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How to Write the Cornell University Essays 2023-2024

The largest of the eight Ivy League universities, Cornell University is made up of eight undergraduate schools that applicants apply directly to. Because of this, you will be required to submit a school-specific supplemental essay (or essays) in addition to one campus-wide essay.

Cornell is an incredibly prestigious school with tens of thousands of applicants each year. In order to be one of the chosen few to attend, your essays will need to be thoughtful, well-written, and uniquely you. In this post, we’ll explain how to write the Cornell essays so you can maximize your chances of acceptance.

Read these Cornell essay examples to inspire your writing.

Cornell University Supplemental Essay Prompts

Before you apply to Cornell, you should determine which specific college is right for you. Each of Cornell’s colleges has its own majors and specific graduation requirements, though there are some majors that exist within multiple colleges. Understanding the differences between the colleges is essential when applying, since you will need to highlight the specific resources offered by each of them in your essays.

Below are the supplemental essay prompts for Cornell’s colleges (click to jump to the right section):

All Applicants

Brooks school of public policy.

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences

• College of Engineering

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

College of human ecology, school of industrial and labor relations, college of art, architecture and planning, in the aftermath of the u.s. civil war, ezra cornell wrote, “i would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” for over 150 years, cornell university has remained deeply committed to ezra’s vision. explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a learning community devoted to “…any person…any study.” we encourage you to think broadly about your life experiences, including how local (e.g., family, school, neighborhood) or global communities you’ve been part of have helped shape your perspective. (350 words).

Cornell prides itself on its motto, “any person…any study” so it’s important that you approach this prompt with care and attention to the deeper meaning behind the phrase. Before you start writing, consider what the school means by “any person…any study”.

Any Person…Any Study

As the prompt states, Cornell was founded in 1865 and within its first few years, Black and female students were admitted in a time when most universities were closed to them. Cornell has a history of accepting anyone of any background, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, nationality, religion, or sexuality. 

Any one can attend Cornell, but the second part of the founder’s motto emphasizes the idea that you can study any thing at the school. From the range of eight undergraduate schools specializing in everything from classic arts and sciences to architecture to public policy to hotel management, you can find a major, minor, or department that aligns with any interest you might have. 

This phrase stands for the possibility for people to do whatever they want with a Cornell education. Your response should allude to these ideals to demonstrate to the admissions committee that you understand the school’s history and the deeper meaning that enables you to pursue anything regardless of where you came from.

Approaches to the Essay

Now that you have more context, there are a few general ways to go about answering this prompt that you might want to use. Below, we’ll go over what each one might entail so you can get a feel of the best way to attack this essay to showcase your connection to Cornell.

Any Person Approach

For students who find that an aspect of their background is central to their personality, this might be a good route for you. In this essay style, you can highlight how your race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation, sexuality, etc, impacts the way you see and approach the world.

You’ll need to show the reader what your unique personal characteristic is, demonstrate the way it affected your thinking, and illustrate how you will bring your unique perspective to Cornell. It’s also a good idea to tie in the “any study” part by mentioning how your background or your way of thinking influenced your academic interests.

A student who grew up as the only international kid in their school might write about how the lack of others with shared cultural experiences made him feel lonely and isolated. This led him to spend a lot of time in his imagination where he found creative writing as an outlet and now he wants to pursue English at Cornell. He’s planning to join the student newspaper and publish his short stories to share with others who also enjoy escapism through writing.

Another example of a student taking the “any person” approach would be a Latinx student who had to serve as a translator for her parents from a young age, which exposed her to many legal and procedural discussions. Because of this, she developed an interest in conflict mediation and wants to concentrate in Human Resources at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations.

Although a larger focus in this essay approach might be on your background, still make sure that you are relating your personal experiences to your studies and the school.

Any Study Approach

Maybe you don’t think there’s anything significant enough in your background to highlight, but you are really passionate about your chosen major. In that case, you could consider structuring your essay so you showcase what you love about your major, why you are drawn to that particular topic, and how your knowledge in that field will help you contribute to the campus community.

Even if you go down this road, you still want to emphasize how your interests or passions have given you a unique perspective that will make you a beneficial contributor to the Cornell campus.

For example, a student might describe how they are addicted to the Food Network, hosted their own annual Chopped competitions with their friends, and dream of opening their own restaurant because cooking allows them to express their creativity in a way no other medium can. They are planning on working in the restaurant run by Hotel Administration students to continue exploring creative ways to cook.

On the other hand, a student who is in love with robotics could write about how piecing parts together to create a fully-functioning robot helps her appreciate the power of collaboration. She wants to work with others as an engineering student to both create more intricate robots and to solve global problems by technology and bringing together multiple perspectives.

These aren’t the only two ways to go about writing this essay, but they are good starting points to help you frame your ideas. Remember, regardless of whether you focus more heavily on your unique background or your academic interests—or if you split the essay evenly between the two—make sure you are touching upon both “any person…any study”.

Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals. (650 words)

This is a fairly straightforward “Why This Major?” prompt. A prompt like this seeks to understand your motives and interest in your intended major, how your background aligns with this interest, and what you intend to do with the major after college.

Before you begin writing, you should do some self-reflection. Ponder these questions for a bit and jot down some notes:

1) What are your genuine reasons for deciding on your major/this particular school?

You should ideally have picked a subject that you have a passion for, or at least a moderate interest in. If your reasons include parental pressures, money, or prestige, you’re already off to a bad start. You aren’t bound to any major until after you declare well into your college career, so if your reasons are any of the above, consider picking a different major to write about.

2) What are specific examples of things you enjoy in your field of study?

Instead of thinking “math” or “reading,” think “the paired samples t-test in statistics” or “novels that explore existentialist themes.” Specificity is essential to a good “Why This Major?” essay.

3) How will this major help you achieve your life and/or career goals?

Again, avoid writing about things like money or status. Universities want to see individuals with depth, people who strive to live fulfilling lives, realize their potential, and contribute to the betterment of the world, even in some small way. Saying that you want to make a lot of money is one-dimensional and self-serving, and will definitely not lead to a successful essay.

4) What was the best part of your experience, both within and outside the classroom?

5) Do you move into a certain emotional state of mind every time you explore this field of study? What do you find appealing about this state of mind?

Questions 4 and 5 are the ones you will probably be able to probe for personal anecdotes about the field of study. Remember, anecdotes are going to be your biggest asset when answering this prompt.

It’s okay if you’re undecided and picked this major because it appealed to you a bit more than others. Just be sure you can back up your decision with stories and experiences. If you can’t corroborate your interest at all, you may want to consider writing about a different major.

There is a writing trope you may have heard before that applies here: “Show, don’t tell.” Sure, you can explain that you have an interest in public policy then explain things you’ve done that are related to your intended major, but a better way to go about structuring your response is to let your background illustrate your passion for public policy. Allow your experiences and their outcomes to show your interest so that you don’t have to waste a chunk of your word count talking about your interest explicitly.

For example, consider two hypothetical responses from a student who wants to study Spanish in college:

• Example 1: I have always liked the Spanish language for a few reasons. I am of Mexican descent and grew up in California, where I learned to speak Spanish at 14 years old. My predominantly Mexican neighborhood has greatly influenced my worldview, making me want to major in Spanish. The language is part of my identity and is becoming more and more essential in the modern United States, so I feel like studying it will help me further people’s understanding of it.
• Example 2: I am a Mexican-American who grew up in California. Every day of my childhood, the musical sounds of the Spanish language fluttered by my ears, but I didn’t understand them until I began learning the language at 14 years of age. When I finally knew enough to get by in conversation, it was as if a new world had spawned right before my eyes. I would greet street vendors as I walked by, help lost travelers find their way around my town, anything to fully immerse myself in this culture that had been in my blood since before I understood it. As I fell in love with the language, I began to read about its origins and the linguistic principles that made it what it is today. Spanish is more than a language to me; it’s a work of art. Taking vacations and traveling throughout the United States only furthered my fascination with the language. Everywhere I went, I could find a predominantly Spanish-speaking community. That’s when I realized how important Spanish has become in the modern world. Studying the language in college will deepen my understanding of it, and allow me to gain the knowledge I need to teach and be a translator for this increasingly important language that resonates with me so much.

The first example sounds rather generic and uses many declarative statements that lack feeling, so it doesn’t strongly convey the students interest in Spanish or motives for taking on the major. The second example, on the other hand, paints a vivid picture of the student’s formative experiences that inspired such a deep passion for the field of study. It thoroughly explores the student’s motivations through anecdotes, and even discusses future career plans.

The next part of the prompt moves away from your interest in the major, and toward your interest in the Brooks School. As before, you should strive for specificity here. Brooks offers two undergraduate majors: Policy Analysis and Management , and Health Care Policy . Browse your desired major’s website to get a feel for how this major at Brooks is different from equivalent majors elsewhere. One place to look for unique features is in the course offerings (here are PAM courses and here are HCP courses ).

You’re trying to express a strong interest in Brooks, so you don’t want to say something common to most schools. Saying that you appreciate Brooks’s interdisciplinary approach to health care policy is inadequate because almost every college offering a Health Care Policy (or similar) major has a multidisciplinary approach. It simply isn’t possible to study this field without tackling multiple fields of study such as economics, political science, and health.

Instead of being general in your response, find something particular to focus on that piques your interest. For example, let’s say an Asian student is applying to Brooks to major in Health Care Policy, and her racial and gender identity serve as career motivations (which, incidentally, can be a strong personal angle to use when writing why she is interested in this major). She might notice that of all the HCP programs she’s looked at, only Brooks has a focus on the effects of demography on health care policy. Since she wants to pursue a career in helping to ensure that Asian women get proper representation in healthcare policy making, Brooks’s concentration on demographics is a unique feature that will contribute to her professional goals.

Remember to be well-intentioned in your motivations, honest and specific about your interests, and sincere in your entire response, and you will have a strongly crafted essay that is sure to catch Cornell’s attention.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Prompt 1

Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. specifically, how will an education from the college of agriculture and life sciences (cals) and cornell university help you achieve your academic goals (650 words).

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is the second-largest school at Cornell with majors ranging from communication to entomology. Even if you decide to apply as an undeclared major, you need to have potential areas of interest in mind to fully address the essay prompt.

The first half of this prompt follows the “Why This Major?” format that will become familiar as you apply to more colleges. You should use your current experiences to explain why you want to study the major you selected. A longitudinal approach lends itself well to this portion of the essay.

Think about the following questions we went over before to help you direct your response:

1) What are your sincere reasons for choosing this major and/or this particular school?

2) What are specific examples of things you enjoy in this field?

3) How will completing a degree in this major help you achieve your life and/or career goals?

4) What was the best part of your experience in this field, both academically and in your free time?

5) Do you experience a certain emotional state or frame of mind every time you explore this field of study? What about this state is appealing to you?

For example, if you want to study animal science, you could begin by explaining how you always loved going to the zoo growing up. You can then transition into describing how this love of animals led you to volunteer at the local animal hospital, and conclude your essay by explaining that your time at the animal hospital inspired your desire to become a veterinarian. 

The second half of this prompt asks you to explain why you want to study your intended major through CALS and Cornell. You need to provide college-specific examples that directly relate to your prospective major . Find courses (course offerings can be found after clicking on your desired major), clubs, research opportunities , or opportunities for outreach that would be difficult to find at another university. Be very careful not to mention something generic that could apply to many schools, such as location, as this indicates that you have not done sufficient research and aren’t as interested in CALS as you claim to be.

Specificity is key. For example, a prospective Viticulture and Enology major could discuss the Stocking Hall teaching winery, which allows students to gain hands-on vineyard harvesting experience. A prospective Global Development major could talk about the course called “Just Food,” which offers a comprehensive review of food system paradigms in just one course. Don’t be afraid to discuss relevant programs in colleges outside of CALS as well, as CALS is interdisciplinary.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Prompt 3 (optional)

The college of agriculture and life sciences (cals) is dedicated to the exploration of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background in agriculture or are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. (100 words), select all that apply:, a primary source of income for my parent/guardian(s) comes from ownership of or employment by an agricultural entity., my extended family owns or operates an agricultural entity., i have experience working in an agricultural entity., i have interest in pursuing a career in an agricultural entity..

Bear in mind that immediately after the prompt there is a section where you are asked to select all that apply. This is not a writing portion, but rather a quick survey for the admissions committee to know about your background.

The prompt itself is optional, but if you have a substantial agricultural background or a keen interest in pursuing a career in agriculture, we encourage you to respond to it. The prompt is rather straightforward, so if you are able and willing to answer it, it should not be a stressful undertaking.

For this kind of prompt, you may wish to consider a collection essay structure. If you have an agricultural background, you won’t be able to thoroughly describe your responsibilities and experiences with just one anecdote. The best structure to respond to this prompt is a small collection of personal anecdotes that showcase your background as well as your sincere interest in an agricultural career.

Despite our recommendation of a collection structure, you may find it helpful to connect each of your anecdotes with some kind of thread. A narrative that links each of your anecdotes together may provide the admissions committee with a clearer picture of where you came from, where you’re going, and why.

For example, consider a hypothetical student who grew up on a farm and developed a deep passion for the agricultural sciences. He might have started helping his family do farm work from a very young age, waking up at the break of dawn to feed the chickens and milk the cows. He might write about how these formative experiences forged his entire identity and how he’ll always be a farm boy at heart. 

He could then move into a discussion of how some of his tasks became his full responsibilities when he got old enough, and how he now does more and more of the essential work as his dad is getting older. He could wrap up his response with a sincere examination of his future goals, whether they be to come home and improve his family’s own farm through his education or to move into agricultural research to improve farming methods for everyone.

Be genuine about your experiences and passions — let them both shine through in your word choice and anecdotes.

At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences. (650 words)

This prompt is a pretty standard “ Why This Major? ” archetype. Unless you are undecided , you should narrow down the broad statement of your “passion for learning” into a more manageable focus on a specific topic you are interested in pursuing. In order to write a successful essay, you need to accomplish three main things:

• Explain how your interest developed
• Detail your goals and aspirations
• Describe how you will use school resources to your benefit

Beginning with explaining how your interest developed, the best way to do this is through examples. Whether you include a few examples of you deep in research or you share an anecdote about your first encounter with the subject, make sure to paint a picture for the reader. Show us what about the topic excites you, how it makes you feel, and why you fell in love with it. Here are a few examples of successful ways to accomplish this:

Example 1: “ My mom’s bookshelf is the cheapest, fastest airplane you will ever find. On the left, bound in thick leather is Shakespeare’s first play, Henry VI. Move one over and we’ve traveled to the south of the continent to Greece for a quick tour of Plato’s Republic. Next stop: tsarist Russia for War and Peace. Every day, I get to leave behind the drone of suburban Ohio and transport myself to a new country and period. The noise of the outside world falls away as I travel through the pages, across space and time. ”

Example 2: “ Age 7: I see a white rhino at the zoo and buy a stuffed animal, affectionately named Rob the Rhino.

Age 11: I ask all my friends to donate to the World Wildlife Fund to support endangered rhinos in place of a new lego set for my birthday.

Age 15: I learn climate change causes the rhinos’ grasslands to dry up and flood in an unpredictable cycle.

Age 16: I found the Forces of Nature club in my school to develop creative solutions to protect habitats from the effects of climate change. ”

Once you’ve established what your interest is, where it came from, and why you are passionate about it, it’s time to be more forward-looking. Cornell wants to admit students who are ambitious and driven, with a passion for changing the world. Now’s the time to share your aspirations with the admissions committee.

Tell the reader what you hope to accomplish one day in regards to your field of study. You might know exactly what you want, for example a student who is going into Information Science might want to create a social media platform that actively promotes diversity of ideas rather than echo chambers as part of its mission. On the other hand, another student might know they want to major in psychology, but they don’t know how they want to use it yet.

In the event you don’t have a clearly defined goal, it’s okay to admit you don’t know where your studies will take you—after all, the whole point of college is to explore new ideas and figure out what you are passionate about. Don’t completely write off this portion of the essay though. Still talk about what you hope to bring to the world in a broader sense. Rather than describing the specific contribution you will make to the world of medicine, describe how you are studying biology to learn about the inner workings of the human body so you are equipped to handle any organ or system.

Finally, you’ll want to dedicate a good portion (around 200-300 words) on the Cornell-specific opportunities you will utilize during your four years to both deepen your passion and work towards your goals.

There are two key things to keep in mind. First, quality over quantity is everything here. Name dropping four classes and three professors without expanding on why you are drawn to them won’t add much to your essay. Instead, pick three or four resources that closely align with you and explain why you are excited about this opportunity and how it will help you achieve your goals.

Secondly, the offerings you discuss have to be unique to Cornell. Nearly every school you apply to will offer Chemistry 101 or have a finance club. You need to spend some time poking around Cornell’s website to find distinctive opportunities you wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else to prove to the admissions committee you genuinely want to go to the school. Below are some ideas of things to look for as you research the school:

• Look at the course roster and find classes in your major (don’t just pick Biology 101; the more specific, the better!)
• Find professors in your department and the research they conduct
• Explore unique clubs and extracurriculars that align with your interests 
• Look into special programs or centers (ie. Milstein Program in Technology and Humanity or College Scholar Program
• Research Cornell-specific study abroad programs and hubs

For example, the student who loves books and reading may want to one day become a fantasy writer to help others immerse themselves in new worlds. They could mention wanting to take the Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Witchcraft First-Year Writing Seminar at Cornell in their essay.

College of Engineering Short Answer Questions

Note: upon selecting this college on the common app, you will be asked to provide the 3 words that best describe you and the three words that you would use to describe cornell engineering. this is essentially a major-specific short response section..

It’s challenging to distill your personality down to three words, so to begin, come up with a long list of words that you think characterize you, and then narrow them down to the ones that are most important to you. They don’t need to be directly related to engineering, but you want to choose words that at least describe qualities of yourself that could translate to the field of engineering broadly. If you need help, you can ask your friends and family for ideas.

You don’t have to write the most exotic words, but you should avoid very simple descriptors like “fun, nice, smart.” These choices can come across as cliché, and don’t tell the admissions committee anything about you. Try more interesting words like “determined, upbeat, daring,” or even nouns like “brother, athlete, artist.”

If words are your strong suit, you can try to be more creative with your choices. You might even want to pick a word from another language if that language or its culture is an important part of your identity. Maybe you’re a hard worker, a lighthearted person, and you help your father fix cars in your predominantly Hispanic community; you may choose to write “indefatigable, whimsical, mecánico.” Note that you should strive to only choose words you know/use regularly. Don’t just use a thesaurus to try to find big words, because you may accidentally use a word with a nuanced meaning that isn’t what you’re looking for. Additionally, if you use flowery language in this section but not in your writing supplement, this will come off as contradictory and insincere.

The same idea applies to the three words you choose to describe Cornell Engineering. You should do plenty of research on Cornell Engineering before even attempting to choose three words. Determine what is important to their program, reach out to friends you may know in the program, or look through their website and social media to figure out what their program is all about.

You should not attempt to randomly select words about engineering in general. In fact, you could write an inspiring answer by picking some that seemingly have nothing to do with engineering! Avoid picking generic, simple words as well as words of empty praise, such as “unique,” “competitive,” “prestigious,” and “innovative.” Anyone can tell Cornell that it’s a good university — doing so here would sound hollow and plain. Try to think of more nuanced and descriptive words that wouldn’t apply broadly to every engineering college.

For example, you might choose “eclectic,” “defiant,” and “virtuous.” These are creative choices, but more importantly, they are words you could defend in an interview. If asked about “eclectic,” you can mention the diversity of the fields which Cornell has facilities for — the university has centers in subjects ranging from data science to nanomedical technology to waste management. You can defend “defiant” by discussing how a certain lab you researched never settles for the status quo, but instead seeks to always go beyond what is deemed possible. Finally, you might defend “virtuous” by mentioning Cornell Engineering’s mission to “ advance the quality of life on our planet. ”

College of Engineering, Prompt 1 

How do your interests directly connect with cornell engineering if you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at cornell engineering if you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with cornell engineering. it may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about. (250 words).

This prompt is sort of a mix of two traditional kinds of prompts: “Why This College?” and “Why This Major?” It’s primarily a “Why This College?” prompt, as it asks twice how your personal interests connect with Cornell Engineering, but if you do have a specific intended major, you will have to back up your choice as well.

Before you begin writing, you should thoroughly consider what you want to get out of college. Think about your academic and career goals beyond getting a degree or making a lot of money. Colleges don’t want to hear superficial or self-serving goals; they are seeking students with passion and drive who want to contribute to the world in some way.

After you have some idea of your goals, do ample research. You need to establish at least a tangible connection with the college in a way that shows how it will help you achieve your goals. A tangible connection involves specific reasons for choosing the college that are unique to that college. This is where research will really be useful. Browse the departments and courses , faculty , and research groups to find some unique features of the college.

For example, a student might be particularly interested in computer-aided diagnosis because it was used to help diagnose his grandmother’s lung cancer and save her life. He might write about the Biomedical Imaging and Instrumentation concentration within the Biomedical Engineering major. Courses like “Computer Vision” and “Computer Analysis of Biomed Images” would be essential to mention in his essay. 

