Notre Dame supplemental essays 2026-27
Every Notre Dame supplemental prompt for this cycle, quoted with its limit and who has to answer it, then what to write and in what order. Checked against Notre Dame’s own page on November 5, 2026.
The Notre Dame supplement at a glance
- Prompts listed
- 5
- Words to write
- 350 words
- Admitted posters
- GPA 3.90 to 4.00
SAT 1,490 to 1,560
The GPA and SAT are the middle half of what admitted applicants posted publicly, not a requirement. The full tables, activities and majors are on how to get into Notre Dame.
What changed this year
Notre Dame's live page shows one required essay and two of four short answers, with no change notice.
The Notre Dame prompts, quoted
Every applicant (350 words)
“Tell us about your "non-negotiable" factor(s) when searching for your future college home.”
Limit: 150 words max · Who: All first-year applicants · Required for this group
Notre Dame's readers see this answer more than any other, and most versions would survive a find-and-replace with another college's name. Try it on your draft: every sentence that still works with a rival's name in it has to go. What is left should be things you would actually use at Notre Dame, each tied to something you have already done, and at this length that means one or two things, not a tour.
Answer two of these four
“How does faith influence the decisions you make?”
Limit: 50-100 words · Who: All first-year applicants (choose two of four short answers; two are required) · One of a choice
A value reads as true only when it has cost you something. Name one decision you made because of it, what you gave up, and why you would make it the same way again.
“What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community)? Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community?”
Limit: 50-100 words · Who: All first-year applicants (choose two of four short answers; two are required) · One of a choice
Pick one part of your background and one moment where it mattered, then show what it changed in how you act now. A survey of your whole life in 100 words reads as a list, and readers have the rest of the file for that.
“Notre Dame's undergraduate experience is characterized by a collective sense of care for every person. How do you foster service to others in your community?”
Limit: 50-100 words · Who: All first-year applicants (choose two of four short answers; two are required) · One of a choice
Name the group, your place in it, and one thing that is different because you were there. These answers fail by staying abstract; a scene with real people in it does the work that adjectives cannot.
“What would you fight for?”
Limit: 50-100 words · Who: All first-year applicants (choose two of four short answers; two are required) · One of a choice
How many words the Notre Dame supplement takes
350 words for every applicant, counting each choice once at its limit.
A plan for writing the Notre Dame set
The Notre Dame essay asks for your non-negotiables, so give one or two real ones and the experience behind each. Then choose the two short answers that show different things; what would you fight for is the one readers remember when the answer is specific and personal rather than a cause everyone names.
Notre Dame on AI and your essays
Notre Dame allows AI for spelling and grammar review or for brainstorming before you write, but every essay, short answer and activity must be your own work. Submitting AI-generated content may lead to a revoked offer of admission. Read Notre Dame’s statement.
How Notre Dame reads a file
Notre Dame supplement questions
- What are the Notre Dame supplemental essays for 2026-27?
- Notre Dame lists 5 supplemental prompts for 2026-27, all of them quoted in full on this page from Notre Dame's own admissions page as it read on November 5, 2026. Every applicant answers all of them.
- How many words are the Notre Dame supplements?
- 350 words for every applicant, counting each choose-one group once at its limit. Program and optional prompts are listed separately.
- What changed in the Notre Dame supplement this year?
- Notre Dame's live page shows one required essay and two of four short answers, with no change notice.
- Does Notre Dame allow AI on application essays?
- Notre Dame allows AI for spelling and grammar review or for brainstorming before you write, but every essay, short answer and activity must be your own work. Submitting AI-generated content may lead to a revoked offer of admission.
Writing the Notre Dame supplement?
A Specialist who went through a school like Notre Dame can read your drafts against these prompts and tell you which answers sound like you and which could belong to anyone.
Checked against Notre Dame’s own admissions page on November 5, 2026. Prompts are quoted word for word, with the college’s dashes set in our house style. Prompts can change during a cycle; confirm the wording in your application before you submit. Aristo Scholars is not affiliated with Notre Dame. Every college’s supplement