2026–27 Common App cycle · Los Angeles, CA
Occidental College supplemental essays
1 prompt, 0 required, 1 optional, about 250 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
- Why Occidental? (optional)up to 250 words · Why us
“Why are you applying to Occidental? Why do you think Occidental is the right place for you to pursue your interests?”
What it's really askingNot "why is Occidental College good" but "what will you do here that you can't do elsewhere, and what in your past proves you'll actually do it." The reader already knows the school is good.
Where drafts go wrongOpening with the campus, the ranking or the "world-renowned faculty." Every sentence that would survive with another school's name swapped in is wasted. Listing three programs with no explanation of any of them is the second trap.
The shape of a strong answerStart with the specific thing you've already been doing. Name one or two concrete Occidental College resources (a course, a lab, a program, a professor's actual work) and say what you'd do with each. End on the next step, not on a compliment.
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 Occidental College) 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 Occidental College's published application. Admission facts and requirements for Occidental College are on its university page. Spotted a change? Tell us.