Tulane University and Washington University in St. Louis are among the institutions doing away with supplemental essays for the upcoming admissions season.
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Several selective universities have announced they will remove supplemental essays from their application materials for the 2026–27 admissions cycle, causing a stir in the admissions world.
Some of those institutions said they made the change because the supplemental essays played a relatively small role in their admissions decisions—especially compared to the longer personal statement.
Among the institutions that have dropped an essay requirement this year are Tulane University, which is pausing its “Why Tulane?” essay, and Washington University in St. Louis, which removed an optional essay, the topic of which varied from year to year. The University of Georgia also removed a supplemental essay, which, for the past few years, had asked students to discuss a book they read and enjoyed. And Cornell University removed its universitywide essay but will still require applicants to write an essay for the specific school or college they wish to attend.
