For students applying to Princeton
Princeton Supplemental Essays for 2026–27
Princeton's supplemental essays drafted from your notes: all six answers, each within its word limit, plus advice on which graded paper to send.
Free to start. No card needed.
How to write your Princeton supplemental essays
List your best stories first and give each answer a different one, ideally one your Common App essay doesn't already tell. Princeton's application tips1 ask you to say how you would "seize the academic and nonacademic opportunities at Princeton" and, above all, to write in your own voice. The academic answer should name the moment a field caught you, then two or three Princeton programs that fit it, like a department, a minor or the senior thesis. For B.S.E., add your real exposure to engineering: a class, a project, a summer job.
The lived experience essay now needs 400 to 500 words, a minimum last cycle's version2 didn't have. Build it on one part of your life that changed how you see something, shown in a scene. The prompt is about campus conversations, so say what classmates would learn from you and how the experience shaped you. For service, apply a line from Princeton's tips: it wants to know "what commitments you have made and what you've done to act on those commitments." Describe one, not a tally of hours.
Princeton introduces the three 50-word questions with "There are no right or wrong answers. Be yourself!" One concrete detail, with no warm-up, beats a big statement. Name your song's artist and say why it fits now. For the graded paper3, Princeton is "most interested in seeing expository, thesis-driven analytical writing," and an in-class essay exam counts. It cares more about the quality of the writing than the grade, so send your clearest argument. Then read all six answers aloud and rewrite any line you'd never say. Applying to UChicago too? See UChicago's 2026–27 prompts.
Princeton's 2026–27 questions
Every Princeton supplement question, word for word
Princeton asks these of every first-year applicant alongside the Common App or QuestBridge application. The questions are copied word for word from Princeton's questions page4, which labels them for the 2026–27 cycle. You answer one of the two academic questions.
| Question | Exact wording | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Academic, A.B. or undecided | As a research institution that also prides itself on its liberal arts curriculum, Princeton allows students to explore areas across the humanities and the arts, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. What academic areas most pique your curiosity, and how do the programs offered at Princeton suit your particular interests? | 250 words or fewer |
| Academic, B.S.E. | Please describe why you are interested in studying engineering at Princeton. Include any of your experiences in or exposure to engineering, and how you think the programs offered at the University suit your particular interests. | 250 words or fewer |
| Your Voice 1 | Princeton values community and encourages students, faculty, staff and leadership to engage in respectful conversations that can expand their perspectives and challenge their ideas and beliefs. As a prospective member of this community, reflect on how your lived experiences will impact the conversations you will have in the classroom, the dining hall or other campus spaces. What lessons have you learned in life thus far? What will your classmates learn from you? In short, how has your lived experience shaped you? | 400 to 500 words |
| Your Voice 2 | Princeton has a longstanding commitment to understanding our responsibility to society through service and civic engagement. How does your own story intersect with these ideals? | 250 words or fewer |
| More About You 1 | What is a new skill you would like to learn in college? | 50 words or fewer |
| More About You 2 | What brings you joy? | 50 words or fewer |
| More About You 3 | What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment? | 50 words or fewer |
| Graded written paper | The paper should be from an academic course in English, social studies or history, from the last three years of secondary school, including senior year. | At least one page |
Paper rules from Princeton's graded paper page3, which also asks for the whole paper with its prompt, grade and any comments, originally written in English. Checked October 29, 2026.
Real examples
Princeton answers from admitted students
These answers come from students admitted to Princeton and were published in May 2023. The academic and 50-word questions are worded the same today. The service question has since been lightly reworded, and the lived experience essay was added later, so none of them answers it.
An A.B. academic answer joining neuroscience and philosophy
Kaya, admitted to Princeton · AdmitYogi · published May 2023
Each interest starts from something real (concussions for neuroscience, Emerson and Thoreau for philosophy) before the answer names specific courses. Its courses may have changed since 2023, so look up current ones on Princeton's site.
Read the academic answer at AdmitYogiThree 50-word answers: a skill, a joy and a song
Three admitted students · AdmitYogi · published May 2023
Each answer rests on one concrete image, like a long climb 67 miles into a bike ride or singing along to a French song without understanding a lyric. All three stay under 50 words.
Read the short answers at AdmitYogiA service answer about one neighborhood
Aileen, admitted to Princeton · AdmitYogi · older wording of the service question
It follows one Chinatown neighborhood from volunteering to research to giving tours, so the service reads as a commitment rather than a list. It fits under 250 words, the same limit as today.
Read the service answer at AdmitYogi
Links checked October 29, 2026.
How it works
What are Princeton's supplemental essays for 2026–27?
Princeton's supplemental essays are the Princeton-specific questions4 every first-year applicant answers alongside the Common App or QuestBridge application. For 2026–27 there are six written answers. The academic answer (A.B. or undecided, or B.S.E. for engineering) and the service answer allow up to 250 words each. The lived experience essay runs 400 to 500 words, and three short answers take up to 50 words each. Princeton also requires a graded paper from an English, social studies or history class.
Paste or drop in notes, activities, a résumé or your Common App essay. River's Princeton supplement writer reads it all, picks the A.B. or B.S.E. question from your plans and gives each answer its own story. Any Princeton course or program it names comes from Princeton's own website, with the link listed under the answer. Missing details become brackets. If your notes hold no story for a question, it says what kind of story the answer needs and asks you for one. Attach graded papers and it recommends one, without changing a word.
