Cornell is an Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York, a small city just about equidistant between New York City and Canada. Cornell offers numerous academic programs through their eight undergraduate colleges that no other Ivy League university offers. This includes one of the most renowned hospitality programs in the world, and agriculture programs that shape and sustain our food systems nationally and even internationally. The outstanding academics don’t overshadow an amazing collegiate culture outside of the classroom, though. Cornell has the strongest Greek life in the Ivy League, one of the best dining programs in the country, and a strong outdoor culture. Students have access to research opportunities starting freshman year. The acceptance rate is 7.3%.
Cornell is test optional for applicants applying in the 2023-2024 cycle, but this may not be a permanent policy across the university as some of the undergraduate colleges haven’t fully bought into the idea that the SAT or ACT isn’t necessary to fully assess students. Some colleges don’t even use test scores, though. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; College of Architecture, Art, and Planning; and the College of Business do not even accept test scores. The other undergraduate colleges do accept them, and will consider your scores if you do submit them.
If you want to attend one of the best universities in the country that offers both big school opportunities and a smaller school culture, send us an email. Cornell may be your perfect fit.
Cornell asks one question of all applicants, and then there are college-specific questions for each of the eight undergraduate colleges that you can apply to. We break all of the questions down one-by-one below, so stick with us. If you know where you are applying, search this page for the name of the college to skip to what you need to know most.
THE MAIN SUPPLEMENT
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-sword limit)
This is a long prompt, so let’s break down the most important parts. They ask for “life experiences,” so you’ll need to pull from your lived experiences in your community. To do this, you need to tell a story that highlights your role in one of the communities you are part of.
They also ask about your “contributions to a learning community,” so they don’t just want to know facts about your life, but also what you’ll give to Cornell. So, whatever you focus on needs to be something you can easily frame as something you can continue in college — if not a specific activity, the overarching theme. For example, if you act as a student mentor at your high school, you may join a big siblings program in college to continue mentoring younger students.
The last piece of this prompt that we want to highlight is when they say, “helped shape your perspective.” You need to ask yourself, what is your perspective? What are beliefs and ideals that you hold dear? Even though this line comes up at the end of the prompt, start here as you brainstorm how to respond.
Ok, so we’re starting here on your perspective on life and what you value most as a community member. Step one is to pick belief or ideal to highlight. Next, you need to pick a story that links to how you cultivate that belief or ideal. If you value teamwork, pick a story from your life that showcases not just teamwork in a broad sense, but in the minute day-to-day. As you tell this story, highlight how the experience shaped your perspective and your vision for your future by showing, not telling. Go on to include explicit mentions of how you could contribute similarly as part of the Cornell community.
If you write about sports for this essay, don’t turn it into a sports essay — focus small, and don’t tell the story of an entire season or even an entire game. Zoom in on a particular play, on a moment of struggle, or on a conversation with a coach or co-captain. Even better, though, is to not write about sports. Write about how you volunteer to coach Special Olympics, how you are a member of student government, or something that happened over that summer you spent working as a lifeguard at the pool. If you have or have had a job, write about it. Showing that you know how to work while also answering this prompt is a win-win.
COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE AND LIFE SCIENCES
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? (650-word limit)
The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences starts off their supplement with a long “why us” essay. They want to know what you’ll do at Cornell, how you know this is the track you should be on, and what comes next for you. The good news is that if you’re applying to CALS, you have a reason why. It’s not a college you just happen to apply to, so start the supplement by telling that story.
After that introduction, you’ll need to go into what you want to do at CALS — and you need to be specific. Research the following before you even start writing:
Major
Two classes within your major that you’re excited to take
Two professors you’d like to study under, and why
A minor or second area of focus, and why you want to pair this with the major you’re planning on pursuing
This research needs to be woven together into one or two paragraphs. Next, you’ll transition to where you see yourself going next with your degree. Chart your trajectory, building upon the foundation laid by where you started.
The next questions are “optional,” but we don’t believe in optional when it comes to supplements. If you want to give colleges as much awesome stuff about you to consider as possible, you’ll do every relevant supplement on offer.
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)
Before you start drafting a response about that one time you volunteered playing checkers at a nursing home, we want you to consider what having an impact means to you. Because the community service angle isn’t the only way to answer this prompt. They aren’t only interested in what you did to get volunteering hours, but all of the ways that you serve the public good in your life, from mentoring younger students to carrying groceries for an elderly neighbor, to, yes, volunteering.
Whatever you pick, you need to tell a story that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. There must be a narrative arc, there must be a compelling conflict, and there must be a “hook,” that catches the reader’s attention whether in content or format.
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.).
This is an intro to a short supplement that responds to the options listed below. We don’t normally include these introductions in our supplement breakdowns because they can drag on past the point of usefulness, but this introduction is extremely important in this particular case — so read it twice.
