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A Guide to the Columbia Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

Padya Paramita

July 13, 2021

Located in the heart of New York City, Columbia University has long been one of the most competitive schools in the world. Consistently ranked among the top five colleges in the U.S., Columbia attracts a wide range of students from all over the world. Although it is no easy task, it’s time to think about ways to distinguish yourself among a strong pool of applicants. If your interest in Columbia stems from genuine enthusiasm towards the unique opportunities offered by the school, then the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 can help you bolster your candidacy. 

The Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 are designed to help the admissions committee understand your intellectual pursuits, interests outside the classroom, and the real motivations behind your interest in Columbia beyond its esteemed ranking. Help the admissions officers understand why you’d be an ideal Columbia student by carefully considering and answering the prompts below. To guide you through a smooth-sailing writing process, I’ve outlined each prompt, provided some tips and tricks for answering them, and included some further advice to help you write your Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022

Prompts for the Columbia Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

For the four list questions that follow, we ask that you list each individual response using commas or semicolons; the items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order. No explanatory text or formatting is needed. 

• List the titles of the required readings from academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school.
• List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school.
• List the titles of the print or digital publications, websites, journals, podcasts or other content with which you regularly engage.
• List the movies, albums, shows, museums, lectures, events at your school or other entertainments that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school (in person or online).

The instructions make it very clear that there’s no minimum number of titles you must include. That being said, don’t just insert one answer for each topic. For the first prompt in this question, don’t just mention the classics just for the sake of letting admissions officers know you’ve read them. They are aware of the usual high school reading lists, so they have a good idea of the kinds of books most applicants have read. Think honestly about what you actually enjoyed. It doesn’t have to be a novel - or even limited to your literature courses. It could be a chapter in your chemistry textbook, an essay on a historical event, or a particular poem that you’ve been unable to get out of your head. 

From your answers to the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 , the university also wants to know what kind of topics and genres you enjoy outside academics. All of these could follow a particular theme - your answer to the latter three bullets could be a great way to show that you’ve pursued your academic interests through more than just schoolwork. Or, you could highlight a passion outside your intended major, such as sports or cooking, by mentioning relevant books or magazines.

Don’t list big-name publications such as The New York Times just because you think it sounds impressive. It will probably be one of the more common answers anyway. Go through your subscriptions, browser history, and think about which publications you’re always drawn to when at a newsstand or library.

Check out all supplemental essay prompts here!

Columbia students take an active role in improving their community, whether in their residence hall, classes or throughout New York City. Their actions, small or large, work to positively impact the lives of others. Share one contribution that you have made to your family, school, friend group or another community that surrounds you. (200 words or fewer)

Because so many academically qualified students apply to Columbia, admissions officers want to pinpoint the candidates who will meaningfully contribute to their community. Through this supplemental prompt, Columbia is interested in knowing exactly what you’ll bring from your current life as a high schooler to the Morningside Heights campus in Manhattan. If we break this prompt down further, you’ll notice that the word “community” is broad here — the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 has given you flexibility by listing some possible examples of the type of community you might write about — as well as saying “another community” if it’s more applicable.

As you brainstorm, start thinking about all of the communities you interact with on a daily basis—school, student group, sports team, neighborhood organization, family, etc. From there, think about what—from any of these communities—you’ve had the most impact on and why. The list could go on, but may include things like helping your parents with your siblings, or stepping up as a leader to initiate a new community center in your neighborhood. From there, you want to think about how your skills can benefit others, specifically at Columbia University.  When approaching this essay, try to be as specific as possible. 200 words is a short essay, so make sure you get straight to the point and explain the unique contributions you would bring from your current life to Columbia. 

Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? (200 words or fewer)

Now we come to the “why this school” portion of the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 . Remember that this essay isn’t about what makes Columbia a good school - admissions officers already know that it is! What do you find the most appealing about the university? How do these great features relate to your learning and your future plans? The points you should try to get across are why the college’s resources are a good fit for you, how you will benefit from all that it offers, and the aspects of campus life where you believe you can contribute the most. 

The best strategy in answering this question is conducting research specific to your interests and goals, as Columbia wants to see an emphasis on what you “value.” Since you have a good number of words, you can mention both academic and extracurricular offerings that call out to you. At the same time don’t go all over the place - stay within describing two to three of the most appealing factors, and then elaborate on them. What classes and activities do you currently enjoy that you hope to continue at Columbia? Which particular Columbia courses align with your ideal career? Is there a unique student organization that you want to join, such as Columbia Undergraduate Film Productions or the Columbia University Glee Club?

Don’t just think about the internal resources - but the external aspects of Columbia that make it great as well. You can mention the New York City environment - but don’t dwell on this as this essay should be about Columbia and not how much you love Manhattan! Are there ways in which this particular urban academic setting works better for you than a suburban or rural one? Use your response to the first prompt for clues about what you’re looking for from your college experience (but don’t be repetitive!) and articulate how Columbia is the perfect place to explore your aspirations.

For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)

Continuing from the “why Columbia” question, this prompt among the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 asks you to delve deeper into the academic aspect of your interest in Columbia. A memorable answer to this prompt should successfully tie in where your passion for your academic interest stems from, as well as how Columbia can help you explore it further. 

If you’ve chosen creative writing, for example, think about when this interest started, how your love for the topic grew, and how you’ve honed your writing skills.  Perhaps you participated in competitions or creative writing clubs. Anecdotes outlining these activities and accomplishments should dominate your essay. If you have space remaining, talk about how Columbia’s creative writing program is the perfect place to help you as a budding writer. Is there a professor whose writing you’ve followed? Are there any specific courses that perfectly suit the genre you dream of mastering someday such as WRIT UN2110 Seminar Approaches to the Short Story?

No matter which field of study you’ve chosen, admissions officers should leave with no doubts regarding your dedication and commitment to the discipline. Columbia appreciates individuals who avidly pursue intellectual growth . Use your answer to demonstrate that your interest in the topic is deep and sustained. 

For applicants to Columbia Engineering, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)

This prompt is the same as the previous one - but only for engineering applicants. Just like applicants to Columbia College, your answer to this question should focus on tying in your previous engineering experiences to the opportunities available to you at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering at Columbia. Don’t just write about engineering as a broad discipline. Think about the area you’ve chosen - such as Electrical Engineering or Earth & Environmental Engineering - and express how your curiosity about that specific field arose. 

Detail any specific instances of you working with topics that fall under your chosen concentration. If you want to study computer science, for example, what specific experiences do you have with programming or app-building? Was there a particular incident where you decided that this was the field for you? Then, connect your answer to the Fu Foundation School. Which courses under Columbia Engineering’s Computer Science curriculum fit with your plans the most? Is there a particular research program that perfectly augments your interest within computer science?

Your experiences and active persuasion of your choice of concentration should leave admissions officers with the confidence that you’re not just a good fit for Columbia, but for Columbia Engineering specifically. 

Further Tips on answering the Columbia Supplemental Essays 2021-2022

• Let Your Personality Shine - The purpose of the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 is to get to know you . You can’t be a memorable candidate if admissions officers are unable to gauge who you are, sense what you’re passionate about, and identify your goals. Don’t just repeat your personal statement. Instead, exemplify each point as concretely as possible. Whether reading about your favorite books or learning about your interest in biology or history, the reader must be able to get a clear picture and learn new information from every essay.
• Demonstrate an In-Depth Knowledge of Columbia - The Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 strike a balance between asking questions specific to your experiences and asking about what appeals to you regarding the university. A lot of students apply to Columbia only because it’s an Ivy League school or because it’s located in Manhattan. Assure them that you’re not one of those students by showcasing a comprehensive knowledge of the school’s curriculum and resources, and demonstrating that you’ve done the research to understand how those opportunities specifically pertain to your aspirations. Your essays should convince the admissions officers that you and Columbia are a perfect fit.
• Think about Your Application Persona - A lot of the questions asked by Columbia want you to reflect on your chosen disciplines, so you need to stay true to your application persona in your responses. Your application persona is the overall theme of your application. You could be a student who’s worked with environmental issues throughout your time in high school. Or, you could be a budding director who has taken charge of all the school plays. Think about how your approach to the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 can convincingly harmonize with your application persona and portray authentic interest in your field of choice.

Your answers to the Columbia supplemental essays 2021-2022 should convey who you are through an exploration of topics you’re interested in and how you want to continue pursuing them in college. When reading your responses, admissions officers should clearly understand what your goals are and how Columbia can help you get there. By perfectly blending your passions with what appeals to you about Columbia, you should be able to write standout essays that help separate you from the rest of the impressive applicant pool. Best of luck!

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, how to write a stand-out "why columbia" essay.

College Essays

One of the essays you'll have to write when applying to Columbia University is the "Why Columbia" essay. In this essay, you'll need to convince the admissions committee that Columbia is your dream school and that you'd be a great fit on the campus.

The "Why Columbia" essay question can be intimidating for students. You might be wondering: what should I mention in it? What does the admissions committee want to hear from me?

In this article, we'll break down the "Why Columbia" essay, explaining what the prompt asks and what the committee wants to hear. We'll also show you a real, successful "Why Columbia" essay example and explain why it works. Finally, we'll suggest potential topics for your essay and offer tips on how to write your own college admissions essays.

The 411 on the "Why Columbia" Essay Prompt

Here's the current "Why Columbia" essay prompt for the 2023-2024 application cycle :

Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (150 words or fewer)

As you can see, the "Why Columbia" essay prompt asks a specific question: why do you want to attend Columbia University over any other school?

