I’m pretty sure they are, which is why they do this …
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Yes, it is a different situation, and I don’t have an issue with this.
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I believe they still do this- although if I recall corretly it’s quite short (word limit wise.) They also do not send it to ED applicants, which might be a data point suggesting it has more to do with yield as suggested earlier.
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The issue is not having supplements, it is surprise supplements that are only revealed after you submit the common app. A student may be interested and submits their application 2 days before the deadline. Then all of the sudden they have to cram to do the surprise supplemental in a day or two. As opposed to their other schools who listed their supplementals ahead of time with the common app, and the interested student could give them the time and care they deserved rather than being stressed against a deadline because they didn’t even know the supplemental existed until after they thought they were done with the app. There is no good reason for a school to hide supplementals until after the common app is submitted.
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The ones I’ve seen were not art/acting/drama related. They were really the “Why this university” type questions. The other type were honors essays but I feel like those were expected.
Colby had one. Came in an email a few weeks after applying.
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Interesting question. I’d assumed, after watching my two go through the application process, that someone at the college had keyed in a response incorrectly when setting up Common App. But maybe it’s as you say, the colleges want to keep some supps hidden. But… why? Annoyed students can just remove that college from their list; students who love the college already will not love the college more because of a new essay. Eh, seems like a terrible idea to intentionally have hidden essays.
An essay your kiddo had to write after applying? OMG I would have lost it. That’s just… not okay, Colby.
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Yes. It was optional but as others have said seemed like a test of interest.
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Because they want to jack up application numbers (they can count any common app submission, even if the applicant later decides it’s not worth it to do the hidden essay).
Exactly. It is a way to find out who really wants to go there. Especially for the LACs, my sense is a big part of who gets accepted is how likely the student is to enroll.
Given Colby’s other sketchy practices (not publishing a Common Data Set, among others), this doesn’t surprise me at all. But good to know, so I can warn my kid.
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University of Miami Frost School of Music has a hidden supplemental. Plus, you have to pay an additional $75 application fee (in addition to the $75 application fee you already paid when you submitted your initial application).
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My daughter submitted her RD application to Grinnell last week and received this email on Saturday:
Thank you for applying to Grinnell College!
We are committed to crafting a community that reflects the College’s values of academic excellence, diversity, and social responsibility. Becoming a Grinnellian means becoming part of a lifelong community where people care deeply about one another and the world around them.
While your application gives us great insight into your potential contributions, we invite you to share a little more by responding to this optional writing prompt:
Grinnell’s core values include supporting a diverse community that is respectful, egalitarian, and committed to the common good. How might your background, respect for the lived experiences of others, and/or eagerness to be exposed to new perspectives equip you to thrive at Grinnell and serve the common good?
Your response should be a minimum of 200 words and no more than 450 words.
While this prompt is optional, we do factor demonstrated interest into our admission decisions, so participation is recommended.
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Not exactly the same thing as a surprise supplement, but Michigan will ask for an expression of continued interest, essentially another Why Us, not only from EA-deferred applicants, but also from those who apply RD. Kids who apply RD may receive this just days after submitting the RD app.
That really sucks, but thanks for letting us know!
Considering how stressful this process already is on students; I find this practice to be extremely distasteful. My D20 diligently prepared all of her RD applications early so that if she was not admitted to her ED school, she would be well prepared with the rest of her list. As December is already a crazy time (especially for a dancer performing in Nutcracker), if she had received a bunch of surprise supplements, it would have made an already difficult time, harder.
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My DD26 applied to both of those schools for architecture.
I can’t speak to studio art, but UT Austin outlined the additional essays/materials on their SOA website BUT they were not clear about these on the Common App, and honestly, she had to search around a bit in her portal to figure out where to upload the additional materials even after knowing she needed to submit them.
Northeastern said in their online session that the students would need to submit a personal statement (though not specific) so she had one ready about why she chose her major/why Northeastern. I agree, that upload process of file by file was cumbersome and not having the ability to see what was uploaded was a frustration for my DD as well. They certainly make it harder than it has to be!
I’ve noticed that the best information is on the college websites, doing online sessions gives really great information and that admissions offices are very timely when responding to any questions.
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Just want to point out that my kid did not get a supp essay request from Colby (HS class of 24), so it isn’t an across-the-board thing, or at least it wasn’t that year. And she got in. But yes, I do wish they would publish the CDS. I’d love to know the ED admission rate vs. RD, which is so low.
Yes! Thanks for this. We attended an in person admission session at UT CFA and they did not mention the extra essay, but maybe they just forgot? For NEU it was never on our list so it’s possible that if we had done more research we would have known. They sent an unsolicited fee waiver AND I remembered from my older (non-artist) child that there was no supplement, so thought…what the heck…Boston is great…and we already have a portfolio and artist statement ready to go. And it was still unusually cumbersome…they had to work hard to make that happen. 