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)
As you probably know, we don’t believe in optional supplements. While this one is really short, it is important. If you want to study agriculture and life sciences, there is a reason why. Tell them what you haven’t already about your background in or passion for the professional field that you want to get into, whether it’s modernizing your family’s 5th generation farm, or starting an endeavor all your own.
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. (650-word limit)
Whew, that’s a lot.
This is a classic “why us,” but with a lot of moving pieces depending on what you want to study — so let’s break down what they expect to see depending on what course of study you plan on pursuing.
If you want to study Architecture, they especially want you to focus on what qualifies you in your background — work, passion, etc. — to pursue this five-year degree program.
If you want to get a BFA, they’re especially interested in seeing a (narratively structured) outline of what you want to do and how you are going to accomplish it at Cornell.
Oh, and Urban and Regional Studies? You should be able to explain your whys and your hows.
While they’ve broken this out by degree path, they’re actually very similar asks of you. Regardless of major, they want to know why you’re pursuing it, and what has inspired you experientially, professionally, artistically, or historically. Basically, they want to see you — you the student, you the artist, and you the designer. All of you.
In addition to all this sharing of who you are and what you care about, you need to clearly specify why Cornell, including your intended major, two classes you want to take, and one or two professors you’d like to study under, and why. By doing this, you’re illustrating to Cornell that you know their program, you know their faculty, and you are sincere when you say that Cornell is where you want to be.
Finally, you have 650 words. There is literally no excuse not to frame this supplement within a story. You have the space, so use it.
COLLEGE OF ARTS & 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. (650-word limit)
Before you start this prompt, let’s set an intention for your response: conveying passion and confirming that you’re a perfect match. Cornell wants to leave this supplement with absolute confidence in you as a person, as a student, and as a match for whatever particular program you are hoping to pursue.
In order to convey the passion side, you need to tell a story. This story should fulfill the request for you to discuss how passion has driven and is shaping your academic journey…but without it being a dry discussion. Rather, it is a story that shows, not tells.
Once you’ve set up your passion for learning with a story, you need to transition your response into a “why us.” Lay out your prospective major, two classes (by name) that are within your major that you’d like to take, and two professors you would like to study under and why.
Even if you aren’t certain on a minor, you should include a possible minor, one or two classes within the minor, and why the two — major and minor — go well together. Finally, specify an academic program, like a particular study abroad opportunity, that you feel would augment your experience.
As you work through this supplement, remember to return back to the story where you started. This should read as one cohesive essay, so looping back or building upon the initial narrative is crucial to making it feel like one piece. No matter what, though, you need to speak specifically to what Cornell offers, and illustrate deep knowledge of the Cornell program.
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-word limit)
Yet again (if you’ve been reading this whole post and didn’t just skip ahead), this is a “why us” with a twist. In addition to what you want to study at Cornell, and how, they want to know why you’re interested in Public Policy in the first place and where you want it to take you in the future.
The best place to start is with why you want to study public policy in the first place. What led to this path? Tell that story, and bring the reader into your passion alongside you.
Then it’s the “why us” part. What do you want to major in, what are two classes you want to take, and who are two professors you hope to study under? Perhaps there is a study abroad or internship program you are particularly excited for, or an on-campus opportunity that drove you to make a spot at Brooks your dream.
Next up, it’s time to mention a possible secondary course of study, like a minor. Include one class and one professor from the minor department, as well as why you feel this major pairs well with your prospective major.
Finally, it’s time to talk life goals. Where do you see yourself going after graduation, and how is your time at Brooks going to get you there. Instead of circling back to your opening anecdote, project a vision forward for your future.
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). (650-word limit)
First off, what do you care about? That’s a big question, and may be something you haven’t thought about how to articulate to a friend, let alone an anonymous college application reader who won’t be able to ask you follow-up questions. So, before you start drafting you need to interrogate your passions, beliefs, and educational goals. Ultimately, you should pick one or two issues or topics that you care about to emphasize, and one story that illustrates why they are important to you.
Use that story that you picked as the introduction to your essay. Then, build on it. The next thing Cornell wants to know is how these interests and experiences align with either the School of Applied Economics and Management, or the School of Hotel Administration — and, yes, you need to specify one.
To do this, share your prospective college, major, two classes you’re excited about, and one or two professors you hope to study under. If you have a potential secondary interest or minor, you should include that as well with a class you’d like to take and a professor you’d like to study under.
Finally, circle back to that original story, further emphasizing what you care about, what you want to study, and where you hope your interests and passions, paired with a Cornell education, will take you in the future.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
For the College of Engineering, each applicant is asked to write two supplements. The first is the same for everyone, but for the second you can choose between two essay prompts.
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-word limit)
This is the one that is required of all applicants to the College of Engineering, and it’s another “why us.” They want to know what you are interested in, and why Cornell is particularly suited to helping you pursue that interest. While they allow for you to not know what field of engineering you’d like to go into, we don’t love that for you. Cornell knows that you may shift your path within engineering as you pursue your education, but they will feel way more confident in accepting you if you sound confident in what you care about and what you want to do.
