Northwestern asks one required answer of up to 300 words, on how your background has shaped the way you see yourself engaging in its community, and encourages you to answer one or two of five optional questions (fewer than 200 words each): what you would paint on The Rock, a class or project you would dream up, communities you would join, its location, and the perspective your background would add.
Northwestern no longer requires the Common App personal essay and says you may repurpose essays written for other applications if they tell the story you most want to share. That makes the required answer the center of your Northwestern application.
Northwestern's questions at a glance
| Question | Limit | Who answers it | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your background and Northwestern's community | 300 words | Required | Background and identity |
| Painting The Rock | 200 words | Optional: up to 2 of 5 | Creative prompt |
| Dream up a class or project | 200 words | Optional: up to 2 of 5 | Intellectual curiosity |
| Communities you would join | 200 words | Optional: up to 2 of 5 | Community |
| Northwestern's location | 200 words | Optional: up to 2 of 5 | Why this college |
| Your background and diversity of perspectives | 200 words | Optional: up to 2 of 5 | Background and identity |
How to plan the Northwestern supplement
- 1Write the required 300-word answer as carefully as a personal essay: it may be the only long piece Northwestern reads.
- 2Pick optional questions that show something the required answer does not: if that answer is about family, choose the class or the location question.
- 3One strong optional answer beats two thin ones; Northwestern asks for at least one and at most two.
1. Your background and Northwestern's community
Northwestern's wording · 300 words · Required“We want to be sure we’re considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background (your identity, your school setting, your community, your household, etc.) have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?”
What it is really asking. Which aspects of your background (identity, school, community, household and so on) most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern's community, academically, socially, culturally or otherwise.
How to approach it
- 1Choose one or two aspects and show each in a moment.
- 2Connect them to how you engage with people and ideas now.
- 3Spend the last third on Northwestern: where and how you would engage.
Mistakes to avoid
- A background summary with no link to engagement.
- Ending without Northwestern.
Full guide: How to Write Northwestern's Required Background Essay
We encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two of the following questions. Please respond in fewer than 200 words per question.
2. Painting The Rock
Northwestern's wording · 200 words · Optional: up to 2 of 5“Painting “The Rock” is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call “Purple Pride”), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?”
What it is really asking. What you would paint on The Rock, Northwestern's tradition of open expression, and why.
How to approach it
- 1Describe the painting concretely: words, images, colors.
- 2Let the why reveal a value or a community you care about.
Mistakes to avoid
- A slogan with no story behind it.
Full guide: How to Write Northwestern's "Paint The Rock" Essay
3. Dream up a class or project
Northwestern's wording · 200 words · Optional: up to 2 of 5“Northwestern fosters a distinctively interdisciplinary culture. We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of diverse ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?”
What it is really asking. An undergraduate class, research project or creative effort you would dream up at the intersection of interests, and your ideal collaborators.
How to approach it
- 1Combine two interests that do not usually meet.
- 2Describe a first session or first experiment.
- 3Name the kinds of classmates you would want and why.
Mistakes to avoid
- A class that already exists everywhere.
Full guide: How to Write Northwestern's "Dream Up a Class" Essay
4. Communities you would join
Northwestern's wording · 200 words · Optional: up to 2 of 5“Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.”
What it is really asking. Communities, networks or student groups you see yourself connecting with at Northwestern.
How to approach it
- 1Name specific groups (check they exist) and tie each to something you already do.
Mistakes to avoid
- "I will join many clubs".
More on this kind of question: How to write the community essay
5. Northwestern's location
Northwestern's wording · 200 words · Optional: up to 2 of 5“Northwestern’s location is special: on the shore of Lake Michigan, steps from downtown Evanston, just a few miles from Chicago. What aspects of our location are most compelling to you, and why?”
What it is really asking. What about Northwestern's location (Lake Michigan, Evanston, Chicago) is most compelling to you, and why.
How to approach it
- 1Pick one aspect and what you would do with it.
Mistakes to avoid
- Generic big-city excitement.
More on this kind of question: How to write the "Why this college" essay
6. Your background and diversity of perspectives
Northwestern's wording · 200 words · Optional: up to 2 of 5“Northwestern is a place where people with diverse backgrounds from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to this diversity of perspectives in Northwestern’s classrooms and around our campus?”
What it is really asking. How your background would contribute to the diversity of perspectives in classrooms and on campus.
How to approach it
- 1Show the perspective through one example, then where it would show up.
Mistakes to avoid
- Repeating the required essay.
More on this kind of question: How to write the diversity essay
What our grader checks in your Northwestern answers
Every answer is judged against a checklist for its kind of question plus one check written for Northwestern's own wording. Each area comes back Met, Partly or Missing, and those verdicts (with the word limit) set the answer's readiness: Ready, Nearly there or Needs work. There is no score out of 100.
| Question | Northwestern's own check |
|---|---|
| Your background and Northwestern's community | Names aspects of background and how they shape the way the applicant sees themselves engaging in Northwestern's community. |
| Painting The Rock | Says what the applicant would paint on The Rock and why. |
| Dream up a class or project | Describes a class, project or creative effort and names ideal classmates or collaborators. |
| Communities you would join | Names communities, networks or groups at Northwestern and why the applicant would connect with them. |
| Northwestern's location | Names what about Lake Michigan, Evanston or Chicago is compelling to the applicant, and why. |
| Your background and diversity of perspectives | Says how the applicant's background would contribute to the diversity of perspectives in classrooms and on campus. |
The type checklists are on the supplemental essay grader page.
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