<p>Wha should the why columbia be about. I have finished everything but this prompt is killing me, no not literary, but I need help! Those that already wrote their "why columbia", what do you talk about, that it was your dream school since middle school or what? NEED MAJOR HELP AND QUICK!</p>
<p>Think about the things about Columbia that made you want to apply there.
Put them in an essay.
It’s not a trick question. Just be honest about why you want to apply there.</p>
<p>I know its not a trick question, but i have friends that are coming up with “creative” ideas on how they want to write this essay and I am dumb-struck right now. I really need my essays to be really strong as I have heard that though you may not have the top scores, strong essays can get you the luck go be admitted.</p>
<p>i mean, if you can’t think of what you want to write, maybe columbia’s not for you; if you really want to go there, it should be easy for you to think of what you want to say. like the other poster said, just write about what it is that makes you want to apply there</p>
<p>^ yeah I mean seriously no offense if you can’t even think of 2 good reasons don’t apply to columbia. </p>
<p>If you are really desperate, spend about 10 minutes looking on their website and I’m sure you’ll find tons of stuff…</p>
<p>All of these responses are going to look about the same to admissions officers. I don’t say this to cause undue stress, but rather, to comfort you. Most high school seniors don’t have the sort of moving life experiences that might justify a huge decision like applying to college. Like others in the applicant pool, you are going through the process that your parents, counselors, etc. have pushed you to complete. You are applying to the school so that you can be an effective actor in your world, just like everyone else.</p>
<p>So write it well, write it passionately, and await the decision.
At the end of the day, you’ll be okay.</p>
<p>^wow disagree. might be that way with a lot of people, but you’re making a big generalization. a lot of people have no clue what they want or how to approach it at this age, but some do, and are passionate about a school or place for specific reasons or goals, and have lots of things to say or write about them</p>
<p>^ I also disagree. I fell in love with columbia while spending two weeks at a leadership conference there where i lived in mcbain hall, so this prompt was easy for me. It’s my number one and the only reason i didn’t apply ED is because I’m financially torn about what college I go to which is a very big deciding factor on whos offer i accept.</p>
<p>I agree with you joso. I am making a generalization, and those who have truly interesting stories will likely stand out. However, I stand by my assertion that the aforementioned, unique candidates are in the minority. </p>
<p>I write this from my perspective as a transfer student. I’ve read a lot of “why” essays, as many of us have. But I have also read a lot of “why” essays written by successful transfer candidates. To be blunt, they are much, much better. This is after only one year of college. Until you start to acquire a new set of experiences which you can then contextualize with your former life, application essays out of high school tend to look the same.</p>
<p>For instance, janeej2011’s essay. While I’m sure it was passionate and well-written, that sort of “fell in love with” essay is by no means unique. It is one manifestation of that particular love-at-first-sight archetype that admissions officers are quite accustomed to reading. Also in this category is the “the first time I set foot on campus at age three” or “looking out the plane’s window and seeing Columbia as I flew into LaGuardia” essay.</p>
<p>Not to worry, though. Just write it better than everyone else.</p>
<p>^
well first of all I really don’t think “why ___ college” essays are meant to be unique, like the comm app essay…admission officers are truly looking to see what makes a student attracted to a particular college, even if its the same old trite core curriculum over and over again. HOWEVER,
the way you write it definitely has an impact. For example, if a student simply says “ohhh core curriculum its prestigious, the environment is good, the teachers are pro”…that won’t get very far
whereas if a student lists a particular classes and is like “this class will allow me to study in depth different cultural perspectives and help me build a strong foundation for ___” or something, admission officers will dig that</p>
<p>and personally, I don’t think its a good idea to put in the once-a-life-time experiences on the “why” essay (or at least don’t spend too much on it). I mean, if you really did go to columbia for this one event, stayed a week, and was so moved that it made you love columbia, be prepare to explain why. if its simply “I came for a week and it was beautiful…I feel in love with it right away…I couldn’t pull myself away…the vibrancy of nyc and columbia match…I love columbia” or something like that with no substance behind it, its not gonna work even it was really powerful to you</p>
<p>so I think aristo is misunderstanding the point of the “why” essay…and uh I think the statement “not to worry…just write it better than everyone else” kind of contradicts his statement that all “why” essays look the same to admission officers -.-</p>
<p>I think Aristororty is spot on. </p>
