Syracuse University is a private research university in (you guessed it) Syracuse, New York. With about 15k undergrads, Syracuse has a lively and vibrant campus. If you google “Syracuse acceptance rate,” you will probably see 59%. Take that number with a grain of salt. While it sounds around right, Syracuse annoyingly doesn’t publish their acceptance rate. We have seen estimates from the low 40s to the high 60s. However, they have announced they will stay test optional through 2025, so at least we can count on that.

We have written about the Syracuse supplement in the past, but they have changed their essay question this year. We wanted to revisit it and share tips on approaching the Syracuse Supplement.

Syracuse University is a place that seeks to be welcoming to all – and has been since our founding. Explain why you are interested in Syracuse University and describe a personal experience in which you persevered through adversity, rejected discrimination, learned a lesson, or were inspired by the courageous actions of others and how you will apply what you learned to our community in a positive way. * 250 word limit.

Okay, cards on the table, we don’t love this question. Mainly because it asks you to do a lot in only 250 words. This question kind of asks you to write two essays; your job is to blend them together to make it seem like one narrative.

You need to ensure that you 1) share a story where you learned a lesson and 2) why you want to go to Syracuse. Again, this is a lot. The best thing you can do to tackle this question is to think of a story that is easy to relate to something at Syracuse. The one nice thing about part 1 of this question is that it is really broad. Think of stories that connect to something specific you want to do at Syracuse.

Here are some examples of stories that would work well for this essay:

You learned a lesson about teamwork while doing group chemistry research, and you hope to major in Chemistry and plan to be a good team player while doing similar work at Syracuse.
You stood up against a sexist member of your debate team who said, “Women are worse at debate because of their emotions,” and you also hope to join the Syracuse debate team and keep it an accepting place, both inside and outside of the classroom.
Growing up, reading was hard for you, but you worked hard and now hope to be an English major at Syracuse.

Dig deep. Many stories will work for this prompt; choose the one that will be easiest to relate to your life as a college student.

Whatever story you tell, you should back it up with some specific opportunities at Syracuse. You should mention your major, specific classes, professors, on-campus opportunities, clubs, etc. Adding these specifics will “answer” the question of “Why Syracuse?” which is an integral part of this prompt. You can study Chemistry anywhere; the reader should know why you are passionate about Syracuse specifically. Do your research and do your best to intertwine these meaningful, specific opportunities with your narrative.

Syracuse asks a lot in one short essay, but it isn’t impossible. You just need to be smart about it and give yourself to research and edit.

Need help navigating the application process? We can help. Contact us here.