Essay requirements, 2026-27

206 colleges: prompts word for word, word limits, deadlines. Collected from college websites in August 2026 and not guaranteed, so confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.

Applying to several? Build your list and get one calendar, one word count, and every prompt in writing order.

• Amherst College4
• Appalachian State University1
• Arizona State University—
• Auburn University1
• Bard College—
• Barnard College2
• Bates College—
• Baylor University1
• Bennington College—
• Binghamton University (SUNY)—
• Boston University1
• Bowdoin College1
• Brandeis University1
• Brigham Young University (BYU)1
• Brown University3
• Bucknell University1
• Cal Poly Pomona—
• Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO)—
• California Institute of Technology8
• Carleton College1
• Carnegie Mellon University3
• Case Western Reserve University—
• Centre College1
• Chapman University2
• Claremont McKenna College2
• Clarkson University—
• Clemson University—
• Colby College—
• Colgate University1
• College of the Holy Cross—
• College of Wooster1
• Colorado College1
• Colorado State University—
• Columbia University6
• Cornell University1
• CSU Long Beach (CSULB)—
• CUNY Baruch College3
• CUNY Hunter College3
• Dartmouth College9
• Davidson College1
• Denison University—
• DePauw University—
• Dickinson College3
• Drexel University—
• Duke University3
• East Carolina University (ECU)1
• Emory University2
• Fordham University1
• Franklin & Marshall College—
• Furman University1
• George Mason University1
• George Washington University1
• Gettysburg College—
• Gonzaga University1
• Grinnell College1
• Hamilton College1
• Harvard University5
• Harvey Mudd College2
• Haverford College1
• Hofstra University1
• Howard University1
• Illinois Institute of Technology1
• Indiana University Bloomington1
• Iowa State University—
• James Madison University (JMU)—
• Johns Hopkins University1
• Kenyon College—
• Lafayette College1
• Lehigh University1
• Louisiana State University (LSU)—
• Loyola University Chicago—
• Macalester College1
• Marquette University—
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology7
• Michigan State University—
• Michigan Technological University—
• Middlebury College—
• Mississippi State University—
• Morehouse College1
• Mount Holyoke College1
• New Jersey Institute of Technology—
• New York University1
• North Carolina State University1
• Northeastern University—
• Northwestern University1
• Nova Southeastern University—
• Oberlin College1
• Occidental College1
• Ohio State University—
• Ohio University—
• Oklahoma State University—
• Oregon State University—
• Pace University—
• Penn State University1
• Pennsylvania State University1
• Pepperdine University1
• Pitzer College1
• Pomona College2
• Princeton University2
• Purdue University2
• Reed College1
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute1
• Rhodes College—
• Rice University3
• Rutgers University–New Brunswick—
• Saint Louis University (SLU)—
• San Diego State University (SDSU)—
• San Jose State University (SJSU)—
• Santa Clara University1
• Sarah Lawrence College4
• Seton Hall University—
• Sewanee: The University of the South—
• Skidmore College—
• Smith College1
• Southern Methodist University1
• Spelman College1
• St. John's University (NY)—
• St. Olaf College1
• Stanford University8
• Stevens Institute of Technology1
• Stony Brook University (SUNY)—
• Swarthmore College2
• Syracuse University1
• Temple University—
• Texas A&M University7
• Texas Christian University4
• Texas State University3
• Texas Tech University1
• Towson University—
• Trinity College (CT)1
• Tufts University5
• Tulane University1
• UMass Amherst1
• UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County)—
• UNC Charlotte—
• Union College (NY)—
• University at Albany (SUNY)—
• University of Alabama—
• University of Arizona2
• University of Arkansas—
• University of Buffalo (SUNY)—
• University of California System (All 9 Undergraduate Campuses)8
• University of Chicago7
• University of Colorado Boulder1
• University of Connecticut (UConn)—
• University of Dayton—
• University of Delaware1
• University of Florida1
• University of Georgia1
• University of Houston1
• University of Illinois Chicago1
• University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign2
• University of Iowa—
• University of Kansas—
• University of Kentucky1
• University of Maine—
• University of Maryland, College Park1
• University of Miami1
• University of Michigan2
• University of Minnesota Twin Cities1
• University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)—
• University of Missouri (Mizzou)1
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln—
• University of New Hampshire (UNH)—
• University of New Mexico—
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—
• University of North Texas (UNT)—
• University of Notre Dame5
• University of Oklahoma—
• University of Oregon1
• University of Pennsylvania3
• University of Pittsburgh (Pitt)1
• University of Rhode Island (URI)—
• University of Rochester1
• University of San Diego (USD)1
• University of San Francisco (USF)1
• University of South Carolina1
• University of South Florida—
• University of Southern California2
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville—
• University of Texas at Austin4
• University of Utah1
• University of Vermont (UVM)—
• University of Virginia2
• University of Washington—
• University of Wisconsin–Madison1
• UT Arlington1
• UT San Antonio (UTSA)1
• Vanderbilt University1
• Vassar College1
• VCU (Virginia Commonwealth)—
• Villanova University5
• Virginia Tech1
• Wabash College1
• Wake Forest University5
• Washington and Lee University5
• Washington State University—
• Washington University in St. Louis1
• Wellesley College1
• Wesleyan University—
• West Virginia University (WVU)—
• Whitman College—
• William & Mary1
• Williams College1
• Worcester Polytechnic Institute1
• Yale University5