Supplemental essays
Free Supplemental Essay Grader
Supplemental essays are short, specific and unforgiving. You have 150–300 words to prove you read the question and know the school. This grader checks whether every sentence is earning its place.
- A direct answer in the first two sentences
- Concrete resources, classes, programs or people at the school
- A connection between those resources and your actual goals
Free review · no account required · 250-word default limit
Scores come from our own writing rubric. They are not official admissions ratings and do not predict admission.
Why supplemental essays fail
Most supplemental drafts fail for one of three reasons: they answer a slightly different question, they praise the school in language that could apply to any school, or they spend the first third of the word count on setup.
The grader scores specificity and fit more heavily than it does for a personal statement. Storytelling matters, but a beautiful anecdote that never mentions the school will not rescue the essay.
- The answer arrives in the first two sentences
- The school-specific section names real programs, classes or people
- The connection to your goals is plausible and specific
- The essay would not work if you swapped in another university
What the report checks
- 01
Prompt alignment
Does the draft answer the exact question? The report flags the parts that answer a neighbouring question instead.
- 02
School specificity
Are there named resources, and are they connected to something you have actually done or want to do?
- 03
Compression
In 250 words, a slow opening costs a quarter of the essay. The report identifies sentences that can be cut without losing information.
- 04
Voice under constraint
Short essays often become formal. The voice dimension checks whether the draft still sounds like you.
How supplemental essays are weighted
The supplemental rubric is voice 15, reflection 15, storytelling 10, specificity 20, character and fit 25, and writing 15. Compared with the personal statement, fit and specificity carry more weight and narrative structure carries less.
Free Supplemental Essay Grader: questions
How long should a supplemental essay be?+
It depends on the school and the prompt, usually 150–400 words. Paste the school’s stated limit into the word-limit field; many are 250 words. The report flags a draft that is over the limit or so far under it that it looks unfinished.
Can I grade a Why Us essay here?+
You can, but the dedicated Why This College checker uses a fit-weighted rubric and fit-specific questions. Use it when the prompt is explicitly about why you want that school.
Should every supplemental essay be different?+
The school-specific section should be genuinely different for each school. Reusing the same structure is fine; reusing the same claims about “a collaborative community” is not.
Does the grader know the school’s prompt?+
It evaluates alignment against the prompt text you paste. It does not invent a school’s requirements. Always confirm the prompt and word limit on the university’s admissions site.
Free review
Ready to see what the reader notices?
Paste one essay. Get the score, the six dimensions and the sentences that need work — before you hit submit.