Seattle University supplemental essays
Yes, but every one is optional. Seattle University prints two supplemental essays in 2026-27 and requires none of them, plus more depending on your college or program. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes January 15, 2027. The prompts carry this limit: 250 words or less. Every Seattle 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 |
|---|---|
| Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | January 15, 2027 |
Checked against www.seattleu.edu/admissions-aid/undergraduate-admissions/first-year-admissions/how-to-apply. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Optional
Located in one of the world's top cities for technology and innovation and deeply rooted in 500 years of Jesuit tradition, a Seattle University education is innovative, rigorous, global and holistic. We encourage students to challenge preconceived notions, reflect before they react, and strive for the greater good. What is it that drew you to apply to Seattle University? Where do you hope a Seattle University education will take you?
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptOptional
At Seattle University we are inspired by the diversity of our campus community and are committed to a culture where equity, inclusion and belonging are hallmarks of who we are. Tell us about an experience you have had involving equity, inclusion or belonging—whether through celebration, inspiration, challenge or adversity—and why it was meaningful to you and how it would demonstrate your unique ability to contribute to the university.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired for Nursing program applicants only · 250 words or less
The nursing program is a competitive program that admits students directly to the four-year nursing cohort. The College of Nursing and Health Sciences' mission is to educate and inspire leaders to transform health care for a just and humane world. Why are you applying to the nursing program at Seattle University and what aspects of the profession uniquely excite you?
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired for Diagnostic Ultrasound program applicants only · 250 words or less
The Diagnostic Ultrasound program at Seattle University is a competitive program that admits students directly to the four-year Diagnostic Ultrasound cohort. The College of Nursing and Health Science's mission is to educate and inspire leaders to transform healthcare for a just and humane world. Why are you applying to the Diagnostic Ultrasound program at Seattle University and what aspects of the profession uniquely excite you?
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this promptRequired for Cornish College of the Arts applicants only
Your artist statement is a way to introduce yourself and your work. We are interested in finding out more about you as an individual, your artistic practice, and why you believe Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University is the right college for you. Please include information about performances, exhibitions, projects, and any other experiences that have contributed to your work.
Submitted via the Redhawk Admissions Portal, not the Common App. Cornish also has a separate audition/portfolio requirement described on its own site, which is not an essay.
Get a free read on this essayPaste your draft, see the verdict before you pay.No draft yet? Pick a topic for this prompt
Your Seattle University checklist
Two supplements, all optional. The first deadline, Early Action, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- Supplements 1 and 2Optional
- 3 program-specific promptsOnly if you apply to the college or program it names. All printed in full above.
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 Seattle University’s own prompts is on the Seattle University essay review page.
Getting into Seattle University
Seattle University admits 76.9% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1200-1430 on the SAT and 23-30 on the ACT.
About 8 in 10 applicants are admitted, at a college of 4,062 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1200 | 1310 | 1430 |
| SAT reading and writing | 620 | 660 | 710 |
| SAT math | 580 | 650 | 720 |
| ACT composite | 23 | 27 | 30 |
What SAT score do you need for Seattle University?
A 1430 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1310 at their midpoint, and a 1200 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 23, 27 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 Seattle University?
- Seattle University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1200-1430 on the SAT: a 1200 sits at the 25th percentile, 1310 at the median and 1430 at the 75th. A score at or above 1430 is a clear strength in the application; below 1200 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures Seattle University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for Seattle University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 23-30 on the ACT, with a composite of 27 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 23. Reported by Seattle University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for Seattle 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 Seattle University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that Seattle University admits 76.9% 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 Seattle University?
- Seattle University admits 76.9% of the people who apply, which is about 8 in 10 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What Seattle 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.
Seattle University essay questions, answered
- Does Seattle University have supplemental essays?
- Yes, but every one is optional. Seattle University prints two supplemental essays in 2026-27 and requires none of them, plus more depending on your college or program. Every prompt is printed in full on this page. Word limits: 250 words or less.
- How many essays do you write for Seattle University in 2026-27?
- Two supplements, plus the Common App personal statement. Some applicants write more, depending on the college or program.
Schools with similar admit rates
Seattle University admits 76.9% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Pace University (75.9%), University of Oklahoma (76.6%), University of Alabama (76.6%), Oregon State University (77.3%), University of Illinois Chicago (77.3%), Clarkson University (77.4%).