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Cornell University 2018-19 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Regular Decision: 

Cornell University 2018-19 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: one school-specific essay of 650 words

Supplemental Essay Type(s):  Why

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?

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 real concrete reasons and practical experiences to back up your chosen course of study. Why couldn’t you just pursue your interests in a more general liberal arts environment?

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? 

If you’re having déjà vu, maybe this will jog your memory: “Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time.” It’s the first line of Common App prompt #6. So if you’ve already written an essay on this topic, you have the extra challenge of coming up with something totally new; even if it’s the same question, you need to show a new side of who you are. Otherwise, our advice remains the same: take this opportunity to let admissions peek into your brain. As a future artist or architect, you need to show that you have a process for getting inspired and playing with ideas; and you need to demonstrate the discipline and motivation to see them through in your response.

College of Arts and Sciences: Students in Arts and Sciences embrace the opportunity to delve into their academic interests, discover new realms of intellectual inquiry, and chart their own path through the College. Tell us why the depth, breadth, and flexibility of our curriculum are ideally suited to exploring the areas of study that excite you. 

This why essay for the College of Arts and Sciences focuses specifically on their curriculum. So our first piece of advice is the same as always: do your research. Spend a little time on the school website, campus, or local Cornell events to learn everything you can about the academic experience. Cornell’s College of Arts and Sciences is the most general of Cornell’s offerings, so take this opportunity to show your well-rounded worth. Why have you chosen not to pursue a more specific or professionally-oriented pathway at this point? What will you gain from having access to a diverse array of academic departments?

Cornell SC Johnson College of Business: Affiliated with both the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management is unique by design. Explain how our approach to business education is the right fit for you, and how your interests, experiences or goals will contribute to the unique composition of the entering class. 

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 offerings. 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.

College of Engineering: Cornell Engineering celebrates innovative problem solving that helps people, communities…the world. Consider your ideas and aspirations and describe how a Cornell Engineering education would allow you to leverage technological problem-solving to improve the world we live in. 

Guess what, Cornell knows you want to be an engineer! Why else would you be applying to the College of Engineering? Unlike many of the other prompts, this one isn’t asking you to demonstrate your intellectual fit. Instead, you’ve been tasked with making the case for your mission fit. This why essay is also more future-oriented than the others, so think about the impact you hope to have on the world? Do you want to make it a better place? What problems do you most want to solve and how? If you get into Cornell, how will you use your powers for good?

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?

Short, sweet, and to the point, this prompt secretly wants to make sure you know what human ecology is before you apply. 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.

College of Industrial and Labor Relations: Tell us about your intellectual interests, how they sprung from your course, service, work or life experiences, and what makes them exciting to you. Describe how ILR is the right school for you to pursue these interests. 

Like so many of Cornell’s other specific schools, the School of Industrial and Labor Relations wants to make sure that you understand what kind of training it offers and confirm your commitment to the field. Drawing upon personal experience is key for this prompt, so mine for specific anecdotes that speak to the origins and motivations behind your interest in labor issues.

 

Please note: the information below relates to last year's essay prompts. We are going to update this guide with the prompts for 2021-22 as soon as they become available. Check back soon!
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