Washington and Lee University supplemental essays

The prompts, one by one

1. Why W&L? (optional)up to 250 words · Why us

   “There are over 8,200 accredited colleges and universities in the U.S. alone. You have chosen to apply to Washington and Lee University. Please describe how you have familiarized yourself with W&L and what aspects of its community are most exciting to you.”

   What it's really asking

   Not "why is Washington and Lee 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 Washington and Lee 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.

2. Short answer Option 1: life outside school (optional)up to 250 words · Activity

   “Please describe an aspect of your life outside of school that is important to you, such as an extracurricular activity, a job, or a family responsibility. How has your involvement shaped your personal qualities and growth, and how has it impacted those around you?”

   What it's really asking

   Depth on one activity: what you actually did, what was hard about it, and why it mattered to you beyond the title. Washington and Lee University already has your activities list; this is the story behind one line of it.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Re-listing the activities list in prose, or choosing the most prestigious activity rather than the one you can say something true about. Starting with "I joined X in ninth grade."

   The shape of a strong answer

   Start inside a specific moment of the activity. Explain one problem you solved or one thing you built, with detail only a participant would know. Close on what it changed in how you think or work.

3. Short answer Option 2: diversity (optional)up to 250 words · Community

   “W&L's mission statement focuses on preparing graduates for lifelong learning in a global and diverse society. Engaging with faculty, staff, and classmates with diverse identities, experiences, and perspectives is an essential component of our education. Recognizing that diversity takes many forms, what diverse aspect would you bring to W&L?”

   What it's really asking

   Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Washington and Lee 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 Washington and Lee University: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

4. Short answer Option 3: curious mind (optional)up to 250 words · Intellectual curiosity

   “Reveal to us how your curious mind works by sharing something you spend considerable time thinking or learning about.”

   What it's really asking

   Whether you think about things when nobody is grading you. Washington and Lee 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.

5. Short answer Option 4: your name (optional)up to 250 words · Open prompt

   “On a residential college campus with a Speaking Tradition that encourages connections between individuals, using each other's names matters. Please share the story of any name you go by and what significance it holds for you.”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Washington and Lee 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.

6. Johnson Scholarship Prompt 1: work of artup to 800 words · Why this major

   “"To promote literature in this rising empire and to encourage the arts, have ever been amongst the warmest wishes of my heart" (George Washington, 1798, first president of the United States and first major benefactor of Washington and Lee University). Describe a work of art that has influenced you, and discuss the impact it has had on you.”

   What it's really asking

   The moment this subject stopped being a class and became a question you couldn't drop. Washington and Lee University wants evidence you've chosen on purpose, not by default.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Turning 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 answer

   One 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 Washington and Lee University's version of the major that match that question. Small and real beats big and vague.

7. Johnson Scholarship Prompt 2: non-linear pathup to 800 words · Open prompt

   “In mathematics, the shortest distance between two points on a flat surface is a straight line. While geometry is predictable, sometimes daily life is not. Reflect on a time when your path was not as simple or direct as anticipated. How did you manage, and what did you learn?”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Washington and Lee 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.

8. Johnson Scholarship Prompt 3: authentic selfup to 800 words · Open prompt

   “We live in a world in which much of our self-representation is curated online via short-lived social media 'stories' and disappearing photos. What photo or other representation of yourself is authentically you? What does it say about your growth into the person you are today and the person you want to become? Please use only the words in your essay to address this question. Do not include photographs or other materials in your answer.”

   What it's really asking

   Whatever matters to you that the rest of the application hasn't shown. Washington and Lee 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.

9. Johnson Scholarship Prompt 4: Spring Term courseup to 800 words · Program essay

   “W&L's Spring Term is a four-week, intensive experience during which students take only one course, allowing for undivided attention to the subject matter. Spring Term courses are known for innovative pedagogy, interdisciplinary scholarship, travel, and fieldwork in diverse settings. If you could design a Spring Term course, what would you propose, and why would you choose to pursue that topic?”

   What it's really asking

   Why this specific program at Washington and Lee University, and whether you understand what it adds beyond the regular degree. Honors and scholar programs read these for fit with how they teach, not for how impressive you are.

   Where drafts go wrong

   Treating it as another "why us" or restating your transcript. Not mentioning anything the program actually does.

   The shape of a strong answer

   Name one thing the program does that the regular path doesn't (seminars, research, cohort, a specific project) and connect it to something you've already done. Show you'd use it, not just qualify for it.

10. Johnson Scholarship Prompt 5: Baldwin and community normsup to 800 words · Community

    “In his October 1963, A Talk to Teachers, James Baldwin said "…the whole process of education occurs within a social framework and is designed to perpetuate the aims of society." Yet, as he aptly notes, "the paradox of education is precisely this – that as one begins to become conscious, one begins to examine the society in which he is being educated." Baldwin suggests that the purpose of education is to teach us to think for ourselves, to question – and change – the "framework" that we have come to understand and accept. What norms of your home or community have you become conscious of during your time in high school, and how would you like to use that knowledge to make it a better place?”

    What it's really asking

    Two things at once: which community actually shaped how you think, and what you will bring to Washington and Lee 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 Washington and Lee University: a specific contribution, not "bring my perspective."

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 Washington and Lee 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.