Additionally, he might want to write about the Vision and Image Analysis Lab. He could also discuss how the head of the lab, Dr. Anthony Reeves, does research on “computer methods for analyzing digital images especially with regards to accurate image measurements and with a primary focus on biomedical applications,” which is exactly what this hypothetical student wants to study.

The hypothetical student above very effectively establishes a tangible connection to the college through specific courses, a lab, and a particular faculty member whose research expertise resonates with him. You should strive to link your personal interests and goals with particular parts of the college in this way.

If you don’t have an intended major in mind, you should still emphasize your general engineering interests. Provide anecdotes that demonstrate the experiences that got you interested in engineering in the first place, then try to connect those experiences with some aspect of the college.

Additionally, if you can, you should try to establish an intangible connection with the college. This involves looking into Cornell Engineering’s values to see how much they align with yours. For example, Cornell’s Diversity Programs in Engineering (DPE) focuses on “enhancing equity for [their] community in terms of: ethnicity, race, sex, gender, orientation, identity, first generation status, socioeconomic class, and veteran status.” Perhaps your racial or gender identity is particularly important to your conception of who you are. You could write about the DPE initiatives to establish this sort of intangible connection in value systems.

There are several things you should avoid when writing your response:

• Empty flattery: Don’t simply write about how good Cornell Engineering is or how cool a specific major is without elaborating in a very specific manner. Talking about the university with such vague flattery suggests you have nothing more substantive or specific to say.
• Name-dropping: You should do research on the college, but don’t name classes or faculty members just to have them in your essay. A list of names doesn’t speak to your goals or interests. Instead, explain why those courses, activities, or professors are interesting to you. The college wants to hear about what resonates with you, but also about why it resonates with you.
• Being generic: Don’t write about resources common to all colleges such as location, class size, a strong program in X, etc. This would suggest that you don’t have anything specific to say or that you copied the response you wrote for another school.

College Engineering, Prompt 2, Option A

Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. this could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem. (250 words).

This prompt is designed to elicit several things: your ability to locate and describe problems that can be solved through engineering, the kinds of problems that personally motivate you, and your critical thinking skills. In many ways, the prompt is like a future-tense version of the common community service essay , but rather than writing about previous service experiences, you’re tasked with writing about how you would serve a community to which you belong.

Before you begin writing, think back to when you were younger (or even to as recently as last week). What physical features of your natural and created environments have bothered you in your hometown, school, or other community to which you belong? Perhaps there are too many unfilled potholes or maybe your local playground is becoming rundown and overgrown. The problem doesn’t have to be profound and widespread; it just has to be important to you and amenable to engineering solutions.

In addition to things that have bothered you, try to think of deep-rooted issues and problems that might only apply to particular neighborhoods or groups of people. Use all of these thoughts to create a preliminary list of problems. Once you have a list, narrow it down to the one problem that you most connect with and can think of viable solutions to. This prompt is attempting to gauge your critical thinking skills as well as to understand your passion for engineering.

Once you determine your problem, brainstorm some of the possible solutions to it. These solutions can take shape in a number of ways. You can try to approach the problem through different subfields of engineering to see how alternative areas of expertise can contribute to the same issue in unique ways.

For example, a student might come from a city with a rather dated transit system. Perhaps her home neighborhood is served by an above ground train network that is lacking in accessibility. She might have noticed this problem upon seeing a man in a wheelchair unable to get up to the elevated platform. When writing about this issue, she can propose several solutions involving different kinds of engineering. For example, she might think of three potential solutions:

• “As a mechanical engineer, I can design an elevator car and cable system to provide greater accessibility within our transportation network.” (She can also adapt her response to the kind of engineering she wishes to study – e.g., “As a structural engineer, I can design the foundations of an elevator shaft that could be affixed to the existing elevated train structures.”)
• “As a civil engineer, I can design a workable ramp system that can be attached to each of the train stations in the transportation network. Each station will have its own needs and regulations, which I can use my training as an engineer to adapt to.”
• “As a civil engineer, I could contribute to a total overhaul of the transportation network by designing a trolley system at ground level or perhaps even an underground subway network in which it would be easier to provide wheelchair accessibility.”

Bear in mind that this essay has a limit of 250 words, which will be taken up quickly if you present a problem and provide multiple solutions to it. Be mindful of your word count and avoid overly flowery language and unnecessarily complicated words/sentences. Let your critical and creative thinking be seen in your choice of problem and your proposed solutions. 

And remember, you aren’t an engineer yet; you haven’t even started college! Don’t feel like you have to have all the right answers. You shouldn’t overdo it with your proposed solution, but also avoid being too minimal in your descriptions. Think through what information is necessary to include as part of a solution and use that to guide your essay.

College of Engineering, Prompt 2, Option B

Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. how do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the cornell engineering community what is the unique voice you would bring to the cornell engineering community (250 words).

The goal of this type of essay is to find out how your values and background influence your personal views and goals. Admissions committees look to build diverse classes, so you’ll want your response for this to be individualized and authentic. To learn more about this kind of prompt, check out our tips for writing a diversity essay .

What to Consider Before You Write

Coming up with a good topic for a diversity essay can be tricky. This is what you’ll want to keep in mind as you think of how to approach the question:

• Think about your various identities and what makes you unique. This could be your community, racial identity, religion, hobbies, disability status, gender, language, hometown, country of origin, etc. You may want to make a list and write about the one you are most familiar with and feel most comfortable talking about.
• Consider how you relate to this identity and how you feel about being a part of this group. Have you developed any personality traits through this background? If so, how have they changed over time?
• Have any major formative events occurred in your life because of this background? What were they and how did they shape you into the person you are today?
• Have you learned any skills through one of these identities? What are they?
• How can you connect this with Cornell Engineering?

It is important to consider how your emotions tie in with one of your identities and what personal stories demonstrate this emotional connection. This way, you can write an essay that shows an aspect of your background and how it has shaped you.

You’ll want about 25% of the essay to summarize the part of your background that you are describing* and the remaining 75% to talk about how you have been impacted by it. As you wrap up your response, write about how your background will make you a good addition to the Cornell Engineering community.

Mistakes To Avoid

Don’t list all your identities: This essay isn’t the time to talk about all your personal identities. Instead, focus on one of them and dive deeper into what it is and why it’s important to you.

Don’t focus solely on negative experiences: It’s fine to mention negative experiences related to your identity, and you should absolutely make sure that the experiences you write about are authentic to you. However, admissions committees often look for stories with positive or optimistic endings. Not everything has a happy ending, but it’s harder to write a successful and compelling negative essay.

Don’t pick a cliché topic: There are topics such as immigration stories that have been used time and time again in supplementary essays. Think about an identity you have that may be unique or more nuanced.

Here’s how a response might begin:

One community that I’ve been part of for many years is the jazz piano community. Although jazz is often seen as being “outdated” or “pretentious” by the outside world, true jazz lovers know that it is actually one of the only music genres that stays current with new beats and rhythms. Jazz is always adapting, but jazz pianists must adapt as well. They improvise while also keeping a fast tempo and staying moving between keys. My years playing piano taught me to go with the flow and to accept alternative, unusual, or unique outcomes–usually, the best jazz pieces are created in the spur of the moment. Sometimes engineers get mired in the details or the singular desired outcome, which closes them off to potential accidental breakthroughs. As a student within the College of Engineering at Cornell, I would use the adaptive out-of-the-box thinking that I’ve learned through improvisation and apply it to my engineering projects.

This example starts by describing how jazz, an important part of the student’s background, is perceived, then connects the skills and lessons that the student learned through improvisation to a skill that can be applied to engineering. The student describes how the job of a jazz pianist is not just limited to piano, and that those lessons can be applied to other aspects of life. The student also connects his response to the College of Engineering, thus connecting his identity to Cornell.

What kind of business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration). (650 words)

The SC Johnson College of Business is made up of two schools: The Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, and the School of Hotel Administration. Our breakdown will focus on these two schools separately, but keep in mind that you can write about both in your essay, especially if your interests and goals are best served by both schools.

Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management

The Dyson School is known as one of the most competitive at Cornell. In order to stand out among the tough competition, you will need to clearly explain why your goals and interests align with Dyson’s unique program.

Your choice to apply to Dyson should extend beyond a basic interest in economics or management. Dyson’s program is interdisciplinary in nature, and the school encourages its students to study various disciplines outside of AEM. Having a distinct interdisciplinary focus such as agro-economics is a great way to stand out in your supplemental essay.

Your reasons for applying to Dyson should be supported by your present interests and activities. For example, a student discussing agricultural economics could discuss leadership roles in a local 4H club, or efforts to learn more about agricultural economics through recent journals and news pieces.

Aim to be as detailed as possible when discussing your future goals and clearly connect them to Dyson’s offerings. The agricultural economics student could talk about how Dyson’s flexible curriculum would also allow them to take agriculture classes.

Be sure to include your post-college goals and how the College of Business would help you achieve them. For example, our hypothetical agro-economics student might be interested in starting an organization to eliminate food deserts, by diverting food that would’ve otherwise gone to waste. They could mention the course “HADM 4315: Hunger, Health and Nonprofit Social Enterprise” in the School of Hotel Administration (remember that you can talk about both schools in the College of Business!). This would allow the student to learn “management best practices for leading nonprofit food service organizations.”

School of Hotel Administration

SHA consistently ranks as the best hotel school in the United States, and applicants should have a clear, demonstrated interest in hospitality-related careers. In addition to relevant experience, SHA looks for the interpersonal skills required to be successful in the hospitality industry.

Your hospitality experiences should directly show why you chose to apply to SHA and why you are interested in hospitality management. For example, instead of simply listing your duties as a bellhop at a local hotel, describe how the integration of many fast-paced movements at a hotel invigorates you.

Connect these experiences to your long-term plans and aspirations, and explain how the Hotel School will provide you with the tools you need to achieve these goals. If you want to manage a hotel one day, explain how SHA will provide the hands-on experiences and practical skills you will need to run an establishment.

SHA is the only college at Cornell that requires an admissions interview, which focuses on the applicant’s interpersonal skills. While describing your experiences within hospitality, make sure to highlight personal attributes such as your empathy or adaptability, especially through anecdotes. Perhaps a hotel client once lost his dog, and you went above and beyond to help him make missing dog signs, even putting them up across the city. Maybe the hotel’s fitness center yoga instructor once called in sick at the last minute, and you stepped in with your knowledge of yoga, leading the class in her stead. These details allow an admissions counselor to see that you would thrive at SHA.

How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major. (650 words)

This prompt is sort of a blend between the “Why This College?” and “Why This Major?” prompts. The College of Human Ecology (CHE) wants to find the applicants who have the most sincere interest in the school and their anticipated major, so this essay is your chance to let your background and passion shine through.

Before you begin writing, think about the reasons for your decision. What life experiences led you to want to study at the College of Human Ecology? If you’ve decided on a major, why do you want to pursue that major? Think about your academic and career goals, but don’t just write about wanting a prestigious education or trying to make a large salary. Colleges don’t like selfish and shallow goals; they want students with deeper aspirations and a genuine interest in their respective fields.

CHE focuses on the exploration of human connection and the human experience. Human Ecology is interdisciplinary by nature and has strong roots in research and public engagement. Your supplemental essay should reflect these themes while also explaining your interest in your intended major.

Use your high school classes, extracurriculars, and personal projects to explain why you applied to CHE. If you want to study nutritional sciences, you could discuss your role in the Health Club at your high school. Make sure to explain why your intended career path interests you. Maybe you’re a runner and you’re fascinated by how diet impacts physical performance. Connecting your unique personal experiences to a broader desire to improve the human experience — and potentially adding interdisciplinary elements — will help deepen your connection to the College of Human Ecology.

The next part of this prompt asks how your specific major will contribute to your plans for the future. Be as specific as possible. For example, instead of broadly stating that studying fashion design and management will help prepare you for the fashion industry, discuss how the studio-based classes will provide you with both a strong physical skill set and a portfolio of work for job applications. Or if you want to start your own sustainable fashion brand, mention how the courses in Fiber Science will allow you to learn about innovative ways to create eco-friendly fibers and dyes.

After you have some idea of your motivations and goals, do your research. You need to demonstrate how CHE and your desired major will help you achieve your goals. Look over the departments and courses , faculty , and research to find some unique features of the college that you can benefit from during and after your college career.

If you don’t have a specific major in mind, you should still show interest in CHE by mentioning two or three majors you’re considering and why . Include personal stories that can corroborate your interest in Human Ecology, then try to connect those stories with a couple of CHE majors.

As we discussed before, there are several things you should avoid when writing your response:

• Empty flattery: Don’t simply write about how good the College of Human Ecology is or how cool a specific major is without elaborating in a very specific manner. Talking about the university with such vague flattery suggests you have nothing more substantive or specific to say.

Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School. (650 words)

The School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) studies the world of work, and the intellectual interests you write about should also involve labor and human capital. The ILR community has a strong drive for public service, so making social service the focus of your essay will help explain your choice in ILR. This isn’t exactly a community service prompt , but you might want to mention any service experience you have, how you feel about that experience, and how that experience has motivated your interest in ILR.

Given the specificity of the prompt, it’s imperative that you provide concrete examples of how your experiences relate to your intellectual interests. For example, you can discuss how studying disability rights in your American History class made you want to become an advocate, or how volunteering in a local lawyer’s office helped you discover a deep interest in labor law.

Your essay should also explain why you are interested in your chosen subject matter to fully address what makes it exciting to you. Does the ability to advocate for others inspire your passion for disability rights in the workplace? 

Your reasons can be more personal too. Maybe you have a friend or relative with a disability and have witnessed how many workers with disabilities are underpaid and exploited. Or, perhaps you’re interested in labor law because you want to defend workers in minority groups from discrimination.

Once you’ve established your experiences and motivations, you need to draw connections to ILR. This is where research will be extremely helpful. Look into ILR’s departments and courses , faculty , areas of expertise , and research opportunities to inspire your writing. Keep in mind that all undergraduate students at ILR have the same major — Industrial and Labor Relations. Nevertheless, there are opportunities to focus your study on one of the related disciplines , so be sure to write to your strengths and interests.

Choose ILR-specific programs to explain why the school is the right fit for you. For example, a future law student could mention ILR’s intensive legal writing seminars. The prospective student could also discuss the Labor & Employment Law Program in NYC, which focuses on managing repositories for documents related to acts of workplace discrimination.

Note: Upon selecting this college on the Common App, you will be asked to provide the 3 words that best describe you. This is essentially a major-specific short response section.

How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the college of architecture, art and planning (aap) why architecture (b.arch), art (bfa) or urban and regional studies (urs) b.arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. bfa applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at cornell into a coherent art practice. urs students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues. (650 words).

Before you scroll down to the writing supplement prompt, you’ll be asked for three words that best describe you. It’s tough to distill your personality down to three words, so to start, come up with a long list of words that you think characterize you, and then narrow them down to the ones that are most important to you. If you need help, you can poll your friends and family.

You don’t need the most exotic words, but you should avoid very simple descriptors like “fun, nice, smart.” These choices are too safe and plain, and don’t tell the admissions committee anything about you. Try more interesting words like “determined, upbeat, daring,” or even nouns like “brother, athlete, artist.”

If words are your thing or you consider yourself a writer, you can try to be more ambitious with your choices. You might even want to pick a word from another language if that language is an important part of your identity. Maybe you’re a hard worker, a lighthearted person, and a singer of Latin music; you may choose to write “indefatigable, whimsical, cantante.” Note that you should strive to only choose words you know and use regularly. Don’t just use a thesaurus to try to find big words, because you may accidentally use a word with a nuanced meaning that isn’t what you’re looking for. Additionally, if you use flowery language in this section but not in your writing supplement, this will come off as contradictory and insincere.

Now, let’s move onto the actual prompt. Since the prompt asks for different things depending on whether you are applying as an architecture, art, or planning student, we will break down the responses accordingly. However, like most other “ Why This Major? ” essays, all three types of applicants should still describe their interest in the topic, explain their goals, and describe how the AAP resources will be beneficial to them.

Architecture

The prompt tells Architecture students to “provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program.” The major focus for your essay should be on a project you worked on that led to your love for architecture.

Try and pick a project from high school, that way it’s more recent, and pick something longer-term that you worked on to highlight the impressiveness. An essay about a year-long model bridge you built out of toothpicks for your design class will have a lot more to delve into than one about a lego structure you built with your younger brother in a weekend. 

That being said, if you think you can write a passionate, deeply emotional essay about a moment you shared with your brother that also opened your eyes to the wonders of architecture through tiny plastic blocks, go ahead!

Make sure to describe the project in detail—highlight what the development process looked like, explain your thought process (were you stressed about each detail or did you lose track of all time as you worked for hours on end?), and provide imagery to show your actions and the final product—that way the admissions officers get a feel for the heart and soul you put into your work. Remember, you are trying to prove to them you love architecture enough to spend the next five years studying it, so don’t hold back on showing us your passion.

Also remember to save space in your essay to address how you will further your passion for architecture at Cornell. Like we mentioned in previous sections, hone in on three or four highly-specific and unique opportunities you want to take advantage of while at Cornell. Make sure to include both what excites you about the given resource and how it will prepare you for your future goals.

Art students within AAP are told they “may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice.” While this prompt is more geared towards the Cornell resources and opportunities you will utilize as a student than the other two, that doesn’t mean you can completely forgo discussing your passion for art.

Like any other essay, you’ll want to make yourself the focus. Through detailed examples, show the admissions committee how you first got into art or what draws you to the subject each day. The prompt specifically mentions “integrating a range of interests,” so it would be a great idea to demonstrate how you combine interdisciplinary topics through your art.

For example, a student interested in climate activism might describe how she started a business to paint other people’s campaign posters and then donate the proceeds to environmental justice campaigns. Another student might highlight how they used their passion for graphic design to mimic other art mediums like sculpting and photography.

It’s also important to include your goals for your art in your response. Obviously, you don’t have to have your whole life figured out at 17, but in order to explain how you plan to use Cornell resources to develop a “coherent art practice” you should be able to articulate what you want in a general sense. Whether you want to bring back the era of rococo paintings or you think it would be cool to open your own gallery one day, share your dreams with us in the essay.

Finally, you’ll need to provide both depth and breadth when discussing the Cornell offerings you want to take advantage of. Try and discuss resources across a variety of areas—classes, professors, extracurricular organizations, special centers, etc. Cornell even has its own museum on campus you could get involved with! 

Aim to include three to five resources you want to engage with, depending on how much space you have. The key is to tie each resource back to yourself, either by mentioning how you are excited by an aspect of it because it connects to your interest or previous experience in a particular way or by explaining how participating in the opportunity will help you achieve your goals.

Urban and Regional Studies

The prompt is fairly generic for urban and regional studies majors: “URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.” Luckily, the lack of specificity means you have the freedom to write about anything you want.

You might want to talk about your personal experiences and how aspects of where you grew up affected you. Another approach could be to discuss a regional or global issue in the field of urban studies and discuss why you are drawn to that problem and how you would go about fixing it. You might focus on extracurricular involvement related to the subject that was particularly meaningful to you. Or, perhaps you want to express your enthusiasm through highlighting the ways you think about the world around you as an urban planner.

The moral of the story is there is no wrong way to structure your answer to this question.

Similar to Architecture and Art applicants, once you establish your passion for the topic and explain what you love about it, the next step is to put your interests in the context of Cornell. Again, quality over quantity—we are looking for a few well-developed descriptions of why you are drawn to each resource and what you hope to get out of them.

Also make sure to weave your career goals into the essay. You can smoothly transition from talking about your established interest and current events to how you want to use an urban and regional studies degree in the future, or you can discuss how certain opportunities will give you the skills and tools to go down a certain path one day.

Where to Get Your Cornell University Essay Edited

Do you want feedback on your Cornell essays? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!

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College Essays

For the 2022–2023 admission cycle, Cornell admitted less than 8% of their total applicant pool. To be one of the students who gets accepted, you need to write amazing essays as part of your Cornell University application.

In this article, we'll outline the different types of essays you need to write for your Cornell University application and teach you how to write a Cornell supplemental essay that will help you stand out from the thousands of other applicants.

What Are the Cornell Essay Prompts?

Most students applying to Cornell only need to answer one Cornell supplemental essay prompt as part of their application (engineering students are the exception).

Don't get too excited though, because this one essay carries a lot of weight. The word limit is on the longer side (usually around 650 words), and the topic depends on which school within the university that you're applying to.

Cornell University consists of many smaller colleges, each with their own required Cornell writing supplement.

Your Cornell essay prompt will correspond to the school that you plan to study at, so give your future as a Cornell student some thought before you start writing. Be sure to write about the subject or area of study that you are currently interested in, even if that may change when you get to college. As with all college admissions essays, authenticity is key. You may have myriad scholastic interests, but for this essay, stick with what you know best and are most passionate about. Your potential topic must correspond with the areas of study at the college too.

