<p>i applied early and wrote about city's many opportunities, hotdog stands and a turkey sub i ate at a deli near columbia. i was simply trying to be honest and frank. maybe i shouldve mentioned that columbia's excellent programs and its location together appeal to me the most?</p>
<p>how much will this hurt me?</p>
<p>because</p>
<p>Old 10-14-2007, 01:45 AM #6 (permalink)
Schmoomcgoo
Junior Member</p>
<p>Join Date: Aug 2007
Threads: 7
Posts: 114</p>
<p>This should sound like a no-brainer, but one thing you should steer clear of in your essay is, "I want to go to Columbia because I love NYC." There are lots of schools in NYC and it's the last reason you should choose Columbia. This was plainly stated at two information sessions I attended--one about Columbia held in Chicago, the other at Columbia.</p>
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This should sound like a no-brainer, but one thing you should steer clear of in your essay is, "I want to go to Columbia because I love NYC." There are lots of schools in NYC and it's the last reason you should choose Columbia. This was plainly stated at two information sessions I attended--one about Columbia held in Chicago, the other at Columbia.
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<p>It can hurt if you state that you want to attend columbia b/c of the experience in NY. It would not hurt if you wrote how NYC can help add to the Columbia Experience, how such a big diverse city, which is the center for so much can add so value to your education, and how it gives you the opportunity to learn from everyone around you just as much as you would learn at the university.</p>
<p>that's always been my take on why going to school in NYC is so useful. The atmosphere of the big city adds a factor to Columbia that no other top-tier school has, the ability to give you the opportunity to be succeed in a city like New York, which can be very rewarding. Due to being located in one of the largest citys for commerce in the world, Columbia also appeals at very serious and mature, and just by the atmosphere and your surroundings you are encouraged to work your hardest and give it all you've got to become the best person you can be. Which is IMO a very big contributing factor to the success of graduates. </p>
<p>Columbia is a wonderful place to be, but if the essay seems as though you'd like to attend Columbia simply to live in New York, you'd pretty much be on the same boat with all the NYU applicants.</p>
<p>Seeing as NYC more or less IS Columbia's main selling point, don't see how it's going to hurt. There aren't really any schools of comparable quality in the city (I'm sure the cross-admit data would confirm that.)</p>
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about city's many opportunities, hotdog stands and a turkey sub
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<p>Hotdog stands are so early-90s. Nobody eats at them anymore. Street cart food is much more advanced.</p>
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Seeing as NYC more or less IS Columbia's main selling point, don't see how it's going to hurt. There aren't really any schools of comparable quality in the city (I'm sure the cross-admit data would confirm that.)
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<p>It hurts because anyone can write a generic essay about how they like NYC, the Core and an Ivy league education. If you personalize any of that stuff, it's fine.</p>
<p>right. talking about NYC doesn't express why you want to go to columbia over NYU or Fordham (or City College for that matter).</p>
<p>good subjects for why-columbia blurbs chiefly include:</p>
<p>1) Academics. "I know this professor and he's awesome because ____ and I want to study with him." "Columbia is the only place in the world where I can ____"</p>
<p>2) Atmosphere / Culture. What do you know about the place that makes you think you'd feel at home there? Relate any anecdotes you might have. Do you know a student who described things? What makes it sound like a unique place, independent of the city in which columbia makes its home?</p>
<p>3) Peculiar combinations of school features, or individualized reasons. You like this particular club. You want to do both X and Y and Columbia is the perfect place for that. You want exposure to Z while not neglecting your interest in W. You love the fact that Q was [invented or started or has its strongest presence] at columbia and think it speaks especially to your interests. etc.</p>
<p>bad subjects for why-columbia blurbs:</p>
<p>1) Anything about the Ivy League. Treat the school like a girl, she's special. You wouldn't tell some hottie that you're looking to date someone on the cheerleading squad just because they're on the cheerleading squad - you want them for who they are. Same with schools.</p>
<p>2) Anything about "The Core", unless you can explain why it fits into one of the 3 categories above. Just citing it as a reason unto itself isn't enough. You have to explain why it's important for you, or what the implications are.</p>
<p>3) Anything about NYC. Again, while it's a nice feature, it doesn't distinguish Columbia from any other NYC school.</p>
<p>Denz denz denz (what does your user name refer to by the way? I use it as an incantation all the time, so I'd like to know). In HS, I dated the captain of the cheerleading team. Pickup line: I like you because you're on the cheerleading team. This might only work for low-self esteem types, and we all know Columbia feels less pretty than Harvard and Yale. She's really proud that she lives in NYC, albeit not posh NYC, so talking about that should be okay. My logic, you must grant, is impeccable.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, I don't write grants. Something about not being a millionaire yet.</p>
<p>I'm sure you're very proud of your cheerleader, but I would argue that people (and institutions, by extension of my analogy) want to be told that you like them on the basis of their personality and other factors that make them unique, rather than because they happen to belong to some group that gives you a rush. I believe that in the case of people, Dale Carnegie is quite behind me on this point. And who among us doesn't roll our eyes when people talk about wanting to go an Ivy League school (for the sake of being able to say they went to an Ivy League school), or brags about a similar status symbol? "Going to an ivy league school" is a trophy for your mantle; attending Columbia is a community with many more specific features and benefits that's a much more personal decision. And that's what choice of college should be about - a highly personal decision. Telling the Admissions office that your reply to "Why Columbia?" is about ivy league status says that you aren't thinking of it as a personal decision to the same degree.</p>
<p>My two cents on the matter, anyway.</p>
<p>And yeah, there's a lot that only works for low-self-esteem types. It's a shame there's a correlation between a girl having high self esteem and her being a complex and energetic enough person to get me interested in her. Makes life difficult sometimes.</p>
<p>As I recall, a couple of years ago, the Columbia application said, "Other than the fact that it's in NYC, please tell us what about Columbia most interests you" or something to that effect.</p>
<p>speaking to the head of admissions a month or two ago, i heard that the number one pet peeve was reading essays about how much the applicant wants to go to columbia because it is in new york. also, during my info session a while ago the speaker said that if he could give any tips on how to get in, it would be to do your best in school and to not write an essay on new york for the 'why columbia' essay. that said, i'm sure people's other accomplishments have outweighed that response and have gotten in, but i really would try to avoid it at all costs.</p>
<p>Let's reframe the question a little--it's not about whether you write about or mention New York, it's whether you have used the small amount of space well to articulate the fit beyond platitudes. </p>
<p>Mentioning New York shows recognition of the advantage of it. Mentioning the Core shows an understanding that Columbia is not just some generic institution that shows up highly ranked in some magazine. However, if this is all you have to say or you can't put this in context of who you are and why it matters to you, your result is not very compelling. </p>
<p>I read over and over about how frustrated applicants are with the scarce space given to the short answer questions. It is very difficult to distill your thoughts until you get to a well-articulated meaningful truth. I know nothing about the admissions process at Columbia, but I know that, if I was on the admissions committee, someone's ability to do this well is very telling. Anyone can vomit onto a page--it takes skill to say something well in a few words.</p>