Columbia, the Ivy League school in New York City, is known for many things. It’s competitive, intense, and a hot spot for renowned professors and scholars. All of this means that it’s a great school, but the transfer acceptance rate is around 6%. Before you begin, make sure you’re within range and accepting of the fact that your chances of getting in are quite low. Let’s break down their supplement:
Please explain why you are interested in transferring from your current institution. (400-600 words)
For the first time in history, we actually think a prompt could use a few more words. You’ll need to answer this question, obviously, but there’s more. Because the last prompt (we’ll get there later) is capped at 300 words, you need to use some of this space to explain why you want to transfer specifically to Columbia.
It’s crucial that you present the information that you gather in the form of a story with a beginning, middle, and end. But for the hard facts, here’s what you should cover:
A story that explains your academic interests:
We all stumble upon areas of interest at different ages and stages throughout our lives. It doesn’t matter if you decided what you want to study when you were five, ten, or seventeen years old. Maybe you’ve wanted to be an engineer ever since you walked the Brooklyn Bridge, or perhaps you’ve wanted to be a writer since the day you read your first book. Whenever that was, zoom in on that story and use it as a way to introduce yourself to the reader.
Reasons for wanting to transfer:
In order to really make a case for yourself, in addition to having the grades and scores to actually get into Columbia, you need to prove that your current school doesn’t have what you need to succeed. Do not mention the weather, and do not talk poorly about your current school. You should exclusively address a lack of resources, whether that’s related to your major or program, professors, job and internship opportunities, etc. If you have more personal reasons for wanting to transfer, like an unusual circumstance or family matter, you can include that as well.
Your intended major at Columbia:
If you don’t know what you want to major in, you should probably stop writing your application now. The rest of your essay will be highly specific and program-based, and if that research doesn’t excite you, you’re looking at the wrong school.
Two upper level classes that you want to take:
Let’s say you want to major in Anthropology. Look through the course list and find two upper-level classes that you want to take. Think about the classes that you’ve already taken, the books you’ve read, the research you’ve done, and the internships you’ve had. There could be a topic that you’re dying to dig into, but steer clear of writing that you want to take a class because you’ve “always been interested in learning more about the subject.” No. You need to already be slightly familiar with the subject matter, and you should explain why you find that specific class so alluring.
A professor that you want to work with:
Also on the department homepage, and sometimes by Google search if you’re unlucky, you’ll find a list of professors. Read through their bios until you find someone with a resume that you hope to one day recreate, at least slightly. Pitch yourself as their research assistant, and include why you’d be so good at it.
An extracurricular activity that you plan to join:
Last thing! Find a student organization that makes sense within the context of the rest of your application. Basically, look for things that you did in high school or are currently doing in college. Explain why you want to join to the club.
If that seems like a lot of information to fit into 600 words, it’s because it is a lot of information to fit into 600 words. Editing is your bestie here. If you really look at sentence structure, verbs, unnecessary clauses, and clunky phrasing, you can easily turn four sentences into two. We always suggest writing the first draft without looking at word count and then figuring out where you can cut down after you have all of the information that you need. Once you have the condensed version, figure out how you want to frame the narrative.
List a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. (150 words or less)
The best way to answer this question is to close your eyes and envision yourself at the best college in the world. What’s that like? The trick here is to describe Columbia without actually mentioning Columbia, and this is a great question because if your vision of the perfect college doesn’t align with what it’s like to be a member of the Columbia community, that is problematic. What are your professors like? What kinds of things do you and your friends do on campus? What is your ideal class size? Culturally, what are you looking for? In the end, it’s crucial that you only write about things that Columbia can offer.
THE LISTS:
Columbia loves lists. And we love efficiency, so we are going to start by listing out all four prompts.
List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)
List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)
List the titles of the print, electronic publications and websites you read regularly. (150 words or less)
List the titles of the films, concerts, shows, exhibits, lectures and other entertainments you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)
We are not going through these individually because our advice is the same for every question. The first thing to keep in mind is that Columbia is simply asking for a list, not an explanation. We go with bullet points. Also, be honest. Columbia will see right through you if you’re not. But bear in mind that they’re looking for a certain kind of student, and if you’ve been spending your free time watching Bob’s Burgers and reading Twilight, that’s not great.
If you are the kind of person who loves a certain genre, and then you have a few miscellaneous aspects of your media diet, then we suggest breaking your lists out that way. If you’ve done a major deep dive into say, African American literature or foreign films, put that at the top. Otherwise, keep it real and don’t inflate. Also, there’s usually no need to use all 150 words here.
Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why. (300 words or less)
Even though this question is slightly similar to the first, there should be no repeated information. There are a few directions you could go in here, but you absolutely must mention Columbia’s core curriculum. They’re obsessed with it, and it will be a huge part of your experience there. If you’re unfamiliar with their core curriculum, you clearly haven’t spent much time on their website. Reflect on what you’ll gain from the core and how it will help your education goals.
It’s possible that you won’t need all 300 words for the core, and if that’s the case then we suggest writing about something else that’s specific to Columbia. If you there was any information that you couldn’t fit in your first supplement, you could include that here as well.
We’re pros at helping students write supplements that make them stand out. Contact us here if you need help.