UNC Supplemental Essays 2024-2025

UNC Supplemental Essays 2024-25

How many essays does the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill require?

This year there are only two UNC supplemental essays. They are short answer UNC application essays that have a word limit of 250. These are required essays. Therefore, every student wishing to attend UNC Chapel Hill will need to complete both of the UNC supplemental essays.

Additionally, students will also need to write one personal statement from the Common App essay prompts. In all, students will write a total of three UNC essays: two UNC supplemental essays and one Common App personal statement.

What are the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill supplemental essays?

UNC requires all applicants to complete several UNC supplemental essays in addition to the personal statement found on the Common App. You can find the full prompts for the UNC application essays on the UNC website and in the Common App. We’ll also break down each of the UNC supplemental essays in this guide. 

The two short answer prompts and personal statement that each applicant must submit form part of UNC-Chapel Hill’s holistic evaluation process. According to UNC, the university’s goal is to build a diverse and inclusive community. They hope to learn from each candidate what membership in a community means to them.

Highlighting community

In reading the prompts for the UNC supplemental essays below, you’ll notice that first one asks about aspects of community. As we break down how to address each prompt, we’ll show you how to think through your definitions of community. The best answers to these UNC essays will show that the student has a thorough understanding of what community means to them. They will also address how community impacts them. Successful UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays will also discuss how students’ actions in a community affect others.

If writing the UNC Chapel Hill essays sounds like a lot to think about, don’t be discouraged! Instead, view the UNC supplemental essays as your chance to introduce yourself to the UNC admissions team. With the UNC supplemental essays to write, you have two opportunities to showcase what makes you unique. Use each response to show UNC admissions why UNC-Chapel Hill should admit you.

UNC Supplemental Essays: Short Essays

As a part of the UNC admissions requirements, all applicants to UNC will write two UNC Chapel Hill essays. Each student will write their UNC essays on the same two prompts. While each of these UNC essays has a maximum of just 250 words, these are the longest UNC supplemental essays you’ll write!

As you may have noticed, the first prompt focuses on identity and community. When considering how to write UNC Chapel Hill essays, you’ll need to think about your communities and how they’ve shaped you. Long before the UNC application deadline, start your brainstorming for these essays. That way, you can make sure that you choose the most meaningful topics possible. 

The second of the UNC essays focuses on your academic interests. You’ll want to think about what truly ignites your academic curiosity. However, you’ll need to show why you want to pursue that interest at UNC Chapel Hill specifically.

Both of the UNC supplemental essays are fairly typical college essays. In fact, you might have seen similar prompts as you apply to other schools. So, it’s good to understand how to best write the UNC supplemental essays. It will help you with not only your UNC application, but also with other college applications!

Now, let’s further break down each of these prompts so that you know just how to tackle them. 

UNC Supplemental Essays # 1

Discuss one of your personal qualities and share a story, anecdote, or memory of how it helped you make a positive impact on a community. This could be your current community or another community you have engaged.

The first of the short answer UNC supplemental essays revolves entirely around you and one of your communities. The category of “community” is quite broad. So, successful UNC essays will look quite different for each applicant. 

When approaching this essay, you could focus on a number of qualities that may shape your personality: leadership, perseverance, humor, creativity, innovation, etc. While other things may be important to your identity—such as a love of reading or a deep-seeded interest in classical music—these interests might not belong in this UNC supplement essay unless they connect back to your communities. Successful UNC Chapel Hill essays will need to show just how this aspect of your personality has impacted one of the communities you belong to or have engaged with.

Getting started

As you begin the first of the UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays, think about how your personal qualities affects the ways you relate to the world. After all, while everyone occupies a variety of personality traits, these identities will impact every person in different ways.

Indeed, “personal qualities” is a broad topic. You could choose to focus on aspects of your identity. For example, maybe you’ve faced difficulties as a disabled student working in a field not designed for you; maybe you’ve encountered challenges as a BIPOC student working to cross systemic barriers and access educational opportunities. Whatever you discuss, make sure it feels unique to you and your experience.

On the other hand, you could focus on personality traits. For example, do you view the world through a comedic lens? Or are you extremely innovative and love finding unique solutions to different problems? Maybe you’re a compassionate and empathetic person and those qualities have affected how you relate to and improve your communities. There are certainly plenty of ways to write the first of the UNC supplemental essays. The key is finding the best topic for you!

