“WHY US?” OVERLOOKED RESEARCH TIPS FOR THE “WHY US” SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY
Elton Lin
The “why us?” supplemental essay, or the student’s love letter to a college, is arguably the most-requested supplemental essay from college applications across the board. You’ve given the college your credentials and your personal statement, and now the college wants to know why you want them, this college in particular, to be your home for the next few years. Basic answers about the college’s rankings and sports teams, facts you could find on a brochure or a website summary, won’t charm the heart of college admissions—your love letter needs to have the specifics that prove you’re personally invested in the college to have dug deep with your research.
Where exactly do you start digging? While websites like Niche, College Confidential, and even Reddit are valuable, easily accessible forums for reference, look beyond them for information gems. Here are some places to start:
Check out students’ social media. From student organizations’ posts on Instagram to YouTube student vlogs to Facebook meme groups, social media is a great place to snag information straight from the unfiltered source (read: students). It makes it easy to get genuine, candid insight into extracurriculars, campus traditions, the social scene, and other facets of daily student life, especially in a time when in-person college visits aren’t as feasible of an option. You can get a sense of the culture of clubs and majors that you’ve already got an eye on, and browsing Facebook events can let you see what opportunities and functions often happen in the college. Even the silliest posts can let you know what the student body is concerned about enough to joke about! You’ll also be able to comment on posts and ask questions about student life directly.
Read campus newspapers and other student publications. This is another good place to find out what the student body of your college of interest is talking about. Campus newspapers are often student-run and cover issues from administrative policies to Greek Life updates to topical op-eds, and you can usually find issues dating back years online. Other student publications, like club newsletters, student-produced satire, or literary magazines can also give you a strong sense of the discourse and happenings on campus. You may even find that you would want to contribute to these publications as a student, which is definitely something you can directly mention in your “why us?” essay.
Look up the course catalog. It’s one thing to know that the college you’re researching has an exceptional economics or history program, and another thing to have an idea of what specific classes each department offers. What classes does the college offer beyond your planned major requirements? You're bound to find a few electives with class summaries that pique your interest, and adding those to your "why us?" essay will make that evident to the college, too.
Contact alumni and current students. This is a great way to get an honest, firsthand account of what it's like to be an actual student at your college of interest. Ask them what it is about their college that they take pride in, what drove them to apply to this college in the first place, what their advice for an applicant like you would be. Do they love the athletic programs? Are there college-specific traditions they look forward to every year? How has their impression of the school changed over the time they attended? Getting answers from multiple students or alums will give you more material for your essay and a more multi-dimensional view of the college.
So you have the more niche, non-Niche details. Now what? Connect the information you've gathered to your own activities and interests. Take your eco-friendly lifestyle and express interest in joining the environmental club's food sustainability projects, for example. You don't want to just rattle off college-specific information in your essay—this isn't a "what about us?" essay, it's a "why do you want us?" essay, and now you have the overlooked details to make your heartfelt confession to the college sound all the more dedicated!