<p>Anyone care to read it or should I just post it right here?</p>
<p>il read it...</p>
<p>jk
dont post that stuff on here.. too many possibilities of plagerism etc.</p>
<p>^ he's right. Whatever you do, do NOT post it. If you PM me, I'll give you advice on it if you want. But to be honest, the Why Columbia essay isn't something that's going to make or break you. Good luck on your apps!</p>
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But to be honest, the Why Columbia essay isn't something that's going to make or break you.
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</p>
<p>Absolutely horrible advice. Just dead wrong. It's a critical piece of the application and is just as important, if not more important, than the long essay.</p>
<p>Why do you say "to be honest" as if you possess some secret from the Columbia adcoms that nobody else knows?</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>
<p>Well mine is about their highly regarded history department and their political science-statistics major. Would that be OK?</p>
<p>And I don't know if you wanted me to send you my essay, Columbia2002 and Schmoomcgoo (interesting username)?</p>
<p>Columbia 2002: Well you're entitled to your own opinion just as I am to my own.</p>
<p>"Absolutely horrible advice. Just dead wrong."</p>
<p>Being quite pretentious, aren't we?</p>
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Columbia 2002: Well you're entitled to your own opinion just as I am to my own.
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<p>This isn't a matter of opinion. You're not entitled to mislead applicants by spewing incorrect information.</p>
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"Absolutely horrible advice. Just dead wrong."</p>
<p>Being quite pretentious, aren't we?
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</p>
<p>Just calling a spade a spade.</p>
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Well mine is about their highly regarded history department and their political science-statistics major. Would that be OK?
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</p>
<p>This would be fine. If you can personalize it to your unique interests and why you're a good fit for these programs, all the better.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for their help.</p>
<p>And please, no arguing on my thread (as I have seen you two argue before).</p>
<p>C02 argues with everyone. it's not personal. he also happens to be factually correct 90% of the time, and comes across like a jackass a similar 90% of the time. in this case, everything i've ever been told (by actual admissions officers, no less) indicates that it's a crucial part of the application.</p>
<p>If you can explain why (A) *Columbia's *location in NYC makes it more attractive to you than peer schools, or (B) *Columbia's *core makes it more attractive than (say) Chicago, then you have a point. But otherwise, avoid just reciting "NYC" / "Core" as your points in the why-columbia blurb.</p>
<p>Can someone please tell me the essay prompts because I still have to fix some of the first parts of the application and haven't submitted it yet.</p>
<p>8parks11, every prompt is shown on the the downloadable paper application on the Columbia website (both part I and part II).</p>
<p>Well, will anyone else care to read my essay?</p>
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C02 argues with everyone. it's not personal. he also happens to be factually correct 90% of the time, and comes across like a jackass a similar 90% of the time.
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<p>Hey now, I'd put both stats at 95%!</p>
<p>As for me coming across like a jackass, two points:</p>
<p>1) Less is more, especially since people read quickly and/or are easily misled. If "absolutely horrible advice" is what needs to be said, why couch it up in a paragraph of nice language?</p>
<p>2) I'm not here to win a popularity contest. I try very hard not to attack the messenger, but I have no problem attacking the message. Columbia's a tough place, and prospective students don't need to be babied with niceties.</p>
<p>that sounds like a nice rationalization to avoid being nice and friendly to people. it's possible to use different language to get the same point across without being combative.</p>
<p>go - seriously - and read How to Win Friends and Influence People. That sounds like an insulting suggestion, but it's not. Reading that book has changed my life and my ability to relate to people. you'll start to see what i'm talking about.</p>
<p>"If "absolutely horrible advice" is what needs to be said, why couch it up in a paragraph of nice language?"</p>
<p>i agree. being frank and concise is beneficial, spades must be called spades, there's no reason to pamper the delusional</p>
<p>"Columbia's a tough place, and prospective students don't need to be babied with niceties."</p>
<p>this is also true, but being rude is useless and counter-productive, you can be frank and have people appreciate the sincerity even if blunt. C2002 judgement the essay is on target imo, but it could have been phrased different and just as concisely. </p>
<p>examples: "this is bad advice"
"that's an incorrent judgement of the essay"</p>
<p>same message delivered, fewer discontent.</p>
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go - seriously - and read How to Win Friends and Influence People. That sounds like an insulting suggestion, but it's not. Reading that book has changed my life and my ability to relate to people. you'll start to see what i'm talking about.
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</p>
<p>Oh my god, that book is horrible and a bunch of BS. I know it may be hard to believe, but you're not the first person to suggest that to book to me ;) (Someone actually bought it for me.) I read perhaps 50 pages and couldn't take it anymore.</p>
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that sounds like a nice rationalization to avoid being nice and friendly to people. it's possible to use different language to get the same point across without being combative.
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</p>
<p>Being nice and friendly requires more words and has a greater risk of ineffectiveness to get the same point across. </p>
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C2002 judgement the essay is on target imo, but it could have been phrased different and just as concisely.</p>
<p>examples: "this is bad advice"
"that's an incorrent judgement of the essay"</p>
<p>same message delivered, fewer discontent.
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</p>
<p>There's BAD advice. And then there's ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE advice. The other kid's post was clearly the latter. There's a difference between the two.</p>
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Oh my god, that book is horrible and a bunch of BS. I know it may be hard to believe, but you're not the first person to suggest that to book to me (Someone actually bought it for me.) I read perhaps 50 pages and couldn't take it anymore.
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I similarly scoffed at the first half-dozen people to recommend it to me, saying they had learned more from that book than a lifetime of articles online and other books on human relations. By the time 10 or so people had told me it had changed their life (and career arc), I finally knuckled down and read it.</p>
<p>Everything he says sounds like it should be obvious, and yet those who self-observe realize that they rarely do many of the things he points out, and forget important things. Easy to point out, easy to forget. At least, now that i'm paying closer attention to those kind of things (even in my online persona), i'm picking up on a lot of things that I used to miss.</p>
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Being nice and friendly requires more words and has a greater risk of ineffectiveness to get the same point across.
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I understand that you actually believe this. But everything i've seen in human relations tells me that people are much MORE likely to accept a contrary point of view, and much MORE likely to receive advice effectively, if it presented in a friendly, non-confrontational manner. Every salesman ever born knows this instinctively. Hence pithy phrases like "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar". Are you more likely to take advice and be open-minded when you're approached in a calm manner by someone who is just trying to point something out, and listens to your point of view? Or are you more likely to respond positively to someone who comes out with harshly-worded criticism, both barrels blazing? I mean, c'mon man, listen to yourself. You know what you're talking about on this board. Why ram it down people's throats?</p>
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But everything i've seen in human relations tells me that people are much MORE likely to accept a contrary point of view, and much MORE likely to receive advice effectively, if it presented in a friendly, non-confrontational manner.
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<p>When I'm calling out somebody, I'm doing it for the benefit of the other readers, not that person.</p>
<p>I feel like i'm arguing with a brick wall. forget I said anything.</p>