The Cornell essay prompts give ample space for you to express yourself and reveal a more complete portrait of who you are as a student and human simply because of the word limit. You can say a lot in 650 words, so take advantage of it!

2023–2024 Cornell Supplement Essay Questions

Here are the essays and instructions as shown on the Cornell University admissions website :

College Interest Essays

The primary focus of your college interest essay should be what you intend to study at Cornell. In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below (maximum of 650 words) that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying. Note that the College of Engineering is the only college that requires multiple shorter essays, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences lists one required and two optional essays.

Here are this year's prompts: 

• Brooks School of Public Policy: Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.
• Required: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals?
• Optional: At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good. Please elaborate on an experience where you had a meaningful mpact on people, a community, and/or an environment of importance to you (200-word limit).
• A primary source of income for my parent/guardian(s) comes from ownership of or employment by an agricultural entity.
• My extended family owns or operates an agricultural entity.
• I have experience working in an agricultural entity.
• I have interest in pursuing a career in an agricultural entity.

Please feel free to share additional details (optional) (100-word limit).

• College of Architecture, Art, and Planning: How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.
• College of Arts and Sciences:   At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences. .
• Cornell SC Johnson College of Business: What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).
• Essay 1 (Required response): How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about.
• Question A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem.
• Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?
• College of Human Ecology: How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major. (Refer to our essay application tips before you begin.)
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations: Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.

Cornell Supplement Essays Analyzed

In this section, we'll take a look at each Cornell supplemental essay prompt in depth.

Remember, you may only answer one prompt for your application.

We'll also give tips for how to best approach answering the individual essay questions. Some tips will apply to all of the questions, but we will highlight the important differences for each program.

Brooks School of Public Policy

Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.

To apply to the Brooks School of Public Policy, you'll need to select a specific major . Be specific about what you want to study and why, and make sure that you clearly state why the Brooks School in particular is the best option for you.

Don't panic if you don't have a lot of experience with your chosen major yet! Instead, think about why you're interested in this field and what experiences led you to it . Maybe you're inspired by something you personally experienced, by research you conducted, or by a documentary or article you read.

You should also research the history of the Brooks School and its different programs. Choose the one that best aligns with your goals , and look to see whether any notable faculty or alumni might further inspire you.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Applicants must answer one required essay, but also have the option to answer two optional essays. We'll break down your options below.

Required: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals ?

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences asks you to have an idea of your major as you apply. In your essay, you should commit to one major and be specific about why it's important to you. Choose a topic of genuine interest to you and that you have a personal connection with, even if that personal connection consists solely of articles you've read and documentaries you've seen.

Do your research about the topic and the school. Dedicate some time to reading about CALS—its history, its current faculty, and its notable alumni. Is there anyone from your research who you can relate to or who you think of as inspiring? Are there professors whom you are looking forward to working with?

Lean into the school's reputation, and choose something specific to write about that has a personal connection to you. For example, instead of writing about homesteading trends across the country, write about a local farm in your area that you visited as a child or how you got interested in food science.

You could also write about your personal connection to a specific project of a professor who teaches in the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Optional: At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good. Please elaborate on an experience where you had a meaningful impact on people, a community, and/or an environment of importance to you.  (200-word limit)

This is a great opportunity for you to show how you want to use your passion for the greater good . Because the prompt tells you to define your impact "on people, a community" broadly, you have a lot of leeway here. Think about your local neighborhood, your family and friends, any trips you may have taken through school or service organizations—anything that shows your commitment to serving others.

Optional:  Cornell CALS is dedicated to purpose-driven study of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background or interest in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. An "agricultural entity" for the purpose of this question is defined as cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock (e.g., farm, ranch, greenhouse, vineyard, etc.). Select all that apply: A primary source of income for my parent/guardian(s) comes from ownership of or employment by an agricultural entity . My extended family owns or operates an agricultural entity. I have experience working in an agricultural entity. I have interest in pursuing a career in an agricultural entity. Please feel free to share additional details (optional). (100-word limit)

This isn't an essay prompt so much as a way for you to self-identify . If any of these options apply to you, make sure to check them!

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.

The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning wants to know how you connect your creative passions with your scholastic interests here. Think about what you learn about or engage with of your own volition, not just because you're required to. In other words, when you fall down an Internet rabbit hole, what are you often researching?

For example, what design trends fascinate you? Which artists, photographers, or architects do you gravitate toward? What sort of urban planning projects would you be inspired to pursue? What transportation, housing, or infrastructure issues in your community or region do you want to work toward solving? Keep in mind that you'll want to not just describe who or what motivates you but also  why .

Note also that the question asks you to describe either a "passion" or a "creative project," so if you've already had the opportunity to work on an art installation or design project that has inspired you to pursue your degree at Cornell, then describe that project and explain why it motivates you. Remember, the prompt asks about passions, as well as quirks. Don't feel embarrassed! Share something personal about yourself. Maybe you love watching old cinema or make your own pop-up cards for your family. Maybe you watch hundreds of hours of videos from YouTube photographers. Maybe you visit the City Hall of whatever new town you visit.

Whatever you choose, make sure you elaborate on why you're interested in it and how it's affected your life.

College of Arts and Sciences

At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences .

The College of Arts and Sciences is the most generalized school of study at Cornell University, and the admissions essay reflects that. If you know that you love to learn but aren't sure what your career will look like after college, it's likely you'll be applying here.

Don't be fooled! Just because the question is broad, you don't have to write a broad essay in response. Don't feel like you have to demonstrate an interest in both Russian literature and molecular biology. Rather, describe your real intellectual pursuits with honesty and sincerity .

You don't have to have huge aspirations or a fancy reason for your intellectual pursuits. Stay true to yourself. If you're interested in Tudor history because of some historical fiction novels you read as a child, that's fine! You can say that. Just be sure to always tie it back to how Cornell's academics will let you study your passion.

If you have multiple areas of study that you are passionate about, you may write about them—but don't write about more than two or three at the most. Otherwise, your essay will feel more like a list rather than an in-depth exploration of your actual interests.

If you do choose to write about multiple interests, be sure to connect them back to you and your individual experience as a Cornell student and community member.

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).

For the Johnson College of Business, the first part of the essay question asks you to think about the business-related topics or issues you are interested in; how they're connected with your life, academic, volunteer, or work experiences; and why. The next part of the prompt invites you to discuss your interests in terms of what's on offer at the business school.

Your best approach, then, is to r esearch the programs so that you know exactly what their approach to business, management, economics, and hospitality is.   What topics do they offer classes on? What specific research areas do their professors study? Then, think about what you most often find yourself thinking, reading, or talking about that relates to two or three of these topics. Those connections should be the core of your essay.

For example, did a history class inspire you to research the evolution of print advertising to digital marketing? Did moving from abroad get you interested in international development? Did you grow up in a family of entrepreneurs and want to further explore how to build your own business?

As you build your response, keep in mind that your essay should also indicate why you want to attend Cornell's College of Business rather than any other and how you'll take advantage of the resources it offers. So do some research on what makes the college stand out from others. You can list specific classes you'd like to take or professors you'd like to study with. Doing so will show that you're interested in Cornell, not just any old business school.

If you're specifically interested in the School of Hotel Adminitration and you're having trouble coming up with a topic, use the list of global hospitality industry topics as a jumping-off point. Which are you interested in? How did you become interested in them? Why do you care so much about these topics? What type of career do you want in this industry?

When writing about the experiences that define you and your passions as a future business major, don't generalize. Instead, use stories, anecdotes, and details  that actually happened and that show your personality traits and motivations. Follow that old grade-school writing rule: show; don't tell.

College of Engineering

All applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. Each has a limit of 250 words. Essay 1 is required of all applicants. For Essay 2, you must choose between Question A and Question B.

Essay 1 (Required): How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about.

Essay 2 (Required):

And now for something a little different. Instead of writing one long essay, College of Engineering applicants have to write two shorter essays, and they get to choose from three prompts.

Each of the prompts seeks to understand why you want to study engineering and why you believe you'd excel at engineering. For all prompts, be sure to go beyond the surface level with your answers. Don't just say that you want a steady job after graduation. Cornell's College of Engineering wants to see that you have both ambition and interesting ideas.

The first prompt is required  and is the most similar to the prompts for the other colleges. It's a basic "why us?" prompt, in which you explain to Cornell what it is about their College of Engineering that made you want to apply. Again, the more specific you can be here, the better. Mention things such as specific professors, classes, or internship opportunities to strengthen your essay.

The second prompt is a chance for you to put your thinking cap on! This is a great place for you to shine. Your job here is to choose a problem that is important to you —and say a little about why before diving into the prompt itself. If you know what type of engineering you want to study, make sure the problem you're addressing can be solved through that subfield. If you're not decided, you have a little more leeway.

For the third prompt, you're focusing on diversity and how you'll add to it. This doesn't just need to be racial diversity; think about what your unique life experiences can bring to Cornell's College of Engineering and how that would contribute to its diversity.

College of Human Ecology

How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major. (Refer to our essay application tips before you begin.)

This essay prompt gives you lots of room for creativity. That being said, heed this caveat: don't get carried away in stating your grandiose mission for solving the world's problems. As with the other essay prompts, specificity is key.

For the first question, choose an example from your life to illustrate your answer.  Pick something that has truly been formative in your educational and professional goals , dive in deep, and write from the heart.

For example, if you're interested in studying policy analysis and management, you could talk about how your experience with social welfare programs has affected your life. Or if you're looking to be part of the fiber science and apparel design program, you could talk about why clothing has played such an important part in your life and your passion for fashion design.

Be sure to include your future goals in your answer. The College of Human Ecology has a very specific focus—you'll want to reflect that as you discuss your career and life aspirations.

School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.

This essay is a great opportunity to show off your academic side. You get to write about your topics of study and describe how you will continue to make it a part of your life in your college career and beyond.

You don't have to limit your answer to school experiences. Academic pursuits can grow from hobbies, travels, or personal experiences. Do you take on leadership roles in your religious community? Have you had a particularly influential summer job? As long as you relate the experience back to academics, you are golden.

You should also specify why ILR is the right college at Cornell for you to pursue these interests. What can you study at ILR that you can't study in Cornell's other colleges, such as the College of Arts and Sciences? It can be helpful to list specific courses or tracks of study at ILR that reflect your intellectual interests. Remember, the prompt specifically asks why ILR is your Cornell college of choice.

How to Write a Great Cornell Essay

Regardless of which Cornell essay prompt you're responding to, you should keep in mind the following tips for how to write a great Cornell essay.

#1: Use Your Own Voice

The point of a college essay is to give the admissions committee a chance to get to know you beyond your test scores, grades, and honors.

Your admissions essays are your opportunity to make yourself come alive for the essay readers and to present yourself as a fully fleshed-out person.

You should, then, make sure that the person you're presenting in your college essays is yourself. Don't try to emulate what you think the committee wants to hear or try to act like someone you're not.

If you lie or exaggerate, your essay will come across as insincere, which will diminish its effectiveness. Stick to telling real stories about the person you really are, not who you think Cornell wants you to be.

#2: Avoid Clichés and Overused Phrases

When writing your Cornell essay, try to avoid using clichés or overused quotes or phrases.

These include quotations that have been quoted to death and phrases or idioms that are overused in daily life. The college admissions committee has probably seen numerous essays from students who have grand plans to change the world. Only talk about changing the world if you have legitimate interests to back it up.

Strive for originality and avoid using clichés, which take away from the strength and sincerity of your work.

#3: Check Your Work

It should almost go without saying, but you want to make sure your Cornell essay is the strongest example of your work possible. Before you turn in your Cornell application, make sure to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit.

It's a good idea to have someone else read your Cornell essay too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend. Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check to make sure you haven't missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it possibly can be.

Recap: Writing a Stellar Cornell Essay

The Cornell essay prompts give you a chance to really show the admissions committee who you are. Regardless of the question you're answering, remember to follow these basic dos and don'ts as you're writing:

• Be authentic and honest.
• Be specific when citing people, places, and things.
• Strive for brevity and clarity; less is more!
• Be yourself, and do your research—both will shine through in your essays!
• Base your essays on what you think the Cornell application committee wants to hear.
• Use clichés or broad sweeping statements.
• Try too hard to be funny and original. Be genuine and your positive attributes will be visible to the committee.

What's Next?

Are you working on the Common App essay as part of your application? Read our breakdown of the Common App prompts and our guide to picking the best prompt for you .

If you're planning to take the SAT or ACT as part of your application , try out some of our famous test prep guides, like " How to Get a Perfect Score on the SAT " and " 15 Key ACT Test Day Tips ."

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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Cornell Essays: Examples and Writing Tips

Featured Expert: Sophia Xian, Cornell University

Are you wondering how to tackle the Cornell essays? We’ve got you! Admission to  Cornell University  is highly competitive! Like many of the other  Ivy League schools , Cornell has a holistic admissions process, which means they want to make sure that you are a good fit for the school, both academically and personally. That is why it is important that you ace the  supplemental college essay  component if you want to be offered admission at Cornell. 

Your college essays give you an opportunity to talk to the admissions board directly, in your words, and explain why you deserve a spot in their school. It also gives you a chance to show what makes you different and how you can  contribute to your future campus community.  This is especially important if you're hoping to  get into college with a low GPA. 

 Looking at Cornell essay examples can give you a better idea of what is expected from your own Cornell college essays and inspire you to write a better essay. In this blog, we share some examples of essays responding to some of the most challenging Cornell essay prompts, and some tips that will undoubtedly improve your chances of writing a stronger essay. 

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Article Contents 14 min read

The application process for Cornell is quite different from other Ivy League schools like  Columbia  or  Brown . Cornell undergrad applicants are required to apply to one of the school's colleges, which means the Cornell essays are also based on the college they've chosen to apply to. The school advises students that the primary focus of their essay should be what they intend to study at Cornell. So, as you read the examples below for the different colleges, pay attention to the way that the author of the essay talks about their academic interests using specific examples from their background and specific details about the program that they intend to study.

Prompt (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences):  Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals?

Millions of people around the world live with sickle cell disease (SCD), yet millions of people worldwide do not know what sickle cell disease is. The CDC estimates that about 1 in every 13 Black or African American babies is born with the sickle cell trait. My mother was one of those black babies, and so was my father. Like many Americans, they had no idea what sickle cell was and why the fact that they carry the trait for it matters. They found out seven years later when my younger sister was born with sickle cell anemia. 

I have spent most of my teenage years watching my sister suffer. According to sicklecell.com, although the treatment for SCD patients has significantly improved in the US, only about 20% of family physicians are comfortable treating these patients even though it is not contagious. I am not sure what their reasons for not being comfortable are, but I do remember how difficult it was to get help for my sister when she needed medical attention. 

The first time she had a crisis – the term used to describe the pain resulting from the sickled red blood cells blocking the path of the small blood vessels that carry blood to your bones – I was paralyzed with fear. My parents had taught me that a crisis can last anywhere from an hour to several days and that if untreated, it could have severe consequences for my sister. They taught me that I needed to call 911, but it took me a few minutes to remember that I needed to do that. 

It took me a few minutes to get to the hospital and much longer for us to get a physician who understood what my parents were trying to explain about my sister’s medical history. It was on that day that I started thinking about sickle cell anemia patients around the world. I have always recognized that living in the US gives me access to a certain amount of privileged, including access to some of the best doctors in the world. It occurred to me that these same doctors did not know how to approach an issue affecting millions of people of color worldwide, and I wondered how many other doctors worldwide didn’t have that same training or knowledge.

My sister was hospitalized for almost two weeks, and I spent most of that time in her hospital room researching sickle cell. My research helped me understand how to better care for my youngest sibling, and it renewed my interest in medicine. I have always been attracted to the medical field because I enjoy helping others and solving problems. Finding out that not only do we need more doctors equipped to treat sickle cell but that there is also so much research to be done on the subject helped me realize that this was the right career path for me. 

I am interested in pursuing my premedical degree at Cornell because it offers unique opportunities to explore and expand on my medical research interests with advanced classes like the Regulation of Cell Proliferation and Senescence. I believe that a strong molecular biology education will give me a solid foundation that’ll prepare me for both my medical school and the research I intend to pursue. Cornell's interdisciplinary and collaborative nature would also allow me to take courses like Behavioral economics and public policy, which will help me develop a global view of community healthcare. 

In other words, Cornell is the ideal place to nurture me into a globally aware physician-scientist who can significantly impact the way sickle cell is treated and maybe even cured. 

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Prompt (College of Arts and Sciences): Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21 st -century terms Ezra Cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our college. (Max: 650 words)

Three students from my high school attempted suicide during our sophomore year. They were all in AP classes, participating in multiple extracurricular activities, and well on their way to some of the best and most competitive universities in the country. We all thought that they were doing well, but we were all very wrong. Fortunately, two of the students survived and I am glad to say that they got the help that they needed but one of my classmates died. In his suicide note, he talked about feeling an immense amount of pressure and I could feel his sentiments being echoed by many of my other classmates.

If someone was keeping track of the number of times students cried or broke down in school from freshman to Junior year, they would have noticed that the number was rising exponentially. For context, I went to a boarding school that prides itself on teaching the brightest students and preparing them for the academically rigorous programs of the top colleges in the country. While I loved a lot of things about my high school, I can admit that the environment in which we studied was very pressure-inducing.

I was alarmed at the number of times I heard students say “I’m going to kill myself” on a daily basis, and many of my closest friends confessed that they considered quitting school. If I am being honest, there were a few occasions where I myself thought about quitting, but I was able to rely on my support system and they encouraged me to keep going. Many students did not have one, or they needed a different type of support. In short, my school community was very stressed, and these red flags made me decide that it was time to do something about it.

Because of my role as coordinator of the student event planning committee, I spent quite a lot of time in the administrative office, and I noticed how busy our school counselor was. She helped a lot of students, but she simply didn’t have the resources to care for over 2000 students by herself. I had researched and found that yoga and art therapy were empirically proven de-stressing methods. So, I approached the school counselor and she helped me create the mental health club.

I collaborated with the counselor and the library to organize several events every month. We had weekly meditation, stretching, and doodle sessions, “safe space” days where students could simply come and openly share their concerns and worries, and we even hosted therapy dogs once every term. We asked students to rate their mood before and after each session, and 92% of the students said that their stress level had decreased significantly.

That number is what got me interested in psychology. I was amazed to see that an activity like doodling which many consider mundane, can have such an impact on a person’s mental health. I wondered what else affects our psyche, what does so positively, and what does so negatively. The more research I have done on the topic, the more questions I seem to have. So, I am definitely excited to take courses like educational psychology and adolescence and emerging Adulthood at Cornell which are sure to provide more answers.

I am elated to say that the Mental Health Club is now a formal program of our school that offers weekly sessions and makes it a point to raise awareness about wellness and balance. I plan to use the knowledge I will gain at Cornell to create and introduce programs of this nature in other high-stress environments and learn how to ensure that students are learning in the best conditions possible.  (613 words)

Prompt (College of Architecture, Art, and Planning): What is your "thing"? What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time? Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, and inspirations. What are yours? (Max: 650 words)

I was thirteen years old when my mother forced me to put my shoes on and follow her to an art gallery. She told me that an art gallery was like a museum, and until that day, the only other time I had been to the museum was when my 5th-grade class had gone on a field trip to the Natural History Museum to see dinosaurs. I honestly had no desire to see more dinosaur bones, and I informed my mother of this. She told me that this was a different type of museum and that she had a feeling I would like this one a lot better. 

Mothers know best! I know it's not always true, but it definitely was in my mother's case. She had noticed my budding interest in painting and wanted to nurture it. I remember walking into the room and feeling almost overwhelmed by the beauty. I didn't understand what I saw, but I knew it was special. One of the paintings I saw that day was Razorbill by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and I immediately loved everything about the piece. 

That evening, I talked a mile a minute about wanting to visit other galleries and museums, about how hard it must be to paint a particular color this way or that way, and about how I wanted to replicate my favorite paintings. I stayed up in my room that night, trying to paint using the same loose gestural brushwork I saw in Yiadom-Boakye's work. I obviously couldn't at first, but I tried again the next day. And the day after that. 

I also spent quite a bit of time researching and learning about some of the artists whose work I saw on that day at the gallery. That research led me to other great artists whose work I have come to know and love - From the classics like Van Goh and Basquiat to the contemporary visionaries like Henry Taylor and Joy Labinjo. I learned about the different painting techniques and practiced as often as possible. 

Unfortunately, my school did not have many resources for students interested in art, but I didn't let that obstacle stop me. After looking for months, I finally found an art teacher that was a forty-five-minute drive away, and I enrolled in one of her Saturday classes. Those lessons not only helped me improve my skills, but they also helped me feel more confident in my abilities. 

The more I learned about painting as a medium, the more I wanted to experiment with other art forms. This is one of the reasons Cornell's fine arts program is so appealing to me. The fact that the program includes core studio courses in the mediums that I am interested in, like digital media and drawing would allow me to explore all of my interests. It would also give me a chance to discover new ones through the many elective courses available to Cornell students. 