So, since you will share an intended major (and, again, this could change within the college once you attend), what comes next?
First, start at the end of the prompt. Share one or two things you are very excited about in terms of engineering through a story pulled from your academic or personal experiences. This should be one story that conveys what excites you, not a smattering of experiences listed off like a resume. Instead, it’s all about focus and concision. For example, an experience on a robotics club, working on your uncle’s car, or watching (or building!) a Rube Goldberg machine could have driven you toward a career in engineering. Whatever your story is, tell it…albeit concisely.
Once you’ve opened up the supplement with a story, it’s time to get into the nitty gritty. What do you want to major in? And remember, you need to pick a field or major, even though it may change. Share a class you are especially excited for, and a professor you are hoping to study under at Cornell.
You don’t have a ton of space for this supplement, but end by speaking to the Cornell Engineering community, and what you feel is especially compelling about the program.
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-word limit)
We love this option for essay number two because you can get super nerdy and granular. Do the storm drains in your town have an integral flaw that makes flooding a massive concern? Or if your school designed in a way that makes every class change a complete nightmare, illustrating fluid dynamics? If so, write about it. You’re the prospective engineer, not us, so you’re the best person for the job of coming up with an idea for this one.
We can, however, help with structuring! As always, you need to tell a story here, so tell the story of the problem, and then the story of three possible solutions. Maybe this could even be a compact choose-your-own-adventure.
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-word limit)
This prompt isn’t better or worse than the Question A option, but it is for a more specific type of respondent. If you read this prompt and think, “hm, I’m not sure what I’d write about here.” Or “um, I’m not sure if this question fits me,” your instinct is right, it probably isn’t the best prompt for you. Instead of forcing an answer, go with Question A.
But if you read this and thought, “yes, ok, I have something I need to say,” — SAY IT! Tell your story, speak your truth, and share who you are. Most importantly, though, this is not a challenge to share the most painful story or to express the most hardship. Ultimately, your story needs to have positive takeaways that leave the reader feeling excited for your future, not stuck on your past.
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.) (650-word limit)
This is a “why us?” supplement prompt, but with a few extras thrown in. The College of Human Ecology (CHE) offers specific direction for applicants that goes above and beyond what most colleges, including other colleges at Cornell, provide to students. This is super helpful for you as an applicant, but also means that you need to be careful to fully fulfill what they ask of you — because this isn’t an open-ended prompt that you can take anywhere you want to go. There are things you must do, so let’s get to it!
First, CHE wants to know what you plan to major in. If you aren’t sure, they still want you to speak on particular majors you may want to pursue — so simply saying undecided isn’t an option (and, yes, you can change your mind in the future). The majors through CHE are all pre-professional and are quite specific, though, ranging from Global & Public Health and Nutritional Sciences to Fashion Design & Management and Fiber Science. If you are choosing to apply to CHE, chances are that you know what you want to study or at minimum have narrowed your options down to one or two majors within the college.
You have to go beyond stating what you may want to study, though. What CHE is truly most interested in is knowing what you want your impact to be. Not simply career path — impact. They want students who are hoping to change the way the world works, and so how do you fit into that vision for their student body?
Reflect on an experience that has directed you towards your desired course of study, including academic, extracurricular, work, and volunteer — and we especially encourage you to write about work. Tell that story. By “tell that story” we truly mean tell that story. This essay should be written as a story. One approach that they suggest, and that we enthusiastically encourage, is identifying a challenge you’ve addressed or encountered that your education through CHE could help you to address. As you write about this, reference specific aspects of the CHE program that you are drawn to, from classes to overarching programmatic principals.
As you write, remember to circle back to impact. The college repeatedly emphasizes the importance of CHE students making an impact, so show them how you will do that.
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-word limit)
First, really get to know ILR. This is a long essay, so there’s no hiding a lack of background knowledge of what you’re hoping to get into. You need to know ILR inside and out. If you can’t visit, we recommend setting a time for 45 minutes, and spending that entire time on the website simply exploring. Then do that again another night. Then probably again for good measure. Watch videos on YouTube that mention ILR or are from Cornell about the college, and read articles about work by professors.
Once you understand ILR, you will have a better idea of what they want for this prompt. They want to know if you are a perfect fit for what they have to offer, and that’s what you need to show them through your experiences, your interests, and your intentions at Cornell. So, what do you have to say?
In the prompt, they request that you tell a story from your volunteer, academic, work, or other personal experiences. If you can, we prefer essays that focus on a previous work experience. If you haven’t had a job but have volunteered regularly with a relevant local organization, like a Boys & Girls Club, that would be our second pick. We do not, however, recommend writing about a volunteer experience outside of your community, or that you only did for a short period of time.
Whew! We made it through! Applying to Cornell requires knowledge of where you want to head in life and a clear vision for your academic career. If you know where you want to be in five years and what impact you want to have on the world, Cornell may be the perfect place for you.
If you are passionate about attending Cornell, send us an email. We help students get into their dream school.