The admissions committee wants to see that you are genuinely interested in attending Columbia specifically and that you value it more than all other colleges out there.

As an applicant, you might be thinking that everyone applies to Columbia for the same reason: it's an Ivy League school and one of the best universities in the world.

The admissions committee knows all these facts about Columbia and knows that all applicants will know these facts, too.

What the Columbia admissions committee wants to learn is why you specifically want to go to Columbia rather than another amazing university.

From their perspective, students who really want to go to Columbia are more likely to enroll when they're accepted. This increases the university's yield rate and ensures that the freshman class will be full. If you can show in your essay that you’ve carefully considered the unique things about Columbia that make it the perfect school for you, you’ve got a good shot at getting an acceptance letter!

What Is the Purpose of the "Why Columbia" Essay?

Why does Columbia require applicants to answer this essay question? And what is the admissions committee really looking for in your answer? Let's analyze the "Why Columbia" essay prompt.

No matter which schools you're applying to, "Why This College" essays are perhaps the most common essay prompts you'll find on college applications because colleges want to see that you really want to attend their school.

But why exactly do colleges care that you want to go to their school?

Students who are passionate about their college or university are more likely to feel that the school is a good fit for them. They'll be more likely to commit to their studies, participate in on-campus activities, and become an active alum after graduation.

Therefore, if you show in your essay that you really love Columbia, it will make admissions officers feel more confident that you're going to have a significant and positive impact on their school.

If your reasons for attending Columbia are vague or even plain wrong (for instance, say you claim you'd like to take a major that isn't actually offered at Columbia), the admissions committee will think that you don't care about the school and aren't really interested in it.

Basically, the purpose of the essay is to suss out whether your interest in Columbia is genuine and to see whether you're ready to take advantage of Columbia's many opportunities.

What Should You Write About in Your "Why Columbia" Essay?

There are a number of different topics you can pursue for your "Why Columbia" essay. Ideally, you'll want to explore specific topics that you can talk about in-depth.

Here are some suggested topics for your essay:

• Majors or classes you're interested in (look for class names in the online course catalog)
• Professors whose research you're interested in
• Extracurriculars that you'd be interested in joining (you can likely find these online, too)
• Current and past Columbia students you've met before and whom you admire
• Volunteer opportunities  you'd like to get involved in 
• Financial aid opportunities Columbia offers that make it possible for you to attend
• Professional development opportunities Columbia offers

When it comes down to it, make sure to choose something about Columbia that no other school offers.

For instance, Columbia is in New York City and therefore has relationships with lots of businesses and organizations in the area. You could use your essay to examine how these Columbia-specific opportunities in New York will positively affect your education.

What you don't want to do, however, is wax on about how you love city-living— you need to make sure to describe how Columbia's specific relationship with NYC will help you to further your goals.

Match opportunities at Columbia to specific goals you have. For example, you could talk about how a particular professor's course aligns with your career objectives.

You need to be very specific in your answer: every single thing you say should relate back to a certain feature of Columbia. The entire focus of your essay should be what Columbia offers and how you'll take advantage of the school's academics and activities to get the best college education possible.

4 Tips for a Great Response to the "Why Columbia" Essay

Regardless of how you decide to answer this prompt, there are four tips everyone should keep in mind to ensure that they are fully answering the question, giving the information Columbia wants to see, and standing apart from other applicants.

#1: Do Your Research

Before you begin writing your response to this essay prompt, you should know exactly why you want to attend Columbia University. There are multiple ways you can do this research:

• Visit the school website or browse the list of departments, programs, and courses
• Check out the school newspaper, schedule a campus visit (virtual or in-person!), or set up a meeting with an alum, current student, or professor to get a feel for the campus

Every college campus has its own vibe, and visiting is the best way to get a sense of how Columbia might work with your personality as a student.

#2: Be Specific

From your research, you should have come up with specific reasons why Columbia is a great school for you. The more specific you can be when answering this prompt, the better.

Don't say Columbia has great academics, caring professors, and an interesting student body. The vast majority of schools have that!

Instead, try to mention opportunities only Columbia can provide, such as specific professors, courses, extracurricular activities, or research opportunities.

The things you discuss should be things your other top schools don't offer—things that really make Columbia stand out.

#3: Show Your Passion

Columbia wants students who care a lot about their studies and their school, so be sure this comes across in your response.

A bland statement such as "I am impressed by Columbia's strong engineering program" doesn't tell the school anything about you or help you stand apart from other applicants. Show your passion by naming specific professors or features of the program.

You've done your research to mention certain qualities Columbia has that have enticed you, and now it's time to discuss specific qualities about yourself, too. Why does the engineering program make you so excited? What do you want to get out of it? Be detailed, specific, and honest.

#4: Proofread

Your Columbia essay should be the strongest possible example of your writing skills. Before you turn in your application, take time to edit and proofread your essays.

Your work should be free of spelling and grammar errors. Make sure to run your essays through a spelling and grammar check before you submit.

It's a good idea to have someone else read your "Why Columbia" essay, too. You can seek a second opinion on your work from a parent, teacher, or friend.

Ask them whether your work represents you as a student and person. Have them check and make sure that you haven't missed any small writing errors. Having a second opinion will help your work be the best it can be.

Here's a little taste of what a good "Why Columbia" essay looks like.

"Why Columbia" Essay Example

If you're stuck on what to write for your own essay, looking at "Why Columbia" essays that actually worked can be helpful. Below, we examine one "Why Columbia" essay that got a student accepted to Columbia and talk about what specifically made this piece of writing so strong.

The following essay comes to us from an accepted Columbia 2020 student via AP Study Notes :

At a college visit this year, I met a Columbia alumnus named Ayushi, whose stories helped me develop a thorough understanding of Columbia. Ayushi told me that Columbia funded both her summer trip to Syria to interview refugees and her seed money for a start-up she launched. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I'm impressed by a university that encourages students to pursue their own independent creations instead of simply offering the option to work on faculty projects. Columbia's four entrepreneurship organizations, among them the Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs, provide a dynamic start-up community for me to launch my own business.

In addition, when I explored Columbia online, the emphasis put on interdisciplinary studies particularly excited me. The Columbia Engineering website is rich with stories of engineering students who are also involved in Shakespeare troupes, service projects, and multicultural groups. In my opinion, diverse experiences are the foundation of creative thinking. At Columbia, I will continue to diversify my experience by not just joining the Parliamentary Debate Team, but also by making new friends on the intramural soccer field and starting a cultural club for Italian heritage students who wish to learn more about Italian history, language, food, and current events.

Columbia Engineering stands uniquely apart from other programs by incorporating several in-depth humanities and writing classes into the graduation requirements. I believe that looking at critical issues with an open mind and sophisticated grasp of the humanities is extremely important to being an engineer. For example, I could not imagine exploring the future of quantum cryptography without considering the political ripple effects of Edward Snowden, the moral ramifications of the quantum encryption revolution, and the relationship between technology and income inequality. I am confident that I will thrive in the Columbia culture of passionate engagement and vibrant, energetic conversation.

Why does this essay work?

It answers the prompt specifically.

This essay gives examples of personal experience with the school and proves that the applicant did their research: they present clear evidence as to how engineering students are involved on campus and talk about specific academic courses.

There are many impressive details in this essay, and the section that addresses extracurriculars is cleverly written to showcase the applicant's diverse interests. This student's mention of certain extracurriculars they want to do indicates that they looked at many facets of Columbia University, not just the engineering department.

It's clear from this essay just how the author views their fit at Columbia. They've talked about specific organizations they would like to be a part of, such as the Columbia Organization of Rising Entrepreneurs, while also showing why they want to join that organization.

Additionally, the applicant mentions a Columbia University student they spoke with, which means they took getting to know the student body seriously and really wanted to find out what Columbia students were like to see whether they, too, would fit in.

The conversation with the Columbia alum also emphasizes the applicant's initiative: they're willing to go above and beyond to learn about the school.

Conclusion: Writing a Great "Why Columbia" Essay

The purpose of the "Why Columbia" essay is for you to prove to the admissions committee that Columbia is the best school for you

In your essay, you could write about multiple topics that are specific to Columbia, such as academics, the student body, extracurriculars, and research opportunities.

When writing your "Why Columbia" essay, make sure to research the school extensively and be specific about activities and opportunities that really make you want to attend.

If you're stuck on how to proceed, analyzing a successful "Why Columbia" essay example might help you get inspiration for what to write.

What's Next?

How tough is it to get into Columbia? For answers, read our expert guide on how to get into Columbia and the Ivy League , written by a Harvard alum!

Should you apply early or regular decision to college? Find out the pros and cons of early decision .

Want to see some more college essay examples? We have links to 100+ great college essays that includes our expert analysis on how you can write a stand-out essay of your own.

Hayley Milliman is a former teacher turned writer who blogs about education, history, and technology. When she was a teacher, Hayley's students regularly scored in the 99th percentile thanks to her passion for making topics digestible and accessible. In addition to her work for PrepScholar, Hayley is the author of Museum Hack's Guide to History's Fiercest Females.

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10 Columbia Supplemental Essay Examples That Worked

Looking at Columbia supplemental essay examples can be helpful for students who are preparing their college applications for Columbia, any of the  Ivy League Schools , or other highly selective institutions like the  Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) . Top colleges tend to have a holistic admissions process, meaning that they look at more than just your academic background. They also want to get to know the person behind the grades and ensure that you are a good fit for their college campus. Your  supplemental college essays  play a significant role in helping them make a decision. It is therefore important that you submit college essays that stand out in order to beat the competition. 