And of course, make sure to avoid any bigotry or offensive language. The only exception is if you are describing an incident where you’ve experienced bigotry. Then, you could use this incident as a starting point to draw your reader in. However, it shouldn’t be the focus of your response.

Community essays

It’s important to note that in the first of the UNC supplemental essays, community is a huge theme. Of course, you need to relate a personal quality of yours to a positive impact in a community to which you belong or have engaged with. Like “personal qualities,” “community” encompasses many things. This may feel overwhelming at first. However, in reality, this just means you can write on a myriad of topics.

The community essay is a favorite among colleges; therefore, understanding how to best respond to this prompt will help you with many college application essays. But, let’s focus on the UNC supplemental essay prompt.

First, consider the communities to which you belong or have engaged with. In this particular prompt, you need to specifically share a story or anecdote that shows the impact you have made on that community. In this case, it may be easier to first think of a specific story. Either way, you’ll need to show how you personally made a positive impact. What did you bring to the table that brought about positive change?

Consider that admissions teams look for students that will engage with the community campus. Therefore, you need to show that you are an active participant in your community and are looking to better the world with which you interact. In fact, you might even mention a story where you positively impacted a community other than your own. Share a story that shows what you would potentially bring to UNC Chapel Hill’s campus.

Complete answers

Be sure to answer this prompt in its entirety. The personal quality and anecdote that you mention doesn’t matter as much as its positive impact it has on one of your communities. So, when choosing which personal quality and story to focus on, make sure that you can expand on its influence on the communities with which you engage. 

If you have a couple of options, try brainstorming each quality or story’s impact. Then, choose the one that feels the most important to you. Additionally, make sure you have an engaging and interesting story or anecdote to share that relates to that personal quality. Most importantly, you need to actually be excited about what you choose to write on. If you’re passionate about your topic, your essay will have a better chance of impressing UNC admissions. Remember that successful UNC essays will do more than just check another box off on your UNC admissions requirements. It will further show the admissions committee who you are.

UNC Supplemental Essays #2

Discuss an academic topic that you’re excited to explore and learn more about in college. Why does this topic interest you? Topics could be a specific course of study, research interests, or any other area related to your academic experience in college.

The second of the UNC supplemental essays is a fairly common college essay topic: academic interest essay. Obviously, UNC admissions wants to admit students that are passionate about learning, particularly at their school. Therefore, successful UNC supplemental essays will show not only that you are academically motivated and curious, but also that UNC is the perfect place for you to explore those particular interests.

Academic topic

You might have an academic topic or interest that comes immediately to mind. If so, write on that! The academic area that most excites you will make for the best UNC supplemental essays. However, if no area immediately comes to mind, you’ll need to do some brainstorming.

Consider your different high school classes: which did you most enjoy? Were there any that had you exploring on your own time, outside of the classroom? Being academically curious and motivated are important qualities that college admissions teams look for in their applicants. Therefore, successful UNC supplemental essays to this second prompt will need to show that students have a passion for learning.

Now, the prompt particularly asks students to share an academic topic that they are excited to explore in college. Therefore, you could write on an academic topic that you haven’t yet had the opportunity to explore. But, one that you will be able to learn more about during your time at UNC. In summary, successful UNC supplemental essays could expand upon a current academic interest or delve into a new area.

Don’t feel limited to only talk about a major that you plan to pursue. Many students applying to colleges are undecided on their major and course of study. That’s perfectly ok! In fact, this essay isn’t a “why major” essay. It’s much broader than that. You are free to speak about any academic interest! Showing intellectual curiosity is the key in writing this essay, as well as mentioning specific programs only found at UNC.

Research

Sharing an academic topic and why it interests you is important but only partially answers this prompt. The second of the UNC supplemental essays gives students an opportunity to show that they have done their research and know exactly why they want to attend UNC. Therefore, you’ll need to show what opportunities only available at UNC will allow you to explore the academic topic that you’ve explained.

You may already know exactly what you want to write about. For example, perhaps UNC made the top of your college list because of its Center for the Study of the American South. As a history buff, from the south, hoping to further explore where you’ve come from and maybe even apply it to a future career, this center will allow you the unique opportunity to do so. Of course, this is just an example, however, you get the idea! The more specific, the better!

