<p>CC asks what I find most appealing about Columbia and why, and I've been struggling to find somethin to write about that hasn't already been written about a thousand times. The only thing I have come up with so far is an admiration of Columbia's philosophy behind why they haven't reinstated the rotc program (due to the injustice of Don't Ask Don't Tell). Does anyone know if this is a good idea, or if its too iffy and not something that I should write about. I feel very strongly about gay rights, but I'm scared that I run the risk of the reader not feeling the same. What should I do?</p>
<p>the objective should not be to write about a topic that hasn’t been written about for the sake of it, but rather why you want to go to columbia.</p>
<p>it sounds rather tangential to the question to talk about rotc. i’d not worry about the reader caring or not caring about gay rights. they would ask, what does this actually have to do with columbia. note that harvard and other schools haven’t allowed rotc back either, does it mean you feel the exact same way about columbia than you do about harvard?</p>
<p>and just because you talk about a topic that has been stated before, doesn’t mean it is a bad idea. it is how you execute it that will matter, how good are you at writing, bringing your own voice to the situation, making it seem genuine. same with the essay, the point isn’t to find the craziest thing and say it, but to find the thing that is easiest for you to talk about and write something that is informative, interesting and engaging.</p>
<p>You’re not the first student who can’t tell why he/she wants to go to college x. It’s just that, if you can’t answer the question, you risk looking like you really aren’t that sold. You want a top school, you have to dig deep.</p>
<p>Thank you very much for the extremely helpful responses!</p>