for any applicant. Writing a response to this essay will demonstrate your interest in W&M more clearly than almost any other response. Furthermore, unless you make the fatal error of accidentally sending in an essay intended for another school, the admissions team will know that you spent extra time writing this essay and didn’t recycle the essay you composed for another school.

The only reasons against writing this essay are if you have compelling reasons for focusing on some of the other prompts in lieu of this one or you don’t have enough time to write a thoughtful and substantive response.

5. Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.

This prompt is also a great choice for most applicants. We’ve all faced challenges and adversity, and everyone’s experience is unique. Thus, writing a unique response to this essay and demonstrating your resilience can only benefit your application.

If you feel that the challenges you have faced in your life are not significant or compelling enough to warrant an essay, perhaps choose one of the other prompts (but don’t sell yourself short; ask a trusted adult for advice before you forgo your response for this reason). If you have already addressed all of the significant challenges you have faced in your life in your Common App personal essay or other William & Mary supplemental essays, then you have no need to write this essay.

6. If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

This prompt is a good choice for the student who feels that their hometown represents who they are in some significant way. Even if this way is not obvious or only applies to one aspect, place, or tradition in your hometown, this prompt could still be right for you.

If you feel very disconnected from your hometown, you’ve moved around a lot and haven’t built connections to places, or you want nothing more than to get away from your town, then this might not be the prompt for you.

Now that you have a good understanding of what prompt(s) are right for you, let’s dive into how to answer them!

William & Mary Short Essay Questions (300 words or fewer)

This prompt asks you to consider who you are as community member. You should also address how you interact with the communities you belong to. There are few components to this prompt:

• List the communities that are important to you. We recommend no more than three communities, in order to give you the space to explain each one’s context and significance. You can even list just one!
• Explain how each community you listed is important to you. In order for the reader to understand why you’ve listed these communities, you’ll need to explain why they are important to you. Perhaps these communities have helped you personally. Perhaps you have learned lessons from these communities. These communities may also be part of who you are, and you can’t envision yourself without them.
• Note how you have contributed to these communities. This information may not be asked for explicitly, but it is no less important. The William & Mary admissions team hopes to understand how you have contributed in communities in the past and present, so as to predict how you will contribute in the future.
• Describe the ways you envision yourself fitting in and contributing to the William & Mary community. This part of the prompt should likely come at the end of the essay and not take up the majority of the words. That said, it is one of the most important components of your essay. Be as detailed as you can be by mentioning the specific clubs or community organizations you hope to join, the initiatives you imagine yourself founding, or however you intend to contribute to the W&M community.

After you’ve addressed each of these components, remember to proofread your essay and provide smooth transitions between the different ideas addressed.

This prompt is open-ended and provides applicants with the opportunity to discuss whatever academic or career interests/goals that have not yet received attention in their applications. Whatever you decide to write about in this essay should be specific and important to you. This shouldn’t be any old interest you have, but rather one that will shape your college experience.

Remember to focus on one personal academic interest or career goal . The essay should provide plenty of detail regarding at least a few of the following topics:

• Why you are interested in this topic, or why you are pursuing this career goal.
• What the origin of this interest or goal is.
• When this interest began or you formulated this goal.
• Who has mentored you in this area and/or encouraged/inspired you toward this goal or interest.
• How you have pursued this interest or goal in the past, how you are currently pursuing it, and how you intend to pursue it in the future.

Having focused on some of these topics authentically, concisely, and precisely, your essay should be well on its way to leaving a positive impact on your reader!

This prompt gives you the opportunity to discuss the person you are today, as a result of your experiences. To be specific, you should focus on the experiences that relate to your family, culture, and/or background. The latter is the least specific, and you can interpret it broadly. The word “background” in this context can refer to your socioeconomic background, academic background or context, gender or sexual identity, geography, the community(ies) you come from, etc.

Authenticity is the key to making this essay stand out. An authentic essay about where and whom you come from will necessarily be unique. If you feel like your essay in response to this prompt isn’t unique, then focus on writing a narrative that includes concrete, sensory details. These details are what will make your essay yours, versus anyone else’s. No matter what, your experiences are your own and unlike any other applicant’s. Especially if you have any unique interests, goals, motivations, or experiences, then there are many opportunities in this essay to let your difference show through.