My goal is to one day create art that excites and inspires others the way that Lynette Yiadom-Boakye inspired me.  (513 words)

Prompt ( College of Engineering): How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about. ( Max 250 words)

“You’re awfully happy for a person who has to get stitches” 

I explained to the ER doctor who said this to me that I’d accidentally hurt myself by jumping with joy when my robotics team and I finally managed to get our robot to respond to a sophisticated command. He didn’t seem to understand why that was a big deal.

Learning and creating have always excited me. So, when I decided that I wanted to pursue a career in engineering, it was important to me that I find a college that would encourage my need to explore and give me a chance to start creating from my undergrad years. Therefore, Cornell’s unique focus on independent investigations and its requirement of a senior thesis is perfect for me. 

My decision to apply to Cornell was solidified when I discovered that the school is an ABET-accredited Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering School. I am especially interested in learning about Environmental Biotechnology, so it is necessary for me to go to a school that will allow me to learn material that is both applicable and relevant to the industry. 

To prepare for the rigorous curriculum, I have enrolled in a differential equation and engineering basics course at the local institute. I am confident that the foundation I will gain from these courses, along with my experiences in robotics and passion for the field, will make me an excellent addition to the Cornell campus community. (240 words)

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What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration). (Max: 650 words)

Two years ago, my parents took my siblings and me to Timbuktu. It is a relatively small city in Mali that people often use when referring to far away places, but it also happens to be a city that is historically rich, home to three world heritage sites, and my father’s childhood home. We only spent a couple of weeks in Timbuktu, but it was enough time for me to see and learn some pretty amazing things – like how to make the perfect cup of green tea, how shea butter is produced, and how beautiful the Grand Mosque of Djenné is.

What impressed me the most about Timbuktu was its architecture. Most of the city’s buildings are constructed using sunbaked mud bricks. A local tour guide explained to us that in addition to being beautiful, these buildings are perfect for the local climate because they do such a great job at insulating against the heat and cold. The guide explained that these houses are actually more durable and a lot more environmentally friendly than the “modern” houses that they build in bigger cities and most of the western world.

His words stayed with me, so I spent a lot of time researching this architecture and the man knew what he was talking about. Architects and archeologists have found that many mud-brick buildings have survived centuries with little to no maintenance. Many of those buildings are in Mali, Egypt, and Australia. I saw the evidence of that myself in one of the oldest cities in the world and I was impressed.

I started to wonder why this method of building was not being used or at least studied more in the western world if it is that much better for our environment. So, when I got back to the United States, I asked my history teacher about it and they steered me in the right direction by asking me to look into the business of sustainability. I researched on my own and took an introduction to sustainability class from a local community college. Both of those things taught me that in our current economy, sustainable development of any kind can be, and often is, quite costly.

The reality is that nations will only promote environmentally friendly practices if they can afford it or profit from those practices. For some, protecting the Congo Basin comes second to protecting the livelihoods of the small lumber businesses around the region, while for others it comes second to making billions of dollars by selling electronics every year. On a smaller scale, families and people also have to choose between sustainability and affordability when it comes to electronics, fashion, and more. I think it’s unfair that families and regions and countries often have to choose between one or the other.

I want to join the efforts of the economists and environmental scientists who are working to find ways to make sustainable options more popular, accessible, and affordable. For a long time, I struggled because I was looking for an academic path that would allow me to explore economics and environmental sciences while learning about business management. These are the fields of study that I need to pursue in order to understand the world of sustainable architecture and manufacturing better, and eventually research ways to make those practices more accessible, affordable, and profitable.

Dyson’s unique program is uniquely designed to help me achieve this goal. I would be able to major in applied economics and management (AEM), and Environmental engineering through Dyson’s affiliation with CALS, thus balancing my business education with life science education. 

In order to get into a school as competitive as Cornell, it is important to write a  Common App essay  and a supplemental essay that stand out. This is no easy feat, especially when the prompts for the supplementary essay are as specific as the ones Cornell asks its applicants to respond to. These types of prompts are often referred to as "why this college essays" because they are essentially asking why you have chosen the Cornell college or program that you are applying to. To  ace the why this college essay , you will need to give yourself enough time to plan, draft, write and edit your essay until it is polished. We recommend planning at least four to six weeks to ensure that your essay is ready for submission. 

If you are not sure  how to write a college essay , do not hesitate to reach out to a  college essay advisor  for additional support. Or, even if you feel that you are a skilled writer, we recommend consulting with a  college essay review service  as the admission experts who review your essays may be able to identify issues in your essay that the untrained eye can't. Remember that because of colleges' holistic admissions process, your  college essays  can play a significant role in the admissions committee's decision so you want to do everything you can to submit an essay that will improve your overall application. 

For every 100 applications that Cornell received last year, only about eight students were offered admission. So, it is fair to say that it is a very competitive school. 

Much like the rest of your application, the number of essays you will need to write depends on the specific college you are applying to. You will be required to write one or two supplemental essays depending on your chosen college.

Your Cornell essays are an integral part of your application that can have a significant impact on the admissions committee's decision. A student with perfect stats might get rejected because of a poorly written essay, so it is important that you bring your A-game when it comes to your essays. 

Cornell has eight colleges: The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Human Ecology, School of Industrial and Labor Relation, and the newer Cornell Ann S. Bowers College of Computing and Information Science. 

You need an attention-grabbing opening statement, examples to back up claims about you, specific details about the college and programs that interest you, and an essay that is easy to follow. 

You need to research the programs and colleges at Cornell and take the time to plan your essay before you start writing. Cornell prompts are incredibly specific, so you need to be able to provide detailed information to be compelling. 

Cornell essays can't be longer than 650 words. We recommend writing between 400 and 650 words to ensure your essay has a compelling story. 

You should highlight the strengths and skills that align with the college that you are applying to. This is why it's important to familiarize yourself with the college's specific character before writing your essay. 

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Cornell Supplemental Essays 2023-2024

Cornell University is one of the most competitive schools in both New York and the nation. In recent years, the Cornell acceptance rate has only gotten lower . When considering how to get into Cornell , there’s no room to slack off on any part of your Cornell application. Simply meeting the Cornell University requirements will not be enough to gain admission. That’s where your Cornell supplemental essays come in. 

In fact, these essays are a key part of your application. Your Cornell essays allow you to highlight who you are beyond your grades, test scores, and recommendations. This means that you should approach each of the Cornell essay prompts with thought, consideration, and attention to detail.

If you’re feeling stuck when approaching the Cornell University requirements—and particularly the Cornell supplemental essays—then you’re in luck. This guide to the Cornell supplemental essays includes expert guidance on how to approach each prompt. You’ll find a breakdown of how to approach each Cornell essay and tips for creating an application narrative that will stand out to admissions.

Cornell Essay Guide Quick Facts:

• Cornell acceptance rate: 9% – U.S. News ranks Cornell as a most selective school.
• 1-2 school-specific essays (varies depending on school)
• Cornell application note: The prompts and word counts for the Cornell supplemental essays vary depending on the college to which students apply. All students will complete the Cornell University requirements via the Common App . 
• #1 Cornell essay tip:   We strongly recommend answering all Cornell supplemental essays—including the optional Cornell essay prompts—comprehensively and thoughtfully. Well-written Cornell supplemental essays give your readers a deeper look into your personality and passions, which can significantly increase your chances of admission.

Please note that essay requirements are subject to change each admissions cycle, and portions of this article may have been written before the final publication of the most recent guidelines. For the most up-to-date information on essay requirements, check the university’s admissions website. 

How many supplemental essays does Cornell require?

You must complete one or two of the Cornell supplemental essays listed on the 2023-2024 Common App. The number of Cornell supplemental essays and the prompt you answer, however, depends on the school to which you apply.

Each of the Cornell essay prompts corresponds to one of eight undergraduate colleges/schools at Cornell. While there are eight Cornell supplemental essays to choose from—and we’ll cover them in this Cornell supplemental essays guide—you will only answer one or two Cornell essay prompts.

What are the Cornell supplemental essays?

The Cornell supplemental essays are accessible through your Common Application. Additionally, you can visit the main Cornell site for a full checklist of first-year application requirements (including the Cornell essay prompts).

In addition to your Common Application Personal Statement , you will select one of eight Cornell essay prompts to answer. Each of the Cornell essay prompts corresponds to the undergraduate college or school at Cornell to which you are applying (including the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; College of Arts and Sciences; Cornell SC Johnson College of Business; Brooks School of Public Policy; College of Engineering; College of Human Ecology; or the School of Industrial and Labor Relations). So, choosing which Cornell majors interest you is a key first step as you approach the Cornell supplemental essays. We’ll dig into each prompt later in this article. 

Although there are several Cornell essay prompts to choose from, you will only answer the prompt that corresponds to the undergraduate school at Cornell to which you apply. For example, those interested in engineering should only answer the prompt(s) for the College of Engineering . This means that every applicant will write only one to two Cornell writing supplements.

Remember that no matter which Cornell majors interest you, all applicants must also write the personal statement essay found on the Common App. Need some help writing your Common App essay? Get great tips from our latest Common App essay guide to build your college application with confidence. 

Cornell Supplemental Essays – College Interest Essays  

The Cornell supplemental essays may seem more intimidating than other college essays—Cornell is an Ivy League school, after all. However, you’ll notice many similarities. It may seem as though the Cornell essay prompts vary greatly based on the college to which you apply. However, that’s not necessarily the case. 

The majority of the prompts for the Cornell supplemental essays pose the same questions. Why this major? And why at Cornell? So, essentially these Cornell supplemental essays are like a why major essay and a why school essay . 

Cornell College Interest Essay Prompts

College of arts and sciences:, at the college of arts and sciences , curiosity will be your guide. discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. your response should convey how your interests align with the college, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in arts and sciences. , college of architecture, art, and planning:, how do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the college of architecture, art, and planning (aap) why architecture (b.arch), art (bfa), or urban and regional studies (urs), b. arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. bfa applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at cornell into a coherent art practice. urs students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues., brooks school of public policy:, why are you drawn to studying public policy drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the brooks school will help you achieve your life goals., college of architecture and life sciences:, why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. how will an education from the college of agriculture and life sciences (cals) at cornell university specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals, s.c. johnson college of business:, what kind of a business student are you using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the cornell sc johnson college of business (the charles h. dyson school of applied economics and management or the cornell peter and stephanie nolan school of hotel administration)., college of engineering:, how do your interests directly connect with cornell engineering if you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at cornell engineering  if you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with cornell engineering. it may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about., choose question a or b to respond to..

• A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem.
• B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?

College of Human Ecology:

How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the college of human ecology how will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future  your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with che and your choice of major., school of industrial and labor relations:, using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. your response should show us that your interests align with the ilr school..

Note that some of the Cornell supplemental essays are optional. We’ll take a closer look at these optional prompts later in this guide. 

Each of these prompts is slightly different. However, you’ll notice that the general essence of the questions stays the same. Your Cornell supplemental essays will vary greatly based on your unique experiences, academic interests , and future goals. There will be no one-size-fits-all way to complete the Cornell supplemental essays. Still, there are certain things that can help you craft the best Cornell University essay possible. 

Keep in mind that the most important part of answering a why major essay and a why school essay is being specific. You cannot give generic responses in your Cornell supplemental essay. 

Cornell Essay- Choosing a college

Before we break down each of the Cornell essay prompts, let’s take a look at all of the colleges to which you could apply at Cornell. Each one has its own set of Cornell majors available. However, don’t be intimidated if you aren’t certain of your major just yet. Applicants are by no means locked into these colleges should they reassess their academic and career goals if accepted to Cornell. 

Academic Colleges at Cornell University: 

Brooks School of Public Policy . Applicants who complete the Cornell supplemental essay for Brooks will have two undergraduate majors to choose from. Brooks students can study Policy Analysis and Management or Health Care Policy. 

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) . Students who choose to study at CALS during their time at Cornell have a wide range of undergraduate degrees to choose from. Some options include Marine Biology, Plant Breeding, Food Science, Horticulture, and many more. 

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP) . Students who study at Cornell AAP can choose to study Urban and Regional Planning, Fine Arts (BFA), Architecture, or Real Estate. 

College of Arts and Sciences . This is likely the college to apply to if you are undecided on your major as it offers a liberal arts education. Students in this college can choose from many different majors such as Economics, English, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, or Linguistics. 

SC Johnson College of Business . Students who hope to study business at Cornell will choose from two undergraduate programs: Applied Economics and Management or Hotel Administration. 

College of Engineering . Applicants interested in the engineering program at Cornell will have to write two Cornell supplemental essays. Students accepted to the program will have 14 majors and 22 minors to choose from. 

College of Human Ecology . Cornell’s College of Human Ecology offers three different majors: Human Centered Design, Psychology, and Nutritional Sciences.

School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) . There is only one major for undergraduates to study within ILR at Cornell. However, it’s an interdisciplinary program that studies urgent issues affecting society, organizations, the economy, and international affairs. 

Before reading all about the college-specific Cornell supplemental essays, take a look at an example of a successful why school essay for some tips. Of course, your Cornell University essay will be quite different. However, it should share the same goal: convincing admissions that you belong on campus. 

When writing a “why this college” essay, it is important to write passionately. If you’re waiting to take a tour of campus until after you’ve received your acceptance letter , then why not take one virtually ? Envisioning yourself on campus will help you find motivation and inspiration for the Cornell supplemental essays. So, no matter which of the Cornell supplemental essays you choose, admissions officers should be able to envision you enriching the college community. 

Now, let’s dive into how to write the Cornell supplemental essays for each college. 

Cornell Essay: College of Arts and Sciences

Students who are undecided on their major will likely write a Cornell supplemental essay to this college—unless, of course, a major within a different discipline has captured their interest. The College of Arts and Sciences focuses on an interdisciplinary education. This college is “curiosity-driven” and the perfect place for academic “exploration and discovery.”

Let’s look at the prompt. 

At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences. 

You’ll notice that this is a somewhat typical why school essay and essentially a why major essay as well. So, you’ll need to choose an area of academic interest in order to complete this Cornell University essay prompt. However, as the prompt states, you can mention multiple Cornell majors. You’ll have 650 words in which you can respond to this Cornell supplemental essay prompt. 

You can choose various areas of study interest to write about. However, you want to make sure that they connect. You should also highlight how they’ll help you to achieve your future goals. For example, don’t just state that you’re interested in studying Economics and Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality studies without giving any context. Maybe you’d like to explore the earning differences between different groups and find solutions to bridge those gaps. Whatever your current interests are, use this Cornell supplemental essay to logically link them to you and your future goals. 

Keep in mind

When responding to the Cornell essay prompts, reference specific opportunities only offered at Cornell. Get specific when writing about your academic interests as well as the Cornell community. How will studying at Cornell impact your education and future career?

Additionally, your Cornell supplemental essays should highlight your passion for the subject matter. However, this specific Cornell essay prompt asks applicants to “discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey.” What makes you a curious learner? How have those interests played a part in your education up until now? And, essentially, how will your intellectual curiosity help you when studying in the College of Arts and Sciences?

Still struggling to identify some majors to write about? Check out our article on how to choose a major for some guidance. 

How to Choose a Major

Cornell Supplemental Essays: College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

The College of Architecture, Art, and Planning offers three distinct majors. If you’re applying to this college, you likely know yours—if not, you’ll need to choose one before responding to this Cornell essay prompt. 

Here’s the AAP Cornell University essay prompt for hopeful applicants:  

How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.

This Cornell supplemental essay prompt is essentially another why school essay and why major essay combined. However, successful Cornell supplemental essays will link applicants’ interests with their intended area of study.

What do we mean by that? Well, let’s say you plan on studying architecture . Rather than writing about your obsession with baking the perfect cupcake, instead, focus on your love of old buildings. Was there a moment, an experience, or a trip that made you begin to notice every little detail of the buildings you step into? Strong Cornell supplemental essays should take the reader into these moments. 

Don’t shy away from using personal anecdotes. However, make sure that it connects back to the Cornell College of Architecture, Art, and Planning. After reading this Cornell supplemental essay, Cornell admissions should know just why you’ve chosen your intended major. Additionally, this Cornell essay prompt asks applicants to specify their interests even further within the school. That means Cornell supplemental essays to AAP should clearly state which area within that college is of interest to you. The anecdotes, interests, and experiences you describe in this Cornell University supplemental essay should relate to your intended area of study. As with every why school and why major essay, students should use specific examples of program offerings, faculty, or internships that they’d take advantage of. 

Keep in mind that applying to an Ivy League school is always a reach. So, it’s important to have other options in mind. Check out some of the best architecture schools to round out your college list. 

Cornell Essay: Brooks School of Public Policy

While our other two Cornell supplemental essays were nuanced versions of the why major essay and the why school essay, the Cornell essay for Brooks is pretty upfront in its intentions. Let’s look at the prompt. 

Clearly a why school and why major essay, applicants to the Brooks School of Public Policy will use their Cornell supplemental essay to tell Cornell admissions why they want to study Public Policy and why at Brooks. So, you’re likely familiar with this kind of college essay. However, this doesn’t mean your Cornell University essay should read as a list. 

Feel free to get creative with this Cornell supplemental essay. You can use an anecdote to make your why major essay uniquely yours. Remember that successful Cornell supplemental essays will be specific. Generic Cornell supplemental essays will do applicants no favors when it comes to impressing Cornell admissions. Think about your reasons for choosing this major, what offerings you will utilize that are only available at Brooks, and how this will all tie into your future goals. Address all of these points within your Cornell essay to Brooks.  

Additionally, keep in mind that Brooks aims to educate students to make positive changes in the world. So, if you can tie that into your Cornell University essay, great! However, steer clear of writing a cheesy Cornell essay that centers around world peace. Of course, if you can reference an experience you had that has had some impact on this larger, important theme, then by all means mention that in your Cornell essay for Brooks.

Learn more about Cornell admissions from the undergraduate advising team for the Brooks School of Public Policy in this helpful video below:

Cornell Supplemental Essays: College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Similar to the Brooks College of Public Policy , CALS asks all of its applicants to answer one prompt that reads as a typical why major and why school essay. 

Here’s the required prompt for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell: 

Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals? How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals?

You’ll want to answer this Cornell University essay prompt by exploring why you’ve chosen this major. Start brainstorming just what brought you to this field of interest. Once you have a list, touch on the most meaningful or impactful points in order to write your most passionate Cornell supplemental essay. Or, maybe you know the exact moment when you decided this major was for you. Great! That’s a great place to dive into for this Cornell essay. This prompt asks you to show how your interests and experiences have influenced your choice. 

The second part of this essay asks why you want to study this major at Cornell. It also asks how studying there will help you to achieve your future goals. Strong Cornell essays will mention specific programs, internships , or professors at CALS. Do your research so that you can get the details right. 

Keep in mind that while not specifically among the Cornell University requirements for this school, applicants should show passion for intellectual exploration “on the ground.” Basically, when studying at CALS, students will get a lot of hands-on experience. Your learning won’t be confined to a laboratory. Cornell supplemental essays for this college might focus on the applicant’s adventurer’s spirit. Highlight how you constantly explore and dissect the world around you in order to make it a better place. 

Applicants to Cornell CALS can also answer two optional Cornell essay prompts. We encourage applicants to consider the first essay required. After all, strong and passionate Cornell supplemental essays will only enhance your Cornell application. However, you should only complete the second of these Cornell supplemental essays if it genuinely applies to you. 

Let’s look at both of the optional Cornell supplemental essays. 

Here’s the first optional prompt: 

At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good. Please elaborate on an activity or experience you have had that made an impact on a community that is important to you. We encourage you to think about community broadly – this could include family, school, or local and global communities. (300-word limit)

This essay may seem familiar from other college applications. Many universities want to know about applicants’ community involvement. This helps Cornell admissions officers understand how you would enrich campus life. 

The prompt makes it clear that “community” can mean many things. So, try to think outside the box with this prompt. There are many ways to write this Cornell essay, so start by thinking about which communities matter in your life. Then, choose one that matters most to you. You’ll need to show how you impacted that community and how you’d bring that experience to CALS.  

Now, let’s look at the second optional Cornell University essay prompt for CALS. 

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is dedicated to the exploration of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background in agriculture or are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. (300-word limit)

Select all that apply:.

• My family owns or operates a farm.
• I have experience working in agriculture.
• I have an interest in pursuing a career in agriculture.

Cornell admissions wants to know more about applicants with significant agricultural experience. Consider this Cornell supplemental essay prompt truly optional. You should only respond if you have significant experience in agriculture or a serious interest in pursuing a career in that field. 

If you answer this Cornell supplemental essay prompt, use specific examples to illustrate your experience. Ideally, applicants should use personal anecdotes in order to show just how agriculture has influenced their lives so far. Applicants should also highlight why these experiences have made them want to pursue a career in agriculture. 

For more information directly from Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences check out this YouTube video below:

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

Applicants to the SC Johnson College of Business will need to specify which discipline they’d like to pursue: Applied Economics and Management or Hotel Administration. So, this Cornell essay prompt is another why major and why school essay. 

