Adrianne is a Senior Admissions Counselor and TV/film director, producer, writer, and actress currently based in LA. She uses her experience in multiple disciplines to help students achieve their personal and academic goals.
Working on your Princeton supplemental essays? Whether you’re completing the “Your Voice” prompt or writing about an extracurricular activity, we’ve got you covered with tips to make your Princeton supplemental essays stand out.
Welcome to the Princeton supplemental essays for the 2025-2026 application cycle!
The Princeton writing supplement divides its essays into the following sections: A.B. Degree/B.S.E. Degree Applicants (basically “Why Major”), “Your Voice,” and “More About You.” For Princeton supplemental essay questions — which you can find here on the Princeton website — you have more power to shape your responses as you write your application. It’s worth putting significant effort into these since Princeton’s extremely low acceptance rate means you need to stand out in a very competitive pool.
Here’s how to write the best Princeton supplemental essays possible.
Table of Contents
For A.B. Degree Applicants or Those Who are Undecided:
As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
If you’re already familiar with many of the common questions on college applications, this question is essentially the “Why Major” prompt, which usually asks you about the specific programs, majors, and concentrations you’d like to pursue at the given school. The key to writing this essay is extensive research into Princeton’s offerings in the classroom.
Dive into class descriptions, syllabi, faculty research, and anything you can find to help you craft your essay with as much specific detail as possible. Without repeating your resume or getting too repetitive in the context of the rest of your application, tie in your experience to these specific offerings to show how you will take advantage of the resources you’d have access to at Princeton. Show them what makes you excited to learn and fuels your curiosity about the subjects you love the most.
Obviously, Princeton is world-renowned for its academics, but avoid mentioning this prestige as a reason you want to attend. With 42,303 applicants for the class of 2029, it’s safe to assume most applicants are interested in Princeton’s prestige — instead, focus on what makes Princeton a great academic fit for you and you a great fit for them.
For B.S.E. Degree Applicants:
Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
The same “Why Major” insight mentioned above applies here as well. Since the prompt specifically asks for you to describe any previous experience, make sure that it is a significant part of your essay — balance that with the same specific, in-depth research you should do on the engineering program. Focus less on the aspect of academic curiosity since that is not a part of this prompt.
Your Voice
1. Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? (Please respond in 500 words or fewer.)
This is a very broad and open-ended question with a pretty long word count, so you must include as much specificity and vivid imagery as you can. Since it is such a long essay that feels somewhat similar to the Common App prompts, steer clear of the topics and stories you used in your personal statement. You could still mention them if relevant, but you don’t want to repeat yourself. Choose another “way in” to discuss your life experiences and how they’ve informed who you are today.
While you should still write a catchy hook and use a specific story to help elucidate who you are, this question is asking you to bring all of your experiences together and draw conclusions about what you’ve learned from them. When brainstorming for this, it’s important to remember the narrative that you’re building throughout your application and your overall “brand.” At the same time, you want to add a new insight to your application. How will these experiences inform your potential interactions on campus, from the classroom to the dorm room?
2. Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
This is a variation on a classic prompt about community and/or the meaning of community to you. Colleges understandably want students who are going to leave lasting impacts on their campuses, especially at a well-known school like Princeton. Consider how you can best convince the Princeton admissions committee that you are going to be a force for good on their campus. This will likely involve discussing a time you took initiative to change something upon noticing a problem.
Alongside being intelligent, Princeton students are also very passionate about making a difference. How have you done that in your school, town, or state already? If you haven’t done something yet, then write an essay looking towards the future (the “or will intersect” part) that convinces them you will. Come up with a viable and impactful plan to improve the world with your abilities and make them want to give you the education that will support that improvement. Avoid speaking in generalities and vague statements, as your essay will be forgettable without specific details.
More About You
Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!
First of all, there are definitely wrong answers — don’t be fooled. These questions help Princeton admissions officers get a better feel for how your personality fits their college and could also be called “personality questions.” Princeton is known as upscale, sometimes artsy, cerebral, and very put together, although there is a lot of diversity in these features among the undergraduate population. But since you don’t have much room, you need to convey all of this as efficiently as possible.
Would you get along well with the people at Princeton? This is where they look to find that out!
1. What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
Think back to Princeton’s desired traits. Don’t just say you want to learn guitar or karate without a good reason to back it up. There are thousands of “skills” you could learn, so pick one and describe its unique appeal among this vast array of potential abilities. And make sure that it fits with the overall narrative you’ve been crafting throughout your Princeton application. What skill would help you better reach your personal goals? It could also help you academically or professionally, but it’s usually ideal to go a more personal route with these short questions.
2. What brings you joy?
Well, ask yourself: what brings you joy? The best advice here is to be honest and be yourself, as they mentioned above. An admissions officer can smell a disingenuous answer to this question, like “math problems” or “studying for history tests,” from a mile away. Paint yourself as an honest and balanced human, more than just an intense student, in your answer to this. Obviously, stay away from inappropriate or completely irrelevant topics, but there is no need to convince Princeton that you’re someone you’re not.
3. What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
It would be smart here to pick something the admissions officers are likely to have heard — obscure music, even if it is a genuine interest of yours, may not play well. They probably won’t look up many people’s responses here, given their time constraints, so pick a song that strikes that balance between recognizable and unique. Stay away from overly explicit and inappropriate music, and consider the kind of music that tells a story similar to the situation you’re in currently. Choose something unique, but don’t feel the need to find something overly obscure if it feels inauthentic.
Graded Written Paper
Princeton requires you to submit a graded written paper as part of your application.
This is a pretty unique request on a college application, but it speaks to Princeton’s emphasis on their students’ academic prowess. Of course, pick a paper where you got great feedback and a high grade. The more complex and polished the argument you make in the paper, the better, especially if it’s about an interesting and/or unexpected topic. If you have no idea what to submit, ask your teacher in your best subject what they might recommend submitting.
If you’re looking for help on your Princeton supplemental essays, set up a free consultation with one of our expert college admissions consultants. We offer hands-on essay ideation, drafting, and editing assistance.