A unique essay will stand out. An essay with personal touches unlike any other applicant’s will be unique. And an essay that stands out, whether because of its unique content or writing, will be more memorable to the reader. You want the admissions officers to remember your William & Mary supplemental essays the next day. Assuming they recall them positively, this can only help your application’s chances!

This is the “Why William & Mary?” essay. Universities ask this type of question for a few reasons:

• Students who are genuinely interested in a school are more likely to attend if admitted. This means that universities can maximize their yield .
• From reading responses to this prompt, admissions officers will be able to tell who the students are that have done thorough, comprehensive research on a university before applying. These students give the impression of being more hard-working, mature, and ready to attend college.
• By researching a university, you can better understand how you will fit in to their community, both academic and social. In turn, the college can see you fitting in at their school.
• A student who can envision themself at college with clarity and self-awareness demonstrates their maturity and preparedness for college.

In this essay, you’ll want to mention specific classes, professors, programs, clubs, and other opportunities at W&M that pique your interest. Explain the source of your curiosity. Will this class bring you closer to your career goals? Will joining this club fulfill a childhood dream of yours? Do you have a particular reason to want to live in Virginia for the next four years? Do you have a personal or historical connection to the university? Whatever your reasons, share them with the reader clearly and concisely.

This prompt shares similarities with the Common App personal essay. Although it needs to be a bit shorter, many students choose to focus on this same topic in their personal essay. If you were between two topics for your Common App personal essay topic, maybe you could turn to that other topic here.

Alternatively, you may have a specific eccentricity in your application that could do with some explanation. For instance, is there a drop in your grades that is reasonable and explicable? Does your application lack significant extracurricular time commitment as a result of your time-consuming familial obligations? If so, then here’s your opportunity to write about it. Remember, you are writing about one challenge or adversity that you have experienced.

Whatever you do, don’t rehash the same topic as addressed in your Common App essay. Make sure that this essay is totally new and different from your other William & Mary supplemental essays too. This essay should provide new insight as to who you are. In addition, make sure that the essay places heavy emphasis on your resilience and ability to overcome this obstacle. College is hard! Admissions officers want to see that you have the ability to meet future challenges with confidence, courage, and a problem-solving attitude.

Consider focusing the second half of your essay on the lessons you learned from this experience. Everyone has faced some kind of adversity in their life. What makes you unique is how you have grown and matured as a result of the experience. What were your takeaways? Clearly identify them for the reader. This is how you will effectively address the second half of the prompt.

This more prompt gives you the opportunity to let the reader in on your life. Consider the tourist attractions of your hometown, the local secrets, and the landmarks of your personal life. Remember that this essay is about you. The topic of your hometown is merely a lens onto you as a person.

There are many ways you could go about this essay. You could write an essay about the aquarium that sparked your interest in marine biology and draws in hundreds of visitors a day. You could take your reader on a tour of your high school, pointing out all the places where you’ve had important, formative experiences. Perhaps you could take your reader through the nature preserve where you seek peace. Or you could take your reader to the gravestone of your grandfather and write about what he meant to you.

Think creatively and expansively about how to approach this essay. If you’re stuck on what to write about, think about the topics you’d like to have written about in your application and haven’t yet had the chance to write about. Any gaps in your application story? You can likely fill them in here!

If you need help polishing up your William & Mary supplemental essays, check out our College Essay Review service. You can receive detailed feedback from Ivy League consultants in as little as 24 hours.

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How to write the best william & mary supplemental essay 2020-2021: a complete guide.

William and Mary has an acceptance rate of 36% — higher for in-state applicants and lower for out-of-state applicants. It is the second oldest college in the United States, dating back to 1693.

A public school, located in Williamsburg, Virginia, William and Mary is a relatively small university with just over 6000 undergraduate students. It sells itself to prospective students by proclaiming, “We’re smart. We’re fun. We’re diverse.”

W&M is one of the eight “Public Ivies.” Both Forbe s and US News and World Report place it among the top ten public schools in the country. With 81% of the Class of 2021 ranking in the top 10% of their high school peers, it is important to make yourself stand out when applying.