Here’s the Cornell supplemental essay prompt for SC Johnson College of Business applicants: 

Like the other Cornell supplemental essays, this prompt asks applicants to explore their experiences and show how they connect to their potential business major at Cornell. First and foremost, in order to respond to this Cornell essay, applicants must select a major. Make sure your essay justifies your choice. Strong Cornell essays will show how your past experiences and interests have led you to your chosen field. 

Additionally, applicants should tie in their future goals when writing this Cornell University essay. How will attending SC Johnson College of Business help you achieve your goals? Why do you want to study business there? Again, be specific and reference programs only found within each of these business programs at Cornell. 

Successful Cornell supplemental essays will also consider the values of Cornell’s business program. You won’t simply study business, but “business with impact”. Students at SC Johnson College of Business are educated to be leaders in business by creating sustainable and shared prosperity. So, tie in your personal values with the college’s in order to highlight why you’re a perfect fit for this program. 

Remember that the Cornell acceptance rate is very selective, and it is among the top business schools in the nation. So, when writing your Cornell supplemental essay, start long before the application deadline to give yourself plenty of time to write an impressive essay. 

Cornell Essay: College of Engineering

The College of Engineering prompt is a little different from the other Cornell supplements. Instead of one long essay, applicants to the College of Engineering will be required to answer the first prompt. They will then choose one of the two following provided Cornell essay prompts to complete. Your maximum word count for the two required Cornell supplemental essays is lower as well (250 words), so concision is key.

Like with the other Cornell supplemental essays, we will walk through each College of Engineering prompt. We’ll then put together a strategy for answering these Cornell essays effectively.

Let’s look at the first prompt, which is required for all applicants to the College of Engineering. 

The first of the Cornell supplemental essays for the College of Engineering is similar to many we’ve seen: the why major essay and the why school essay. It’s a combination of the two. So, in order to successfully answer this Cornell essay prompt, you’ll need to think deeply about why you want to study Engineering at Cornell. 

This Cornell supplemental essay prompt does two things. First, it asks you to talk about your academic interests. Then, it checks whether you’ve done your homework on Cornell Engineering. An effective response to this Cornell essay will explain both your interest in engineering and how Cornell specifically fits into your future as an engineer.

When answering a “why this college?” question like this Cornell essay prompt, specificity is key. Represent your future with Cornell in mutualistic terms. What do you hope to gain from attending Cornell Engineering? What will you, in turn, give back to the community, either in the short or long term?

Start with the basics

Let’s start with the basics. Why do you want to apply to Cornell Engineering? Speak honestly. You don’t need to stuff your response with tons of niche details or copy/paste from the Cornell mission statement . Instead, give honest reasons why Cornell fits with your aspirations. Then, highlight how studying at Cornell will help you grow as both an engineer and a person.

Do you have a makeshift robotics lab in your garage? Are you set on studying artificial intelligence within the Computer Science major at Cornell Engineering? Did you visit and fall in love with the community values you saw on campus? Or did you have an interaction with a professor whose research fascinated you? Tell the reader about it! 

Emphasize your interest in engineering as well as specific reasons why Cornell is the right place for you to foster this interest. Make sure that you tie your engineering interests to your intended major. 

If you’re unsure of your intended engineering major, that’s okay. However, make sure that your love for engineering comes through. You can use a personal anecdote to show just how passionate you are for the field, too. Don’t shy away from creativity if it feels right for you. Still, make sure to relate it all back to Cornell. 

Now, on to the second Cornell supplemental essay for Engineering applicants. For this Cornell essay, students will need to choose between two prompts. 

Choose either Question A or Question B. (250 word limit)

• Question A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem.
• Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?

When choosing a prompt, one question may stand out to you more than the other. Choose that one. If that doesn’t happen, then do a brainstorming session for potential topics for each prompt. Review your lists and see which topic most motivates you. That’s the prompt to write on. 

Let’s start with Question A. This Cornell University essay prompt is hoping to see applicants’ critical thinking skills. They want to know that you can navigate your way through a problem. Start listing potential problems and how you would address and solve them. They don’t have to be the most complex thing. Any problem will do—just make sure that it’s engineering-related and you can legitimately solve it with your response. 

Question B wants to see how your diverse background will impact the Cornell Engineering community. When talking about “backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities,” applicants have a lot of options. Focus on what most impacts who you are and how you navigate the world. First, you’ll want to address those topics and then demonstrate how they will positively influence the Cornell community. What will your unique experiences bring to the Cornell community? How will it impact your future in engineering both on and off campus?

Beyond academics

Top colleges like Cornell want to know that you will be an active participant in the campus community. Of course, your academics are a big part of your college experience. However, you will learn just as much from your interactions with other students on campus. In turn, other students will learn from you.

Question B asks you to explain what you will bring to campus—not only in terms of your own academic excellence, but also in how you will contribute to student life . Will you be an active member of the community? How will you work to ensure diversity and inclusion prevail at Cornell—be it through extracurricular leadership or through inclusive conversations over dinner? In short, what experiences and traits do you bring to the campus community? How will you use those experiences to build meaningful shared experiences with other Cornell students?

An effective Cornell writing supplement prompt will describe how you have fostered diversity and inclusion in your own communities. This Cornell essay will allow you to talk about how you wish to bring your own voice and experiences to Cornell’s campus. 

Ultimately, a strong response to this Cornell essay will make it clear that you belong at one of the top engineering colleges in the nation.

Cornell Supplemental Essays: College of Human Ecology

Applicants to the College of Human Ecology at Cornell should have an interest in studying human health and well-being. Logically, the Cornell supplemental essay prompt asks applicants to expand on their interest in this particular field. 

This is the Cornell supplemental essay prompt for the College of Ecology: 

How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major.

For this Cornell University essay, students will need to directly link their passion for the field to their interests or experiences. For example, if you’re interested in studying nutritional sciences, you might want to relate it to your experience as an athlete and a vegetarian. Whatever your chosen major is, you will need to back up your interest in it with direct experiences in this Cornell essay. 

After you’ve shown why you want to study in this college, dive into your future goals. Do you want to work as a nutritionist for hopeful Olympic athletes? Or be the dietician for a professional sports team? Just make sure your objectives tie into the major you’ve selected. Since this is a why major essay and a nuanced why school essay, you’ll want to mention how studying at Cornell will specifically help you achieve your goals. The most impactful Cornell supplemental essays will specifically reference certain programs only offered at the Cornell College of Ecology. 

Cornell Essay: School of Industrial and Labor Relations

The Cornell essay for the School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR) follows a similar framework as the majority of the other Cornell supplemental essays. Let’s take a closer look at this Cornell essay prompt. 

When applying to the Cornell ILR, there is only one major that students can choose: Industrial and Labor Relations. No surprises there, right? So, when you choose to apply to this school, you’ve already chosen your major as well. 

Now, you need to show Cornell admissions why you’ve chosen this major. This Cornell essay prompt gives you plenty of ways to show your interest in this field. You can use personal, academic, work, and volunteer experiences. Start brainstorming a list of things you care about. Then, see how this list connects to your experiences. Or, maybe it’s easier to do it vice versa. Whatever works for you is fine. 

Once you have your topic, you need to show how it connects to this specific program. Students studying ILR at Cornell have an interdisciplinary major. They’ll take courses in law, organizational psychology, economics, history, statistics, and management. So, you’ll explore plenty of topics in this college—and your essay should show your enthusiasm for them. 

Let’s say you work on the school yearbook committee and notice that one group of students was in none of the photos. You gather your team members together to speak on the topic and decide to get some candid shots of the excluded group. This shows not only your leadership skills, but also that equality and inclusion are important to you. How would those skills and interests align with the ILR major? Show that in your Cornell University essay.

No matter which of the schools you apply to, keep in mind that the Cornell acceptance rate is one of the most competitive in the nation. That being said, your Cornell application will need to stand out among a large pool of qualified applicants. Writing an impactful, passionate, and authentic essay is a great way to make your Cornell application memorable. 

So, when considering how to write the ILR essay, or any others, don’t simply aim to check off another of the Cornell University requirements. Really take your time and write something that not only comprehensively answers the prompt, but also shows some insight into who you are as a person. 

How do you write a Cornell essay?

Next, let’s talk a bit more about how to approach the Cornell supplemental essays. 

To begin, you want to have a thorough understanding of what the Cornell essay is asking. Define any key terms, and ask yourself, “Is this a single Cornell essay with multiple steps/answers?” 

Once you’ve gotten a grasp on what the Cornell writing supplement is asking, then you’ll want to freewrite. In general, freewriting can help you if you’re struggling with how to begin an essay. It can also help you choose one topic from a long list of potential essay responses. For specific guidance, check out CollegeAdvisor’s guide to reflection exercises .

Now, armed with your freewrite, you’ll want to start drafting your Cornell essay. While you can work from your existing freewrite, you can also start fresh. In the early stages of drafting Cornell supplemental essays, don’t worry about the word count. While it’s important, you don’t want to stifle your creative flow. Leave the ruthless editing for later on in the process. 

Once you’ve completed the draft and have edited as needed, take your draft to a few trusted sources. These individuals (teachers, counselors, etc.), should read over your essay with a fine-toothed comb. They should focus on grammatical accuracy as well as tone and style.

This guidance should help you begin the Cornell essay process. However, use the specific breakdowns above for each college for more insights. This will help you approach each of the Cornell supplemental essays with confidence. 

To make sure you’re on the right track, keep in mind the following questions after writing your first draft for the Cornell supplemental essays. 

Cornell Essay Reflection Questions:

• Does your Cornell essay response reveal what makes you a good addition to campus? Does it highlight your best core values?
• Do you explain your future aspirations in your chosen field?
• Does your writing show a true passion for your field of study?
• Do your Cornell essays make the reader want to learn more about you?

How important are the Cornell supplemental essays for admission?

In a word—very! Each Cornell essay plays an important role in the review process.

Schools like Cornell University receive top-notch applicants from around the world in record numbers every year. High test scores , excellent grades, and meaningful extracurricular achievements are common in the Cornell application pool. Combined with your Common App personal statement, the Cornell supplemental essays give you valuable space to discuss your passions, values, and character.

Cornell admissions looks for students who demonstrate “honesty, open-mindedness, initiative, and empathy,” both academically and in their daily lives. The Cornell essay prompts are designed to find this kind of student. Use your Cornell supplemental essays to make it clear to Cornell that you are passionate about learning, curious about the world, willing to challenge yourself to pursue your interests, and will be a valuable addition to Cornell. Above all, your Cornell supplemental essays should show what makes you special and why Cornell should admit you!

Finally, remember that the Cornell supplemental essays are a required part of your Cornell application. However, try not to see them as a chore. After all, a strong Cornell essay, combined with a competitive Cornell application, will make a huge difference in admissions.

Share your voice

Your Cornell essay is a window into your passions, values, and personality. The Cornell supplemental essay allows you to speak to your readers on your own terms. While this task may seem daunting, a well-executed Cornell essay can be incredibly helpful to your application.

You can read more about what Cornell admissions officers look for in prospective students (and what they look for in applicants’ responses to Cornell essay prompts) on the “What Cornell Looks For” page . This can help you write Cornell essays tailored to the Cornell admissions team.

Of course, Cornell is among the most elite universities in the nation. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your perfect college fit. Before you obsess over writing the perfect Cornell essay, l earn more about what it’s like to apply to and attend such a competitive university from a Cornell alumni per s pective . These insights can also help you write specific and targeted supplemental essays. 

Cornell Supplemental Essays: Final Thoughts

Completing the Cornell supplemental essays can seem daunting, but don’t let them discourage you from applying. Instead, view these Cornell essays as an opportunity to introduce yourself to admissions. The Cornell writing supplements should help them see why you’d be a great addition to their school. Additionally, each Cornell essay gives you the chance to learn more about the school to which you’re applying. As you write, you should seriously think about what excites you about potentially studying there. 

Check out these successful college essay examples for inspiration. While they won’t be exactly like the Cornell supplemental essay prompts, they will show you how college essays can vary greatly from one another. The most important thing of any Cornell essay is showing admissions who you are while fully answering the prompt. 

Use your essays to your advantage

Maybe you’re applying with a lower than average GPA or SAT score , or maybe you have a couple of blemishes on your transcript. A well-written set of Cornell supplemental essays can work in your favor and make it obvious that you would be a great addition to campus. So, if you’re dreaming about the day you enroll at Cornell, use this guide to help you approach each Cornell application essay with a solid strategy. 

The Cornell supplemental essays are a great way to impress admissions, but make sure the rest of your Cornell application impresses as well. Don’t forget to read our How to Get Into Cornell guide for an overview of application strategy. Good luck!

This Cornell supplemental essay guide was written by Sarah Kaminski .  Looking for more admissions support? Click  here  to schedule a free meeting with one of our Admissions Specialists. During your meeting, our team will discuss your profile and help you find targeted ways to increase your admissions odds at top schools. We’ll also answer any questions and discuss how  CollegeAdvisor.com  can support you in the college application process.

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Cornell Supplemental Essays 2023-24 – Prompts and Advice

September 6, 2023

The 7.3% acceptance rate for Cornell’s Class of 2027 was just a touch higher than last year’s 6.9%; as late as 2003, the school still had as high as a 31% acceptance rate. Clearly, getting into Cornell in 2023-24 is a vastly different enterprise than earlier in the millennium. Even if you earned a 1450+ on the SAT and maintained straight A’s throughout a high school career littered with AP and honors courses, you still need to find a way to distinguish yourself from other high school superstars. Fortunately, Cornell’s supplemental essays present applicants with just the opportunity they need to showcase their unique personality, writing ability, passions, and talents.

(Want to learn more about How to Get Into Cornell University? Visit our blog entitled:  How to Get Into Cornell: Admissions Data and Strategies  for all of the most recent admissions data as well as tips for gaining acceptance.)

In addition to the required supplemental response for all applicants (new this year), each college within Cornell has its own essay requirement(s). Below, we examine the Cornell supplemental essays for the 2023-24 admissions cycle.

Cornell Supplemental Essays 2023-24

Required for all applicants:

In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil War, Ezra Cornell wrote, “I would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” For over 150 years, Cornell University has remained deeply committed to Ezra’s vision. Explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a learning community devoted to “…any person…any study.” We encourage you to think broadly about your life experiences, including how local (e.g., family, school, neighborhood) or global communities you’ve been part of have helped shape your perspective. (350 words)

Cornell is inviting you to share more about your background/identity/community through the lens of how that will impact your experience at the university. Take note of the wide-open nature of this prompt. You are essentially invited to talk about any of the following topics:

• A perspective you hold
• An experience/challenge you had
• A community you belong to
• Your cultural background
• Your religious background
• Your family background
• Your sexual orientation or gender identity

Although this prompt’s open floor plan may feel daunting, a good tactic is to first consider what has already been communicated within your Common App personal statement and activities list. What important aspect(s) of yourself have not been shared (or sufficiently discussed)? The admissions officer reading your essay is hoping to connect with you through your written words, so—within your essay’s reflection—be open, humble, thoughtful, inquisitive, emotionally honest, mature, and/or insightful about what you learned and how you grew.

You’ll then need to discuss how your background/identity/experiences will best allow you to contribute to Cornell’s “any person…any study” vision. Firstly, what does “any person…any study” mean to you? Defining that for yourself will enable you to more fully discuss how your background and life experiences will contribute to the University’s mission.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals?(650 words)

There are 22 undergraduate majors and more than 40 minors within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Obviously, the content of this essay is going to be quite different for a prospective American Indian Indigenous Studies major versus someone looking to study Biomedical Engineering. Firstly, you’ll need to discuss your motivations and past experiences related to your major of choice—how have you engaged with the subject, formally and/or informally? What drives you to pursue this course of study in college? Moreover, you’ll need to clearly lay out your academic and career goals, providing explicit evidence of why CALS is the ideal place to help you achieve them. For instance, this may involve researching the professors, courses , study abroad programs , undergraduate research opportunities , and student-run organizations relevant to your major of choice.

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning

What three words best describe you? (30 characters each)

No tricks here—you truly only need to choose three words for this response. As such, make sure those three words are pulling their weight. For example, “interesting, hard-working, dedicated” could likely describe any number of Cornell applicants. Instead, try to think of descriptive or evocative words that capture what makes you unique or what you most value—perhaps it’s your wit, your bibliophile tendencies, or your generosity, to name a few.

Cornell Supplemental Essays (Continued)

How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues. (650 words)

There are five departments within the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning : Architecture. Art, City and Regional Planning, Real Estate, and Design Tech. Firstly, you’ll need to discuss your motivations and past experiences related to your major of choice—how have you engaged with the subject, formally and/or informally? What drives you to pursue this course of study in college? Moreover, you’ll need to clearly lay out your academic and career goals, providing explicit evidence of why Cornell AAP is the ideal place to help you achieve them. For instance, this may involve researching the professors , courses, study abroad programs , undergraduate research opportunities , and student-run organizations relevant to your major of choice. Note that the prompt provides specific guidance on what exactly should be addressed in the response depending on prospective major, so be sure to integrate that guidance into your essay.

College of Arts and Sciences – Cornell Supplemental Essays 

At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences. (650 words)

With 78 different majors and minors , the College of Arts and Sciences offers myriad opportunities for any student. As such, Cornell wants to see evidence of your drive, passion, and intellectual ambition as well as your specific plans for continuing to be academically engaged while in college. What are your current interests? How have you explored them inside and outside the classroom? How do you hope to continue pursuing them as an undergraduate? Great things to highlight here include:

• Departmental offerings , curriculum attributes , and/or specific courses offered in your discipline(s) of interest at Cornell.
• Undergraduate research opportunities  in the summer or during the school year as well as independent research you would like to conduct under faculty supervision.
• Cornell professors whose work/research/writings you find fascinating and how you might want to connect with them as an undergraduate.
• Last, explore academically focused  student organizations  at Cornell.

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration). (650 words)

To stand out as an applicant to Dyson or the School of Hotel Administration , applicants need to show that they have availed themselves of every opportunity to dive into the business world during their high school years. Of course, not everyone has parents who hand them money to invest in the stock market or hook them up with a Goldman Sachs internship in ninth grade. Relevant experiences can include high school investing clubs, participation in activities like FBLA, summer programs/courses in business/finance/economics, running your own local small business or e-business (Etsy, landscaping, etc.), or just a regular old retail job. From there, and as a result of your experiences, what topics or issues are you interested in? How do you plan to explore said issues or topics at Cornell? You might consider citing departmental/curricular attributes , specific courses, research opportunities , and/or experiential learning opportunities, among others.

College of Engineering – Cornell Supplemental Essays 

Instructions: All applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. Each has a limit of 250 words. Essay 1 is required of all applicants. For Essay 2, you must choose between Question A and Question B.

Essay 1 Required for all engineering applicants

How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering?  If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about. (250 words)

For the “Why Cornell Engineering?” prompt, refer to our recommendation above for the College of Arts & Sciences essay. Do your homework. Tell Cornell about the departments , courses , professors , facilities , research opportunities , and unique programs that make their College of Engineering your top choice. In addition, be sure to follow their advice and focus on one or two things that you are most excited about vs. trying to squeeze in a laundry list of offerings.

Essay 2 Choose either Question A or Question B. (250 word limit)

• Question A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem.
• Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?

Question A is, in many ways, a quintessential engineering prompt. It is truly as simple as identifying a problem and proposing a solution. However, you’ll want to follow Cornell’s guidance and focus on a problem that manifests in your local community. For example, this could involve something in the realm of:

• Climate change
• Energy efficiency
• Pandemic management/data tracking
• Infrastructure
• Sustainability
• Rethinking how cities and towns look and work
• Safeguarding personal data

Question B choice may be challenging to answer in a deeply meaningful way if you are not a member of an underrepresented group with respect to ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexual identity. If this one doesn’t “sing” to you, it’s best to stick with Question A. If you do select Option B, you’ll also want to be sure that it does not overlap with the required essay for all Cornell applicants, which also has to do with your background and life experiences.

Engineering Short Answer Questions (Required)

See advice under the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning.

What are three words you would use to describe Cornell Engineering?

Before attempting to answer this question, make sure to do your research. Read through the School’s mission statement as well as the departmental websites, diversity goals, research initiatives, and student life offerings. What stands out to you most about Cornell’s program as a whole? Then, do your best to capture that in three words.

College of Human Ecology

How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major.  (650 words)

The direction of your essay will be guided by your choice of major within the College of Human Ecology . For example, the content will look substantively different for a Fashion Design and Management major versus a Nutritional Sciences applicant. Regardless of your area of study, the prompt seeks to get the heart of why you’re interested in your particular field and where you see your education/career moving forward. In summary, speak honestly about your goals for the future and how your major will help you achieve them. Along the way, be sure to cite specific CHE offerings like courses , professors , research initiatives , student organizations , and/or special programs.