In this blog, we share ten essays that respond to the prompts provided by  Columbia University  to help you get inspired for your own  college essays .

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Article Contents 9 min read

Columbia's supplemental college essay questions are divided into two. First, there is a series of list questions. You will be required to answer these prompts in the form of a list without any explanatory text or additional formatting. The school asks that you separate each item on the list with commas or semicolons. Secondly, you have what most students are familiar with when we talk about supplemental college essays. In the case of Columbia, the essays are limited to 200 words or fewer, meaning that applicants have to find a way to incorporate a lot of information in a relatively short text. To put that into context, we have included examples from both sections in this blog.

As you read through the examples, pay attention to the way the authors infuse their personalities into the text, and how they use specific examples to make their essays more memorable.

Columbia supplemental essay example #1

Please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you noted in the application. ( 200 words or fewer)

According to my mother, I never played dress-up with my dolls when I was a child. Apparently, instead of braiding their hair, I placed them down in neat little rows and taught them how to braid hair. I'm not sure how accurate that story is, but it does sound like me. For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed learning and teaching others what I have learned.

I first noticed this when my family and I went on vacation to Disneyland, and It seemed like I was the only person who was interested in the guided tour. I wanted to know everything about the buildings, how old the park was, and the people that designed it. On the flight back home, I talked everyone's ear off about all the new things I had learned about how parks work. It is still one of my most cherished experiences, even though I didn't get to go on as many rides as the rest of my family. 

 I have followed that passion for learning and teaching by tutoring in middle and high school. These experiences as a tutor confirmed that teaching is the right career path for me. (197 words)

"Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." Those are Rachel Zoe's words, and I wholeheartedly believe them. Growing up, one of my favorite parts of the day was the night before school, when I would spend 20 to 30 minutes picking out the perfect outfit to wear the next day. 

When it came time for me to go to high school, my parents decided that I would get a better education from a private school that had a dress code. All students were required to wear clean-cut khakis and a white polo shirt. I had to say goodbye to my matching sets, graphic t-shirts, and jean jackets.

A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and live in a community with a wide range of perspectives. How do you or would you learn from and contribute to diverse, collaborative communities? ( 200 words or fewer)

Four years ago, my father remarried, giving me a loving stepmom, two wonderfully annoying younger sisters, and an introduction to a whole new world. For context, I am an eighteen-year-old white girl who grew up in the suburbs, and my step-family is Afro-Latinx. Although they grew up in a suburb similar to the one I call home, their experiences were very different from mine. 

For example, I went shopping with one of my sisters recently, and I noticed that she always insisted on getting a paper copy of her receipt. I tried to tell her that she could ask for it to be emailed to her as that'd be better for the environment, but she explained that she often gets accused of stealing in upscale stores and that having the receipt made proving her innocence easier. 

This is one of the many conversations I have had in the past few years that have taught me to look past my own experiences and listen. We all experience life differently, meaning that we all have something to learn from each other. I plan on bringing my perspective to Columbia, and I look forward to listening and learning from students with different viewpoints. (200 words)

2,789. That is the total population of Imagined, the small, remote town I grew up in. It is a town that I have a love-hate relationship with. I love the sense of community it fosters and the beautiful views surrounding it. I also hate how small it is and how closed-minded its inhabitants can be. 

Like most of Imagined's residents, I have never really lived outside of our town, but I like to think that I have traveled through the numerous books I spend my days reading. It is those books that introduced me to people who practice different religions, who look different from me, and who have points of view that are very different from mine. Even though I may not agree with everything I have read, it has given me a chance to question my belief systems and make informed decisions. 

I hope that by attending Columbia, which is located at the heart of one of the most diverse cities in the world, I will be exposed to even more perspectives so that I can learn more about the human experience and relate with others better. (188 words)

The opening sentence of your essay needs to be attention-grabbing if you want to write a strong essay. We recommend starting with a quote, an anecdote, or a fun fact like the writer did with the essay above. ","label":"Tip","title":"Tip"}]" code="tab1" template="BlogArticle">

Columbia supplemental essay example #5

Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. ( 200 words or fewer)

Two years ago, my mother and I toured thirteen universities across the country. Of all the schools I visited, Columbia quickly stood out. We had already put the school on our list because of its stellar academic programs but being on campus convinced me that Columbia is the right university for me. 

During the tour, I spoke to several students who gushed about the diversity of the student body, the excellent professors and advisors, and the eye-opening educational experience the Core Curriculum provides. My mother went to Columbia, and she found it amazing that even though the school has evolved, its core values remain the same. 

The experiences she and the other students described make me dream of having my own Lit Hum discussion sessions and participating in the many enriching clubs on campus, such as the Columbia Model United Nations team. 

Being at Columbia would also allow me to take advantage of everything New York offers. I would get to explore my various academic and personal interests in an international and open-minded environment. 

Some say that Columbia is the greatest college at the greatest university in the greatest city in the world. I suspect they might be right. (199 words)

I was on the Columbia campus on October 14, 2019, when the Native American Council gathered and called on the University to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day. I had reluctantly come to the school for a visit with a friend who is currently in her first year at Columbia. My general idea of this school was that it was very traditional and not very open-minded. This display of bravery changed my view of Columbia and prompted me to research the school. 

I found that it has a strong academic program that gives students a strong foundation through the common core curriculum. I especially like the fact that the core includes studies in non-western major cultures and masterpieces of western literature. 

As an African-American-Lebanese student, my background and heritage have made me passionate about the world's different cultures, specifically how globalization has affected them and how they have been affected by it. Columbia would allow me to learn more about this topic and explore other aspects of world culture I am interested in. 

I hope to get the chance to learn in class and outside the classroom from the diverse and open-minded student body at Columbia over the next four years. (198 words)

This is essentially a \u201cwhy this college essay\u201d so the admissions committee will be trying to find out if you are interested in Columbia specifically. So, take the time to research the school and mention something specific about it such as a course, a requirement, a student organization, etc. ","label":"Tip","title":"Tip"}]" code="tab2" template="BlogArticle">

Do you have questions about the college application process? This video can help:

Columbia supplemental essay example #7

List the titles of the required readings from academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë; All My Sons by Arthur Miller; I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou; Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe, When Rain Clouds Gather by Bessie Head. (47 words)

List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)

Frying plantain by zalika reid-benta; Heavy by Kiese Laymon; An Untamed State by Roxanne Gay; The girl with the louding voice by Abi dare; Born a crime by Trevor Noah; Becoming by Michelle Obama; Such a fun age by Kiley reid; Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde; The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang; Turtles all the way down by John Green; Our Stories, Our Voices by Amy Reed; Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. (72 words)

It\u2019s important that you think about the list of books that you are sharing. You want to be honest, but you also want the books that you share to say something about you. For example, even though this person reads a few different genres, we can tell from the list of books that this applicant clearly has a penchant for social justice and history. ","label":"Tip","title":"Tip"}]" code="tab3" template="BlogArticle">

Columbia supplemental essay example #9

John Green's Turtles all the way down; Karen Lord's Redemption in Indigo; Becky Chambers' The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet; Andy Weir's The Martian, Marlon James’ Black leopard, red wolf; V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic series,  V.E. Schwab’s Shadowshaper. (41 words)

Want to learn more about what makes a strong college essay? Check out this video:

Columbia supplemental essay example #10

We’re interested in learning about some of the ways that you explore your interests. List some resources and outlets that you enjoy, including but not limited to websites, publications, journals, podcasts, social media accounts, lectures, museums, movies, music, or other content with which you regularly engage. (125 words or fewer)

Publications: The New York Times, n+1, Vanity Fair, TIME; Music: Beyonce, Lizzo, Taylor Swift, Frank Ocean, Florence & the machine, Kasey Musgraves. Movies & TV shows: Succession, Gilmore Girls, Greys Anatomy, Explained, Derry Girls; Lectures on YouTube: Designing Your Life (Bill Burnett and Dave Evans), TEDx talks. (47 words)

Columbia is one of the most selective schools in the country. Last year, it had an acceptance rate that was close to 5%. Meaning that for every 100 applicants, only about five get offered admission.

Columbia requires students to submit three short supplemental essays of 200 words or less and answer three additional questions with lists.

The supplemental Columbia-specific questions you have to answer are less than 200 words.

Reviewing different supplemental essay examples will expose you to different types of prompts used for college essays and give you a better idea of how to approach them.

A strong college essay tells a story, uses specific examples, and has a strong opening.

You can make your essay stand out by ensuring that it tells a story and uses specific examples to back up claims that you make about yourself.

College essay advisors  are admission consultants who typically work with application or college essay review services. They use their admissions knowledge and training to help you prepare the strongest college essays possible.

Columbia does not have a minimum GPA requirement, but it does expect applicants to have a strong academic background. 95% of the recently admitted class graduated in the top 10% of their class. So if you are hoping to  get into college with a low GPA , you would need an impressive application for that school to be Columbia.

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5 Columbia University Supplemental Example Essays (2023)

If you want to get into Columbia University in 2023, you can make sure you have the best chances of getting accepted by writing powerful essays.

In this article I've gathered 5 of the best college essays that got accepted into Columbia University to help you improve your own essays.

You can see how real students answered Columbia's writing supplement section and Common App personal statement.

What is Columbia University's Acceptance Rate?

This past year 60,377 students applied to Columbia and of those 2,253 were admitted for the Class of 2026.