Like many colleges and universities across the country, W&M uses the Common App and, starting in the fall of 2018, will begin accepting the Coalition App.

But, like many selective schools, it also offers students the opportunity to make their application stand out by writing a supplemental essay.

Always write the W&M supplemental essay .

So, here’s our guide to help you write the best William and Mary supplemental essay.

Click above for a video on how to write the William and Mary supplemental essay.

William and Mary’s supplemental prompt is:

Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful? We know nobody fits neatly into 500 words or less, but you can provide us with some suggestion of the type of person you are. Anything goes! Inspire us, impress us, or just make us laugh. Think of this optional opportunity as show and tell by proxy and with an attitude.

There are no other restrictions on what the “essay” can be.

For example, it can be a standard essay, poem, haiku, crossword puzzle, secret code, or decorated social media profile. Make sure that you do not focus too much on being creative in your presentation and forget to focus on what makes you unique and original.

If your “essay” is creative but the admissions committee learns nothing about you in the process, it will come across as all show and no substance.

Here is some advice from the William and Mary admissions office:

• The essay is limited to 500 words so stay focused on what you are trying to communicate.
• Try to avoid topics that are commonplace for 17- and 18-year-old high school students like sports injuries, service trips, divorce of parents, or a death in the family.
• Avoid overkill . Unique is good but outlandish is not better unless you are providing genuine insight into your personality or achievements.
• Review your application and try to find aspects of your life or personality that are not illustrated elsewhere in the application. Do you have a hobby or talent or quality that is not listed anywhere else on the application but is an important part of your life or self-image?
• Make sure you proofread your essay . William and Mary uses this essay as an opportunity to assess your writing abilities, so make sure that you pay attention to grammar, punctuation, spelling, and usage.
• Don’t pander to the admissions committee by writing what you think that they want to hear . It is best to keep sordid details to yourself, but if your essay is too intent on demonstrating how you are the “ideal” (in your mind) William and Mary student, you are not really helping the admissions committee get to know you as much as you are showing them that you have made some effort to get to know them. They already know about their school. They want to know about you.

Choosing the Best Topic

You have probably been told a hundred times to “think outside the box,” and this prompt certainly encourages you to do that. But what does that mean?

Try to come up with something that nobody else could or would write about. Hone in on anecdotes or personal qualities or experiences that nobody else you know seems to share.

Brainstorm by asking yourself questions and evaluating your experiences. Think about your values, personal themes, challenges, and hobbies.

For example:

• Do you have a fear of mashed potatoes? Speculate as to why you do and discuss how this phobia has impacted your life.
• You could write about the time you made pizza and put the cheese on the crust before the sauce and didn’t realize your mistake until after you had baked it.

Other essay examples include:

• Have you done unique service work? William and Mary emphasizes community service .
• If you have done some service work that demonstrates your commitment to service but it is not something that other students have done, this might be a good avenue to pursue.
• Was there a time when you stood up for someone who was being bullied or treated poorly by others and ended up getting picked on as a result?
• Why did you do it? How did it affect you?

Another similar choice might be focusing on an experience that involved risk. For example:

• You auditioned for the high school musical although you had no previous acting, singing, or dancing experience.
• Whether or not you made it, there is probably something entertaining and potentially uplifting about your story.
• What lessons did you learn from taking this risk?
• You volunteered for a school project that nobody else wanted to do. What was it?
• Why did you do it when nobody else would?

You can discuss your interests and passions that were not mentioned on the Common App. Examples include:

• Do you enjoy inventing and designing physical products? Why?
• What have you invented?
• What do you want to invent and bring to the world?

If you have already mentioned the Engineering Club on your application, go further:

• How else do you act on your engineering passions? Do you build things?
• Think of what drives your interest in engineering. What else does this motivation push you toward?
• Remember, this interest does not have to be academic.

Is there something you do at home that you did not include on your college application? For example:

• Do you enjoy gardening or botany? Why?
• What sensations do you gain from growing things?
• Is there a memory with botany that stands out?
• What do your parents think of your botany?
• What plants do you love growing? Why?

