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How to Write Wake Forest's Top Ten List

Your Top Ten list on a theme of your choice (100 characters per line).

no set limitOptional: answer up to 1 of 4List2026-27
Wake Forest University's wording, checked October 26, 2026
“Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.)”

100 character limit per line.

How to approach it

  1. 1Pick a theme that reveals you; make each line specific.
  2. 2The choice of theme is yours, and it is half the answer.
  3. 3Humor is welcome if it is yours. So is sincerity.

A structure that works

One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.

  1. 1Choose a theme only you would pick, and put it in the title.
  2. 2Write fifteen items and keep the ten most specific.
  3. 3Order them for rhythm, with the best at number one or number ten.
  4. 4Read it aloud: it should sound like you talking.
A theme that reveals something (invented student)
Top ten things I have learned from losing at chess to my grandfather.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Ten generic items.
  • A theme that repeats your activities list.

The checklist our grader uses for this question

When you check your Wake Forest answers, this answer is read against these 4 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the no set limit limit they set its readiness verdict.

AreaWhat a reader looks for
Follows the formatIt is the list the college asked for, in the format it set (items only, the right number, no explanations unless invited).
Specific itemsItems are specific titles, names or things, not categories ("podcasts about science").
The list says somethingRead as a whole, the list reveals range, depth or a pattern that tells the reader about the applicant.
Wake Forest's askIt does every part of what Wake Forest's question asks, in the college's own terms.

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Questions

How long is Wake Forest's "Your Top Ten List" essay?

100 character limit per line.

Is it required?

Optional: answer up to 1 of 4. Wake Forest's full set of questions is on the Wake Forest supplemental essays page.

Can I reuse an essay from another college for this prompt?

You can start from material you have, but rewrite it for Wake Forest's exact wording: answer every part of this question, and cut what it does not ask for.

Can Statementory write or improve my answer?

We never write or rewrite it: colleges ask you to affirm your essays are your own work. Our checker reviews it against the checklist on this page, quotes your own words, and asks the questions only you can answer.

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