Princeton University supplemental essays
Princeton University asks for seven supplemental essays in 2026-27, chosen from eight options. Common App, Coalition App, QuestBridge. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is seven supplements plus the Common App personal statement: eight pieces of writing in all. Restrictive Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes January 1, 2027. The prompts carry these limits: 250 words or fewer, 400-500 words, 50 words or fewer. Every Princeton 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 |
|---|---|
| Restrictive Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | January 1, 2027 |
Checked against admission.princeton.edu/apply/princeton-specific-questions. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required (answer 1 of 2 academic prompts, determined by degree, not free choice) · 250 words or fewer
As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
Under the heading "For A.B. Degree Applicants or Those Who Are Undecided". A.B. and undecided applicants answer THIS one; B.S.E. applicants answer the next one instead.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired (answer 1 of 2 academic prompts, determined by degree, not free choice) · 250 words or fewer
Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
Under the heading "For B.S.E Degree Applicants" (Princeton's page spells it "B.S.E" without the final period in this heading). B.S.E. applicants answer THIS one instead of the A.B./undecided prompt.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired · 400-500 words
Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? (Please respond in 400-500 words.)
First of two prompts under the section heading "Your Voice". Note this is a RANGE (400-500), not a maximum.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired · 250 words or fewer
Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? (Please respond in 250 words or fewer.)
Second of two prompts under the section heading "Your Voice". THIS IS THE SERVICE/CIVIC ESSAY WE WERE MISSING.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired · 50 words or fewer
What is a new skill you would like to learn in college?
First of three short questions under the section heading "More About You", introduced by: "Please respond to each question in 50 words or fewer. There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!" All three are required, not choose-one.
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 50 words or fewer
What brings you joy?
Second of three short questions under "More About You".
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · 50 words or fewer
What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?
Third of three short questions under "More About You".
Short answer. Paste it on the homepage and we will read it.
Required · Papers should be at least one page in length. No maximum stated.
We ask all students to submit a graded written paper for consideration as part of their application to Princeton.
Not an essay: this is an existing school assignment the student uploads, not new writing. Princeton's rules, verbatim from https://admission.princeton.edu/apply/graded-written-paper : "The paper should be from an academic course in English, social studies or history, from the last three years of secondary school, including senior year. You may send a paper, essay, research paper or in-class essay exam. Note that we are most interested in seeing expository, thesis-driven analytical writing rather than science research, creative writing, personal narratives or papers mostly focused on data analysis." Also: "Papers should be at least one page in length."; "Please include the entire paper as well as the prompt, the grade you received and any available comments."; "The paper should be originally written in English (no translations)." Submit either by uploading with the Common Application or by uploading to the applicant portal, email or USPS mail. The prompt field above quotes the guideline sentence; the exact sentence on the page reads "We ask all students to submit a graded written paper for consideration as part of their application to Princeton." (their, not your) and the questions page states "Please note: Princeton also requires you to submit a graded written paper as part of your application."
Your Princeton University checklist
Seven supplements, all required. The first deadline, Restrictive Early Action, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- Supplements 1 and 2Required250 words or fewer each
- Supplement 3Required400-500 words
- Supplement 4Required250 words or fewer
- Supplement 5Required50 words or fewer
- Supplement 6Required50 words or fewer
- Supplement 7Required50 words or fewer
- Supplement 8Required
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 Princeton University’s own prompts is on the Princeton University essay review page.
Getting into Princeton University
Princeton University admits 4.6% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1510-1580 on the SAT and 34-35 on the ACT.
About 1 in 22 applicants are admitted, at a college of 5,709 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1510 | 1550 | 1580 |
| SAT reading and writing | 740 | 760 | 780 |
| SAT math | 770 | 790 | 800 |
| ACT composite | 34 | 35 | 35 |
What SAT score do you need for Princeton University?
A 1580 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1550 at their midpoint, and a 1510 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 34, 35 and 35. 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 Princeton University?
- Princeton University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1510-1580 on the SAT: a 1510 sits at the 25th percentile, 1550 at the median and 1580 at the 75th. A score at or above 1580 is a clear strength in the application; below 1510 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Princeton University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Princeton University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 34-35 on the ACT, with a composite of 35 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 34. Reported by Princeton University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Princeton 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 Princeton University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Princeton University admits 4.6% 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 Princeton University?
- Princeton University admits 4.6% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 22 applicants. At that rate no set of numbers makes admission likely, a perfect one included, because the college turns away far more qualified applicants than it takes. Strong grades and scores get the application read; the essays, the recommendations and what you have actually done decide it from there.
What Princeton 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.
Princeton University essay questions, answered
- Does Princeton University have supplemental essays?
- Yes. Princeton University asks for seven supplemental essays in 2026-27, chosen from eight options. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 250 words or fewer, 400-500 words.
- How many essays do you write for Princeton University in 2026-27?
- Seven supplements, plus the Common App personal statement.
Schools with similar admit rates
Princeton University admits 4.6% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Columbia University (4.0%), University of Chicago (4.5%), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (4.5%), Northeastern University (5.2%), Brown University (5.4%), Dartmouth College (5.4%).