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College Essay Prompts 2026-27

Notre Dame Supplemental Essay Prompts 2026-27

University of Notre Dame's published supplemental essay prompts for first-year applicants in the 2026-27 application year, quoted from the college's own website, with the limit for each and whether it is required.

Application
Common App or Coalition
Status
2026-27 prompts published
What to write
Every first-year applicant answers 3 prompts.
Last checked
September 26, 2026
Official source
Notre Dame Undergraduate Admissions: Application Overview

The 2026-27 prompts

Quoted word for word from University of Notre Dame. Limits are as the college states them. These are the first-year prompts the college publishes; transfer essays and questions that appear only inside the application portal are not listed.

The University of Notre Dame Writing Section consists of one (1) required short essay question and two (2) short-answer responses to questions you select from the options provided. Detailed information about these prompts is provided below.

Required of all applicants

Please provide a response to the following required short essay question. The word count is a maximum of 150 words.

  1. 01

    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.

    150 wordsWhy us

Choose two of these four

Please choose two questions from the options below. Your response to each short-answer question should be between 50-100 words.

  1. 02

    How does faith influence the decisions you make?

    50 to 100 wordsBackground and identity

  2. 03

    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?

    50 to 100 wordsBackground and identity

  3. 04

    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?

    50 to 100 wordsCommunity

  4. 05

    What would you fight for?

    50 to 100 wordsOther

What these prompts are really asking

One line per prompt type, from our supplemental essay guide.

Why us
Have you done real research, and can you connect it to your actual path?
Community
How do you define community, and how will you behave in ours?
Background and identity
What lived detail shapes your perspective, choices or contribution?

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Common Questions

How many supplemental essays does University of Notre Dame require for 2026-27?

Every first-year applicant answers 3 prompts. This page lists 5 prompts in all, including choices and optional prompts.

What are the word limits for Notre Dame's supplemental essays?

150 words, 50 to 100 words. Each prompt above shows its own limit as the college states it.

Which application does University of Notre Dame use?

Common App or Coalition.

Where are these prompts from?

We copied them word for word from Notre Dame Undergraduate Admissions: Application Overview and last checked on September 26, 2026. The prompts inside your application portal are the final word.

Sources, last checked September 26, 2026

Prompts for other colleges

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