You may choose to mention a major, professor, research opportunity, or even an extracurricular club. As long as it relates to an academic topic of interest and is an opportunity unique to UNC, then it will work perfectly for your essay!

Choosing topics for your UNC essay prompts

As you consider your UNC essays, think about what stories make you who you are. Essentially, the UNC supplemental essays ask you to discuss your community and academic interests. However, there are plenty of potential ways to respond to the two UNC supplemental essays. If one topic for the UNC-Chapel Hill supplemental essays particularly speaks to you, follow your instinct! However, if you’re struggling to choose topics for you UNC supplemental essays, then it might be time for a structured free-write.

Here’s how it works: choose a potential topic and set a ten-minute timer. Write about that topic for the full ten minutes without editing, revising, or reading over your work. Once you finish your first topic idea, move to the next. Do this for both of the UNC supplemental essays. If you find yourself with a lot to say about a given topic—or you just enjoy writing about it—you’ve found the topic for your UNC supplemental essays.

The power of free-writing

If you still feel stuck after your free-write, don’t worry! Look over your free writes for each of the UNC supplemental essays and think about how an admissions officer might view them. Which of these stories tell the reader the most about you? What narratives are the most engaging? Which responses showcase your unique traits? The most authentic stories will make the strongest UNC supplemental essays.

Once you’ve chosen your topics for your UNC supplemental essays, it’s time to start drafting. Reference the previous sections, as we broke down each of the short answer UNC essays. Remember, while we discussed both of the UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essay prompts, you will only choose two of these UNC supplemental essays to complete.

If you’re still struggling with choosing topics for the UNC supplemental essays, look over (or write) your college application letters. You may recall important moments within those letters that could trigger some ideas for the UNC Chapel Hill essays. 

Passion and relevance

The key to choosing the best topics for the UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays are finding the topics that you are most passionate about. And, there’s no faking passion and interest in these UNC essays. Therefore, take the time to choose a topic that really resonates with you. If you have many, then choose the one that shares something new about yourself that hasn’t yet been mentioned in your UNC application.

While passion is important, your topics also need to be relevant to the prompts at hand. While you may be extremely passionate about singing, if it doesn’t relate to either of the UNC essay prompts, then it’s not worth mentioning here. Therefore, brainstorming a list of potential topics for each of the UNC supplemental essays will help you get started. Just make sure that each item on your list is relevant to the prompts. Can you write a UNC essay on the topic and will it fully respond to the prompt?

How do I answer the supplemental essays at UNC-Chapel Hill?

Your UNC supplemental essays should complement the rest of your UNC application to help the admissions team understand who you are and why you belong at UNC.

Wondering what it looks like to build a personal narrative in your application? Check out our expert’s dive into the personal narrative.

Remember to use dynamic, descriptive language in each of your UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays. Your reader should be able to sense your passion and enthusiasm in your UNC supplemental essays. As a rule, authentic, genuine responses make for the strongest UNC Chapel Hill essays. The UNC admissions team read thousands of applications—it’s easy to spot shallow responses meant only to impress admissions officers.

Show, don’t tell

The golden rule of writing applies to your college essays. The best UNC supplemental essays will engage the reader from the start, and take them on a narrative journey. Of course, you only have 250 words to do so. Therefore, you’ll need to use your words wisely. Finding the perfect balance of being descriptive, yet concise, will lead to the most successful UNC Chapel Hill essays.

You’ve probably heard your English teachers talk about showing rather than telling in narrative writing. However, let’s look at this example provided by Reedsy’s blog on the topic:

Tell: Michael was terribly afraid of the dark.

Show: As his mother switched off the light and left the room, Michael tensed. He huddled under the covers, gripped the sheets, and held his breath as the wind brushed past the curtain.

Which has the greater impact and engages the reader? It’s clear that showing is the best way to truly hook your reader and take them on a narrative journey. Remember, you can still be creative and show off your writing skills in college essays. In fact, you absolutely should do so!

Just remember to find the perfect balance when writing your UNC supplemental essays. You need to engage the reader, tell a narrative, and also completely respond to the prompt. Oh, and you only have 250 words to do so! Be sure to give yourself plenty of time to write your UNC supplemental essays. We can assure you that the best college essays weren’t written overnight. They most certainly required multiple drafts to get to their best version. So, do yourself a favor and start preparing your UNC essays early so you can write the best essays possible!

