While most schools require some form of a main essay or personal statement, many American universities have additional, shorter essay prompts called supplements. These essays are yet another opportunity for you to demonstrate a different side of yourself to admissions counselors. While supplement prompts vary across every school, they usually fall into one of three categories:
1) Tell us about an extracurricular activity or something you are proud of…
2) Describe why you are interested in attending XYZ college…
3) Seemingly obscure or off-the-wall questions (tell us about a personality quirk, or if you were given $10,000 to invest in or start a project you were passionate about, what would you start and why?)
Regardless of the question, this is a prime opportunity for you to show your personality, your understanding of a university, and how you would fit into the fabric of their community. If your response to a supplement question could work for multiple schools, it is probably too general and will not stand out, so be specific and tailor each supplement to the specific school.