<p>This is a question on the application. Are they expecting the single most appealing factor about Columbia or say, the top 5?</p>
<p>The single most appealing factor for me is that it's in New York City. Should I answer as so?</p>
<p>You don't want that to be your number one reason. Do you like the Core program? Do you like the campus? Are they excellent with te program you want? Talk about stuff like that.</p>
<p>It can be one of a number of reasons, but not be the exclusive one.</p>
<p>So I can have a list of a few things I like about Columbia. Thanks for the help. :)</p>
<p>I like NYC very much as well. And its engineering is good</p>
<p>Don't just put what you like in a list, like:
What I like about Columbia:
1. The cafeteria food.
2. The nice blue colors on Columbia's logo.
3. The big statues of famous people.</p>
<p>Do it in paragraph form, like (but not exactly like):
I want to go to Columbia because they have great food in their cafeteria. I also really enjoy staring for hours at the Columbia logo, and know that I can do this much more once I arrive at Columbia. I'm also very interested in drawing lots of pictures of the the big statues of famous people on campus.</p>
<p>So, basically, just because the application has sepearate lines for the "why Columbia" question (or, at least last year it did), doesn't mean that you should make a list.</p>
<p>Well, I was thinking of doing something like---</p>
<p>NYC: lots of opportunities, different people, landmarks, museums.
I'm doing this online, not sure if it makes a difference. Also, why is the character limit on the first line so much shorter than the rest?</p>
<p>Another question. What you put on the list of interests can't hurt you, right? Like the only publication I read on a regular basis (other than like Cosmopolitan... -_-') is our local newspaper. I'm only going to put the local newspaper and nothing else.
It seems like I'm obsessing way too much over this section, doesn't it. @.@</p>
<p>As for the character limit on the first line, I think it is because they're indenting for you, although I'm not absolutely sure.</p>
<p>In terms of formatting it the way you're considering, I'm not too sure about that, Columbia2002 probably knows much more.</p>
<p>The interests section is quite important, but the two most important things (other than grades, SAT's, etc.) are the main essay and the "why Columbia" essay.</p>
<p>why aren't you putting cosmo?</p>
<p>u should only put cosmo if you seem like a complete dork in the rest of ur application and need to add some personality. Remember omitting is not lying. </p>
<p>As for the format....all of your answers to any question on the columbia application should be in prose...also try to talk more about columbia than about NYC.</p>
<p>Exactly. If your entire application is about wanting to be in New York, the first thing an admissions officer will ask him/herself is "why would this person bother with us and not Fordham, NYU, or even CUNY?" ...which have better locations, lower tuitions, and higher acceptance rates. In other words, you have to tell them why you not only chose Columbia over Princeton or Yale, but why you chose it over other New York schools (and "because it's good" or "because it's an Ivy with a good reputation" are not answers that qualify).</p>
<p>Okay thanks. :D I'll redo that section.
I'm not putting Cosmo because it'll make me look like someone who's obsessed about fashion and sex. @.@</p>
<p>For the books I've read for pleasure in the past year, one was a little known book called Beijing Doll. I put it there because it was banned in China. Should I add that tidbit of info?</p>
<p>You don't have to explain why you read certain books. You'd be better served by filling up the space with more books than providing explanations.</p>
<p>K. So it wouldn't be too weird if I put like 12 books for the ones I enjoyed outside of school, and 4 for the required readings we were supposed to do?</p>
<p>Sorry if these questions are annoying. -_-; I obsess.</p>
<p>I don't think it would be weird. You can't control what you're assigned, but the fact that you read a lot outside of school is always great.</p>
<p>K, thanks. :D This has helped immensely.</p>
<p>the most appealing thing about Columbia? I would have to say that the fact that i'm going there makes it appealing. :p</p>
<p>is it just me or is this one of the threads that appear every year around this time? same with the what you like/hate about columbia thread..</p>
<p>when i went to an admissions meeting at columbia, the admissions officer there told us that the most common answers to the "what do you like about columbia" were that it was in NYC, and that it was a good ivy league school...go figure</p>
<p>there is no wrong answers to this question, and really doesnt matter what you say, its how you say it that'll get the admission people's attention.</p>
<p>don't just say you like NYc, say what it is about nyc that you like? some people like the fact that you are in a big city and easy to find intern/jobs, while others like the entertainments you can find in the city on a typical day(eg. shopping, broadway). describing what you really find interesting in nyc will be more convincing and interesting to read than just saying " oh cuz its nyc!"</p>
<p>same with saying columbia's a good school. YES everyone knows its a good school, but whats good about it TO YOU?</p>
<p>its perfectly fine to fall into the "most common answer" catagory and yet still have an amazing answer to the question, remember the most important part about the application at this point is presentation. you grades/ec/reccomandations are pretty much set by now and how you decide to present yourself will have a bigger impact than you think.</p>