Discuss a side hustle that demonstrates your curiosity and drive. For example:

• Do you enjoy coding or making websites on the side?
• Have you designed any websites?
• Are there plug-ins that spark your curiosity?
• What about learning coding languages appeals to you?
• Why do you code?
• How do you learn from online tutorials?

Discuss activities that give you joy or invoke a certain feeling of pride within you. For example:

• Do you love martial arts?
• What about competition or art inspires you?
• When do you feel silence?
• Is there a thread of philosophy that you follow or strive to learn more about?

Stories that are fun or funny are usually good choices. People instinctively warm to those who are self-deprecating. For example:

• Perhaps you’re not good with cars. Maybe you once had your car towed out of your driveway to the repair shop, only to find out that it was out of gas.
• Stories like this give you the opportunity to demonstrate your sense of humor, talk about lessons you have learned from your mistakes, and stand out from other applicants.
• Can you think of other incidents in which you made a decision that you felt was a good one, only to have it blow up in your face?
• What did you learn from this experience?

William and Mary’s admissions motto highlights its commitment to diversity. Most people instinctively think of racial, ethnic, or religious diversity.

Some think in terms of gender or sexual orientation.

But diversity can come in a variety of forms. Can you think of any ways in which you have stood out from others?

• This might be the result of decisions that you have made or skills you have acquired.
• Perhaps you are the only one of your peers who has specialized in fencing or rowing or playing the oboe.
• Maybe you have stood out for characteristics that you have no control over but have shaped or affected the way that you have interacted with others.
• Has your family adopted children from overseas?
• Have you been affected by being atypically large or small or have some other distinguishing characteristic which has led to you being noticed?

Get personalized advice!

Major tips for the w&m supplemental essay.

• Don’t be afraid to be funny. Don’t necessarily try to be funny, but let your writing speak for itself.
• Don’t take yourself too seriously. Of course, you are trying to impress the admissions committee, but you are also trying to make yourself stand out and most of the 15,000 other applicants will have impressive credentials as well. If you want to get noticed, don’t be a robot. Be a person.
• Be personal. The admissions committee wants to know about you. Don’t be afraid to express your thoughts about you and your experiences.
• You might be nervous about this because maybe you have not expressed these thoughts to many people, including friends and family.
• You might feel unsure about them, but the thoughts that you have about yourself that you don’t often express to others are probably the ones that make you most interesting. For this essay, appearing out of the ordinary is beneficial.

William and Mary Supplemental Essay Examples

W&M Supplemental Essay example 1:

The rite of passage for any adolescent boy is to find a girlfriend. In my freshman year, as my friends were slowly falling in love and eating lunch with their significant others, I realized that I HAD to act fast. I devised a plan to find a girlfriend of my own. My only problem was that I was a nerd, Pokémon aficionado, and politics buff who had never spoken to a girl outside of asking for the next day’s homework assignment. Rather than buying flowers or chocolates like any rational person would do, I decided to do something so impressive that the girl I had a crush on would fall in love with me. As the girl I liked happened to be Chinese, I decided that mastering the world’s most difficult language, Mandarin, would be the ticket to her heart. Although my motives were misdirected, this prompted me on a journey that not only exposed me to a new culture, but also challenged and inspired me to take future chances. Schedule change in hand, I marched into 4th period Chinese ready to master the language. I was unaware that 95% of the class already spoke Chinese at home so this was merely a review class for the ‘easy A’. I was surprised to learn that people of Chinese descent often have one name in their native tongue and an alternate Americanized name that is easily pronounced. During the first session, our teacher asked all of us for our Chinese names to be used throughout the school year. Because I couldn’t understand what was going on, I asked the classmate behind me to suggest a Chinese name. I should have known that this was a disaster waiting to happen. I bellowed out my new name when called on, and to my embarrassment, the whole class howled in laughter. Confused, I turned around to see the person who gave me my name giggling uncontrollably. Unintentionally, I named myself “Sum Ting Wong” which would stick with me for the rest of the year. It was only after I said my name out loud that I finally understood the joke. At that moment, I realized I had lost my chance of impressing my crush.     My Chinese name turned out to be a metaphor for my classroom struggles. Each time I would learn a new character, I would forget it by the next week. I unintentionally learned dozens of new Chinese curse words because depending on how you pronounce it, each word can have five different meanings. My class project videos on YouTube went viral throughout the school for their impeccable acting and obviously unsuccessful attempts at mastering the world’s most difficult language.  As it turns out, instead of conquering the language in a few months like I had expected, I was, and still am, awful at all things related to the Chinese language. Initially I would beat myself up for every mistake, dreading my name being called. However, as I learned to laugh at myself each time “Sum Ting Wong” was cold-called in class, I began to not fear being ridiculed. As high school progressed, I went from being the only Indian student in my Mandarin class to becoming the first guy to take gender studies and the only person who didn’t know how to sing in Choir. Socially, I went from only interacting with virtual Pokémon to twerking onstage in front of a thousand delegates as I campaigned for the California Boys State Supreme Court.  I learned to embrace the “odd man out” persona and my idiosyncrasies rather than shy away from them. While I started my quest of learning Chinese in the hopes of getting a girlfriend (spoiler alert: I didn’t), I gained something so much more powerful. I learned to believe in myself and not let the stereotypes of my mind hold me back from trying new things.   

