2026–27 application cycle
University of Notre Dame supplemental essays
Every writing prompt on the University of Notre Dame application, with word limits, taken from the application itself. 5 prompts.
- Prompt 1Required150 words max
Your non-negotiables
Everyone has different priorities when considering their higher education options and building their college or university list. Tell us about your "non-negotiable" factor(s) when searching for your future college home.
How to approach it
Goals prompts fail when they stay noble and vague. Pick one concrete problem you care about, connect it to something you have already touched in real life, and let the ambition be specific enough that a reader could disagree with it. Specific beats impressive.
- Prompt 2Required100 words max
Faith and your decisions
How does faith influence the decisions you make?
- Prompt 3Required100 words max
What makes you distinctive
What is distinctive about your personal experiences and development (eg, family support, culture, disability, personal background, community)? Why are these experiences important to you and how will you enrich the Notre Dame community?
How to approach it
Community and identity prompts reward specificity over significance. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label described from the outside. End on what you carry from it into a campus, not on a moral.
- Prompt 4Required100 words max
How you serve others
Notre Dame's undergraduate experience is characterized by a collective sense of care for every person. How do you foster service to others in your community?
How to approach it
Community and identity prompts reward specificity over significance. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label described from the outside. End on what you carry from it into a campus, not on a moral.
- Prompt 5Required100 words max
What you fight for
What would you fight for?
Common questions
University of Notre Dame essays, answered
How many essays does University of Notre Dame require?
University of Notre Dame lists 5 writing supplements for the 2026–27 cycle, all required. That is on top of the main personal statement.
How long are the University of Notre Dame supplemental essays?
Word limits across the listed prompts add up to roughly 550 words. Budget real time for them: supplements are where admissions sees your specific interest in University of Notre Dame.
Do the University of Notre Dame supplemental essays matter?
Yes, and more as selectivity rises. Grades and scores put you in the pool; supplements are one of the few places you control what the reader learns about you, and a generic why-us essay is one of the most common self-inflicted wounds in admissions.
What Spike does with this
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