2026-2027 Amherst College Supplement: Options A, B, and C

Amherst College has released its supplemental essay prompts for the Class of 2031. This year, students applying to Amherst must respond to one of three options, labeled A, B, and C, respectively. Each option asks for different things, but all converge on one principle: Amherst is seeking students who will contribute a unique perspective to their student body. So, which prompt should you choose of the three, and how should you respond?

Option A

The first of the three options (of which Amherst applicants must reply to one and only one) asks you to reply to one of three prompts in 350 words or less. As Amherst explains on its website:

It is not necessary to research, read, or refer to the texts from which these quotations are taken; we are looking for original, personal responses to these short excerpts. Remember that your essay should be personal in nature and not simply an argumentative essay.

1. “Hope and curiosity — these are qualities that are the foundation of what Amherst College means, of everything that we do here. Curiosity is at the core of a liberal arts education — a spirit of inquiry that shapes not only what our students do in the classroom, but also how they learn from and about each other.” — Michael A. Elliott, 20th President of Amherst College, address at Amherst College’s 203rd Commencement

Prompt 1 Question: What does curiosity mean to you? How do you experience curiosity in your own life?

Curiosity, in this case, should be taken to mean a pursuit you’ve engaged in during your high school career, primarily, but not exclusively, with intellectual or altruistic stakes, that has shaped who you are and how you want to spend your time at Amherst. If this isn’t already ringing any bells, think of this prompt as an opportunity to articulate the depth of your singular hook, which is the topic, discipline, cause, or pursuit that you’ve devoted the most time to in high school. In the 350 words allotted for this response, reflect on how the spirit of inquiry has shaped the pursuit of your singular hook by citing specific anecdotes from your experiences related to it. 

Perhaps you identified an issue in your local community and spent a summer researching solutions. Perhaps you shadowed a local activist and developed a new approach to canvassing your neighborhood. Whatever the case, don’t be afraid to supply genuine specifics that tell a story, one in which you convey how you’ll take this curiosity to Amherst.

2. “We seek an Amherst made stronger because it includes those whose experiences can enhance our understanding of our nation and our world. We do so in the faith that our humanity is an identity forged from diversity, and that our different perspectives enrich our inquiry, deepen our knowledge, strengthen our community, and prepare students to engage with an ever-changing world.” — from the Trustee Statement on Diversity and Community

Prompt 2 Question: In what ways could your unique experiences enhance our understanding of our nation and our world?

This prompt appears to be a direct invocation of the Roberts Loophole, which is the exception carved out of the 2023 SCOTUS ruling outlawing the use of race-based affirmative action in the admissions process by allowing experiences of difference, adversity, and identity to be written about and considered in any written components in the application. In other words, students whose lives have been shaped by difference, whether that’s race, religion, sexuality, or otherwise, should absolutely choose this prompt and write about that difference. But simply stating that you’re a member of an underrepresented group isn’t sufficient. 

That’s where the second half of this prompt, “the enhancing our understanding of our nation and our world” part, comes in. Strive to reflect on how your experiences have shaped your sense of empathy and your moral compass, and imagine how this perspective could make the world a better place. And don’t just write clichés about looking past differences and coming together. Instead, think about a specific issue in your community or nation that you’d like to address, perhaps one related to your singular hook, and write about it through the prism of your unique perspective.

3: “We are working together to build a community that makes room for both true disagreement and true connection, one that practices the kind of recognition and robust negotiation that the everyday life of democracy requires, and one that explicitly prepares our students to work for the greater good in their professional and personal endeavors.” — Presidential Priorities: Serving the Greater Good

Prompt 3 Question: Tell us about a time that you engaged with a viewpoint different from your own. How did you enter that engagement, and what did you learn about yourself from it?

Amidst unprecedented tensions on college campuses, including Amherst, admissions officers are prioritizing admitting students who play well in the sandbox with others. As such, this prompt is an opportunity to express that you have this increasingly rare capacity to engage with others across an ideological or interpersonal divide. But don’t commit the cardinal rule of telling rather than showing in your response. Cite specific examples that paint a picture of a student who can grow when faced with different viewpoints. And don’t forget the second half of the prompt: to write eloquently and gracefully about how this engagement made you learn more about yourself.

Option B

Submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should not submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay. Also, if you have submitted an analytical essay in response to the “essay topic of your choice” prompt in the Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir writing section, you should not select Option B.

We at Ivy Coach would only recommend you choose this option if you have a research paper in the social science or humanities that has been published in a student journal. Otherwise, Amherst will interpret your selection of Option B as evidence that you couldn’t be bothered to write the original material requested of you in Option A.

Option C

If you are/were an applicant to Amherst’s Access to Amherst (A2A) program, you may use your A2A Writing Supplement essay in satisfaction of our supplementary essay requirement. If you would like to do so, please select Option C. However, if you would prefer not to use your A2A Writing Supplement for this purpose and you want to submit a different piece of writing, select either Option A or Option B. Option A, Prompt 2 is the same prompt as the A2A Writing Supplement essay; if you would like to submit an updated version of your A2A Writing Supplement essay, please choose Option A, Prompt 2.

Please note that Option C is available only to applicants to Amherst’s A2A program. Non-A2A applicants must choose either Option A or Option B.

Once again, any student applying to the A2A program should absolutely not submit redundant material by choosing Option C. Instead, choose a prompt from Option A that doesn’t cover ground you’ve already written about somewhere else in your application.

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