W&M Supplemental Essay example 2:

I was just trying to buy a Sprite and pay my hundred rupees. The cashier was starting to look as hassled as I felt, speaking urgently in a language I couldn’t understand. We were both frustrated and the cashier stormed off to another counter and grabbed a plastic plate from under it. At this point, I’m thinking “Why would I need a plate for my Sprite?” Normally at shops, the employees know enough English and I can understand the gist of the Tamil words with my own Telugu background. This time, however, we were both extremely confused. Eventually, after a lot of non-verbal communication and pointing, I realized she was supposed to offer me a free plate with my Sprite because of a deal written on the packaging.  Most people are surprised to learn that moving to India when I was thirteen was a huge adjustment for me even though I’m Indian. Yet, considering I was moving to a country I never lived in, a state whose language I didn’t speak, and a culture I wasn’t fully a part of, it was a definite challenge. From the language barrier to the culture change, and even the conservative manners and customs, I had to adapt to a new way of living. All of that and living in a country that is different culturally and socially from the United States has given me a new perspective of viewing my place in the world.  Back in elementary and middle school, I remember hiding the fact that I ate curry. As if it was something to be embarrassed of, something that would make me less American. I remember trying to distance myself from my Indian heritage and fit in so I could be, in a way, more white. It didn’t change much when I first moved to India. I was still working to seem American because I never really embraced my native culture. The heritage was always there in festivals, poojas, parties, and the language I spoke at home, but tellingly when someone asked me, “Hey, where are you from?” I’d always respond, “I’m from the USA but I live in India.” Because of this struggle, the most meaningful aspect of my experience of living in India has been accepting and embracing my cultural background. While I have always celebrated religious occasions, holidays, festivals, and other aspects of being Indian, living in India taught me to be proud of who I am as a global citizen. I am a multicultural student who has spent their time living abroad and entrenching themselves in their native culture. I am just as much Indian as I am American, and I’m proud to be able to bring a diverse background and perspective to the table at William & Mary.

Conclusion: Writing the William and Mary Supplement

Relax and have fun. Your best ideas and your best work will come when you are enjoying yourself, not when you are going through the motions to get something done.

Be enthusiastic. While you want the admissions officers to like you, it is your own personality and experiences that form your individuality. Don’t be afraid to be authentic.

Proofread, proofread, share with someone else to proofread, and proofread again.

Take risks while you are choosing your topic and writing your essay, but make sure you have done the necessary work to ensure that your essay is written well.

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Crafting Stellar Supplemental Essays for the College of William & Mary

The College of William & Mary has long been a beacon of academic excellence and vibrant community life. As part of their application process for 2024, they are offering six thoughtful supplemental essay prompts designed to help the admissions team learn more about you. These essays, each with a word limit of 300 words, provide a unique opportunity to showcase your personality, experiences, and aspirations. The prompts are as follows:

Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?

Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

How has your family, culture and/or background shaped your lived experience?

What led to your interest in William & Mary?

Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.