That gives Columbia an overall admit rate of 3.73% , or in other words about 1 in 25 students are offered admission.

Columbia University Acceptance Scattergram

Admissions into Columbia is clearly highly competitive, but there's an upside:

The more selective a college is, the more your application essays matter.

What are Columbia University Supplemental Prompts for 2023?

This year, Columbia requires applying students to respond to several "list" questions, short answers, and short essay prompts.

Here are the Columbia writing supplement questions for 2023:

Columbia Writing

The questions on this page are being asked by Columbia University Applicants are asked to respond to Columbia-specific questions to tell the Admissions Committee more about their academic, extracurricular and intellectual interests. These questions allow us to better understand your intellectual curiosity, habits of mind, love of learning and sense of self. These questions also allow the Admissions Committee to learn more about you in your current community and why you feel Columbia’s distinctive experiences in and out of the classroom would be a good fit for your undergraduate education.

For the three list questions that follow, there is a 75 or 125 word maximum. Please refer to the below guidance when answering these questions:

• Your response should be a list of items separated by commas or semicolons.
• Items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order.
• It is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications.
• No author names, subtitles or explanatory remarks are needed.

For the three short answer questions, please respond in 200 words or fewer.

For additional guidance, visit our website.

Please note that the third short answer question will not appear until you have selected Columbia College or Columbia Engineering in the "Academics" section of Columbia's application questions.

List the titles of the required readings from academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)

List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (75 words or fewer)

We’re interested in learning about some of the ways that you explore your interests. List some resources and outlets that you enjoy, including but not limited to websites, publications, journals, podcasts, social media accounts, lectures, museums, movies, music, or other content with which you regularly engage. (125 words or fewer)

A hallmark of the Columbia experience is being able to learn and live in a community with a wide range of perspectives. How do you or would you learn from and contribute to diverse, collaborative communities? (200 words or fewer)

Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (200 words or fewer)

For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)

For applicants to Columbia Engineering, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the areas of study that you previously noted in the application. (200 words or fewer)

5 Columbia University EssaysThatWorked

Here are 5 of the best essays that worked for Columbia University.

Below you can read answers to the 2022-23 Columbia writing supplement, as well as past year's prompts. I've also included personal statement essays from admitted Columbia students.

Columbia University Essay Example #1

Columbia university essay example #2, columbia university essay example #3, columbia university essay example #4, columbia university essay example #5.

Prompt: List a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. (150 words max)

Filled with activity around the clock. A place to come home to.

Trying to get past locked doors (literal and metaphorical).

Offering intellectual freedom and curiosity, without forcing specialization. Accommodating students who are unwilling to wait to make a difference. Willing to look critically at itself.

Socially conscious and politically active.

Never taking its eye off the national or global stage.

Buzzing with so much life it flows beyond the campus into the outside world.

So much life that sometimes it intimidates, that it yearns for more hours in the day. With too many options to choose from, Too much to do in four years.

Filled with clever eyes that see new ideas in the lessons of history.

Diverse of origin, of culture, of opinion, of religion, of personality, Diverse like an international center of thought and ideas and passions. An urban wonderland.

Supporting of extraordinary ambitions.

Prompt: List the titles of the required readings from academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (150 words max)

Survival of the Sickest - Sharon Moalem

What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses - Daniel Chamovitz

The blockade of immune checkpoints in cancer immunotherapy - Drew Pardoll

The Physical Universe - Arthur Beiser

Invisible Man - Ralph Ellison

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

Between the World and Me - Ta-Nehisi Coates

Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë

The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro

Sexual Politics and Religious Reform in the Witch Craze - Joseph Klaits

The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers - Paul Kennedy

The Prince - Niccolo Machiavelli

On World Government - Dante Alighieri

Postwar: A History of Europe since 1945 - Tony Judt

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Prompt: List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school. (150 words max)

A Most Incomprehensible Thing (the mathematics of relativity) - Peter Collie

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind - Hayao Miyazaki

Weapons of Math Destruction - Cathy O’Neil

Algorithms to Live By - Brian Christian

Giant of the Senate - Al Franken

The Sublime Object of Ideology - Slavoj Zizek

The Theoretical Minimum - Leonard Susskind

Battling the Gods: Atheism in the Ancient World - Tim Whitmarsh

The Casual Vacancy - J.K. Rowling

If on a Winter’s Night a Traveller - Italo Calvino

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - Mark Haddon

The Feynman Lectures on Physics: Volume 1 - Richard Feynman

Meditations - Marcus Aurelius

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

Pale Fire - Vladimir Nabokov

Justice by Lottery - Barbara Goodwin

History: A Very Short Introduction - John H. Arnold

Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II - John Dower

Prompt: We’re interested in learning about some of the ways that you explore your interests. List some resources and outlets that you enjoy, including but not limited to websites, publications, journals, podcasts, social media accounts, lectures, museums, movies, music, or other content with which you regularly engage. (125 words max)

The Economist

The New York Times

Reddit - /r/programming /r/machinelearning /r/lifeprotips /r/iwanttolearn /r/politics /r/science /r/physics /r/economics Hacker News

The Atlantic

The Washington Post

Paulgraham.com

Waitbutwhy.com

whatif.xkcd.com arXiv.org - arXiv-sanity.com

Scientific American

Flowingdata.com

StackExchange

Prompt: For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. (300 words max)

Studying computer science gives me the opportunity to be in a field that evolves so quickly I can always be on the forefront and do cutting-edge work. This summer at an ad-tech company, I moved the data science team’s analysis programs to a novel cluster-computing engine (Kubernetes), which can manage and distribute tasks across thousands of computers at once. Kubernetes is so new that barely any information has circulated about it. Because of this novelty, I was able to publish the first existing documentation of a data science pipeline in Kubernetes.

Computer science can also automate the manual drudgery of life. For example: to manage my clubs, I’ve written a program that checks for emails from members with excuses for missing meetings and automatically logs their absences.

Since computers have become the platform for every science, coding allows me to contribute to numerous fields. When I started at Einstein College of Medicine last year, I knew nothing about computational biology. Our project showed me that basic programming was all I needed to find fascinating results in the mostly unstudied mountains of genomic data.

As a person, I’m drawn to seemingly impossible challenges, in particular, the quest to teach machines and create mechanical consciousness. When I started taking online courses in AI, I became fascinated by the gradient descent method in machine learning. The method casts complex input data (e.g. photos) as thousand-dimensional surfaces and attempts to descend to the lowest points (minima) of those surfaces. It works best on data with underlying patterns, like pictures of human faces. This indicates that, in some way, the very nature of what a ‘face’ is, what unique structure is shared by nearly all faces, is found in the minima that AI models descend towards. My dream is to do foundational artificial intelligence research.

If you're trying to get into Columbia, you'll need to stand out from the competition. These 5 Columbia essays that worked showcase successful examples of responses to the Columbia writing supplement for 2022.

What did you think of these Columbia essays?

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Princeton Admitted Essay

People love to ask why. Why do you wear a turban? Why do you have long hair? Why are you playing a guitar with only 3 strings and watching TV at 3 A.M.—where did you get that cat? Why won’t you go back to your country, you terrorist? My answer is... uncomfortable. Many truths of the world are uncomfortable...

MIT Admitted Essay

Her baking is not confined to an amalgamation of sugar, butter, and flour. It's an outstretched hand, an open invitation, a makeshift bridge thrown across the divides of age and culture. Thanks to Buni, the reason I bake has evolved. What started as stress relief is now a lifeline to my heritage, a language that allows me to communicate with my family in ways my tongue cannot. By rolling dough for saratele and crushing walnuts for cornulete, my baking speaks more fluently to my Romanian heritage than my broken Romanian ever could....

UPenn Admitted Essay

A cow gave birth and I watched. Staring from the window of our stopped car, I experienced two beginnings that day: the small bovine life and my future. Both emerged when I was only 10 years old and cruising along the twisting roads of rural Maryland...

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Supplementary Materials

We encourage you to convey the breadth and depth of your extracurricular pursuits within the activities section of your admission application—including the full name of each organization in which you participate and a brief description of your involvement. While we request that the volume of supplementary credentials be kept to a minimum, there may be occasions where such credentials provide valuable information that the standard application does not. 

Please note that supplements are not a required part of our admissions process. If you plan to submit supplementary credentials, please follow the instructions below.

Dates & deadlines

Early Decision applicants must submit their supplements by November 1 and Regular Decision applicants must submit their supplements by January 1. Transfer Applicants must submit their supplements by March 1.

Types of submissions

Academic research.

If you have completed research with a faculty member or mentor in science, engineering or other academic disciplines (e.g., humanities, social sciences or languages), you are welcome to provide a one or two page abstract as a supplement to your application. You may upload your abstract in the Columbia-specific questions to the Common Application or in the Uploads page of the Coalition Application.

If you are submitting an abstract, you will also be asked to answer a few short questions on the duration of your research involvement, your specific role in and contributions to the research project, and contact information of your research mentor. This will help us better understand your specific research experience beyond what you may have already included in your other application materials.

We also welcome a letter of recommendation from your research mentor, who can send the letter via email to [email protected] , via fax to 212-854-3393, or via mail to Undergraduate Admissions .

Creative Portfolios

You may wish to submit supplementary portfolios if you intend to bring creative talents to Columbia’s campus either through a major and/or extracurricular opportunities.

