Washington University in St. Louis has released its supplemental essay prompt for the 2026-2027 admissions cycle. Applicants to WashU’s Class of 2031 are presented with a required essay prompt, an optional video upload, but no additional essay prompts. WashU has phased out these optional supplemental questions, much to our chagrin here at Ivy Coach. Here’s the scoop:

2026-2027 WashU Essay Topics & Video

Required Essay Prompt

Below are WashU’s instructions for the required essay, which is hidden within the Academics section of the supplement. Applicants can respond to the prompt in up to 250 words.

Please tell us what you are interested in studying at college and why. Undecided about your academic interest(s)? Don’t worry—tell us what excites you about the academic division you selected. Remember that all of our first-year students enter officially “undeclared” and work closely with their team of academic advisors to discover their academic passions. You can explore all of our majors and programs on our website.

This prompt is a straight-up-the-middle Why Major question. As such, it should include an origin story of a student’s interest, as a high schooler, not as a child, in their discipline of choice. Additionally, ideally, students have gotten involved in several activities that showcase their interest in this area. Here’s a chance for students to tell WashU’s admissions committee about their work in one such activity that directly correlates with their intended major. The answer does not need to include WashU specifics since it’s distinctly not a Why WashU question.

Optional Video

WashU applicants, through the WashU Pathway, have the chance to upload an up to 90-second video introducing themselves if they so wish. The instructions for the optional video are as follows:

All applicants have the option to upload a video to help the admissions committee get to know you better. This video is not intended to be a professional-quality production or rehearsed audition. Simply capture a quick video of yourself telling us about something important to you.

Ideas to consider:

Do you have a hobby? Show us how you spend your free time.

How do you express your most authentic self? Through art, cooking, poetry, stand-up comedy?

What do you most want to experience at WashU?

And if you don’t want to submit a video, that’s OK. Applicants will not be penalized for opting out of submitting a video. It is an optional video (and we mean optional).

When creating the video, it’s important that applicants know that submitting a highly stylized, edited video is unnecessary, and we at Ivy Coach strongly recommend against it since doing so risks presenting an applicant as less likable.

Instead, applicants shouldn’t try to impress admissions officers with fancy filmmaking skills. They should instead focus on sharing a story that isn’t included elsewhere in the application that shines a spotlight on a student’s hook.

What’s Missing from the WashU Supplement This Year?

Washington University in St. Louis has completely done away with its optional essay questions this year, questions which had previously formed part of the meat of the WashU supplement. Instead of probing applicants’ knowledge of WashU specifics through a classic Why College? question, or giving underrepresented minority applicants the opportunity to articulate how their experience of difference has shaped their worldviews via a prompt that takes advantage of the Roberts Loophole, WashU seems to believe that the Personal Statement, the required essay prompt, and the optional video are enough of an assessment.

It’s only one less essay that applicants have to worry about, so what’s the big deal? Such a move might seem innocuous, but the hidden intention behind stripping the WashU supplement is to encourage more students, emboldened by the brevity of the application, to apply. But this move comes at the expense of the quality of each application. Why College essays and Roberts Loophole essays (which account for the two prompts WashU supplied for this optional essay last year) both serve a vital purpose: on the one hand, to allow students to flex their knowledge (or lack thereof) of campus specifics and institutional characteristics, and on the other hand, to give underrepresented students a fair chance at articulating how their experiences will enrich campus life.

In the absence of the optional essay, WashU may indeed see an influx in applications, but at the cost of not truly knowing how much their applicants really have to offer.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with WashU Essays

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission to WashU by submitting essays that inspire admissions officers to root for you, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to delineate our college counseling services for seniors led by our very own Charis Ralko, a former Washington University in St. Louis Associate Director of Admissions.