The swap test
Replace the college's name in your draft with a rival's. If the essay still reads fine, you have written nothing. Every 'Why us' needs at least two details that exist only at that school — a specific course number, a lab, a sequence, a tradition — and one sentence explaining what you would do with it.
Where to find real specifics
- The course catalog, not the admissions page.
- Faculty pages of two professors whose work you can describe in a sentence.
- The student newspaper for what students actually argue about.
- Club rosters and research programs open to undergraduates.
Structure for a 150-word answer
- One sentence naming the concrete thing you want.
- Two sentences of evidence that you already do this.
- One sentence on what you would contribute, not just consume.
Reuse without recycling
Keep a master document of your specifics, sorted by school. Reuse structure across applications; never reuse the school-specific sentences. The fastest rejection in the pile is another college's name left in the draft.