Queen’s Supplementary Essay

Written By Lyza Tibunsay and Matthew Tran

As admission to Queen’s University is very competitive, they may use Supplementary Information, in addition to your academic record, to help the university make admission decisions. Supplementary Information includes the Supplementary Essay (SE), Audition, or Portfolio.

Please continue reading to know more about Queen’s Supplementary Essay!

Supplementary Information Overview

To ensure applicants are able to share valuable additional information not available through their grades, Queen’s University review and update their Supplementary Information requirements regularly.

If you have applied to Commerce, Health Sciences, Nursing, Music, Concurrent Education Music and Music Theatre, or Fine Art (Visual Art) and Concurrent Education Fine Art (Visual Art) and your average is above the minimum admission average (as determined by Queen’s), Queen’s will use your Supplementary Information to know more about you, such as your goals, interests, etc. Based on your Supplementary Information and grades, you may receive an offer of admission.

Queen’s Supplementary Essay

Each applicant to Queen’s has a unique To-Do List, so make sure to review your To-Do List (and the due dates) in your SOLUS Student Centre. The Supplementary Essay will be available by November 1. Please use the link available in SOLUS to access and submit your Supplementary Essay on or after this date.

The minimum admission average and the number of students selected based on the Supplementary Essay varies yearly. They are dependent on the number of applicants to the program, the applicants’ academic strength in a given year, and the number of available slots. The unique demand of the program and the admission circumstances in a given year are also considered.

Important: Once an applicant accesses their Queen’s Supplementary Essay, these essay questions will remain valid for 30 days. If you do not complete and submit your SE within 30 days, the questions will change. You will then have another 30-day period (or until February 15—whichever comes first), to submit your answers to the new set of questions.

Make sure to review the Supplementary Essay Rubric below to ensure your essays are solid and meet the criteria.

Reminder: Please do not submit any additional materials, such as reference letters, CVs, etc., as these will not be reviewed by the admissions committee. Only the Supplementary Essay will be taken into consideration.

Commerce

At Smith School of Business, they’re looking for students who demonstrate strong academic performance, as well as leadership and teamwork skills. The Supplementary Essay is required for the Commerce program. The admission decision is based on the assessment of your Supplementary Essay once you met the minimum academic requirements. The deadline to submit your SE is February 15th. Queen’s will not accept late submissions.

Students applying to the Commerce program will need to answer two questions in the Supplementary Essay. Students have three months to submit these essays (November, December, January), and the questions change each month.

Here are examples of questions:

  1. Tell us about who you are. What elements have shaped who you are today? (maximum 2000 characters with spaces)
  2. Describe a transformative experience that led to a better understanding of yourself or others. (maximum 2000 characters with spaces)

Health Sciences

The Supplementary Essay is an admission requirement for students applying to the Health Sciences (BHSc) program [on-campus program (QH) and the BISC (QIH)]. Supplementary Essay answers have a 2000 character limit. ****

Applicants could choose two short essay questions. You should complete and submit your Supplementary Essay within these 30 days, as the questions will change and your work will be lost after the 30-day period.

To assist in the effort to identify and eliminate barriers to admission, an applicant who identifies as one of the following is encouraged to submit the Equity Admission Self-Identification form when submitting their SEs.

  • An Indigenous person
  • A member of a racialized/visible minority group
  • A person with a disability
  • A person who identifies as LGBTQ2S+

Only applicants who are academically in the competitive range for admission will be considered. The information will only be used to support admission offers, and it will not negatively impact your application.

Here are examples of questions:

  • Tell us about an experience that shaped who you are today.
  • Tell us about an experience that you did not expect to enjoy, but did.
  • Reflect on your background, identity, interest, or talent. Explain why it is so meaningful that your application would be incomplete without it.
  • Describe an influential person in your life or someone you admire. Why?
  • Tell us about an accomplishment you are proud of. Why?

Nursing

Queen’s University recommends that you complete and submit the Supplementary Essay when applying to the Nursing program. However, applicants who have not submitted an SE will still be considered equally for admission to the nursing program.

For applicants whose grades don’t place them above the minimum admission average or who are considered to be within a critical range, Queen’s may consider your Supplementary Essay, in support of your application to the program.

Accessing Your Queen’s Supplementary Essay Question

Before accessing SOLUS Student Centre, you will have to wait 30 minutes after activating your NetID.

To access your Supplementary Essay question on SOLUS Student Centre, you must follow these steps:

  1. Go to [my.queensu.ca](https://my.queensu.ca./).
  2. Log into your Student Centre using your NetID and password.
  3. Click on SOLUS (red tab on the top-right corner of the MyQueen’sU dashboard).
  4. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the Admissions heading.
  5. Click on the “Personal Statement of Experience and Supplementary Essay if applicable” link directly below the heading.

The deadline to submit the Supplementary Essay is February 15.

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