Supplements are entirely optional and not required for the admissions process. Students will have access to the arts and maker communities and facilities, and are able to participate in the arts communities of Columbia regardless of supplement submissions or majors. Most students who choose to submit an Artistic Portfolio have achievements at the local, state, national or international level related to their craft, and have devoted a significant amount of time and energy to their art form(s). The Maker Portfolio may be an opportunity for students to highlight past creations or ongoing projects that demonstrate creativity and ingenuity, technical ability and hands-on problem solving. 

Architecture, Creative Writing, Dance, Drama and Theatre Arts, Film, Maker, Music and Visual Arts supplements can be submitted through Columbia's SlideRoom portal . Please select the program corresponding to the application type you are using for your application to Columbia.   

Please submit up to 10 digital images or models that highlight your best work. Images may be submitted only in jpg, png, or gif formats, up to 5 MB each. 3D models may be submitted via Sketchfab. Specify the title, year and medium for each submission.

Applicants are welcome to submit a résumé (in pdf format) listing their architecture experience and recognition.

A processing fee of $10 will be required at the time of submission.

Please submit a document (in pdf format) of your sample creative writing in any of the following areas: poetry, fiction, or creative non-fiction. Do not submit journalism samples or full books. Submissions should not exceed 5 pages.

Applicants are required to include a résumé (in pdf format) listing their creative writing experience and recognition.

A processing fee of $5 will be required at the time of submission.

Please submit a video sample of your dance performance between 4 to 6 minutes in length. List your name, title of the piece, choreographer, music composer/title, and the place and date of your performance. If not a solo recording, also indicate your performance in the description section of the media details. You may upload a video file no larger than 250 MB or provide a link to a video hosting site (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo). Videos should not include any biographical or introductory material. Submissions should reflect material filmed within the last two years.

Applicants are required to submit a résumé (in pdf format) listing their dance experience and recognition.

Please submit either a video sample of theatrical performance, directing, design and/or playwriting or a document (in pdf format) of either a script or a portfolio demonstrating contributions in directing or design. You may upload a video file no larger than 250 MB or provide a link to a video hosting site (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo). Videos should not include any biographical or introductory material.

Applicants are required to submit a résumé (in pdf format) listing their drama and theatre arts experience and recognition.

Please submit a video sample of your film work or a screenplay (in pdf format). Video submissions should be up to 10 minutes in length. You may upload a video file no larger than 250 MB or provide a link to a video hosting site (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo).  List your name and role in the production in the description section of the media details. Videos should not include any biographical or introductory material.

Applicants are required to submit a résumé (in pdf format) listing their film experience and recognition.

The Maker Portfolio is an opportunity for students to highlight completed or ongoing projects that they have built, fabricated, invented, produced, or otherwise created. These projects should demonstrate creativity and ingenuity, technical ability and hands-on problem solving. 

Students who would like their technically creative work to be reviewed alongside their application materials can submit up to 4 media items (images, video, 3D models, audio files, documents, or external links), documenting one or several projects. Submitted media can reflect any step in the design process, from blueprints and specifications, through demonstrations of completed work. Students will also be asked to answer a few short questions about the duration of their project, their specific role in and contributions to the project, and contact information of a mentor or advisor who can speak to this creative work. 

Please select two works contrasting in period and tempo, and choose from one of three possible types of submissions:

Live auditions are not part of Columbia’s admissions process, but auditions for private lessons, selective ensembles, troupes and various productions are held for enrolled students at the start of each academic year.

List the composer, name of the work, instrument performed and year recorded or composed. If not a solo recording, please indicate your performance in the description section of the media details. The combined length of recordings should not exceed 20 minutes. Recordings should not include any biographical or introductory material.

Video must be provided via a video hosting site link (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo) or uploaded as a video file no larger than 250 MB.

Applicants are required to submit a résumé (in pdf format) listing their music experience and recognition.

Applicants applying to the Columbia-Juilliard Program should submit material for Columbia faculty review.

Please submit up to 20 images that highlight the best work in your portfolio. Images may be submitted only in jpg, png, or gif formats, up to 5 MB each. Please specify the title, year and medium for each submission.

Applicants are welcome to submit a résumé (in pdf format) listing their visual arts experience and recognition.

In addition to creative materials, each portfolio requires you to list the name and contact information of a reference who may be contacted to corroborate your depth of talent in and/or dedication to your creative discipline. Examples of appropriate references may include, but are not limited to: club or activity supervisors, in-school teachers, private instructors, internship or job supervisors, and mentors.

Each submission incurs a fee, listed in each program above. If paying the submission fee is a financial burden for your family, we encourage you to request a fee waiver by emailing [email protected] prior to submitting your SlideRoom portfolio. Additional instructions for a SlideRoom fee waiver can be found on the Slide Room portal .

Schoolhouse.world Certifications

Applicants to Columbia are welcome to submit Schoolhouse.world certifications as an optional supplement to their application.

Certifications from Schoolhouse.world are just one way for you to demonstrate your academic achievement. While these certifications do not fulfill official requirements like transcripts and letters of recommendation, they can be a great opportunity for students who wish to learn or show competencies in subjects not offered as part of their school curriculum, particularly in math.

Other considerations

We specifically ask that you do not send collections of awards or certificates, and we explicitly direct that you refrain from submitting or mailing any type of supplementary materials in binders or folders. Do not send CDs, DVDs or hard copies of any materials, as they will not be reviewed.

Finally, please be advised that we can provide no guarantee that all materials will be reviewed or evaluated, as they are not required for the admission process.

The Columbia-Juilliard Program

Student Groups

Understanding the Process

Columbia University 2023-24 Supplemental Essay Prompt Guide

Early Decision: Nov 1

Regular Decision Deadline: Jan 1

You Have: 

Columbia University  2023-24 Application Essay Question Explanations

The Requirements: 1 lists of 100 words; 4 essays of 150 words each 

Supplemental Essay Type(s): Community , Why, Short Answer

List questions

For the list question that follows, there is a 100 word maximum. please refer to the below guidance when answering this question:, your response should be a list of items separated by commas or semicolons., items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order., it is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications., no author names, subtitles or explanatory remarks are needed., list a selection of texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums and other content that you enjoy.  (100 words or fewer).

How do you pursue intellectual development outside of the classroom? You’ll need to be careful to avoid self-aggrandizing or pandering choices. Don’t top your list with 1984 unless you genuinely picked it up of your own accord, read it from start to finish, and meditated on Orwell’s intentions (while staring out the window, jaw agape). Think of not just the most recent media you’ve consumed, but also the old classics you can’t help revisiting (anything by Jenny Han, the podcast you binged in two weeks, the film you saw in theaters three times). Play with the sequencing here: how would you set these up in your library? Chronologically? Alphabetically? Thematically? Maybe you can make an entertaining leap from the sublime to the ridiculous by placing a heart-wrenching play alongside a goofy satire. Have fun with it! After all, this list is, at its core, about what you consume for the pleasure of it.

Short answer questions

For the four short answer questions, please respond in 150 words or fewer., a hallmark of the columbia experience is being able to learn and thrive in an equitable and inclusive community with a wide range of perspectives. tell us about an aspect of your own perspective, viewpoint or lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to columbia’s diverse and collaborative community. (150 words or fewer).

Ah, the infamous “community” essay. Many schools ask students about their communities because they want to know how you relate to the people around you, forge connections, and commune with your peers. In this particular instance, the question emphasizes equity, inclusivity, diversity, and collaboration. What do these words mean to you and how do they relate to your perspective or lived experience? Maybe you’re very involved in a progressive church youth group that celebrates its members differences, including trans and nonbinary members. Perhaps the friends you made at the skatepark have introduced you to a new culture and mindset of “try and try again” that you love. Maybe there are different languages spoken by the volunteers in your community garden, and now you know how to say “basil” in four different dialects (BTW in Italian it’s “ basilico ,” #funfact). How do you see equity, inclusivity, diversity, and collaboration play out in your community? And, looking forward, how would you keep those values alive at Columbia next fall?

In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not predict or anticipate. It is important to us, therefore, to understand an applicant’s ability to navigate through adversity. Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have faced and discuss the personal qualities, skills or insights you have developed as a result. (150 words or fewer)

This prompt is incredibly similar to the Common App’s Prompt #2, which asks applicants to recount a time when they faced a challenge, setback, or failure. Our advice is similar: isolate an incident of trial in your life and illustrate how you learned from it. Writing about a difficult time in your life requires both vulnerability and perspective. Instead of focusing on the barrier or obstacle you were up against, spend most of the words at your disposal on how you rose to the occasion to overcome the challenge at hand. This is your opportunity to show admissions that you are a developing, maturing young adult with resilience and work ethic. As you zero in on a key moment, ask yourself the following questions: What healthy coping mechanisms or communication skills did you develop? Who, if applicable, did you choose to lean on and why? What did you learn about yourself? How will you approach difficult situations moving forward? Be honest and open, and we’re sure admissions will be impressed.

Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (150 words or fewer)

This brief assignment is Columbia’s version of the classic Why Essay , and the key to every good Why Essay is solid, specific research. Spend some quality time with the Columbia website or, if you can, on a campus tour. Ask questions, take notes, and dig to find specific people, organizations, and experiences that excite you. Don’t dig too deep into majors or classes just yet; you’ll have an opportunity to write about your academic interest in a little bit, so for now, focus on the Columbia experience as a whole. Once you have some notes on the page, try to weave together a story that pairs your interests with Columbia’s offerings. Reveal new information about yourself while also showing that you’ve done your homework.

