Essay requirements, 2026-27

206 colleges: verbatim prompts, word limits, deadlines. Checked August 2026 — confirm on the application before submitting.

• Amherst College1
• Appalachian State University—
• Arizona State University—
• Auburn University—
• Bard College—
• Barnard College2
• Bates College—
• Baylor University1
• Bennington College—
• Binghamton University (SUNY)—
• Boston University1
• Bowdoin College1
• Brandeis University1
• Brigham Young University (BYU)1
• Brown University3
• Bucknell University1
• Cal Poly Pomona—
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO)—
• California Institute of Technology3
• Carleton College—
• Carnegie Mellon University3
• Case Western Reserve University—
• Centre College—
• Chapman University2
• Claremont McKenna College2
• Clarkson University—
• Clemson University—
• Colby College—
• Colgate University1
• College of the Holy Cross1
• College of Wooster—
• Colorado College1
• Colorado State University—
• Columbia University4
• Cornell University1
• CSU Long Beach (CSULB)—
• CUNY Baruch College—
• CUNY Hunter College—
• Dartmouth College2
• Davidson College1
• Denison University—
• DePauw University—
• Dickinson College—
• Drexel University—
• Duke University3
• East Carolina University (ECU)—
• Emory University2
• Fordham University1
• Franklin & Marshall College—
• Furman University—
• George Mason University—
• George Washington University1
• Gettysburg College—
• Gonzaga University—
• Grinnell College1
• Hamilton College1
• Harvard University5
• Harvey Mudd College2
• Haverford College1
• Hofstra University—
• Howard University1
• Illinois Institute of Technology—
• Indiana University Bloomington1
• Iowa State University—
• James Madison University (JMU)—
• Johns Hopkins University1
• Kenyon College—
• Lafayette College1
• Lehigh University1
• Louisiana State University (LSU)—
• Loyola University Chicago—
• Macalester College1
• Marquette University—
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology7
• Michigan State University—
• Michigan Technological University—
• Middlebury College—
• Mississippi State University—
• Morehouse College—
• Mount Holyoke College1
• New Jersey Institute of Technology—
• New York University1
• North Carolina State University1
• Northeastern University—
• Northwestern University1
• Nova Southeastern University—
• Oberlin College1
• Occidental College2
• Ohio State University—
• Ohio University—
• Oklahoma State University—
• Oregon State University—
• Pace University—
• Penn State University1
• Pennsylvania State University1
• Pepperdine University1
• Pitzer College1
• Pomona College2
• Princeton University2
• Purdue University2
• Reed College1
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute1
• Rhodes College—
• Rice University3
• Rutgers University–New Brunswick—
• Saint Louis University (SLU)—
• San Diego State University (SDSU)—
• San Jose State University (SJSU)—
• Santa Clara University1
• Sarah Lawrence College—
• Seton Hall University—
• Sewanee: The University of the South—
• Skidmore College1
• Smith College1
• Southern Methodist University1
• Spelman College1
• St. John's University (NY)—
• St. Olaf College—
• Stanford University8
• Stevens Institute of Technology1
• Stony Brook University (SUNY)—
• Swarthmore College1
• Syracuse University1
• Temple University—
• Texas A&M University2
• Texas Christian University1
• Texas State University—
• Texas Tech University1
• Towson University—
• Trinity College (CT)—
• Tufts University2
• Tulane University1
• UMass Amherst—
• UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)—
• UNC Charlotte—
• Union College (NY)—
• University at Albany (SUNY)—
• University of Alabama—
• University of Arizona—
• University of Arkansas—
• University of Buffalo (SUNY)—
• University of California System (All 9 Undergraduate Campuses)8
• University of Chicago2
• University of Colorado Boulder1
• University of Connecticut (UConn)—
• University of Dayton—
• University of Delaware—
• University of Florida1
• University of Georgia1
• University of Houston1
• University of Illinois Chicago—
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign2
• University of Iowa—
• University of Kansas—
• University of Kentucky—
• University of Maine—
• University of Maryland, College Park1
• University of Miami1
• University of Michigan2
• University of Minnesota Twin Cities—
• University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)—
• University of Missouri (Mizzou)—
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln—
• University of New Hampshire (UNH)—
• University of New Mexico—
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill2
• University of North Texas (UNT)—
• University of Notre Dame2
• University of Oklahoma—
• University of Oregon1
• University of Pennsylvania3
• University of Pittsburgh (Pitt)1
• University of Rhode Island (URI)—
• University of Rochester1
• University of San Diego (USD)1
• University of San Francisco (USF)1
• University of South Carolina—
• University of South Florida—
• University of Southern California2
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville—
• University of Texas at Austin4
• University of Utah—
• University of Vermont (UVM)—
• University of Virginia2
• University of Washington2
• University of Wisconsin–Madison1
• UT Arlington—
• UT San Antonio (UTSA)—
• Vanderbilt University1
• Vassar College1
• VCU (Virginia Commonwealth)—
• Villanova University1
• Virginia Tech1
• Wabash College—
• Wake Forest University2
• Washington and Lee University1
• Washington State University—
• Washington University in St. Louis1
• Wellesley College1
• Wesleyan University—
• West Virginia University (WVU)—
• Whitman College—
• William & Mary1
• Williams College1
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute—
• Yale University5