Unsure of where to start when it comes to the UNC Chapel Hill essays? Figuring out how to get into UNC Chapel Hill will require a strong overall UNC application. Start by reading this how to get into UNC Chapel Hill guide. After you understand the process as a whole, then reference this guide as it will give you the tools to craft strong responses to the UNC supplemental essays.

Common App Personal Statement

When applying to UNC, you’ll not only write two UNC supplemental essays, but you’ll also need to write the personal statement found in the Common Application. Luckily, the personal statement can be used for various schools. Most schools will in fact require that you complete the personal statement and their school-specific supplemental essays.

Unlike the UNC supplemental essays, where students write on the same two prompts, the personal statement allows students 7 different prompts to choose from. Here are the prompts found on the Common App for 2024-25:

If one of these prompts jumps out to you and excites you, then that is the prompt you should write on! However, if you’re between a few prompts or are completely unsure of which prompt to choose, you can use our previous tips on choosing a topic for the UNC supplemental essays. Brainstorming and free-writing will allow you to choose the prompt that you have the most to say about.

Additionally, consider any gaps in your overall UNC application. Ideally, your UNC essays will fill in those gaps, adding new information to your application. You most certainly should not simply repeat what’s already been stated. Use the Common App personal statement and the UNC supplemental essays as opportunities to show a new part of your personality, values, and interests to admissions. In the case of UNC, you have three opportunities to do so: two UNC supplemental essays and the personal statement.

Indeed, you can recycle the personal statement. That is to say, you can send the same essay to various schools. In fact, you should do this in order to streamline the application process. The only case in which we wouldn’t recommend reusing your personal statement exactly as it is, is if it repeats information from one of the UNC supplemental essays. However, you can reuse parts or adjust your UNC supplemental essays accordingly. That is to say, if you choose to write your personal statement on prompt #6, and speak about an academic interest, you’ll want to write the second of your UNC supplemental essays on a completely different academic topic. Don’t use the same theme or topic in various essays as this will waste a valuable opportunity to share more about yourself to UNC admissions.

The personal statement is an important part of your UNC application as well as your other college application. Check out this article on how to write the personal statement. In addition to providing you with in-depth information on writing the essay, it also includes 5 personal statement essay examples. Reading these examples can help you see what impresses college admissions. But remember, don’t try to copy essay examples. Simply use them as inspiration to write your own unique story.

5 Tips for Writing the UNC Supplemental Essays

The UNC supplemental essays are in integral part of your overall UNC application. The UNC admissions team has a holistic evaluation process when considering potential applicants. This means they don’t simply look at grades or standardized test scores. They look at the big picture. So, yes, your grades are important, but so are your UNC supplemental essays.

Indeed, your UNC essays are opportunities to share new information about yourself not seen elsewhere in your application. As such, you should place importance on writing the best UNC essays possible! Let’s take a look at some tips you can follow in order to write your best UNC supplemental essays.

Use these 5 tips to help you write your best UNC supplemental essays. And, keep in mind that these tips can be applied to all of your college essay writing. Staying organized is key when it comes to applying to colleges. Essay writing is a time-consuming task, so you’ll need to plan your time accordingly. However, don’t discount the importance of the UNC application essays! They could be what makes or breaks your admissions decision.

Are the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill supplemental essays important?

Yes! As #27 on U.S. News’ Best Colleges list and with a competitive acceptance rate, UNC Chapel Hill places plenty of emphasis on the UNC supplemental essays. It is in fact one of the most important UNC admissions requirements, especially since UNC has extended their test-optional policy for this admissions cycle. However, effective Fall 2025 some students will be required to submit standardized test scores; it will depend on your GPA. Students with a weighted GPA between 2.5-2.8 will be required to submit standardized test scores. Students with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or higher will continue to have the option to submit standardized test scores.

Whether you have excellent grades or not, don’t let the UNC Chapel Hill essays intimidate you. Think of the UNC Chapel Hill essays as your chance to address the admissions team on your own terms. Use this opportunity to show them what you’ll bring to UNC! Indeed, the UNC supplemental essays are an important factor in the UNC admissions process. Since admissions uses a holistic evaluation process, every part of your application matters. Therefore, you’ll want to do everything you can to craft the best application narrative possible, including writing your best UNC supplemental essays!