School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School. (650 words)

Labor relations is not exactly the most common topic for a 17-year-old to fall in love with. Therefore, there is probably a pretty interesting story behind your desire to pursue the ILR path. Given that this major is an intersection of areas like business, economics, government, history, law, and public policy, among others—your interest in Cornell’s ILR program may have been sparked by traditional classroom learning. Or, on the other hand, perhaps the spark was the experience of a friend or relative. Perhaps it was even something you have been following in the news (e.g., Starbucks workers trying to unionize). Above all, let your passion and commitment for this field shine through in your composition, and be sure to cite ILR offerings that will allow you to pursue your interests even more deeply, such as the curriculum structure , research opportunities , internships , or student organizations , among others.

Brooks School of Public Policy

Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals. (650 words)

At Brooks, you can pursue one of two majors: Public Policy or Healthcare Policy . As such, in this essay, you’ll want to be sure to communicate why you’re interested in your major of choice. What related experiences have you had? How have you explored your interests and curiosities inside and outside the classroom? Most importantly, how do you hope to continue pursuing them as an undergraduate? Great things to highlight here include departmental offerings , specific courses, research opportunities , faculty members , student life , and/or experiential learning opportunities of interest.

Want Personalized Coaching with your Cornell Supplemental Essays?

In conclusion, if you are interested in working with one of College Transitions’ experienced and knowledgeable essay coaches as you craft your Cornell supplemental essays, we encourage you to  get a quote  today.

• College Essay

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A licensed counselor and published researcher, Andrew's experience in the field of college admissions and transition spans two decades. He has previously served as a high school counselor, consultant and author for Kaplan Test Prep, and advisor to U.S. Congress, reporting on issues related to college admissions and financial aid.

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How to write the cornell supplemental essays 2020-2021: the amazing guide.

Cornell University has an acceptance rate of 15% and is known as one of America’s top schools with Ivy League status. Beyond stellar academic programs, the school boasts architecturally breathtaking buildings, a sprawling quad, and diverse social activities and dining.

It is no wonder that Cornell receives an incredible number of applications every year.

Along with many other Ivy League institutions, Cornell allows students to apply for admission via the Common Application . When applying online, students are asked to complete a school-specific writing supplement . Only one supplemental essay is required, however, the question will depend on what school you’re applying to.  In addition, some schools also have short answer questions.

Cornell Supplemental Essay Requirements

The word count for Cornell’s supplemental essay can be up to 650 words. The prompt you will answer is based on the college that houses your selected major.

These are the prompts:

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences : Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals? College of Architecture, Art, and Planning : What is your “thing”? What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time? Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. What are yours? In addition, the school asks, “What three words best describe you?” College of Arts and Sciences : Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms Ezra Cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our College. Cornell SC Johnson College of Business : What kind of a business student are you? The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business offers two distinct business programs, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the School of Hotel Administration. Please describe how your interests and ambitions can be met through one or both of the Schools within the College. College of Engineering : Tell us about what excites you most about Cornell Engineering and/or studying engineering at Cornell University. How do you see yourself becoming a part of the Cornell Engineering community? In addition, the school asks, “What three words best describe you?” and “What are three words you would use to describe Cornell Engineering?” College of Human Ecology : How have your experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology. How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? School of Industrial and Labor Relations : Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.

It is significant that the university requires only one essay with a generous word limit. They want students with a demonstrated passion for the school they choose. So, don’t let the length of the prompts fool you: They’re actually quite simple. In other words, the essay you choose is another permutation of the “ Why This College ” essay. 

• Even for the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning, which has the quirkiest prompt listed, Cornell wants to know what about your personality makes you qualified for the school.

Because each prompt is directly related to the college for which you apply, it’s vital that you write an essay with a razor-sharp focus. Support your thesis with details and examples from your life that show how prepared you are to study at Cornell. 

That means it all comes down to brainstorming.

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How to craft an excellent cornell supplemental essay.

The beauty of choosing any one of these essays is that Cornell, quite literally, tells you what they want to hear. College supplemental essays often want you to show, not tell. Luckily, Cornell specifically says they want to hear about your interests, experiences, background, and goals. They are giving you the blueprints to show, not tell.

When writing this essay, stay focused. 650 words is a lot, so it’s easy, and tempting, to veer off track and give too much background to your story and interests. However, this is not the time. Your Common App essay should have explored your character, values, and themes already, so they do not need to be repeated in the supplemental essay. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

• For this essay, be specific and answer the prompt with what they ask.
• Telling a story is completely fine, but the story must have only a limited introduction .
• If you so choose, begin your essay with a short story or anecdote that details the spark that ignited your passion for the field.
• Cover a story and topic that your Common App essay does not touch upon.

After introducing your essay, you will likely focus on the following topics. Remember, although the prompts are different, they all ask many of the same things:

• What you would like to major in?
• How have your past academic and work experiences influenced your choice?
• How have your past extracurricular and intercommunity pursuits prepared you for Cornell?
• How will Cornell help you further your academic interests?
• How will studying at Cornell will set you up for your career?

To help your brainstorming along, the colleges give you some guidance. For example, if you are applying to the SC Johnson College of Business, Cornell asks that you respond to the following instructions:

• What kind of a business student are you?
• The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business offers two distinct business programs, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the School of Hotel Administration. Please describe how your interests and ambitions can be met through one or both of the Schools within the College.

These specific questions give you a direction for the topics to discuss , such as what kind of business student you are and how one, or both or the schools will help you achieve your goals. 

What to Include in Your Supplemental Essay

In this essay, Cornell is indirectly asking you to provide work and academic experiences that have influenced your decision to pursue a particular academic interest. During your brainstorming process, make sure that they are relevant and timely . These questions may help:

• What first inspired you to pursue a particular career? Don’t try to make up a grandiose story, just be true to yourself.
• How have you explored that career since then? Focus on more recent experiences, ideally in the last few years of high school.
• What was your favorite moment exploring this academic interest? What makes it so memorable to you?

Whatever the specific experience may be, make sure your evidence is not only relevant but relates to high school.

Think About Initiative and Action

When choosing a story to write about, it should not be something that you stumbled upon. You want to demonstrate initiative and your ability to take action, not how privileged you are or your ability to fulfill academic requirements that are true for everyone. 

As an example, you might be interested in marine biology. Describing how taking biology inspired this interest is relevant, but it’s also a requirement at many schools. It would be much better to discuss how you applied to an internship program at the local aquarium because it shows that you’re both qualified to succeed on Cornell’s campus and hungry enough to utilize its resources.

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have experience with official outlets. If you created something meaningful and grew it during high school, tell the admissions officers about it. Here is an example of a potential project that would fit this prompt:

• You combined your love for Indian folk dancing with your interest in business and entrepreneurship.
• Recruiting nine kids from your neighborhood, you created a dance group and taught them choreography after school.
• The group performed at charity events, helping raise $3000 over three years.
• As a result, your group grew to 20 kids by the end of your junior year.
• Altogether, you learned about scaling a business, recruiting students, and keeping them interested enough to attend practice.

Including Cornell in the Essay

Now that you have a potential idea in mind, it’s crucial that you do your research on the academic programs at Cornell University because your writing should demonstrate your understanding of the program you are interested in pursuing. This could include details about the program, potential career opportunities, or even the culture.

Beyond academics, you should also check out other opportunities, such as student clubs and study abroad programs. The goal is for you to have a well-rounded vision for how Cornell University will help you to achieve your career goals. This needs to be specific. Your essay should not be able to be copied and pasted to another university’s application.

Once you have done this research, think about how you can incorporate it into your essay. Do not try and mimic the same exact language that is used on their website. Not only is it plagiarism to copy and paste, but Cornell also knows what they have online and aren’t interested in reading it again. They want to know you understand.

Use specific examples that are relevant to your interests. For example, if you are interested in pursuing business or hotel administration, you could mention that Cornell has top programs, as well as a vast network that will allow you to fully ascertain what you would like to do post-graduation in pursuit of a career. However, both of these are true of other schools too. You’d be better off mentioning specific professors, projects, grants, fellowships, or programs that will take your learning to the next level. Show Cornell that you care enough to do your research, as this indicates that you will likely contribute to the campus and your class.

Share your excitement for the opportunities Cornell offers, and describe how you envision your future as a student, and perhaps graduate, of the university. Consider looking at:

• Academic offerings
• Professors and their research
• Out-of-classroom-academic immersions
• Fellowship opportunities

Make the admissions officers really think about how admitting you will continue to build a positive reputation for Cornell.

What Do I Write About If I’m Undecided?

If you’re undecided about your major or the direction for your future, that’s okay! There are many students who enter college hoping to find their direction in the first few years. However, this is the time to think about your interests and talents , and how those relate to potential majors and careers.

In your essay, don’t write about why you might be interested in pursuing each of the six different colleges. Writing about too many possibilities will water down the power of your essay, cause it to lose focus, and waste your word count. Instead, try to narrow it down to one possible college, potentially with multiple different majors, as the colleges offered at Cornell have a variety of degrees offered under the general umbrella.

This is not a contract for your entire future. Simply be honest about what attracts you to this college, and describe how Cornell will help you realize your passion and goals. If you’re really feeling at a loss, here are two things for you to consider:

• There are multiple different free career-assessment quizzes . While these definitely do not have perfect algorithms, you might be surprised to learn more about your personality and what careers are attractive to you.
• If you have several careers of interest, do some job shadowing or interview professionals in those fields. You can talk to a friend or family member for help finding an opportunity, but also consider calling or emailing a company to ask if someone would be willing to meet with you.

Whatever you decide to explore while in high school, it won’t be a waste. Every experience is a potential essay, especially when you’re trying to explore a career. 

Cornell Supplemental Essay Example

We added this essay to give you a visual on what a strong Cornell supplemental essay looks like. Remember, never plagiarize.

As I reflect on my commitment to pursuing neuroscience, I see that my journey started with Great Tennis, an organization which teaches neurologically and physically disabled children tennis. Initially expecting the students at Great Tennis to be mostly reclusive and inactive, I was surprised on my first day to see kids who were no less outgoing than many others their age. However, as I stepped out onto the tennis courts, I quickly realized the reality of the disabilities they faced daily. I saw kids who needed assistance to perform even basic tennis drills. Unable to relate to being hindered by such difficulties, I really began to empathize with them. I stopped viewing them as people I was helping for the sake of volunteering. Rather, I had connected with them on a more personal level, having my own desire to help them in any way possible. Passionate to understand more about their disabilities, I participated in the Mind Challenge, a neuroscience competition for teens, in my junior year of high school. I had the opportunity to learn about neurology and neurological disorders, spending numerous hours studying neuroanatomy, neurological disabilities, and analyzing MRIs. Through this participation, I began to appreciate the intricate and intimate relationship the brain has with the numerous other bodily systems. I was genuinely intrigued that even a small error in this highly complex structure could lead to some of the severe diseases I saw at Great Tennis, ranging from Down Syndrome to Rett Syndrome. Wanting to further this growing passion, I sought out the opportunity to work as a neurobiology research intern at the University of Tennessee. First tasked with collaboratively writing a review article, I came across recent studies detailing an intriguing biochemical pathway that had implications in gliomas, or brain cancer. Curious to explore this pathway, I eventually found a particular unexplored bio-molecule that I believed had great potential for treatment. The process of discovering this molecule, creating and designing a project, and proposing this concept with eventual approval, invigorated my interest in neuroscience. Getting exposure to the biological aspects of the brain, along with seeing their potential therapeutic implications through research, helped develop and solidify my passion for neuroscience. At TDSP, I hope to follow my intellectual curiosity for the brain by joining the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior. I am excited to take courses such as “Molecular and Genetic Approaches in Neuroscience,” that would provide me with background knowledge in the biology behind the genetic diseases some of the Dream Court athletes faced. I plan to supplement my curricular work in neurobiology with undergraduate research by joining the TDSP Research Honors program. Specifically, I hope to conduct research under the guidance of Dr. Halls, where I can gain a deeper understanding of the neural mechanisms behind reward and motivation. My interests in neuroscience expand beyond just studying the biological and molecular aspects of the brain. I am also particularly interested in understanding the intersection of neuroscience and economics to see how aspects such as emotions and cognitive function could affect financial behavior, as well as understanding the ethical implications associated with this field. At Cornell, as part of the Dyson Business Minor For Life Sciences Majors, I will gain the necessary knowledge of and exposure to this relationship so I can gain insight into human decision-making and behavior. Given my diverse interests, I am excited to further explore the interdisciplinary areas of neuroscience at Cornell, delving deep into their implications for research pertaining to neurological illnesses, as well as their applications with other fields like economics. This experience at TDSP will help me honor the commitment to helping the kids at Great Tennis, who first motivated me to embark on this path and sparked my interest in the field.

Conclusion: How to Write the Cornell Supplemental Essay

Before submitting your supplement through the Common App, go back to the prompt. You’ll want to ensure you:

• Answered all the parts of the question
• Conveyed enthusiasm for the program and the school
• Relate your academic and career interests with not only your major but also with Cornell

If you feel this is true of your essay, you are ready to submit it and be one step closer to admission to Cornell University!

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Cornell University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Decision: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 2

You Have: 

Cornell University 2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 school-specific essay of 650 words or 2 essays of 250 words each

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Why , Community

In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to both the Cornell University essay question and the essay prompt that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying.

In the aftermath of the u.s. civil war, ezra cornell wrote, “i would found an institution where any person can find instruction in any study.” for over 150 years, cornell university has remained deeply committed to ezra’s vision. explain how your life experiences will help inform your contributions to a learning community devoted to “… any person … any study.” we encourage you to think broadly about your life experiences, including how local (e.g., family, school, neighborhood) or global communities you’ve been part of have helped shape your perspective. (350 word limit).

Admissions wants to know what has made you into the person you are today and how those experiences will affect the way you engage with and contribute to the Cornell community. Start by thinking about the kinds of experiences you’ve had in the communities you’ve been a part of thus far. Then, think about how those meaningful encounters will affect your time at Cornell. Maybe you had to fill in as head camp counselor when your team lead was sick—did that teach you the importance of stepping up when unexpected opportunities arise? Remember: admissions wants to invite students to campus who are excited about the chance to meet people from all walks of life and won’t shy away from newness and difference. So, tell a story about an experience that has shaped you and connect the lessons you learned to the ways in which you will contribute to inclusivity on campus next fall. (And though it’s tempting to mention how excited you are to join the a capella group “Here Comes Treble,” let’s leave The Office references in the drafts folder.)

In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below (maximum of 650 words) that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying.

Brooks school of public policy:  why are you drawn to studying public policy drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the brooks school will help you achieve your life goals..

This prompt is very simple: Why do you want to study Public Policy and how will the Brooks School help you to realize your dreams? If you’re pursuing a degree in Health Care Policy or Policy Analysis and Management as an undergraduate, it’s likely that you have a very personal tie to social issues and other systemic problems that impact the public domain. This is your opportunity to share your story with admissions. Maybe you are passionate about using your persuasive writing and critical thinking skills to implement policies that will benefit the earth (and all its inhabitants). Perhaps you’re eager to take action to close the gender wage gap or reimagine the U.S. healthcare system. Whatever your reasoning may be, show admissions that you have thought carefully about your decision to not only pursue public policy, but pursue it at Cornell.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences : Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals? (Required)

With such a specific professional focus, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences is asking for an equally specific commitment from you. Make sure you have concrete reasons and practical experiences to back up your chosen course of study. Why couldn’t you pursue your interests in a more general liberal arts environment? Be specific.

Optional: At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good.  Please elaborate on an activity or experience you have had that made an impact on a community that is important to you. (200-word limit)

Cornell wants to hear about an experience you engaged in that made a positive impact on a community close to your heart. Your answer doesn’t have to be connected to Agriculture and Life Sciences in any way, so let your mind wander. Maybe you bring your therapy dog to your local hospital once a month and you love watching everyone’s eyes light up the moment Spunky enters the room. Perhaps you challenged your fear of public speaking to deliver an address at a town hall to advocate for greener public transportation options. When have you gotten involved for the greater good? This essay is optional, but why would you pass up the opportunity to provide admissions with more information about yourself and your motivations? 

Optional: Cornell CALS is dedicated to purpose-driven study of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background or interest in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. An “agricultural entity” for the purpose of this question is defined as cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock (ex. farm, ranch, greenhouse, vineyard, etc.).

Select all that apply:, a primary source of income for my parent/guardian(s) comes from ownership of or employment by an agricultural entity., my extended family owns or operates an agricultural entity., i have experience working in an agricultural entity., i have interest in pursuing a career in an agricultural entity., please feel free to share additional details (optional)..

If there’s any information that you didn’t include in the two previous optional short essays, this is the place for you to expand as you wish.

College of Architecture, Art, and Planning : How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.

This is a simple Why Essay , even if the prompt is verbose. Applicants need to write an essay explaining why they want to study their major, specifically, at AAP. Admissions is looking for evidence of previous interest/experience in your major of choice, confirmation that you’ve taken the time to explore Cornell’s resources and programs thoroughly, and (if you’re hoping to pursue a 5-year professional degree program) an indication that you’ve already started putting your passions into practice with a project. You’d be wise to write an essay that weaves together your interest in architecture, art, and/or urban planning with your vision for the future, hopefully one that includes graduating from AAP.

College of Arts and Sciences : At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences.

You’re never going to guess what we’re about to recommend! (Okay, maybe you will). Before you even put pen to paper, do some research. Spend a little time on the school website, campus, or at local Cornell events to learn everything you can about the academic offerings, opportunities, and curriculum. Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences is the most generalized of Cornell’s colleges, so take this opportunity to show your well-rounded worth. Why have you chosen not to pursue a more specific or vocation-oriented pathway at this point? What will you gain from having access to a diverse array of academic departments? Is there departmental cross-pollination that excites you? What about an Arts and Sciences education at Cornell compels you, specifically? Finally, don’t forget to weave your “passion for learning” into your response in order to address both questions.

College of Business : What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).

Business College hopefuls have also been tasked with writing a why essay , but in this case, it’s more about your fit than the schools’ offerings. Show how your own goals and interests align with the school’s programs and opportunities. But more importantly, demonstrate how your background and pathway to business school sets you apart from your peers. You’ll need to learn how to write a good value proposition eventually, so consider this essay your first foray into marketing—what issues do you care about when it comes to business, why are they important to you, and which Cornell program will help you both address them and achieve your goals?

College of Engineering

Instructions: all applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. each has a limit of 250 words. essay 1 is required of all applicants. for essay 2, you must choose between question a and question b., essay 1:  how do your interests directly connect with cornell engineering if you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at cornell engineering  if you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with cornell engineering. it may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about. .

You can get an Engineering degree at thousands of schools across the country, so why are you so keen to study at Cornell, specifically? Remember that your choices here aren’t set in stone, so don’t stress over your vision; just show that you’ve done your research. Maybe Cornell’s Environmental Engineering program will propel you toward your dream career in city planning and hazardous waste management. Maybe there’s an alum who is doing what you aspire to do, and you want to follow in their footsteps! Whatever it is that draws you to Cornell (besides Andy’s school spirit in The Office ), admissions wants you to describe that interest and then connect it to your aspirations. 

Essay 2: Choose either Question A and Question B. (250 word limit) 

Question a: describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. this could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem..

This is your opportunity to not only show admissions that you’re paying attention to the world around you, but also demonstrate your creativity and vision. Start by brainstorming a few problems or challenges—big and small—that bother you or impact your life in some capacity. Maybe it’s rampant wildfires or accessibility issues in your community. Although the scope and scale of your problem can vary, remember that Cornell is looking to accept applicants who want to be a part of the solution. Show that you’re not only informed and concerned, but also actively engaged in addressing the problem head on (in one to three innovative ways).

Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?

This is a classic community essay, through and through. Admissions officers want to know not only that you value diversity, but which diverse perspectives you, specifically, will bring to the Cornell community. Where do you come from? What has shaped you as a person and how has that made your perspective unique? What you address can be reflective of larger cultural constructs or a trait specific to you and only you. Consider why your particular background or experience will be useful in an academic setting. How will it help inspire and/or inform others? Were you raised in an indigenous community? Do you identify as nonbinary? Have you lived on three different continents? What has influenced your identity? What do you believe and how will your worldview bring something of value to the engineering community at Cornell?

College of Human Ecology: How have your related experiences influenced your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE)? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should show us that your interests and aspirations align with CHE and your choice of major.

Admissions wants you to build a bridge between your past experiences and your decision to apply to CHE. Then they want you to kick it up a notch and build a (more theoretical) bridge from CHE to your future aspirations. Unlike many of Cornell’s specific schools, this one doesn’t necessarily flow directly into a particular career path, so it’s important for you to demonstrate that you have a plan before committing to such a focused course of study. The more you can demonstrate a deep familiarity with CHE and your vision for your future, the better!

College of Industrial and Labor Relations: Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.

What subject could you talk about for hours on end with your friends, family, or even a complete stranger? Maybe it’s the need for legislation on regulating toxic chemicals in everything from our cosmetics to our food and water sources. Perhaps it’s the impending water crisis, and the public policy that you believe would change the way Americans use and think about water. With this prompt, it’s a good idea that you touch on when or where your passion first began, how it developed over time, and how you are planning to pursue this issue or interest at Cornell. This prompt gives you a wonderful opportunity to reveal something new about yourself through discussing your enthusiastic engagement with a given issue; in the process, you will showcase your curious, well-rounded nature to admissions — and huzzah for that!

