How should I approach the Cornell supplement essay for my college application?

The Cornell supplement is definitely a big piece of your application, but you’re already on the right track by wanting to distinguish yourself from generic responses. For Cornell, the most important thing is showing a clear connection between your interests, your background, and what Cornell uniquely offers.

While it can be tempting to just list classes or professors (“I want to study with Professor X because they research cool stuff!”), it’s much stronger to make your essay personal and specific. Start by reflecting on a moment—a project, a challenge, something outside of class—where you realized the depth of your interest in your intended field. Then, connect that back to how Cornell is the right environment for you to grow.

For example, let’s say you’re applying to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and you’ve spent summers working on urban gardens in your city. Maybe you had a challenging experience trying to get local policy changed for those gardens. In your essay, you could describe a turning point when you realized you needed both science and policy skills to make a real difference. Then, tie that to Cornell’s interdisciplinary approach, mentioning a particular program (like the Plant Sciences major or a minor in Public Policy) that integrates your interests. If you reference a professor or lab, explain *why*: maybe you read an article by a Cornell professor whose research aligns exactly with your experience or goals, and you want to learn their methods firsthand. The focus should be on how you envision yourself actively growing from those opportunities, not just observing them from afar.

It’s good to mention long-term goals, but keep that section concise and centered around how Cornell uniquely prepares you for those goals. The bulk of your response should be about your journey and how Cornell’s distinctive resources fit into it. Structurally, a strong essay typically goes: 1) a personal anecdote/moment that shows your interest, 2) how that led to your academic focus, 3) specific Cornell offerings (classes, labs, clubs, philosophies) that match your goals, and 4) a sentence or two about what you hope to achieve while at Cornell and beyond.

For example, instead of writing, “Cornell’s top-rated engineering program is perfect for me,” you could say, “Trying to adapt a water filtration device with limited resources in my rural hometown helped me realize how crucial community-based engineering solutions are—something I see at the heart of Cornell’s Environmental Engineering program, especially through the AguaClara project.”

Show that you’re not only familiar with the school, but that you have a thoughtful, personal reason for wanting to be there. This approach stands out from essays that just echo the website.

Best of luck—you’ve got this!