If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

The College of William & Mary strives to create a well-rounded and diverse student body, so it’s crucial to approach these prompts thoughtfully. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to tackle each one:

1. Discussing Important Communities

When answering this prompt, focus on a community that has significantly impacted your life. Whether it’s a cultural group, a sports team, or a volunteer organization, highlight your role and contributions. Discuss how you plan to bring your experiences and values to the College of William & Mary community. Sups AI can help you brainstorm and refine your story to make it compelling.

2. Academic Interests or Career Goals

This prompt provides a chance to showcase your intellectual passions or career aspirations. Be specific about what excites you academically and how William & Mary’s resources, courses, or faculty align with your interests. Use Sups AI to get detailed feedback and ensure your essay stands out.

3. Influence of Family, Culture, and Background

Reflect on how your background has shaped who you are today. This could link to traditions, values, or personal experiences. Make sure to convey how these aspects have influenced your identity and future ambitions. For personalized advice, consider leveraging the expertise of Sups AI advisors.

4. Interest in William & Mary

Research-specific programs, campus culture, or unique opportunities that draw you to William & Mary. Demonstrating genuine enthusiasm and informed interest can set your essay apart. For conducting in-depth research and refining your draft, turn to Sups AI .

5. Overcoming Challenges

Think about a significant challenge or adversity you’ve faced. Describe how it has shaped your resilience, character, or life perspective. Highlighting personal growth and learning is key. Utilize Sups AI ’s one-on-one chats with current students for insights into crafting a powerful narrative.

6. Touring Your Hometown

Share what makes your hometown special. Whether it’s a favorite spot, a local tradition, or a hidden gem, link it back to who you are and what you value. For help in creating a vivid and engaging essay, visit Sups AI .

Applying to the College of William & Mary is a significant step towards your future, and your supplemental essays play a crucial role in your application. For further help, feedback, and guidance, consider using Sups AI , an AI college counseling platform that has already helped over 10k students get admitted to top schools. Good luck!

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William and Mary Supplemental Essays 2024 | Strategies and Insights for Success

Founded in 1693, William & Mary is the second-oldest college in the United States. With only 32% of applicants being accepted for the Class of 2027, getting into W&M is tough, especially for students outside the state. Because of the high competition, students must make every part of their application, including good grades, SAT scores, and William and Mary Supplemental Essays , as strong as possible. If you’re applying to William & Mary, where most applicants don’t get accepted, your essays need to stand out. In this blog, we’ll go over the optional essay prompts for 2023-24 and give you tips on how to write great essays that catch the attention of the admissions team.

William and Mary Supplemental Essays

In the fiercely competitive landscape of college admissions, overlooking an optional essay could be a missed opportunity for prospective applicants. Particularly at esteemed institutions like William & Mary, where the acceptance rate is low and competition is fierce, every chance to distinguish oneself is invaluable. Despite the fatigue that may accompany completing numerous supplemental prompts for multiple colleges, bypassing this option could be detrimental to your application.

William & Mary offers applicants the flexibility to choose one or two prompts from a selection of six, with 300 words allotted for each response. One such prompt invites applicants to delve into aspects of their identity and personality beyond academic achievements and extracurricular involvements.

1) Beyond your impressive academic credentials and extracurricular accomplishments, what else makes you unique and colorful?

At William & Mary, where evaluative interviews are limited, the supplemental essay serves as one of the primary avenues for applicants to showcase their unique qualities and make a lasting impression on the admissions committee. With this in mind, neglecting to complete an optional essay may inadvertently diminish your candidacy. Here are some strategies to effectively utilize this space:

Navigating the William & Mary Supplemental Essays

• Highlight Your Passions: Discuss your deepest interests and how you actively pursue knowledge in those areas.
• Community Engagement: Explore your role within a specific community, whether it’s familial, social, religious, or professional.
• Inject Humor: Consider sharing a lighthearted or amusing anecdote to humanize your application and foster a personal connection.
• Embrace Uniqueness: Celebrate your individuality by candidly sharing quirks or idiosyncrasies that define you.
• Express Ideals: Reflect on the ideas and concepts that ignite your enthusiasm and fuel your aspirations.
• Cultural Influences: Delve into art, literature, music, or other cultural elements that profoundly resonate with you.

