The most accurate AI grader for Northwestern essays.
Kolly was built and calibrated on hundreds of thousands of essays from students who actually got into Northwestern University and the rest of the T20.
Northwestern essay prompts for 2025-26
Copy the prompt you are answering into the prompt field above, then paste your draft, so the readers grade the answer against the question it has to answer.
These are the most recent Northwestern prompts Kolly has verified, checked . Northwestern may have updated them since, so check Northwestern University admissions before you submit.
Personal Context / Community Engagement (Required)
Please respond in 300 words or fewer: We want to be sure we're considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background (your identity, your school setting, your community, your household, etc.) have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern's community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?
300 words max · Required
Global Community / Identity (Optional)
Northwestern is a place where people from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to our global community, in the classroom and beyond?
Optional
Dream Class / Collaboration / Innovation (Optional)
We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?
Optional
Personal Context
Briefly respond to questions about how you've interacted with people, ideas, or places that have shaped you.
300 words max · Required
The Rock
Painting 'The Rock' is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all students to claim a place on campus by transforming a stone with paint. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?
200 words max · Required
Community & Belonging (Optional)
Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.
Optional
All Northwestern supplemental essays, with word limits and the published source.
How Kolly grades a Northwestern essay
The grade covers the same six dimensions as every Kolly read: hook, theme, detail, authenticity, reflection, and writing, each scored from 0 to 5. The big number is a percentile that shows where your draft lands among accepted essays of the same type from top US schools. Northwestern readers, like their counterparts at peer schools, read fast and form an impression in the first paragraph. The verdict quotes the line that lands and names the weakest moment, so you know what to fix first.
Why Kolly instead of a ChatGPT read
ChatGPT and other general models grade against writing in general, which is not what Northwestern readers do. Kolly grades against essays that got in, and four readers argue over the draft before they vote, so a polished answer that says nothing specific gets called out instead of praised. The quick read is free without an account. A free Kolly account adds the full review: a stronger scoring model, notes on each paragraph, and a fix-it plan.
Grading your personal statement?
Use the main college essay grader for a Common App essay that goes to every school on your list. For acceptance rates, test scores, and cost, see Northwestern University admissions.