Elmhurst University supplemental essays
Yes, but every one is optional. Elmhurst University prints one supplemental essay in 2026-27 and requires none of them. Elmhurst's own application. Personal statement optional.
That is one supplement plus the personal statement: at most two pieces of writing in all. Early Action closes November 15, 2026. Every Elmhurst University prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Rolling admission | No fixed date |
| Early Action | November 15, 2026 |
Checked against www.elmhurst.edu/admission/first-year-students/how-to-apply. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Optional
Elmhurst does not publish a topic; its page states an essay is required in lieu of standardized test scores for test-optional applicants, and may otherwise be submitted as an additional, optional material.
Elmhurst's own how-to-apply page says: “If you are applying test-optional, submit your essay. An essay is required in lieu of standardized test scores.” For applicants who submit test scores, the essay is instead listed among optional additional materials (“such as an essay, activity resume, and letters of recommendation”). No topic or word limit is given either way.
Your Elmhurst University checklist
One supplement, optional. The first deadline, Early Action, is November 15, 2026.
- Personal statementOptional
- SupplementOptional
It saves these rows to your essay manager, where each one carries a status you set yourself and the prompt stays attached to it. Add your other schools and they land on the same page, in deadline order. Nothing written yet? The topic quiz is free as well.
Free: this page, the checklist, the essay manager and the topic quiz. Paid: a written review of a finished draft, $49 an essay.
Paste your essay for a free read
Have it in a document? or drop one here (Word, PDF, or Text).
Not sure what a review is? What an AI college essay review can and cannot do, and what a college essay grader leaves out. What the read checks against Elmhurst University’s own prompts is on the Elmhurst University essay review page.
Getting into Elmhurst University
Elmhurst University admits 73.6% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 990-1260 on the SAT and 23-30 on the ACT.
About 7 in 10 applicants are admitted, at a college of 3,006 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 990 | 1130 | 1260 |
| SAT reading and writing | 510 | 570 | 640 |
| SAT math | 480 | 560 | 620 |
| ACT composite | 23 | 26 | 30 |
What SAT score do you need for Elmhurst University?
A 1260 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1130 at their midpoint, and a 990 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 23, 26 and 30. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for Elmhurst University?
- Elmhurst University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 990-1260 on the SAT: a 990 sits at the 25th percentile, 1130 at the median and 1260 at the 75th. A score at or above 1260 is a clear strength in the application; below 990 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Elmhurst University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Elmhurst University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 23-30 on the ACT, with a composite of 26 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 23. Reported by Elmhurst University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Elmhurst University?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for Elmhurst University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Elmhurst University admits 73.6% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into Elmhurst University?
- Elmhurst University admits 73.6% of the people who apply, which is about 7 in 10 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What Elmhurst University costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
Elmhurst University essay questions, answered
- Does Elmhurst University have supplemental essays?
- Yes, but every one is optional. Elmhurst University prints one supplemental essay in 2026-27 and requires none of them. Every prompt is printed in full on this page.
- How many essays do you write for Elmhurst University in 2026-27?
- One supplement, plus the Elmhurst's own application personal statement if you choose to send it.
Schools with similar admit rates
Elmhurst University admits 73.6% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Nova Southeastern University (73.2%), Seton Hall University (73.3%), Louisiana State University (LSU) (73.3%), University of Houston (73.9%), Meredith College (74.2%), University of Buffalo (SUNY) (74.2%).