2026–27 Common App cycle · Washington, DC
Howard University supplemental essays
2 prompts, 0 required, 2 optional, about 1000 words in total. Below: each prompt, what it is really asking, where drafts go wrong, and the shape of an answer that works.
Free, no card. Paste a draft and Admitify reads it line by line against the prompt. It never writes for you.
The prompts, one by one
- Background and lived experience (optional)up to 500 words · Community
“Diversity of all kinds is important to enriching the educational experience at Howard University. Please share with us anything in your background or lived experience that has shaped your perspectives and how that would contribute to the classroom and community at Howard.”
What it's really askingTwo things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Howard University because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.
Where drafts go wrongDescribing the community instead of your role in it, or choosing the one that sounds impressive rather than the one that changed you. "Diversity" as an abstraction, with no scene.
The shape of a strong answerPick a community you can describe with a scene, not a label. Show one moment where it taught you something or asked something of you. Spend the last third on what that means you'll do at Howard University: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."
- Intended major and goals (optional)up to 500 words · Why this major
“Please describe the major you intend to study and how you hope to use your Howard education to support you in achieving your passions and goals. Please address your first-choice and second-choice major selections.”
What it's really askingThe moment this subject stopped being a class and became a question you couldn't drop. Howard University wants evidence you've chosen on purpose, not by default.
Where drafts go wrongTurning it into a résumé: grades, awards and "I have always been passionate about." A list of achievements is not a reason to study something. Grand missions ("to cure cancer") read as borrowed.
The shape of a strong answerOne specific experience, one specific confusion or question it left you with, and what you did about it on your own. Then one or two things in Howard University's version of the major that match that question. Small and real beats big and vague.
Every US applicant also writes the Common App personal statement: 650 words, seven prompts. Don't repeat it here; the supplements are for what the statement didn't show.
A self-check before you submit
Cover the school name and read the essay. Then cover your name and read it again. It should fail the first test (it only makes sense for Howard University) and pass the second (only you could have written it). If it passes the first test, it's a brochure. If it fails the second, it's a template.
Run your draft through Admitify, free →Prompts verified September 2026 against Howard University's published application. Admission facts and requirements for Howard University are on its university page. Spotted a change? Tell us.