What attracts you to your preferred areas of study at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering? (150 words or fewer)

This prompt gives you a chance to geek out about your intended area(s) of study. Whether you’re hoping to study at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering, the assignment is the same: offer admissions insight into your academic interests and pursuits. Whether your goals are intellectual, professional, or somewhere in between, your reasoning should be grounded in what Columbia has to offer. 150 words isn’t a lot of space, but that doesn’t mean you can’t provide a detailed response. Get ambitious and aim to answer these two key questions: What intrigues or excites you about your intended major? And why is Columbia the ideal place for you to study it? Do a little research to identify classes you’d like to take, professors you’d like to work with, and alumni you’d like to network with; then, get to drafting—and leave yourself plenty of time to edit and revise! 

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Essays on art and science.

Eric R. Kandel

Columbia University Press

Pub Date: March 2024

ISBN: 9780231212564

Format: Hardcover

List Price: $26.95 £22.00

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List Price: $25.99 £22.00

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Anything Eric R. Kandel says about neuroscience or the relationship between art and neuroscience is noteworthy. He is not only brilliant at explaining difficult and complex scientific ideas and data in simple language but also well-informed about—and sympathetic to—twentieth-century art, and avails himself of an impressive range of art-historical literature. Nancy Princenthal, author of Unspeakable Acts: Women, Art, and Sexual Violence in the 1970s, and Joseph E. LeDoux, Henry And Lucy Moses Professor of Science, New York University

A lively, erudite inquiry into the experience of art. Kirkus Reviews

Eric R. Kandel’s ‘Essays on Art and Science’ is a fascinating, thought-provoking read that beautifully articulates the complex interplay between our brain’s inner workings and our emotional responses to art. It’s a testament to Kandel’s expertise and ability to make science approachable and relevant to our everyday experiences with art. This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the profound ways in which art and science intersect to define our perception of the world. Mental Health Affairs

• Read an excerpt in Book Post
• Read an excerpt "The Creative Brain" from as published in The Transmitter

About the Author

• Neuroscience and Biopsychology
• Neuropsychology
• Fine Arts and Art History

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How to Write the “Why Columbia” Supplemental Essay

This article was written based on the information and opinions presented by Joseph Recupero in a CollegeVine Livestream. You can watch the full Livestream for more info.

What’s Covered:

• Do Your Research
• Discuss How You Will Contribute to the Columbia Community  
• Don’t Talk About Generic Features
• Speak with Current Students for Inspiration
• Don’t Answer Other Prompts  

This post will address how to write Columbia’s fourth supplemental essay about why you’re interested in attending Columbia.

This prompt encourages you to consider the aspects you find unique and compelling about Columbia. The most important word in this prompt is unique . The best essays written in response to this question give a compelling reason why you want to attend this school specifically. Below are 5 tips to follow when drafting your essay. 

1. Do Your Research

You have to do your research for this prompt. You can’t just say Columbia is an awesome school and it’s an Ivy league school and it’s in New York. These points are easy turnoffs. Don’t mention New York City. There are plenty of schools in NYC; this is not why Columbia is unique.  

Instead you want to focus on what in particular about Columbia appeals to you. Is there a specific professor whose research is related to your academic interests? Is there a unique club or activity that you are passionate about joining? Are there special programs at Columbia that align with your career goals? Things like this are much more compelling for an admissions officer to hear, and they tell the committee more about who you are as an applicant.

2. Discuss How You Will Contribute to the Columbia Community 

A great essay speaks to both individual experiences and activities you’re excited to pursue on campus. It should also demonstrate how you relate to the campus culture and why you find that attractive.

This goes back to the idea that Columbia is really looking for students who are going to be energetic members of their community. Including specific details here is always a good idea. Columbia’s admissions officers want to understand how you will fit into their student body and be active on campus. 

3. Don’t Talk About Generic Features

You want to avoid talking about generic features like location and things that are shared by many colleges. For example, every college has a gym and every college has an alumni network. You want to highlight things that are unique or different about Columbia. 

Because there are many competitive applicants to Columbia, this essay prompt can be a real danger or give you a leg up! It’s one of the real big ways you can differentiate yourself. If you highlight the fact that you have really done your research by including specifics about Columbia’s curriculum, community, or offerings, you will set yourself apart from other applicants.

4. Speak with Current Students for Inspiration

A great way to learn about unique aspects of Columbia is by talking to current students. You can get a perspective that is a little bit more textured and qualitative than what you would read about online.

One way to find current Columbia students is through your own personal network; however, if this is not an option you can reach out to your school counselor and see if they know any alumni who went to Columbia. 

You can also contact a Marketplace expert from Columbia or attend a virtual panel with current Columbia students to learn more about why Columbia is unique. 

5. Don’t Answer Other Prompts 

You could write about career aspirations and unique associated opportunities, but these topics line up better with other essay prompts. You certainly don’t want to get too deep into academics because you want to have material left over for your intended major essay.

Keep these 5 tips in mind when writing your “Why Columbia” essay to differentiate yourself from other applicants. 

Related CollegeVine Blog Posts

2024 Theses Doctoral

Two Essays on the Elevation of Consumption Experiences

Sun, Jennifer Jung Ah

We live in an experience economy where a lot of value creation rests on the consumption of hedonic experiences. Today, such experiences are at the crux of many consumption choices. Hence, setting up an environment to foster positive hedonic consumption experiences is of high relevance and importance to consumers and marketers alike. To contribute to our understanding of how such experiences interact with the marketplace, this doctoral dissertation presents two essays on how consumption experiences can be elevated. The first essay proposes a novel theory of a particular mindset, the Consummatory Mindset, which contributes to the elevation of consumers’ enjoyment of hedonic experiences. In this essay, taking a grounded theory approach, I phenomenologically describe and conceptualize three fundamental pillars of the consummatory mindset: acceptance of the experience, mental readiness, and a felt permission to enjoy the experience. Subsequently, across three empirical studies, I experimentally manipulate two of these pillars and provide preliminary evidence in support of the mindset, demonstrating that this mindset may lead to an enhanced enjoyment of consumption experiences. In a second essay that complements the first, I investigate the psychological factors that elevate a hedonic consumption experience into one that is “special.” Given that all else being equal, marketplace experiences that consumers deem special are likely to be seen as more valuable, thereby creating greater customer value, it is in marketers’ interest to make certain consumption experiences special. In my second essay, across five studies, I synthesize insights from an analysis of numerous consumer informant narratives and depth interviews, a field survey, natural language processing of more than four million Yelp reviews, a pre-registered experimental test of the major pillars of special consumption experiences, and an experimental analysis of Instagram posts. The findings converge in identifying three main psychological pillars of what makes consumption experiences special, each with multiple facets: (a) uniqueness (defined by the rarity, novelty, personalization, exclusivity, surpassing of expectations, and ephemerality facets of the experience); (b) meaningfulness (based on the significance of the experience in relation to symbolic importance, relationships, identities, and personal transformations); and (c) authenticity (regarding perceived genuineness and realness, in light of the source, presentation, and prototypicality of the experience). The findings have substantive business implications for the engineering of hedonic consumption experiences.

• Consumer behavior--Psychological aspects
• Consumers--Psychology

This item is currently under embargo. It will be available starting 2029-05-20.

More About This Work

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Columbia University Essay Examples (And Why They Worked)

The following Columbia University essay examples were written by several different authors who were admitted to Columbia University. All names have been redacted for anonymity. CollegeAdvisor.com has shared these essays with admissions officers at Columbia University in order to deter potential plagiarism.

For more help with your Columbia University essay supplements, check out our 2020-2021 Columbia University Essay Guide ! For more guidance on personal essays and the college application process in general, sign up for a monthly plan to work with an admissions coach 1-on-1.

List a few words or phrases that describe your ideal college community. (150 words or less)

Supportive and collaborative (Let’s trauma bond and get through college together!); Tight-knit and friendly; Accepting; Socially and environmentally-aware; Quirky but also down-to-earth; Know how to enjoy a good movie/book/tv show marathon; Appreciate the arts, scientific achievements, and social accomplishments; Be willing to help out a first year being lost around campus for the first few weeks; Not afraid to stand up for what is right and use our resources to create a difference in the world.

List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin -Harriet Beecher Stowe (APUSH): This book offered me the raw and emotional look at slavery and showed me the complexities of the US society before the Civil War.

The Grapes of Wrath -John Steinbeck (APUSH): Another emotional book that offered me a raw look at how the migrant workers were hurt during the Great Depression. This book along with Uncle Tom’s Cabin humanize history for me.

L’Étranger -Albert Camus (AP Lang): Existentialism. Interesting read. It really made me question life.

Sociologie des pratiques culturelles (Sociology of Cultural Practices) by Philippe Coulangeon is a required text I particularly appreciated this year. I enjoyed how the novel examines the principle trends that characterize the evolution of modern cultural practices, as well as the results of the democratization of culture in modern-day France.

Les Fleurs du Mal (The Flowers of Evil) by Baudelaire is an extremely powerful poetry collection that I found to be at the same time thought provoking and a pleasure to read. The poet expresses both his “Spleen,” or his agony, and his Ideal through beautiful and captivating verses.

I also absolutely loved Don Juan by Moliere, a play written and set in 17th century France during the reign of Louis XIV. Moliere’s clever mix of the classic and baroque styles was a joy to read, and the way he uses comedy as a tool to criticize society was brilliant.

