Supplemental essays · 2026–27 application
Wake Forest University supplemental essays.
All 5 essay questions Wake Forest University asks this year, word for word, with the word limits and how to approach each one.
Checked against admissions.wfu.edu on October 17, 2026
What you write: Answer “Why Wake?” and, if you choose the written supplement, one of the four prompts.
The written supplement is optional: you can share your voice through an interview or video instead. “Why Wake?” is still required.
Why Wake?
Why Wake?
Wake Forest calls it the “Why Wake?” prompt; check the exact wording in the supplemental questions section of your application.
How to approach it
- Name things you could only find at this college: a class, a professor, a program, a tradition.
- Tie every detail to something true about you.
- Swap test: if another college’s name fits your sentence, it’s too general.
Five books
List five books you’ve read that have intrigued you.
150 characters per book title. Pick one of the four prompts.
How to approach it
- Each item should say something about you that the rest of the application doesn’t.
- Mix serious and small. A list of only big ideals reads like a poster.
- Use the exact format asked for. Don’t write sentences if it wants a list.
Your 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.
Pick one of the four prompts.
How to approach it
- Start with the moment the interest began.
- Show what you’ve already done about it: a class, a project, a book, a job.
- Say where you want to take it, even if you’re not sure yet.
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?
Pick one of the four prompts.
How to approach it
- Say plainly what the community is.
- Show your place in it with one real scene.
- End with what you’d bring to campus.
Your Top Ten List
Give us your Top Ten List. (The choice of theme is yours.)
100 characters per line. Pick one of the four prompts.
How to approach it
- Each item should say something about you that the rest of the application doesn’t.
- Mix serious and small. A list of only big ideals reads like a poster.
- Use the exact format asked for. Don’t write sentences if it wants a list.
Want a mentor on your essays?
Clarity Prep members get a mentor who reads every draft with them, knows their whole application and checks in every week until it’s done.