Your drafts open in your River workspace, each with an exact word count. A closing checklist shows the brackets to fill and the story each answer uses. It also gives the deadlines on Princeton's dates page5: November 1, 2026 for single-choice early action and January 1, 2027 for regular decision. Then ask River to grade the set or try a second lived experience essay. For your other colleges, the supplemental essay writer plans and drafts every supplement on your list, and the college essay grader scores any draft.
How it works
From your notes to all six answers
Share your material
Paste notes, activities or your Common App essay, and drop in graded papers you might send.
River matches your stories
It picks the A.B. or B.S.E. question and gives each of the six answers its own story.
Review your drafts
Each answer sits under its question with an exact word count and brackets for missing details.
Finish in your words
Fill the brackets, rewrite any line that doesn't sound like you, then ask River to grade the set.
Princeton supplement · example
- What brings you joy?Losing at chess to my nine-year-old brother last month, with the exact trap I taught him. Teaching someone until they beat you is my favorite way to lose.
- What song represents the soundtrack of your life at this moment?“Vivir Mi Vida” by Marc Anthony. Abuela plays it every Christmas Eve while we make tamales, and the title, live my life, sounds like a decent plan for senior year.
- Service and civic engagement · openingMost Saturdays I stand between a doctor and a patient at the free clinic in Trenton, turning questions about blood pressure into Spanish and worries back into English.
What you'll get
Princeton's six written answers drafted from your stories
- Your academic answer in 250 words or fewer, A.B. or B.S.E. to match your plans
- A 400 to 500 word lived experience essay and a 250-word service answer
- Three 50-word answers, exact word counts, and advice on which graded paper to send
Before and after
Your notes in. Six Princeton answers out.
Interpreter for doctors and patients most Saturdays at the free clinic in Trenton for 2 years (Spanish/English), mostly at blood pressure checks. Want to study history, maybe public policy. Junior-year paper on the end of the Bracero program, got an A-. Joy: my brother (9) finally beat me at chess last month using the trap I taught him. Song: Vivir Mi Vida, Abuela plays it every Christmas Eve while we make tamales. Want to learn to row.
What brings you joy? (28 words) Losing at chess to my nine-year-old brother last month, with the exact trap I taught him. Teaching someone until they beat you is my favorite way to lose. Service and civic engagement (opening) Most Saturdays I stand between a doctor and a patient at the free clinic in Trenton, turning questions about blood pressure into Spanish and worries back into English. [A moment when getting a translation right mattered, and what you did.]
Every fact comes from the notes. The bracket marks a moment only the student can describe.
What lands in your doc
What's in your Princeton supplement
- An academic answer of 250 words or fewer, matched to the A.B. or B.S.E. question
- A lived experience essay of 400 to 500 words, built around one scene from your life
- A service answer and three 50-word answers, each drawn from a different story of yours
- Princeton courses or programs named only after River finds them on Princeton's own website
- Advice on which of your graded papers best fits Princeton's rules, with the paper left untouched
- Exact word counts, brackets for missing details, and a closing checklist with Princeton's deadlines
Questions applicants ask
Common questions
How many supplemental essays does Princeton require?
Princeton requires six written answers for 2026–27, plus a graded paper. You write one academic answer, two Your Voice essays (on lived experience and on service) and three More About You answers, up to 1,150 words in all. Only the lived experience essay has a minimum, 400 words, which is new this cycle. Every question is on Princeton's questions page4.
Should I answer the Princeton A.B. or B.S.E. prompt?
Answer the one for the degree you plan to pursue. Princeton gives A.B. applicants and undecided students one academic question and B.S.E. (engineering) applicants another, and you write only one, in 250 words or fewer. The B.S.E. version also asks for your experiences in or exposure to engineering, so include a real example.
What is the Princeton graded written paper?
It is a paper you already wrote and had graded for a class, and Princeton asks every applicant for one. Princeton's guidelines3 call for an English, social studies or history paper from your last three years of secondary school, at least one page. Include the entire paper, the prompt, your grade and any teacher comments. Princeton prefers thesis-driven analytical writing to creative writing, science research or personal narratives.
When are Princeton's 2026–27 deadlines?
Single-choice early action is due November 1, 2026, and regular decision January 1, 2027, according to Princeton's dates page5. Your graded paper is due the same day as your application. Decisions come in mid-December and late March, and admitted students reply by May 1. Early action is nonbinding, but you can't apply to an early program at another private US college. Nonbinding early plans at public universities are allowed.
Can I use AI to write my Princeton essays?
Use it to plan and get feedback, but the final words should be yours. Princeton's application tips1 say every applicant signs a statement certifying that the essays are their own work. Princeton may withdraw an application or revoke admission when essays were written by another source. River's drafts use only your own stories. Treat them as a starting point for structure and details, then write the final answers yourself.
How do I write my Princeton essays with River?
Paste your notes, activities, résumé or Common App essay into the box at the top of this page, or drop in files, including graded papers. Pick one part, or skip that choice to get all six. River drafts them into your free River workspace, each with its word count, where you can fill the brackets and ask River to grade the set.
Is the Princeton supplement writer free?
Yes, it is free to start. Your Princeton answers open in a River workspace, where you can edit them, share them or ask River to change them. River can also grade each answer before you submit. Paid plans add more AI use and access to the most advanced models.
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