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An Analysis of the Cornell Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

Padya Paramita

July 20, 2022

After working on multiple essays for each of your applications, you might be surprised to learn that you only have to write one supplemental essay for Cornell University. But it’s a big one! Your response must be as long as your personal statement. Cornell receives thousands of applications from students all over the world who all have unique stories to tell and has become even more competitive over the pandemic, so this part of the application is very important. Standing out isn’t easy, but it’s not impossible either, especially if you can impress the admissions officers through the Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 .

In reading your response, admissions officers want to learn about your extracurriculars, character traits, intellectual pursuits, and reasons behind choosing Cornell. The school within Cornell you decide to apply to could end up being the deciding factor behind which supplemental essay question you write about. So don’t rush to write your response—plan your essay carefully. To guide you through the prompts for the eight Cornell schools, I’ve outlined them, included the do’s and don’ts for your responses, and added more tips to help you tackle the Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 .

Prompts for the Cornell University Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

When you add Cornell as one of your schools in the Common Application, you have to pick one of the eight colleges within Cornell, instead of applying to the university as a whole. These are: 

• The newly opened Brooks School of Public Policy

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

College of architecture, art, and planning, college of arts and sciences.

• Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
• School of Hotel Administration

College of Engineering

College of human ecology.

• School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR)

Each college asks you to answer one 650-word supplemental essay question. When writing the other essays, your response should be tailored to the school you’ve chosen and demonstrate an unquestionable passion for the field and knowledge of a particular program at Cornell. Without further ado, let’s look at the prompts for each school and the approaches you should—and shouldn’t—take when it comes to your essay.

In the online Common Application Writing Supplement, please respond to the essay question below (maximum of 650 words) that corresponds to the undergraduate college or school to which you are applying.

NEW! Brooks School of Public Policy

Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.

According to the Inaugural Dean, “The Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy brings together scholars across disciplines to tackle the biggest public policy challenges we face as a society, both in the U.S. and globally. Our mission is to make positive change in the world.” If you’re a student who is interested in having a say in how policy gets passed and implemented, you might want to check out the newly opened Brooks School at Cornell. The supplemental essay prompt specifically asks that you elaborate on three things:

• Your experience with policy/your chosen major
• Why you’ve chosen the specific major
• How Brooks will help you reach your goals.

Answering this long essay question will take a significant amount of research. Go through the major offerings at the Brooks School, and consider whether you wish to concentrate in one of the two major offerings: Policy Analysis and Management or Health Care Policy. Depending on which you choose, write about the way you’ve showcased your potential as a future policy maker in the field. For example, if you wish to pursue Health Care Policy, discuss how you may have impacted the way healthcare services are distributed in your community, or if you volunteered at a hospital and want to see change—or even if you helped out your local medical facility during COVID. Next, talk about why you wish to pursue the topic at Brooks specifically. Read about the new school, learn about the professors, and connect them to your goals. Make sure your aspirations in the policy you wish to contribute to are clear! 

Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals?

Since CALS is an undergraduate institution unique to Cornell, there are many Cornell-specific programs and opportunities you can draw from to portray your interest in CALS. You can choose from its 20 program offerings in the life sciences—from Animal Science to International Agriculture and Rural Development—and dive straight into studying the discipline of your choice on day one. These majors are more niche, so the reader must take away a demonstrated fit for the particular program through your writing. 

The key to your answer lies in showing that you have done thorough research on the major that you’ve chosen, and convincing admissions officers that CALS is the perfect school for you. Why are you certain that the CALS Food Science or Landscape Architecture program is what you want over what other schools have to offer? You could highlight your commitment by making a clear connection between the work you’ve done in the particular field and your choice of CALS major. Why is CALS the place to explore your passion for life sciences rather than the Biology or Environmental & Sustainability departments at the College of Arts and Sciences?

Avoid general statements about how exceptional CALS is—admissions officers already know that—and instead reflect instead on ways your interest has grown, what your goals are, and how CALS fits into it all. The more specifically tailored your essay, the better the reader can understand your perspective.

What is your “thing”? What energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time? Everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. What are yours?”

This prompt diverts from what the majority of Cornell prompts look for by asking you to elaborate on a topic of interest that engages you like no other. Think about what gets you out of bed in the morning, or a topic that you could give a five-minute presentation on at any moment with zero preparation. If you’re out of ideas, ask your friends or family members what they see as your obsessions. Don’t choose broad issues that you can’t cover in 650 words. You shouldn’t go for common topics that many of your peers might choose either. Think about a topic you’re passionate about which might be more nuanced than others realize. Let the admissions officers know that you’re a perceptive and curious candidate. 

Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms Ezra Cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our College.

In writing this essay, you must display your knowledge regarding the liberal arts approach taken by the College of Arts and Sciences. The school prides itself on encouraging openness, course diversity, and allowing students to design their own curriculum. Focus your essay on how being able to explore your options and have more freedom over your course selection is ideally suited to your learning style. Your anecdotes should focus less on the origin of your interests, and more on how you might respond to a relatively open curriculum. For example, outlining a situation where you took advantage of having agency in course selection can be an effective way to drive your point home.

While you might be excited by the extracurricular opportunities that complement your major selection, the prompt strictly asks you to focus on the curriculum. How can you benefit from two majors in completely different areas? How can your goals be inspired by the courses, lectures, and facilities that the College of Arts and Sciences offers? Remember that many schools take a liberal arts approach. Admissions officers want to know why you’re applying specifically to Cornell’s School of Arts and Sciences over other colleges, so be as specific in talking about your goals and interests as possible.

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business:

What kind of a business student are you? The Cornell SC Johnson College of Business offers two distinct business programs, the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and the School of Hotel Administration. Please describe how your interests and ambitions can be met through one or both of the Schools within the College.

Like any other “why this school” essay, the Johnson School prompt wants to know why you’ve chosen Johnson over other undergraduate business schools , and how you would be an asset to the incoming class. In other words, you have to elaborate on what makes the Dyson model ideally suited to your learning style, or the School of Hotel Administration perfect for your future career, and explain the reasons why you will be a valuable addition. 

If you’re applying to Dyson:

If you’re applying to Dyson, you have to show that you’ve done your research on facilities and opportunities exclusive to Dyson. One of the key ways of doing so is to demonstrate your understanding of the unique Economics and Management B.S or ask yourself how you’d benefit from this degree over a B.S. in economics from another school, for example. What features will prepare you for a career as an entrepreneur or financial analyst?

Don’t forget to leave space for how your experiences have prepared you to contribute to Dyson. If you’re planning to apply to this school, you should already have ventured into the world of business. Talk about any entrepreneurial initiatives you’ve taken, any business-related summer programs you’ve attended, and mention if you have any unusual goals that can distinguish you from other prospective business students. Expand on the skills and values you picked up on the way. Dyson students are allowed to double major with a major at CALS so if your passion for business has a life sciences aspect to it, you should include that in your essay!

If you’re applying to the School of Hotel Administration:

The School of Hotel Administration is the most prestigious hotel school in the world. Conduct your research and think about the main reasons behind your application to this exceptional college—look at the faculty listing, research opportunities, electives, and concentrations. What have been some key factors in your curiosity about the intersection of business and hospitality? How does a certain program—such as the minor in Real Estate—fit in with your ten-year plan? Don’t just name SHA resources—talk about how they would be beneficial to your goals. You have to be as specific as possible. Due to the school’s higher acceptance rate compared to other Cornell colleges, many students apply through SHA to try and receive a Cornell acceptance. This makes it critical that your essays demonstrate your authentic and specific interest in hospitality and the related fields. 

While you should mention how your academics and extracurriculars have contributed to your career goals in the hotel business, you must also consider the more human side of the occupation. Do you have the qualities it takes to work in hotel administration, such as empathy, ability to communicate, cultural awareness, and teamwork skills? Provide examples and add any anecdotes that will help admissions officers both understand your interest in the hospitality industry and showcase your potential to thrive after you leave Cornell. 

Tell us about what excites you most about Cornell Engineering and/or studying engineering at Cornell University. How do you see yourself becoming a part of the Cornell Engineering community?

Like the other prompts, this question asks you to think about why you have specifically chosen Cornell Engineering as the place to pursue your engineering education. However, this time they want to see what you will add to the community, rather than only focus on what you get out of the school. Since the prompt emphasizes your excitement towards studying engineering, your essay should too. Think about how your interest in the field originated, what issues matter most to you, and how you can make an impact at the Cornell School of Engineering.  

Narrow your focus by thinking about the major within Cornell Engineering that you wish to pursue. How would a degree in Material Science and Engineering or Biological Engineering from Cornell help you build on what you’ve worked on so far? If you’ve prepared through a rigorous STEM-heavy course load or an extracurricular initiative you’ve implemented to specialize in the area, this is the place to talk about it. Upon reading your response, admissions officers should be confident that you are not only a strong candidate for an engineering degree, but also that you’re specifically geared for success as a future Cornell-educated engineer. The university wants your answer to the Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 to reflect your strongest personal attributes , and this essay is an effective way of showing what you care about while demonstrating knowledge of Cornell’s engineering offerings. 

How has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology been influenced by your related experiences? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future?

The College of Human Ecology prompt asks to see connections between the development of your interests and your choice of major and career aspirations. The tricky thing about this prompt is that the College of Human Ecology happens to cover quite a few different fields that don’t necessarily have obvious relationships to each other. It’s probably a good idea that you know what “human ecology” actually means and are fully informed about programs such as Nutritional Sciences or Apparel Design before sitting down to write your essay. 

You need to focus more on your commitment to the specialized department you’re interested in rather than human ecology as a whole since that is too broad of a topic. How have your courses and extracurricular efforts prepared you for undergraduate study in Fashion Design or Design and Environmental Analysis? From reading your response to the Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 , admissions officers must understand that you are applying because you’re actually passionate about the field instead of deciding on a whim because you suddenly like the sound of designing clothing.

School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.

Just like with other prompts for Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 , you need to build a narrative showing how your interests overlap with Cornell’s offerings. Since you have plenty of space in this essay, you should draw on anecdotes that affirm your interest in people and policy in the workplace. Conduct research and think about how your goals can benefit from taking certain electives or working with a distinguished professor. 

Highlight what sparked your interest in the industry—was there one particular incident or did your concern for topics related to workforce policies develop over time? Was there a high school club or internship that contributed to expanding your knowledge of employment policies? Moreover, think about why you want to attend a school that specializes in Industrial and Labor Relations rather than major in economics at the College of Arts and Sciences. By narrating a unique story that shows why this is the perfect college for you, you can help admissions officers gain a clearer picture of your passion for exploring work, employment, and labor policy issues over the next four years.

Additional Tips for the Cornell Supplemental Essays 2022-2023

• Keep the Specific School in Mind - It’s not unheard of for students to apply to a less competitive Cornell school such as the College of Arts and Sciences in hopes of later transferring to Dyson or Cornell Engineering. Make sure your essays don’t leave admissions officers doubting whether your interest in the school that you’ve applied to is authentic. Don’t write about your love for life sciences or chemical engineering if you’re applying for an English major at the College of Arts and Sciences! Make sure your essay reflects your particular school choice and its unique offerings.
• Don’t Repeat Your Personal Statement - Your answers to the Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 are supposed to provide admissions officers with more context on your background and passions. That might be difficult to execute if your supplemental essay covers the same topic as your personal statement. It could be tricky to find a new angle—especially when the prompt for the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning is very similar to one of the Common Application personal statement prompts —“Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.” If you’re applying to the AAP school and you’ve picked this prompt for your Common App, you have to come up with something completely different. Cornell will not appreciate two 650-word essays that overlap in content.
• Avoid Generic Statements At All Costs - Cornell received the most applications out of the Ivy League schools this year. And the number isn’t getting any smaller. In order to excel in your Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023, you have to connect all the factors that make a Cornell education appealing to you. Specifics will allow admissions officers to understand what makes you unique. Stating general facts about the facilities won’t help your case since admissions officers already know that great resources exist at their university!

Your answers to the Cornell supplemental essays 2022-2023 should convey how you would benefit from a degree from one of its specialized undergraduate schools and the ways in which your experiences thus far have prepared you to contribute to the university’s academic environment. No matter which college within Cornell you’re applying to, make sure that your essays reflect an understanding of the curriculum and highlight any relevant experience so that admissions officers know you’re not just applying for the sake of attending an Ivy League school!

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“Why Cornell” Supplemental Essay Examples

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The “Why Us” supplemental essay is one of the trickiest college application essays to write. Applying to Cornell? Here are 5 successful Why Cornell essay excerpts. 

Cornell University only requires one additional writing supplement—the “Why Cornell” supplemental essay. Applicants are asked to share why they are interested in studying at Cornell and are asked to respond to the specific essay prompt from the undergraduate college or school they are applying to. Cornell University has a total of 8 undergraduate colleges/schools: 

• College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
• College of Architecture, Art and Planning
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Cornell SC College of Business: Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management
• Cornell SC College of Business: School of Hotel Administration 
• College of Engineering
• College of Human Ecology
• School of Industrial and Labor Relations 

Each of the colleges/schools listed above have a unique supplemental essay prompt. Here are 5 examples for 4 of the schools listed above: 

Cornell University ‘21

For the School of Industrial and Labor Relations:

Like the Strait, I’m a fluid connective body, but instead of serving as natural barrier or political divide, I seek to reconcile strained relations. Given my strong interests in cross-cultural mediation, inclination to manage disputes, coursework in interdisciplinary social sciences, and leadership and employment positions, I seek “to solve human problems [and] manage and resolve conflicts” within Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations (ILR). Read his full “Why Cornell” supplemental essay!

Cornell University ‘20

For the College of Engineering:

I must have wanted to be an engineer long before I knew what the word meant. On almost every fork we own, the middle two prongs are pulled half an inch back, a homage to a time before I became strong enough to open a soda can and resorted to making a lever with a fork. I tore through thousands of plastic bags, searching for the perfect cut that would allow me to parachute off a self-made cliff of couch cushions and pillows. Unlock her full successful Cornell application file.  

Cornell2021

People in my community believe the only way to be successful is to pursue medicine or engineering and arts are looked down upon here.I have a science background but am also interested in the deeper questions of existence, such as one encounters in philosophy. I don’t want to let go of my passions. Instead, I want to study at Cornell, where, far from being looked down upon, interdisciplinary study that includes the liberal arts are treasured through its unique independent study option, independent major, and distributional requirement system which will give me freedom in designing my curriculum and will let me explore a wide range of fields, from philosophy to literature. Continue reading his Why Cornell supplemental essay.  

For the School of Hotel Administration:

I am an anomaly among my peers. While many of them wrestle with the uncertainty of not knowing what they want to do or be in the future, I have always known. Even in elementary school, when the popular options were superhero or sports legend, I had altogether different aspirations. If you had asked me then, my answer would be the same as it is today: I want to work in the hospitality industry. Unlock his full successful Cornell application file.  

For the College of Arts and Sciences:

I am interested in working with the UN to give researchers in developing countries access to a uniform and politically acceptable set of translation and ethical guidelines. This ensures that work conducted in developing or recently industrialized countries will not be dismissed due to doubts about the way it was conducted or a language barrier. To accomplish my goals of bringing the international scientific community closer together, I will need to study my intellectual interests of biology, foreign languages, and international relations. I am confident that Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences will be the perfect place to pursue my goals.

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About The Author

Frances was born in Hong Kong and received her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. She loves super sad drama television, cooking, and reading. Her favorite person on Earth isn’t actually a member of the AdmitSee team - it’s her dog Cooper.

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October 4, 2022

An Overview of the 2022-2023 Cornell University Essay Prompts

If you’re applying to Cornell University’s Class of 2027, beyond the Common Application’s Personal Statement and optional Covid essay , students are asked a Cornell-specific essay prompt (or prompts depending on the specific school within the broader Cornell University to which you’re applying).

That’s right. Each of Cornell’s undergraduate schools — be it the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, the College of Engineering, the College of Human Ecology, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, or the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy — has its own admissions essay prompts.

For each of these schools within Cornell, the essays are required for admission — with the exception of the College of Agriculture and Life Science. For CALS, two of the three essays are optional. Of course, applicants to elite universities like Cornell should never consider an optional essay actually optional . Rather, it’s a chance for students to make their case for admission. To not write an optional essay would be a missed opportunity to tell your story . So what exactly are the 2022-2023 Cornell admissions essays?

Cornell Essay Requirements at a Glance

For the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay. There are also 2 x 300-word optional essays.

For the College of Architecture, Art and Planning, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay.

For the College of Arts and Sciences, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay.

For the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay.

For the College of Engineering, there are 2 x 250 word required essays. For the second essay, applicants have the option of answering one of the two prompts.

For the College of Human Ecology, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay.

For the School of Industrial and Labor Relations, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay.

For the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy, there’s 1 x 650-word required essay.

College of Architecture, Art and PlanningEssay 1: How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering?  If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about. 1 x 650 words (required)This is a hybrid: Why Major and Why College. For the first part, share your origin story as an adult for your interest in the field (don’t write about playing LEGOs as a kid!). And then cut to the specifics — programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities, etc. — that are enduring about the school. If you read aloud one of your sentences and can replace Cornell with Harvard and the sentence still works, delete the sentence!College of Arts and SciencesStudents in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms Ezra Cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. Tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our College.1 x 650 words (required)This is a hybrid: Why Major and Why College. For the first part, share your origin story as an adult for your interest in the field. And then cut to the specifics — programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities, etc. — that are enduring about the school. If you read aloud one of your sentences and can replace Cornell with Harvard and the sentence still works, delete the sentence! This is your chance to write a love letter to Cornell.Cornell SC Johnson College of BusinessWhat kind of business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).1 x 650 words (required)Tell the story of a business you founded. If it’s socks, write about socks. How did you try to change the sock game? And then cut to the Why College specifics — programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities, etc. — that are enduring about the business school. If you read aloud one of your sentences and can replace Cornell with Harvard and the sentence still works, delete the sentence! This is your chance to write a love letter to Cornell and to demonstrate how you wish to change the field of business in a super specific way. And, no, don’t write about the stock market as that will only make you seem privileged. Entrepreneurship generally beats stocks, private equity, and venture capital in elite college admissions.College of EngineeringAll Engineering applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. Essay 1 is required of all applicants. For Essay 2, you must choose between Question A and Question B. Essay 1: How do your interests directly connect with Cornell Engineering? If you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at Cornell Engineering? If you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with Cornell Engineering. It may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about.  Essay 2: Choose either Question A or Question B.  Question A: Describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. This could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. Describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem. (250 words). Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community?2 x 250 words (required)For the required essay, treat it as an Arnold Palmer: half why major, half Why College. Offer a fun origin story into your interest in engineering — as a high schooler rather than as a child. Maybe a high school activity sparked this interest. Then transition to the Why College component, which should be filled with specific after specific that apply only to Cornell Engineering. That means no professor name drops. And no class name drops either. Rather, focus on programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities — things that are enduring about an institution. Professors leave. Classes change. For the second essay’s first option, pick something within your community that showcases your ingenuity and creativity. It can absolutely be something mundane — as long as you apply your fun thinking to the issue. How are you going to address potholes? Or protect cyclists on the roads? For the second essay’s section option, keep in mind that colleges value all sorts of diversity — from sexual orientation to gender identity to geographic and so much more. Are you from a farming town? If so, how do you hope to use engineering to address the problems for your rural community? Are you from a major city? How has this shaped your interested in building smart, sustainable cities of the future? College of Human EcologyHow has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology been influenced by your related experiences? How will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future?1 x 650 words (required)This is a hybrid: Why Major and Why College. For the first part, share your origin story as an adult for your interest in influences on human health and well-being. And then cut to the specifics — programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities, etc. — that are enduring about the school. If you read aloud one of your sentences and can replace Cornell with Harvard and the sentence still works, delete the sentence! Finally, demonstrate how you will use all that you learn at the College of Human Ecology to change the world in a super focused, singular way.School of Industrial and Labor RelationsUsing your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.1 x 650 words (required)This is a hybrid: Why Major and Why College. For the first part, share your origin story as an adult for your interest in labor relations. Do you feel employers shouldn’t be able to text their employees at all hours? Has work from home gone too far? And then cut to the specifics — programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities, etc. — that are enduring about the school. If you read aloud one of your sentences and can replace Cornell with Harvard and the sentence still works, delete the sentence!Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public PolicyWhy are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.1 x 650 words (required)This is a hybrid: Why Major and Why College. For the first part, share your origin story as an adult for your interest in the field. And then cut to the specifics — programs, institutes, culture, traditions, activities, etc. — that are enduring about the school. If you read aloud one of your sentences and can replace Cornell with Harvard and the sentence still works, delete the sentence!

