2026–27 Common App cycle · Baltimore, MD
Johns Hopkins University supplemental essays
1 prompt, 1 required, about 350 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
- Engaging across differences essay200-350 words · Disagreement
“At Johns Hopkins, community is built through dialogue, collaboration, and a willingness to engage across differences. Whether on campus or in the broader world, community depends on bridge builders who can listen to differing perspectives, challenge their own assumptions, or work together toward shared goals. Drawing on your own experiences, what have you learned about engaging across differences and how has it shaped the way you think about building bridges, enhancing community, and working with others?”
What it's really askingWhether you can hold a disagreement without flattening the other person. Johns Hopkins University is checking for intellectual humility and the ability to keep talking, not for who won.
Where drafts go wrongChoosing a disagreement where you were obviously right and the other person obviously wrong. Or ending with "we agreed to disagree," which says nothing happened.
The shape of a strong answerA real disagreement with a real person, stated fairly from their side. What you did in the conversation (not what you felt). What shifted afterwards, in you, even if your view held. Specific lines of dialogue help.
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 Johns Hopkins 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 Johns Hopkins University's published application. Admission facts and requirements for Johns Hopkins University are on its university page. Spotted a change? Tell us.