Wake Forest University supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Why Wake Forest?up to 100 words · Why us

   “Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution.”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Wake Forest University 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 wrong

   Opening 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 answer

   Start with the specific thing you've already been doing. Name one or two concrete Wake Forest University 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. At 100 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

2. Five books list (optional)no stated word limit · Open prompt

   “List five books you have read that intrigued you.”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Wake Forest University is giving you the floor; the question is what you choose to put on it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Using the space to summarise achievements, apologise for a weakness, or restate the personal statement. Choosing a topic because it sounds like what colleges want.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One subject the reader couldn't guess from your file, told through a specific scene. Keep it in your own voice; if it sounds like a brochure, cut it. End on something still unresolved.

3. Intellectual curiosity (optional)up to 150 words · Intellectual curiosity

   “Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world's complexity. This can include a work you've read, a project you've completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved.”

   What it's really asking

   Whether you think about things when nobody is grading you. Wake Forest University wants a specific idea, question or project and the way your mind moved through it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Name-dropping a big topic (AI, climate, quantum) and describing it instead of your own thinking about it. Essays that could have been written from the Wikipedia page.

   The shape of a strong answer

   One specific question or thing you made. The wrong turns and what you tried next. What you still don't know. Curiosity reads as unfinished; that's the point. At 150 words there is room for exactly one example, explained properly.

4. Maya Angelou quote (optional)up to 300 words · Community

   “Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person's dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou's powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community?”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Wake Forest University because of it. The second half is where most drafts stop short.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Describing 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 answer

   Pick 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 Wake Forest University: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

5. Top Ten list (optional)no stated word limit · Short answer

   “Give us your Top Ten list. (The choice of theme is yours.)”

   What it's really asking

   Personality in a sentence or two. These are read fast, often together, to see whether a real person wrote the application.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Trying to be impressive in 50 words, or trying to be quirky on purpose. Both read as effort. Repeating something already in your other essays.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Answer the literal question with one concrete, specific detail you'd actually say out loud. Short sentences. One thing, not three. If it makes a friend smile, it's right.

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 Wake Forest 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.