2) Are there any particular communities that are important to you, and how do you see yourself being a part of our community?

William & Mary, having already acknowledged your significant volunteerism and community involvement, seeks deeper insight into how you envision integrating into their undergraduate community. It’s essential to bridge the connection between your past contributions and future aspirations. For instance, if you’ve dedicated extensive time to volunteering at an animal shelter, expressing your commitment to joining William & Mary’s Animal Rights Club would resonate strongly.

To craft a compelling response, conduct thorough research into William & Mary’s community and extracurricular offerings. Tailor your essay to reflect genuine interest and alignment with the university’s values and opportunities. Admissions officers value specificity and authenticity over generic responses, so showcasing your understanding of William & Mary’s community dynamics will set your essay apart.

3) How has your family, culture, and/or background shaped your lived experience?

This open-ended prompt invites applicants to delve into various aspects of their identity and upbringing, ranging from cultural heritage to personal beliefs. Reflect on elements such as family dynamics, cultural traditions, or formative experiences that have significantly influenced your worldview and values.

Begin by considering what aspects of your background have not been adequately addressed in other parts of your application. Aim to provide a nuanced and introspective exploration of how your family, culture, or background has shaped your identity and perspective. Admissions officers seek genuine insights into applicants’ journeys and growth, so approach your essay with authenticity and vulnerability, highlighting key lessons learned and the impact of your background on your personal development.

4) Share more about a personal academic interest or career goal.

What drives your intellectual curiosity? Dive into your academic passion or career aspiration and illuminate the path that led you there. Whether it’s a fascination with quantum physics, a desire to tackle climate change, or aspirations of becoming a lawyer, paint a vivid picture of your journey. Describe what sparked your interest, how you’ve pursued knowledge in the field, and what you’ve learned about yourself along the way. Don’t forget to tailor your response to William & Mary, highlighting specific resources or opportunities at the university that align with your interests.

5) Tell us about a challenge or adversity you’ve experienced and how that has impacted you as an individual.

Reflect on a personal challenge or setback you’ve encountered and delve into its profound impact on your character and growth. Whether it’s overcoming a learning disability, coping with a family illness, or navigating a difficult academic endeavor, share your journey with honesty and vulnerability. Focus on the lessons learned and the resilience gained from confronting adversity, emphasizing how it has shaped your identity and perspective. Craft a polished and concise essay, utilizing the 300-word limit effectively to convey your narrative with clarity and depth.

6) If we visited your town, what would you want to show us?

Transport the admissions committee to your hometown and showcase a local gem or hidden treasure that holds personal significance to you. Whether it’s a quaint café, a scenic hiking trail, or a community landmark, illuminate why this location holds special meaning and what it reveals about your values and interests. Share the story behind your chosen spot and the reasons why you’d proudly introduce it to a visitor from William & Mary, offering insight into your unique perspective and hometown pride.

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The Importance of William and Mary Supplemental Essays

When navigating the multifaceted admissions process at William & Mary (W&M), it’s crucial to recognize the weight placed on various application components. W&M considers a comprehensive set of 12 factors as “very important” in their evaluation, encompassing academic achievements, personal attributes, and extracurricular engagements. Among these pivotal elements, the Common App essay and optional supplemental essays hold notable prominence, serving as key determinants in the holistic review process. As admissions officers meticulously review each application, the essays emerge as potent vehicles for candidates to showcase their unique voices, experiences, and aspirations. Moreover, in scenarios where applicants exhibit comparable qualifications, the quality and insight conveyed through their essays can decisively tip the scales in their favor. Therefore, aspiring W&M students should approach the supplemental essays with utmost diligence and authenticity, recognizing them as invaluable opportunities to distinguish themselves and articulate their candidacy beyond conventional metrics.

William and Mary Supplemental Essays – Conclusion

While the William & Mary supplemental essays are technically optional, their significance cannot be overstated in the competitive landscape of college admissions. Aspiring students should seize these opportunities to provide deeper insights into their character, aspirations, and potential contributions to the W&M community. By crafting thoughtful and compelling essays, applicants can effectively convey their distinctiveness and enhance their chances of securing admission to this esteemed institution.