Why this Columbia University essay worked, according to an ex-admissions officer

This response to the Columbia University essay prompt works well because it highlights the cultural and linguistic diversity of the student. The student succinctly and convincingly discusses what they connected to in the various works, showing their intellectual curiosity as well their ability to appreciate mature pieces of literature. Applying to Columbia, or any other prestigious university, can be challenging. Take our quiz to see just how prepared you are to tackle the Columbia admissions process!

List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)

Most haunting book: Kindred -Octavia Butler (Like Dana, I rooted for Rufus, hoping he wouldn’t turn out to be a villainous and selfish enslaver. I was betrayed)

Most emotional book: Thirteen Reasons Why -Jay Asher (This is one of those books that makes you question your entire life after reading it. It just has the power to make you wonder: Am I a good person? Have I made a good or bad difference in the lives of others? Highly recommended)

Best reread of the year: To All the Boys I’d Loved Before -Jenny Han (Three claps for Asian representation in YA books!)

Most nostalgic book: The Percy Jackson series-Rick Riordan (Earlier this year, I was at the Met, where Percy willed his power to push Nancy Bobofit into the water! Bucket list item #14: checked)

Honorable mentions: The Jungle -Upton Sinclair, The Hate U Give -Angie Thomas, Jurassic Park -Michael Crichton, and The Sympathizer -Viet Thanh Nguyen.

I like this response to this Columbia University essay prompt because the student is unapologetically herself. A lot of students feel the need to make themselves more impressive, or more sophisticated/well read, and the risk in that is that they lose that personal warmth, genuine voice, and connection with the reader. It’s far better to be honest and forthcoming, inviting the reader into your world view, humor, experience, and unique and fun perspective on the world.

One novel I read for pleasure that I found gripping and profound is Brave New World by Huxley. In addition to being a call for freedom during the rise of totalitarian societies, the novel also addresses philosophical and ethical questions that remain relevant today.

Bel Ami by Maupassant is another novel that spoke to me. This naturalist novel depicts the journey of the protagonist’s rise to power through manipulation and corruption in late 19th century France. I enjoyed following how this anti-hero climbs the social ladder from his humble working-class beginnings to become one of the most powerful men in Paris.

I was inspired by Histoire de l’autre (Story of the Other), a book that presents both the Israeli and Palestinian points of view on key historical events throughout the conflict. It was written by six Israeli and six Palestinian history professors, who narrate the same events from different perspectives.

List the titles of the print, electronic publications and websites you read regularly. (150 words or less)

I get caught up on current events from three main news sites: the Saint Louis Post Dispatch for the local perspective, the New York Times for the national perspective, and the BBC for the international perspective. It’s a habit of mine to read about current events from at least 3 perspectives. That way, I know I’m getting the most objective view of the world.

Entertainment news: Buzzfeed and Kenh14 (a Vietnamese newsite)

News not covered by mainstream media but are highly important: Stories on Instagrams, Facebook, and Reddit.

Again, I feel like this student is being honest and forthcoming. You get a sense of ethnicity/identity, and also of a person who is willing to be informed without trying to prove anything. There’s a fine balance between being genuine and trying to seem impressive.

I follow the news on BBC (www.bbc.com). BBC gives me a well-rounded view of political, economic and social events from around the world, with the necessary background information to understand today’s global issues.

I also use the mobile app News Republic on a daily basis. News Republic provides articles from over 1,000 trusted news sources, so I can be informed of global issues from multiple perspectives. Further, I can design my news page to follow the topics I am most interested in.

Another website I follow regularly is Time Out Madrid ( www.timeout.com/madrid ). It helps me take full advantage of all the opportunities Madrid has to offer, such as cultural exhibitions, hidden parks and cafes, concerts, plays and movies. My latest discovery is a list of eleven original bookshops, where, in addition to finding books, friends and I can have a coffee, enjoy a concert or listen to a lecture.

Again, what works about this kind of response is that the reader can get a sense of the global perspective and experience of the student. Without being too obvious with it, the student brings the reader into their life – bookstores, social life, international experience – and makes the reader a part of it.

List the titles of the films, concerts, shows, exhibits, lectures and other entertainments you enjoyed most in the past year. (150 words or less)

Musical: Hamilton, Legally Blondes, Miss Saigon (I love the music but hate the historical inaccuracies as well as the ignorance of Vietnamese culture portrayed in the musical)

Films: Avengers: Endgame, Spiderman: Far from Home, Candy Jar, Lincoln, Us, Get Out.

TV shows: Marvel’s Agents of Shield (My all time favorite show. I learned English watching Shield in middle school), Goong (amazing soundtracks, jump started my K-drama binge for the last 2 months, inspired a Viet-styled Goong fanfiction currently in the works), and High Kick Through the Rooftop (It’s an awesome Korean sitcom. I highly recommend it. Just ignore the last 6 episodes)

Music: Soundtracks. My current favorite is Dah Ji Mot Han Ma Eum from Goong!

I saw back-to-back Ionesco’s two classic plays, La cantatrice chauve (The Bald Soprano) and La leçon (The Lesson), at Le Théâtre de la Huchette in Paris, where they have been playing non-stop since 1957. It was fascinating to see these plays with the same original mise-en-scene dating back to the era when they were written.

Additionally, I loved the exhibition Pop Art Myths at the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid. I enjoyed seeing how this art form developed in the 50s and 60s and its witty critique of consumerism.

Finally, I was inspired by the documentary Beyond Right and Wrong . It follows the stories of individuals who lost their loved ones in terrible conflicts from Northern Ireland, the Middle East and Rwanda, and shows what it took for them to forgive the other side. Their strength impressed me, and their courageous acts allowed me to observe forgiveness under a different light.

The reader gets a strong sense that art, in a variety of forms, is an important part of this student’s life.This is someone who looks beyond the entertainment factor. An admissions officer would most likely get the impression that as a student, this is someone who considers historical context and likes to make deeper connections with the curriculum.

Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why. (300 words or less)

I hate the word “common” and avoid being associated with it at all cost. Being called “Common” is the worst insult possible. It implies that I’m just another face in a sea of faces and reminds me that not so long ago, in order to blend in with the crowd, I had ignored the injustices I saw. To me, a common person of a common society is nothing more than a lonely cog in the machine who is unable and unwilling to protest against the injustices in the society.

Given my hatred of all things common, it’s a surprise to see me apply to Columbia University, a place famous for its Core Curriculum. However, after October 14, 2019, all my negative thoughts about the Core Curriculum have vanished. Instead of a group of passive ancient philosophers in modern vessels molded by the Core, I got to see a vibrant, accepting, and socially aware group of changemakers on Campus that morning. Columbia students are powerful individuals who are not hesitant to use their power to demand changes. Exhibit A: the mini awareness events to demand the recognition of Indegenous People’s Day that I got to witness. The students made their presence known with posters and chants, demanding for recognition.

It was this display of bravery that changed my view of Columbia. Upon closer research, I can see that the Common Core is not a rigid mold but rather a template for empowerment by making sure that all students are equipped with the knowledge to lead courageous lives and be informed citizens. After all, why else would the university has all students learn about Contemporary Civilization?

Columbia’s Common Core will prepare me to lead a life of courage. Haizz, of course Columbia would be the place that makes me tolerate the word “common.”

This essay works for a number of reasons. Overall, the reader gets a great understanding of what the author values. This is someone who has grown in terms of their thinking, and will continue to seek opportunities for growth. This is a student who will more than likely be involved in a number of communities both on and off campus; a future change agent.

Naturally, most applicants will write about Columbia’s Core Curriculum, for which they are well known. However, this student’s evolved understanding of why and how it’s central to Columbia’s pedagogy, and how they would engage the curriculum is radically refreshing, I would imagine. As an admission officer I would get the sense that while the author is opinionated, they will likely lead and contribute to great classroom discussions. However, what’s equally important in a university setting is that they can listen to others’ perspectives and are also open to change, which it seems this applicant is.

Lastly, the student incorporated the fact that they had been on campus in an effective way that communicated their connection to the University, and allows an admissions officer to understand how this student would fit on campus.

In 2013, I embarked on a whirlwind tour of seventeen American universities. Of all the schools I visited, Columbia stood out. In addition to stellar academic programs, its emphasis on civic and global engagement really spoke to me. It is vital for me to attend a college where both academic rigor and openness to the world are widely promoted.

Perhaps what draws me to Columbia the most is the impact it has had on my sister, Maysa (Columbia College 2018). I have never seen her happier than she is today, as she talks about the diversity of the student body, her amazing professors and advisor, and the truly transformative and eye opening educational experience the Core Curriculum is giving her. Her experience at Columbia makes me dream of having my very own Lit Hum discussion sessions, surrounded by a group of passionate Lions.

At Columbia, I would also take advantage of the many enriching clubs and student organizations. For example, I would like to become a member of the Columbia Model United Nations Team, one of the most renowned in the United States, and the Peace by PEACE club. In addition, I would like to join or set up a Club or Intramural Swim Team.

Being at Columbia would also allow me to take advantage of everything New York has to offer, from acclaimed guest speakers visiting campus to world-class performances and exhibitions. I believe Columbia is the place where all the aspects of my personality would thrive. Columbia students and faculty are motivated, active, and inspiring. At Columbia College, I would grow both academically and socially in an international and openminded environment. It would be an honor to spend the next four years “in the greatest college, in the greatest university, in the greatest city in the world.”

This student took a more traditional approach to writing this essay. The author gave a well rounded response as to how they would engage in Columbia’s community both inside and outside of the classroom. They named specific clubs and organizations they envision becoming a member of, and highlighted characteristics of the University that resonates with them. Lastly, because the author’s sister attended Columbia, they were able to incorporate some personal reflections as to why they too wish to attend.

