For the Why do you want to go to this school ? essays , try to make them as freeform as possible . If you read it and it sounds formulaic , then that is not a good sign if you think it ' s generic , the admissions officers will definitely think it is . I would only recommend writing about specific courses and such if it is a why you actually want to attend and b the course is unique to the university . This supplement is one of the only opportunities you get to show them who you are , particularly if it ' s the only supplementary essay you get . Make it more about yourself than the school . Make it an enjoyable read and not a tedious one . If you give it the onceover and actually enjoy reading what you wrote , you ' re in good shape . The way you write it is arguably more important than what you write they see your stats , so they know you ' re qualified and would be an outwardly representative candidate . They just need the person part of the application , so they ' re interested to see how you manage this prompt and make it your own .