More CollegeAdvisor resources

In addition to this UNC Supplemental Essays guide, CollegeAdvisor has plenty of valuable resources to help you write your best UNC essays. Take advantage of these free resources to give you some guidance on writing college essays. Especially if you are in the beginning stages of the college application process, understanding how to write a college essay will only help ease your application journey.

Remember, a well-crafted set of UNC Chapel Hill essays can make a huge difference in admissions. There are many UNC admissions requirements, but the UNC supplemental essays are the best way to show your personality and impress admissions. Take your UNC essays seriously—you’ll be glad you did. You may even find inspiration in reading college essay examples. Remember not to mimic other essays, but use them in order to understand how to write your own successful UNC supplemental essays. 

As we mentioned, the UNC supplemental essays center around common college essay prompts. For example, the first of the UNC supplemental essays asks students to talk about how they’ve positively impacted one of their communities. Well, “community essays” are a favorite among colleges. Reading community essay examples can help you prepare to write not only your best UNC supplemental essays, but also other college essays.

We gave you some ideas on choosing an essay topic in this essay guide, however, choosing a topic is arguably the most important part of your college essay writing process. The topic you choose will set the tone for the entire essay. Therefore, you’ll want to be sure you choose the best topics for your UNC supplemental essays. Read our Essay Writing Topics article to help you get started. This will help you with not only your UNC supplemental essays, but also your other college essays.

Finally, sometimes learning about what not to do can provide valuable information in the college essay writing process. Watch our webinar on College Essay Mistakes When Writing About Yourself in order to avoid some common errors that students make. In addition to reviewing some common mistakes, you’ll also learn more about what admissions looks for in essays and how to best tell your story in your unique voice.

Using these free CollegeAdvisor resources, in addition to this essay guide, will give you even more guidance when writing the UNC supplemental essays.

More details about UNC Chapel Hill

UNC Chapel Hill is not only a high ranking national university, but is also ranked #1 in value amongst public universities. To many applicants trying to figure out how to pay for college, quality yet affordable universities are at the top of their lists. Check out UNC’s scholarships and financial aid opportunities.

To learn more about how the UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays fit into the UNC application, visit their admissions page for a list of the UNC admissions requirements. When considering how to get into UNC Chapel Hill applicants will need a strong overall UNC application, including the UNC supplemental essays. 

Be sure to check the UNC application deadline and UNC admission requirements in addition to your UNC supplemental essays. The UNC essays are important, but at a selective school like UNC Chapel Hill, every part of the application matters. 

UNC Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

Before diving into the UNC supplemental essays, first do your research on UNC Chapel Hill. It may be exciting to think about getting your college acceptance letter and figuring out the college enrollment process, but first make sure to be passionate about the schools you apply to. When considering how to write UNC Chapel Hill essays, understanding the university’s mission and values is key. From there, you can build strong essays that focus on who you are and why you want to attend UNC Chapel Hill. 

Remember that completing the two 250-word UNC Chapel Hill essays are an important part of your application. The UNC application essays are opportunities to share new information about yourself with the admissions team. Indeed, your UNC supplemental essays are your time to show off what makes you unique. Don’t be intimidated by the UNC application essays. Rather, take advantage of the chance to shine!

Don’t forget to revise

Finally, don’t forget to revise your UNC application essays multiple times. In fact, you’ll want to start your writing process for these UNC application essays early, a least a few months before the UNC application deadline. Once you’ve completed a draft, you might also ask a trusted adult to proofread your UNC Chapel Hill essays for spelling, grammar, and clarity. However, it’s best to stay away from heavy edits that erase your voice from the UNC supplemental essays. Remember, the admissions officers want to know more about you, not the person who helped you edit your UNC Chapel Hill supplemental essays.

After reading this UNC Supplemental Essays guide we hope that you feel better prepared to tackle writing the UNC application essays. However, we know that college essay writing can be a stressful task for many students. If you’re feeling like you need extra help or personalized attention to get started, then College Advisor has plenty of experts that can guide you along the way. From essay writing to applying for financial aid, our advisors are here to help students and families through every step of the application process. Reach out to learn more!

This 2024-2025 essay guide on UNC–Chapel Hill was written by Sarah Kaminski. Want help crafting your UNC supplemental essays? Click here to create your free account, or call (844) 343-6272 to schedule your free advising consultation with an Admissions Specialist.