2026–27 application cycle
Wake Forest University supplemental essays
Every writing prompt on the Wake Forest University application, with word limits. All of it taken from the application itself. 5 prompts.
- Prompt 1Optional
Five books
List five books you've read that have intrigued you.
- Prompt 2Required100 words max
Why Wake
Why have you decided to apply to Wake Forest? Share with us anything that has made you interested in our institution.
- Prompt 3Optional150 words max
Intellectual curiosity
Tell us what piques your intellectual curiosity or has helped you understand the world's complexity. This can include a work you've read, a project you've completed for a class, and even co-curricular activities in which you have been involved.
How to approach it
This prompt wants the origin story and the proof, not your resume. Pick the moment the interest became yours. Show one or two things you did about it on your own. Let the school see how you think when nobody assigns the work.
- Prompt 4Optional300 words max
A Maya Angelou quote
Dr. Maya Angelou, renowned author, poet, civil-rights activist, and former Wake Forest University Reynolds Professor of American Studies, inspired others to celebrate their identities and to honor each person's dignity. Choose one of Dr. Angelou's powerful quotes. How does this quote relate to your lived experience or reflect how you plan to contribute to the Wake Forest community?
How to approach it
Here, specific beats important. A small, true community described from the inside beats a broad label. Write it as someone who was there, not as an observer. End on what you carry into a campus, not on a moral.
- Prompt 5Optional
Top ten list
Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.)
Common questions
What do students ask about these essays?
How many essays does Wake Forest University require?
Wake Forest University lists 5 writing supplements for the 2026–27 cycle, and 1 of them is required. That’s on top of the main personal statement.
How long are the Wake Forest University supplemental essays?
Word limits across the listed prompts add up to about 550 words. Budget real time for them. Supplements are where admissions sees your real interest in Wake Forest University.
Do the Wake Forest University supplemental essays matter?
Yes, and more so at the hardest schools to get into. Grades and scores put you in the pool. Supplements are one of the few places you control what the reader learns about you. A generic why-us essay is one of the most common mistakes students make.
What Spike does with this
Get help planning Wake Forest University essays.
Spike helps you tie each prompt to something you’ve actually lived. It helps you outline and revise, and it won’t write the essay for you.
The full counselor launches in November.