WashU supplemental essays 2026-27
Every WashU 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 WashU’s own page on November 5, 2026.
The WashU supplement at a glance
- Prompts listed
- 2
- Words to write
- 250 words
- Admitted posters
- GPA 3.90 to 4.00
SAT 1,500 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 WashU.
What changed this year
The required prompt and its limit look unchanged. WashU added an early action round for fall entry.
The WashU prompts, quoted
Every applicant (250 words)
“Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why.”
Limit: 250 words · Who: All first-year applicants (entering fall 2027) · Required for this group
Readers check this answer against your transcript and activities, so it has to match them. Name the specific question, course or project that pulls you, show where the interest started, and point to what you would use at WashU by its real name.
Added for Each Signature Scholar Program (250 words)
Described, not quoted: Short answer question for each Signature Scholar Program applied to (Rodriguez, Ervin, Danforth); question text is shown in the WashU Pathway after applying and is not published on the page.
Limit: 250 words each · Who: Applicants to the Signature Scholar Programs only (priority deadline Dec 16, 2026) · Optional
Program readers work from a small pile and know their program in detail. Show that you have already done the kind of work it is built around, name the parts of it you would use, and say what you would do in it that the regular path at WashU would not let you do.
How many words the WashU supplement takes
250 words for every applicant, counting each choice once at its limit. Programs and honors colleges add their own: Each Signature Scholar Program, 250 words.
A plan for writing the WashU set
WashU asks one question, so it is read as your academic case. Name what you want to study, then show where that interest came from with one or two specifics from your record, and point to the courses or programs at WashU you would use. WashU's AI policy forbids AI even for brainstorming, so start this one from your own notes.
WashU on AI and your essays
WashU says never use AI to brainstorm topics or to draft or write essays, because it wants to hear from you directly. AI is fine for research and college lists, and sometimes for grammar and spelling checks on a finished essay. Read WashU’s statement.
How WashU reads a file
WashU supplement questions
- What are the WashU supplemental essays for 2026-27?
- WashU lists 2 supplemental prompts for 2026-27, 1 of them quoted in full on this page from WashU's own admissions page as it read on November 5, 2026. Which ones you answer depends on the school or program you apply to and the choices you make; each prompt on the page says who answers it.
- How many words are the WashU supplements?
- 250 words for every applicant, counting each choose-one group once at its limit. Program and optional prompts are listed separately.
- What changed in the WashU supplement this year?
- The required prompt and its limit look unchanged. WashU added an early action round for fall entry.
- Does WashU allow AI on application essays?
- WashU says never use AI to brainstorm topics or to draft or write essays, because it wants to hear from you directly. AI is fine for research and college lists, and sometimes for grammar and spelling checks on a finished essay.
Writing the WashU supplement?
A Specialist who went through a school like WashU can read your drafts against these prompts and tell you which answers sound like you and which could belong to anyone.
Checked against WashU’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 WashU. Every college’s supplement