Butler University supplemental essays
No. Butler University asks for no supplemental essays in 2026-27. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is one piece of writing in all: the Common App personal statement. Early Decision closes November 1, 2026 (Nursing only), Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes February 1, 2027 (Rolling). This page lists Butler University's application deadlines and what the application does ask you to write.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Decision | November 1, 2026 (Nursing only) |
| Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | February 1, 2027 (Rolling) |
Checked against www.butler.edu/admission-aid/first-year/applying-as-a-first-year-student. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The personal statement carries the whole writing signal here.
Butler University reads exactly one piece of writing: the Common App personal statement (250-650 words). There is no "why Butler University" essay and no short answers, so adding it to a list costs zero extra essays; the statement you already have is the entire file here.
That cuts both ways. With no supplement, there is no second chance to show fit or interest in writing, so the one essay has to do all the character work on its own.
Early Decision (November 1, 2026 (Nursing only)) is binding: an admit commits you to enroll. Early Action (November 1, 2026) is non-binding: an earlier answer with no commitment attached. Applications are reviewed as they arrive, so an early file competes while the most seats are still open, which is a reason to finish the statement sooner than any printed date forces you to.
Paste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.
Your Butler University checklist
One piece of writing, and it is required. The first deadline, Early Decision, is November 1, 2026 (Nursing only).
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
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 Butler University’s own prompts is on the Butler University essay review page.
Getting into Butler University
Butler University admits 85.1% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1160-1350 on the SAT and 26-31 on the ACT.
About 9 in 10 applicants are admitted, at a college of 4,317 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1160 | 1250 | 1350 |
| SAT reading and writing | 590 | 630 | 680 |
| SAT math | 570 | 620 | 670 |
| ACT composite | 26 | 28 | 31 |
What SAT score do you need for Butler University?
A 1350 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1250 at their midpoint, and a 1160 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 26, 28 and 31. 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 Butler University?
- Butler University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1160-1350 on the SAT: a 1160 sits at the 25th percentile, 1250 at the median and 1350 at the 75th. A score at or above 1350 is a clear strength in the application; below 1160 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Butler University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Butler University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 26-31 on the ACT, with a composite of 28 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 26. Reported by Butler University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Butler 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 Butler University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Butler University admits 85.1% 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 Butler University?
- Butler University admits 85.1% of the people who apply, which is about 9 in 10 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What Butler 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.
Butler University essay questions, answered
- Does Butler University have supplemental essays?
- No. Butler University asks for no supplemental essays in 2026-27. The Common App personal statement is the only writing in the application. It runs 250 to 650 words.
- How many essays do you write for Butler University in 2026-27?
- One: the Common App personal statement. There are no Butler University supplements in 2026-27, so adding this school to a list costs no extra essays.
Schools with similar admit rates
Butler University admits 85.1% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: San Jose State University (SJSU) (84.6%), Michigan State University (84.8%), Ohio University (85.0%), Linfield University (85.2%), University of Cincinnati (85.3%), University of Northern Colorado (85.9%).