<p>I’ve never liked the Why _____ essay. Within just a few months of being in college I realized my application response was BS (not on purpose, but I just was blind to what I really was). Traditional high schools really homogenize students. I’m 1.5 years into college now and the growth (more like an awakening) I’ve achieved in college so far is much greater than that I experienced in all of high school.</p>
<p>
At least one doesn’t pretend to know the future. Say I list a particular class (that’s not a freshman class, because you’ll still have the same HS perspective and will take it). What are the chances that I will genuinely want to take that class after at least one year? If I take it, what are the chances that I will get the same things out of it? </p>
<p>Maybe some people know what they truly want to do in life. Also note that there are many who will predict something and follow through with it, but in many cases they are just too content/ignorant to try out or accept drastic change. I’m guilty of this to some degree.</p>
<p>^ “at least one doesn’t pretend to know the future” - no offense, I thought that statement was really stupid</p>
<p>the essay is there to prove that you have done your research on the school, and for the admissions officers to know what is it about Columbia that you like. I personally like the class “contemporary civilizations” course - granted, the reason I like this class came from some material I read on it plus friend’s comments, and yes, I could definitely be wrong and end up hating it. But its one of the reasons I applied to it. According to your theory, all high school students are dumbasses who have no idea what they want in college, and what they want all are supercial and must be disregarded</p>
<p>and to ur statement “at least one doesn’t pretend to know the future” - I’m NOT pretending to know the future. I’m just acknowledging that at the time being, I love x aspects of Columbia, and that’s the reason I filed for ED. </p>
<p>Yes, there is a possibility that I won’t get the “same things” out of the classes or experience I have my eyes on right now. But how the hell are we, as high schoolers suppose to know what the class will be like to us in a few years? Youre saying that we should write our why columbia essay AS IF WE KNOW how we’re going to view it in a few years. which is a realy ignorant reasoning.</p>
<p>
EXACTLY! You don’t, so don’t write about it at all! </p>
<p>If I were to do these essays again I’d write about what aspects of the school would allow me to grow personally, serve as catalysts for my transformation. I don’t know about Columbia much, but something like the Core requires you to be exposed to many different fields, so at the end of it you’ll have refined your interests. Being in New York City exposes one to many different ways of life and many cultures. How seminar classes (if Columbia has these) will give you opportunities to improve your debate and interaction skills. Things like that. </p>
<p>I know it’s not necessarily unique, but neither are most applicants at this stage in the game. I mean they’re unique as people, but not as students/applicants. </p>
<p>
You use much stronger language here, but yes that’s kind of what I’m saying. I was a high school senior once too you know.</p>
<p>Senior and Aristorty are in the right here. collegeftw and janee, you just sound like a bunch of kids who are caught up in the “dream” and fascination of your schools, and you probably are.</p>
<p>“I fell in love with columbia at first sight,” cmon, this is the sort of childish response that will get you no where. just a few weeks at a conference shouldnt catch your loyalty so easily. im willing to bet a visit to cornell would give you the same result.</p>
<p>the only reason for the “why us” essays are for colleges to see if you have any interest in all in them so they can protect their yield. believe me, you are not going to amaze them with a why us essay, so take it easy OP.</p>
<p>Guys (and gals) I had no intention of creating argument and debated whatsoever…I had a concern and though someone could help…thank you all for your wide range opinions. Those that think that i cant of any reason why to attend Columbia, I guess i didn’t explain myself fully but thanks for showing your concern (i think). Anyway, I feel that even with this response, people will think i’m being a kiss-up…and if so (once again) thats your opinion…AND please don’t trash other people as they are only expressing their opinion.</p>
<p>hey aryus, it would cool if you actually read what ppl said earlier before you judge</p>
<p>1) I said DON’T put things like “i feel in love with it at first sight”</p>
<p>2) Senior, I’m not seeing what you argument is here…you said you would write about aspects of the school that would allow you to grow, and that’s what I pretty much said what I wrote it on? o.0</p>
<p>3) and senior…wth are you talking about? you said you agreed with me that you think all high schoolers don’t know what they want…so if we don’t know what we want, how do you suggest we tackle these why essays? put down random crap? huh? o.0</p>
<p>4) uh back to aryus…EXACTLY the college wants to see that you have interest in them…but there has to be a freakign REASON why youre interested in them, thats what I was getting to the whole time…senior suggested that high schooler have no thought whatsoever on colleges…</p>
<p>smh…smh</p>
<p>
