<p>I was writing my essay for the engineering supplement and about half way in, I realized that I was completely off topic. Okay, I wasn't COMPLETELY off topic, but I definitely wasn't going in the right direction. I don't know how I ended up doing that or why it took me so long to notice it but, now I have to start over and I surely do not want to go on a third trial run so I really need an answer to this question. Is it best to write about my interest in engineering in general and then talk about the whole college of engineering at Cornell, or should I write about the specific type of engineering I want to major in, which is civil? I've seen some other essays and I've noticed that a lot of people wrote about engineering in general, but I still want to know.</p>
<p>By the way the prompt is: Tell us about an engineering idea you have, or about your interest in engineering. Describe how your ideas and interests may be realized by - and linked to - specific resources within the College of Engineering. Finally, explain what a Cornell Engineering education will enable you to accomplish.</p>
<p>I give similar advice to everyone who asks for a direction: write in a way that lets your personality or creativity come out. What you write about even for such a specific supplement doesn’t matter. They are not asking to expand on your technical expertise, nor are they interested in knowing the details of how you competed/won in XYZ competition and therefore you are “qualified” for engineering UNLESS you focus on expressing who you are and what drives you. </p>
<p>For example, if you know a lot about civil engineering already and can write a huge technical paper on your knowledge, good for you, and chances are this type of thing would’ve shown up on your resume. But if you write your entire essay about technical knowledge without letting the reader realize why you are so involved in it, it won’t matter. Knowledge and expertise qualifies you, but it doesn’t define you, nor does it drive you. </p>
<p>The reason you see “engineering in general” often might be because few students have intimate knowledge of any college and its programs beforehand, and just as few know exactly what their intended major actually entails. (I did MechE because I figured it’s the closest thing to letting me design airplanes based on talking to people who work in that industry but had no clue what I would be studying). This lack of foresight also negatively affects the candidate’s confidence in addressing the issues of what their engineering idea is and whether or not Cornell has the resources to realize those ideas. But based on what I’ve said in the previous paragraphs, that’s not the important part!</p>
<p>Same advice goes for all other essay prompts as well. Show the reader who you are in your writing. </p>
<p>FWIW I chose to write a creative piece about my journey from enjoying cognitive puzzles as a child to my interest in aviation and how I thought about the design process behind everyday items such as an airplane seat. I mentioned Cornell University in only one sentence and described it in two sentences as a place where I thought I could be stimulated and where I could learn to design _______. TBH it ended up being an essay where I could have exchanged Cornell for another school’s name.</p>