The Governing Rule of Approaching Cornell University Essays

Before we do a deep dive into the specific prompt or prompts for each school within Cornell University, we have one key piece of advice to share that applies to your answer for any of the respective schools within the university: make sure your academics, your extracurricular activities, and your storytelling in all of your essays fit the specific school to which you’re applying. Yes, if there is one guiding principle at Cornell above all other principles, it’s that the student is applying to the right school within the university. At Cornell, school fit matters to its admissions officers.

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences

Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. specifically, how will an education from the college of agriculture and life sciences (cals) and cornell university help you achieve your academic goals (650 words or fewer).

This is, of course, a hybrid of a “Why Major” and a “ Why College ” essay. Some schools’ “Why College” essays might be two words (e.g., “ Why Tufts? “). Others might be long-winded, like the second part of CALS’ essay prompt. But make no mistake: the schools are all essentially asking why a student wishes to attend. And they want genuine specifics. No professor name drops. No class names that students can cut and paste from one college to the next. Seriously. If a sentence in the “Why College” portion of the essay works for more than one school, it should be deleted from the record (so do play that game to check!). Of course, this particular essay prompt is a two-hander: (1) half should be devoted to the origin story of a student’s central academic interest (although as an adult rather than as a child!) and (2) half should be devoted to capturing specific after specific about the school within Cornell. And, yes, students should use all of the real estate available to them by penning close to — if not exactly — 650 words.

The optional short-answer questions invite you to share additional information about your background, interests, and experiences as they relate to aspects of the Cornell CALS mission. Any responses submitted will be included in the holistic review of your application. Electing not to respond will not impact your application.

Of course, our readers aren’t fooled by Cornell’s directions for CALS applicants. You see, highly selective universities like Cornell don’t want to discourage students from applying since the more students who apply, invariably the lower the school’s admission rate will be, and the higher the school will likely be ranked by US News & World Report . So when applicants read “electing not to respond will not impact your application,” they should take this guidance with many grains of salt and roll up their sleeves to begin on these two “optional” essays, which are as follows:

1. At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good.  Please elaborate on an activity or experience you have had that made an impact on a community that is important to you. We encourage you to think about community broadly – this could include family, school, or local and global communities. (300 words or fewer)

While students can technically write about any sort of community service they’ve performed in high school, savvy applicants to the Cornell College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will ideally be writing about ways in which they’ve served their community that fit with the school’s overarching mission. Did an applicant work with farmers in high school? Did an applicant do environmental work related to solar panels or windmills? You get the drill. Except you’re against drilling — because you’re an environmentalist. This is a chance to tell that small story. Focus on the anecdotes rather than the achievements. After all, an applicant’s objective should be to be likable. Who likes a braggart? No one.

2. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) is dedicated to the exploration of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background in agriculture or are interested in pursuing a career in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. (300 words or fewer)

__ my family owns or operates a farm., __ i have experience working in agriculture., __ i have interest in pursuing a career in agriculture..

While CALS surely loves young people seeking to continue their family farming tradition, a student need not have ever worked on a farm to have an interest in agriculture. Of course, it’s not extremely hard to get work — even volunteer work — as a farmhand so if a student really was interested in agriculture, we would have recommended that student do so earlier on in high school. This is your chance to tell the story of the corn you husked, the tractor you drove, and why working the land was so existentially meaningful to you. But if you really didn’t have the opportunity to work on a farm but do love agriculture, let’s at least hear about how you hope to change the field — both literally and figuratively — in the course of your lifetime. How are you going to make farms more sustainable? How are you going to keep the farmer as a lynchpin of America’s economy? Or, if you’re an international student, how are you going to apply the lessons you learn in college here in the United States to your own country’s agricultural future?

College of Architecture, Art and Planning

What is your “thing” what energizes you or engages you so deeply that you lose track of time everyone has different passions, obsessions, quirks, inspirations. what are yours (650 words).

Pick one so you can tell a small story rather than appear all over the place. Make sure, no matter what “thing” you choose, that it’s intellectual. And make sure it’s not Legos! Do you know how many architecture applicants write about building Legos as children? Don’t do it! It’s a red flag in admissions . If it’s reading that you’re so passionate about, tell us about your book collection. If it’s designing smart cities of the future, tell us about your drawings in your leather-bound journal that you keep in your desk drawer. And, remember, don’t make yourself quirky for the sake of being quirky; you’ve got to showcase intellectual curiosity at every turn. That’s the whole point of the exercise.

College of Arts and Sciences

Students in arts and sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms ezra cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our college. (650 words).

This is — you guessed it — a “Why College” essay that should be filled with specific after specific within the College of Arts and Sciences. Now, it’s ok to include activities and traditions within the broader Cornell community. But do make sure you include a thorough account of precisely how you hope to contribute your singular hook — rather than well-roundedness — to the College of Arts and Sciences. And don’t write about the beauty of studying the liberal arts because you can do that at every highly selective university in America. Even though it’s ok to venture out from your singular hook ever so slightly, do stay focused on how you’re specifically going to contribute to the school within a school at Cornell. You don’t want to present as the applicant who wants to study the Classics, astrophysics, psychology, history, and a little bit of anthropology on the side. It doesn’t mean some of these fields aren’t influenced by one another, but zero in on your passion area or you’ll risk coming across as someone who doesn’t know how they wish to change the world in a specific way.

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business

What kind of business student are you using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the cornell sc johnson college of business (the charles h. dyson school of applied economics and management or the cornell peter and stephanie nolan school of hotel administration). (650 words).

If you’re interested in business, hopefully you’ve got some real business experience as a high schooler. Did you start a socks business? Maybe you manufactured pet toys? Whatever it is, the start of this essay should be devoted to telling that small story. And, no, don’t talk about your lemonade stand as a child and how you then segued to buying stocks (that only flaunts wealth and renders you unlikable!) before starting a socks business. Just write about those socks! And then transition to the “Why College” portion of the essay in which you’re to write specific after specific on how you hope to contribute to the programs, institutes, culture, activities, traditions, etc. at either Dyson or Nolan (Dyson if socks…or other businesses of course, Nolan if hospitality).

College of Engineering

All engineering applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. each has a limit of 250 words. essay 1 is required of all applicants. for essay 2, you must choose between question a and question b. essay 1: how do your interests directly connect with cornell engineering if you have an intended major, what draws you to that department at cornell engineering  if you are unsure what specific engineering field you would like to study, describe how your general interest in engineering most directly connects with cornell engineering. it may be helpful to concentrate on one or two things that you are most excited about. (250 words).

Since this is a short essay compared to Cornell’s other schools’ 650-word essay, you’ve got to cut straight to it. You don’t have the real estate to share a long origin story about your interest as a high schooler in the field of engineering. Instead, you’ve got a sentence or two before you transition to the meat of the essay — which is the “Why College” component. Since it’s a short essay, it is indeed ok to focus on two specifics within Cornell Engineering but don’t write fewer. And three is ok, too! They’re never going to not like you showcasing that you’ve done your homework on the school within the school. Just make sure you don’t list these specifics and move on. You’ve got to demonstrate how you’re going to contribute to these pursuits at Cornell — be it a research program, an activity, or a tradition.

Choose either Question A or Question B. 

Question a: describe an engineering problem that impacts your local community. this could be your school, neighborhood, town, region, or a group you identify with. describe one to three things you might do as an engineer to solve the problem. (250 words)..

William Kamkwamba, the co-author and subject of the  New York Times  bestseller  The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind , built a windmill made of spare bicycle parts, blue gum trees, and stuff he and his friends found in a scrapyard to power his village in Malawi. It’s why we at Ivy Coach consider him the greatest college applicant ever . While you don’t have to have written a book that’s been adapted into a major motion picture or built a windmill to provide electricity to your neighbors, think about what your version of a windmill is and how you hope it would help your community. You don’t have to have built something. You don’t have to have done any research. This is a thought experiment. Admissions officers want to see how you  think . They want to gauge your analytical skills as well as your creativity.

Question B: Diversity in all forms is intrinsic to excellence in engineering. Engineering the best solutions to complex problems is often achieved by drawing from the diverse ingenuity of people from different backgrounds, lived experiences, and identities. How do you see yourself contributing to the diversity and/or the inclusion of the Cornell Engineering community? What is the unique voice you would bring to the Cornell Engineering community? (250 words)

You don’t have to be an underrepresented minority to answer this question just because the prompt is asking about the kind of diversity that you hope to bring to Cornell Engineering. Diversity runs the gamut — from diversity of thought to diversity of faith, sexuality, gender identity, geographic origin…you name it. Maybe you’re from a small farming town and you want to become an engineer to help local farmers in your community. Maybe you’re from a big city and you want to build safer tunnels. Zero in on what can make you interesting here with respect to diversity and only then should you start outlining your answer.

College of Human Ecology

How has your decision to apply to the college of human ecology been influenced by your related experiences how will your choice of major impact your goals and plans for the future (650 words).

The College of Human Ecology wants your origin story — as a high schooler rather than as a child — for your interest in influences on human health and well-being. Is it an interest in psychology? Nutrition? Wherever your specific interest lies, tell that small story. Once you’ve written that origin story, it’s time to dive into specific after specific — programs, institutes, the culture, activities, etc. — about the College of Human Ecology at Cornell to not only show you’ve done your homework on the school but to paint a portrait of you on Cornell’s campus so admissions officers can envision you there in their own minds.

School of Industrial and Labor Relations

Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. your response should show us that your interests align with the ilr school. (650 words).

While the prompt says “topics” in the plural form, really zero in on one topic so you can tell one small story. In one paragraph, you can — in short-form — expand to show other areas of interest that intersect with your initial interest, but the crux of the essay should focus on one issue that matters most to you. And, yes, this issue  must  fit perfectly with ILR. Does remote work lead employers to demand too much of their employees because they can call and email them at all hours of the day and night? What have you done to advocate for finite hours of the workday? Or for labor unions? Have you marched with your teachers in a strike for fairer pay? Tell us the small story that shines a lantern on your passion to be a change-maker in this field.

Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy

Why are you drawn to studying public policy drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the brooks school will help you achieve your life goals. (650 words).

Hopefully you’ve got an activity or two to draw from when penning this essay as it’s an essay that must showcase your interest in public policy. If you’re from North Dakota, did you fight to reduce fracking? Or maybe you fought for fracking (that’s ok, too, from a college admissions standpoint since admissions officers at our nation’s elite universities like Cornell value a diversity of opinions so long as they always show respect for our fellow humankind). Or if you’re from New York City, maybe you advocated to make the subway trains run faster. Wherever you’re from, showcase the origin story of your interest in public policy — always as an adult rather than as a child. And once you’ve zeroed in on that origin story, it’s time to cut to the “Why College” component of the question. This section must, of course, be filled with genuine specific after specific about how you’re going to take advantage of the School of Public Policy’s resources to cultivate that passion to change fracking…or the subways.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Your Cornell Essays

If you need help with your applications, including your Cornell supplemental essays, reach out to Ivy Coach today to learn about our  college counseling  services. Don’t come to us  after  the essays are all already written as we’ll likely just want to scrap them as they are unlikely on the topics we’d want them to focus on in your storytelling. Instead, come to us  before  they’re written so we can brainstorm paragraph by paragraph direction and then revise these essays sentence by sentence.

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TOWARD THE CONQUEST OF ADMISSION

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Cornell Office of Undergraduate Admissions

Search cornell admissions, writing your college of agriculture and life sciences (cals) interest essay.

In navigating the college admissions process, you will hear a great deal about holistic application reviews and the concept of “fit.” Fit for rigorous academics and a diverse, engaged community may certainly be demonstrated throughout your application materials — including your transcript, school report, involvement outside of the classroom and letters of recommendation. The College Interest essay (located on the Cornell Writing Supplement), however, is the space where you directly communicate the fit you have found that has led you to apply to Cornell. This makes it a truly meaningful component of your application. Your Cornell Writing Supplement essay topic will be specific to the undergraduate College/School that you have selected, and further, because CALS applicants apply and are admitted into one of our 20+ majors, speaking to your desired major is an essential part of the CALS essay.

The question that the CALS Admissions Committee has chosen to ask is:

Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. Specifically, how will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) and Cornell University help you achieve your academic goals?

Essentially, we want to hear directly from you: Why this major, at CALS, at Cornell? To answer the question effectively, you must consider all aspects of the experience and layers of community that you are seeking to be a part of. First, check in with yourself about why you are applying to Cornell CALS. By making a simple list attributing these elements to the major or CALS or Cornell (or some combination), you can clarify your initial focus and also learn where you need to dig in and explore further. After all — how can you communicate fit in an impactful way without first wrapping your own head around it?

Starting with the subject matter — where have your interests stemmed from? Is your major choice informed by classes you took in high school combined with projects, research, volunteer work, or hobbies you pursued? What are your current long-term educational or career goals? Beyond this, why does the Cornell CALS major stand out to you? Are you excited about the concentrations offered within the major? Specific classes you have read about? Faculty who you want to learn from? A supportive network within the major?

Are you drawn to being grounded in a major from the beginning, but having ample flexibility for academic exploration and evolution? Are you excited about cutting-edge intersections being pursued within the life, agricultural, environmental and social science disciplines at CALS — such as digital agriculture, computational sustainability, science communication or food justice? Does CALS’ mission to engage in purpose-driven science that tackles real-world challenges inspire you? Do you want hands-on learning to be an essential part of your college education?

Cornell is an institution where any person can find instruction in any study. Are you seeking to be part of a student body with a plethora of different backgrounds and perspectives? Do you want to have access to over 1,000 student organizations? Does the academic breadth of Cornell call out to you? The research focus? How about our commitment to sustainability? Or our unique position as an Ivy League institution, but also New York State’s Federal Land Grant University, with a deep-rooted culture of public service? Perhaps you are drawn to our beautiful campus in the thriving college town of Ithaca, NY.

This is certainly not a comprehensive list of topics to take into account as you build understanding of what makes your desired major, CALS and Cornell a great fit for you. There is no checklist or formula to follow as you approach this essay. Rather, it is up to you to gather information and insight, then reflect on what resonates. What drives your belief that you have found a match between the academic opportunities and student experience that Cornell CALS offers, what you seek in your future undergraduate career, and what you have to offer your college community? Tell this story in your own way.

So, why this major, at CALS, at Cornell? We can’t wait to read your essay to learn about how you fit here.

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12 Essays that Worked at Cornell

Updated for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle.

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One of the most prestigious institutions in the world, Cornell University is an excellent school located in Ithaca, New York. The biggest Ivy League (both by number of undergrads and campus size), it provides a diverse and rigorous learning environment for its students. With multiple academic fields including sciences, mathematics, technology and engineering—as well as specialized colleges open to undergraduates—students have many options to choose from when pursuing their studies. Additionally, Cornell offers countless social and cultural opportunities to further enrich students' college experience. From its world-renowned sports teams to inventive clubs and organizations, Cornell is an ideal learning environment for those who strive towards a premier education.

Unique traditions at Cornell

1) Slope Day: Slope Day is Cornell’s annual spring music event, held every year since its start in 1991. Held on Libe Slope on the last day of classes, the event features performances from many popular musicians. 2) Cornell Sunrises: A tradition that has been taking place since the early 1920’s, Cornell Sunrises is held annually at the beginning of each year to commemorate the start of a new school year. At the ceremony, Cornell’s band, glee club, and presidents perform and speak. 3) Statute Unveiling: Every two years a new statute is unveiled to commemorate some of the important people in Cornell’s history. This is usually a daylong event and includes speeches, musical performances, and other festivities. 4) Dragon Day: Held annually since 1901, Dragon Day is a procession of dragon sculptures and banners built by Cornell architecture and engineering students. The event draws hundreds of onlookers every year as the dragons walk down to Libe Slope. 5) Chimes Concert: A weekly tradition that dates back to the late-1800s, the Chimes Concert takes place every Friday afternoon on the Cornell clocktower. The 75-

Programs at Cornell

1. Presidential Research Scholars (PRS): This program offers a select cohort of undergraduate students a unique combination of independent scholarly research and academic coursework. 2. Robert F. Stathy Handbell Choir: This club offers students an opportunity to learn how to play handbells and perform a wide variety of musical pieces. 3. Cascadilla Boat Club: Cornell’s longest-running student organization, the Cascadilla Boat Club offers instruction and competitive opportunities in rowing. 4. Big Red Big Ideas: This initiative helps Cornell undergraduates make their entrepreneurial dreams come true, offering support and guidance in the form of mentorships, regulation advice and network building. 5. Cornell University Naturalists: Established in 1957, this program works to educate, conserve and protect rural natural areas of the Finger Lakes region through hands-on exploration, research and guided tours.

At a glance…

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Real Essays from Cornell Admits

Prompt: students in arts and sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into multifaceted academic interests, embodying in 21st century terms ezra cornell’s “any person…any study” founding vision. tell us about the areas of study you are excited to explore, and specifically why you wish to pursue them in our college..

Coding has been my outlet for creative expression since introduced to basic block programming at age nine, but I could truly appreciate the nuances of code after composing this CPU in my CSII class, which followed a curriculum based on my teacher’s experience studying CS as a Cornell undergrad. Whether programming a robot that autonomously picks up blocks, an automated garden that waters itself, or even an anthropomorphic pickle that jumps across my screen, I now reflect in astonishment on how each action, at its core, is enabled by minuscule logic gates distributing electrical inputs. Accordingly, I’m intrigued by Cornell’s computer science program which allows students to approach CS from a sophisticated understanding of efficient hardware. Through comprehensive classes such as Computer System Organization and Programming, Cornell ensures that I’ll be more than just a programmer—I’ll develop practical and real world-applicable solutions. The power of CS is amplified when juxtaposed with physics, as the two fields are entirely complementary—studying quantum mechanics will illuminate fundamental underpinnings of efficient hardware, while emerging AI and machine learning technologies will enable me to scan the deepest crevices of space to understand the formation of our universe. As a [Organization Redacted] intern this past summer, I experienced firsthand the exhilaration of studying galaxies and quasars unimaginably far away. Physics was no longer a set of equations and laws confined to a textbook—cosmological redshift and Hubble’s Law became real devices for analyzing galaxy evolution and the expansion of the universe. At Cornell, the unique Astronomy Data Science minor is the exact confluence of astronomy and data science that fascinates me. I look forward to taking Modeling, Mining and Machine Learning in Astronomy with Professor James Cordes, where I’ll use modern machine learning techniques to probe questions surrounding human existence. I’m also enthusiastic about conducting research with Prof. Cordes on galaxy evolution in the early universe, using data from the Cornell-led Fred Young Submillimeter Telescope. Regardless of their endeavors, Cornell students know that their impact on humanity depends on their civic engagement and social awareness. With Cornell’s AIPP, I’ll attend seminars to understand the social considerations and policy at the heart of all technological innovation on campus. While taking Ethics and Policy in Data Science, I’ll gain insights into the ethical implications of my work in AI, from consumer privacy concerns to implicit biases in decision-making. Heck, I can even combine my love for both astronomy and literature—the Black Holes: Race & the Cosmos class will provide an intriguing exploration of astronomy concepts through the lens of Black Studies literature. Even within the bounds of Ithaca, I can easily impact those around me. In high school, while helping teach a fourth grade STEM class, I was constantly inspired by my students’ enthusiasm for learning. At Cornell, I would join STEP-UP to help facilitate programs at local schools to encourage more underrepresented students to fearlessly leap into STEM. If accepted to the Milstein Program, I look forward to working collaboratively with my cohort as we embrace interdisciplinary learning approaches in the tech industry. While taking a summer course in tech ethics in 2018, I visited the cutting-edge Cornell Tech campus and spoke with [Name Redacted], who provided advice that later influenced me to independently create an iOS app. Whether based in Ithaca or on Roosevelt Island, the unique guidance provided by the Milstein Program would enable me to innovate more impactful, socially-conscious technology. Simply put, at Cornell, there are limitless ways I could grow while giving back.

Essay by Sarah J.

cs @ stanford!! lover of STEM, taylor swift, and dogs!

Prompt: What three words best describe you?

There’s the physical aspect: Naomi’s OnShape profile popping up onto the CAD document as I adjust the dimensions of the intake mechanism, me stabilizing the robot as Peter removes the lock-nut behind the motor, Emily spotting me as I bandsaw a sheet of polycarbonate, or Lucas debugging the Java helper function I was working on. Collaboration is the concrete foundation of my robotics-team and manifests itself in every one of our tasks. Yet, there is more to collaboration than its physical embodiment. 

There’s the intangible aspect: valuing my team members’ opinions, respecting their unique perspectives, adapting to new approaches, learning different techniques, conceding to my mistakes, and compromising in cases of polarity. It’s the reason the word “team” ensues whenever I say robotics.

Collaboration is the fertile ground for growth, where my strengths become successes. It is the ground where my proficiency in seven programming languages, aptitude in spatial visualization, resilience against obstacles, innovative approaches in engineering, and passion for problem solving can nurture a competitive robot. Whether I am inspecting componentry as the Director of Electronics, researching as the co-founder of [Name Redacted] Science- Publication, or organizing code as the Software Development Project-Manager,  collaboration is how I tie my team together.

Essay by Rose

Programmer and performer @ Yale!

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Someone with the same interests, stats, and background as you