“Dear Human, I’m sixty percent banana.” This sentence began an essay that helped me get into Stanford. “Bonus points for anyone who kicks the ceiling” began one for my Yale supplement. Short and sweet sentences like this can be effective ways to draw in a reader at the beginning of

Welcome to the Princeton supplemental essays! Princeton University divides its numerous supplemental short answer and essay questions into “Activities,” “Summers,” “A Few Details” (they actually want nine details, which, in my book is more than a few), and “Essay: Your Voice.” This last section provides four different prompts you can