Click here to explore thousands of successful college essay exemplars!
Are you in the process of applying to college and are looking at applying to Columbia University? This post is here to give you their essay prompts so you can start planning and writing your essays. Columbia has two types of supplemental writing tasks - a list question and short answers. The answer to the list essay must be within 100 words, while the short answers must be 150 words or less.
Columbia University List Question
List a selection of texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums and other content that you enjoy. (100 words)
Your response should be in the form of a list separated by commas or semicolons.
Items in the list do not need to be arranged or numbered in a specific order.
You do not need to italicize the names of books or publications.
You do not need to state any author names or subtitles.
Columbia University Short Answer Questions
A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. Tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint, or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia's diverse and collaborative community. (150 words)
Describe a perspective or viewpoint that you strongly believe in, or describe an experience that has shaped who you are today.
Discuss how you would continue promoting these values at Columbia University.
Talk about how these viewpoints and experiences will enable you to have a fruitful experience at Columbia and interact progressively with your peers.
In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not predict or anticipate. It is important to us, therefore, to understand an applicant's ability to navigate through adversity. Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have faced and discuss the personal qualities, skills, or insights you have developed as a result. (150 words)
Focus on a specific incident and emphasize how you learned from it.
Do not focus too much on the negative aspect of how you struggled during the challenge, but instead highlight the positive aspects of character growth and development you had as a result of going through this challenge.
Discuss what you learned from dealing with this challenge that you can use during your time at Columbia.
Highlight your resilience and work ethic in overcoming the challenge.
Reflect on what you learned about yourself and how you will approach difficult situations in the future.
Emphasize honesty and openness in your response.
Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspects that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (150 words)
Show the admissions officer that you have done your research regarding Columbia and are making an informed decision by applying there.
Describe what makes Columbia stand out to you. Why do you want to go here rather than the thousands of other universities across the world?
Explain why going to Columbia will help advance your career and how you plan on using your education to achieve your goals.
What attracts you to your preferred areas of study at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering? (150 words)
Highlight the field of study that you are interested in pursuing at Columbia as well as why this field of study interests you.
Discuss if there is a specific research group or professor that you would like to work with.
Talk about what intrigues you about your intended field of study and why Columbia would be the best place for you to study this program.
We hope this helps you get started on choosing a topic and writing your essays, good luck!
The Fast Track To Your
Best IB Coursework & College Essays
All content on this website has been developed independently from and is not endorsed by the International Baccalaureate Organization. International Baccalaureate and IB are registered trademarks owned by the International Baccalaureate Organization.