I told you. There are things that are good for people who don’t know what they want in college or want to become. A college with strong all-around academics, with a diverse range of activities to pursue, ease of access to a wide range of opportunities/jobs, and requirements that aid you in your self discovery, among others. </p>
<p>For those who don’t know what they want, a school like Caltech obviously wouldn’t make much sense. But Columbia is no Caltech. Why?</p>
<p>i have to agree that the vast majority of why columbia essays probably look the same. this is not necessarily a bad thing. rather, it demonstrates that columbia has very specific strengths, and these strengths are what draw students there. the obsession with “standing out in the crowd” is justified - of course everyone should want to be noticed - but, to this end, i think people too often feel obligated to reinvent the wheel, to “come up with” a spectacularly creative concept for a why columbia essay, and it’s revealing that people use the phrase “come up with” because that is absolutely not what the process of writing an essay about a college should entail. the best way to stand out is to write a natural essay with total authenticity and passion, no matter how generic your core (no pun intended) reasons may be. if the essay is contrived, it will show. if you search the website for specifics to include in your essay purely for the sake of specifics, it will be awkward. details are great and everything, but they should come naturally, out of your love for the college and your related knowledge. </p>
<p>example: my essay was ostensibly as normal, common as they come. i wrote about (wait for it) the Core, New York (and the interplay between the two) and diversity, almost entirely using shameless abstractions. yet i was extremely pleased with my essay. it was very honest and, i hope, evidently passionate. its biggest issues happened when it sounded too academic, when it lost the passion. i spoke in abstractions, however, because this is the language that enables you to truly love a college. i am first and foremost attracted by the pure idea of a college, and i feel that this is the same for everyone. i love columbia because it has an incredible core curriculum, because it is situated in the greatest city in the world, and because it brings together students of vastly varying socioeconomic backgrounds from all over the world, and these are the primary, extraordinarily standard reasons. yet they are my real reasons, and good reasons, if people weren’t so worried about uniqueness. columbia may have a kickass physics department and sick libraries and some awesome professors that i could quickly look up and cite in my essay to look knowledgeable, and of course these are wonderful supplemental examples of its greatness, but they are not the main things that really made me want to go there more than any other college in the country, and it’s a terrible idea to say they were just to write a more atypical essay because no matter someone else will already have written a similar essay. i’m sure there are occasional exceptions, but generally, unless you’ve actually met professors, taken classes, or studied in libraries, i think most people love colleges for more intangible, abstract reasons. </p>
<p>regarding my essay, i have no proof that it was effective because i was deferred and, honestly, i wish i’d used a few more concrete details just to demonstrate effort. however, i was happy with it. also, i hope some of this stuff made sense.</p>
<p>FINALLY, i want to clarify that though i think the authentic, passionate essay is the best kind, it’s also impossible to write one of those for every college. after the first choice, basically everyone needs to write a whole bunch of inauthentic, boilerplate, quick-read-the-wiki-page essays. but still, for these i think it’s best to stick to the obvious best things about a college than to go searching for obscure ones.</p>
<p>just to add to the “what about people who don’t know what they want?” thing, i would argue that columbia is a great school for people who don’t know precisely what they want to do because of the core curriculum in combination with strong sciences. solid foundation in the humanities + opportunities for research and a great education in a large array of subjects = perfect for indecisives like me. as my interviewer put it when i admitted that i don’t really know exactly what i want to do because i have so many different interests: “perfect! you are doing the liberal arts thing…”</p>
<p>I mean, I think, and hopefully this can help the kids next year who are sitting in the same frantic situation all of us were last night on Columbia, that the best thing to do is take a few minutes and really delve deeply into what Columbia has to offer. Surely, you will find something, anything, which you feel passionately about, and once you find your thing, write about it. I mean, don’t write about like Students for an Orwellian Society if you don’t care about politics, but if you do, find that or any other student clubs/organizations you can find at the school and discuss those. The more research you can demonstrate that you’ve done on them, the better your essay will turn out (now obviously, do not just copy word for word from the website, though. I know that can be tempting, but they WILL definitely pick up on that really, really quickly.)</p>