Please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently, undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest in at this time. (300 words or less)

In seventh grade, a phenomenon exploded at my school: YA stories about a world without adults. The premise is simple: A strange accident evaporated all the adults, leaving only young people to inhabit the new world.

Like everyone, I was in love with those stories and enjoyed fantasizing how I would be in that situation. However, something didn’t sit right with me: Why only the adults? How come anyone under the age of 16 got to stay? I was desperate for an answer and since I couldn’t find them in the pre-existing stories, I decided to write my own story with a valid reason for the disappearance of the adults. After weeks of theorizing and researching, I finally got it. The story premise was similar: All adults on Earth have been turned into zombies by invading aliens. Luckily, thanks to a DNA mutation caused by a live virus vaccine that was administered to all children aged 17 and younger, the young people were spared. Now, they are our planet’s last hope.

What started as harmless research to satisfy my curiosity quickly developed into a long lasting fascination with cells and mutations. I marvel at how simple changes in our genetic codes could have great impact on our bodies. It’s interesting and scary to realize how easy it is for our DNA to be manipulated by outside factors. Similar to the unforeseen benefit of the DNA mutation in my story, my research has helped me discover a great passion of mine.

This is a great story! Colleges, particularly top tier schools, are looking for intellectually curious students. The author effectively demonstrates that curiosity, shows its inception, and how they have further pursued their interest. This applicant is clearly a deep and creative thinker who has discovered their passion and will fully engage in furthering their understanding in their chosen field.

Columbia University offers many fields of study closely aligned with my academic and career goals.

My Middle Eastern heritage and international background have made me passionate about social justice, peace, and conflict resolution. I am especially interested in Middle Eastern international affairs and social problems. The unrest and violence in this region have repercussions all over the globe. I believe it is vital for our generation to find long-lasting solutions for peace in the Middle East and to protect the rights of women, children, and ethnic minorities that are being abused in the region. I hope to pursue an undergraduate program focused on Human Rights, taking classes such as “International Human Rights Law,” “Equality, Identity & Rights” and “Human Rights and Human Wrongs.”

For example, in summer 2013, I participated in a two-week course called “Identity, Diversity, and Leadership” at Brown University. This course challenged me to study my own social and individual identity. I learned the values of listening, sympathizing, and understanding those who are unlike me. Similarly, in October 2014, I took part in a seminar on Non-Violent Communication organized by Seeds of Peace, focusing on ways to bridge dialogue divides and maintain empathy during difficult conversations.

Like us, an American-Lebanese-Colombian family living in Madrid, my extended family all have very international backgrounds and have lived all around the world. I have American-Lebanese-Austrian cousins living in London and American-Lebanese- Belgian cousins living in Hong Kong. Even though we all have lived very different lives, we have something in common – the feeling of being citizens of the world, immersed in a plethora of distinct cultures, yet being part of one close-knit family.

I am lucky to have been raised in this environment. It has helped me become a more adaptable, flexible, and understanding person with intellectual curiosity and openness to the world.

Additionally, Columbia College would offer me the opportunity to take an array of classes taught by leading scholars in the Departments of Political Science; Middle East, South Asian, and African Studies; and Linguistics. These classes would give me a global view of the complex world we live in, help me better understand the international challenges we face today, and further expand my global outlook and knowledge of world cultures and customs. I look forward to taking classes such as “National Security Strategies of the Middle East: A Comparative Perspective”, “Rethinking Middle East Politics” and “Language and Society”. I am also keen on continuing to build on my Arabic language skills to complement my interest in Middle Eastern history and politics through the amazing resources provided by the Columbia Global Center in Amman, where I hope to spend at least two summers.

With my background and experiences, I believe I would contribute new perspectives to class discussions and learn from the ideas of the inspiring and diverse students that Columbia University attracts.

This essay works because the author did a great job at showing what their interests are, ways they have already pursued them, and how they will take advantage of Columbia’s curriculum to further pursue and achieve their academic and personal goals. While not every student has the opportunity to participate in tuition-based summer programs (colleges do not expect this), this student was able to highlight their participation and the ways in which they grew as a result.

The author has an incredibly diverse background and global perspective, which they effectively used to demonstrate what they will be able to contribute to the classroom as well as take away from it. This is precisely why diversity is important in a college setting. More importantly, however, the reader gets a strong sense of this student’s values and what’s important to them in terms of the contributions they hope to make to society.

These Columbia University essay examples were compiled by the advising team at CollegeAdvisor.com . If you want to get help writing your Columbia University application essays from CollegeAdvisor.com Admissions Experts , register with CollegeAdvisor.com today.

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Guest Essay

Dear Boomers, the Student Protesters Are Not Idiots

By Elizabeth Spiers

Ms. Spiers, a contributing Opinion writer, is a journalist and a digital media strategist.

Appearing last week on “Morning Joe,” Hillary Clinton lamented what she views as the ignorance of students protesting the war in Gaza. The host, Joe Scarborough, asked her about “the sort of radicalism that has mainstream students getting propaganda, whether it’s from their professors or from the Chinese Communist government through TikTok.” Ms. Clinton was happy to oblige. “I have had many conversations, as you have had, with a lot of young people over the last many months,” she said. “They don’t know very much at all about the history of the Middle East or frankly about history in many areas of the world, including in our own country.”

I’ve taught students at the college level for 12 years, most recently at New York University’s journalism school. I’ve also seen and heard the assumptions made about them by some of their elders — administrators, parents and others. So it’s no surprise now to hear protesters described as “ spoiled and entitled kids ” or delicate “ snowflakes ” who cower in their safe spaces and don’t believe in free speech . Billionaires like Ken Griffin , Bill Ackman and, of course, Donald Trump — as entitled as anyone — have been particularly vocal in their disdain, calling the students in one instance “whiny” and demanding that they be punished for protesting. Representative Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, even suggested that TikTok should be banned in part because “you’re seeing how these kids are being manipulated by certain groups or entities or countries to foment hate on their behalf and really create a hostile environment here in the U.S.”

Whether they realize it or not, Ms. Clinton, Mr. Lawler and the rest are engaging in a moral panic about America’s youth that is part of a larger effort to discredit higher education in general. That effort includes fearmongering about diversity programs and critical race theory. But it starts with students.

In the current panic, the protesters are described as somehow both terribly fragile and such a threat to public safety that they need to be confronted by police officers in riot gear. To justify the police department’s excessive response at Columbia University, Deputy Commissioner Kaz Daughtry showed Newsmax viewers a large chain and a book with the title “Terrorism” that had been recovered from one site of protest. The former was a common bike chain Columbia sells to students and the latter was part of Oxford University Press’s lovely “Very Short Introductions” series, which covers topics from animal behavior to Rousseau and black holes.

There are some obvious partisan factors at work here: Staunch support for Israel among Republicans , for instance, and the long-running right-wing insistence that elite universities are liberal indoctrination camps. But recent research reveals a significant generational divide as well. A recent YouGov poll found that 45 percent of people ages 45 to 64 strongly opposed the protests, as did 56 percent of people 65 and older. By comparison, only 12 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds strongly opposed them, and 21 percent of people ages 30 to 44.

It’s not just about Gaza; similar age gaps emerged in response to protests after the murder of George Floyd, too. Eighty-seven percent of adults ages 18 to 34 supported the protests in June 2020, according to Gallup , while only 54 percent of adults 65 and older did. And just 3 percent of the older group had participated in the protests, while 26 percent of the younger group had.

We know from research that adults under 40 are more likely to participate in a protest than adults over 40, and generally prefer informal political participation more than their older cohorts, who are more likely to participate by voting. But that doesn’t fully explain the outright hostility some have leveled at campus protesters.

High-profile public figures of all ideological stripes have varyingly called for the students to be kicked out of their institutions, made unemployable or sent to prison. They’ve floated implausible scenarios in which the protests turn deadly. Students brave enough to risk their financial aid and scholarships are derided as childish rather than principled. And though they are educated to participate in civic life, as soon as these students exercise their First Amendment rights, they are told that protecting private property is a more pressing public concern. It’s as though some older adults simply can’t wrap their heads around the idea that college students, who are old enough to marry, have families and risk their lives for their country, are capable of having well thought-out principles.

“They basically want students to shut up and study,” is how Robert Cohen, a scholar of 20th-century social protest, put it when I spoke to him this week. It doesn’t matter how virtuous the cause, he explained; older generations start with a bias against students. But protest is often the only way students have any voice at all in university matters. “People do not understand that university governance is fundamentally undemocratic,” Mr. Cohen said, noting that even students who have convinced universities to consider divestment have won, at best, the right to make their case to the board.

In my experience, the stereotypes about today’s students are often ludicrously far from reality. College students of this generation have far more knowledge about complex world events than mine or Ms. Clinton’s did, thanks to the availability of the internet and a 24/7 news cycle fire-hosed directly into their phones. Representative Lawler may be correct that some portion of that information comes from clips on TikTok, and social media can be misleading, but there’s no evidence that college students are more likely to be misled by TikTok than people Mr. Lawler’s age and older are likely to be misled by Facebook. In fact, research indicates that younger people are more savvy and skeptical about media, and more likely to triangulate among different sources to see if something is true.

They may also be more sensitive to the horrors of children being killed here and elsewhere because they grew up participating in active shooter drills and watching the aftermath of mass shootings on the news. They are less financially secure than generations prior, and less likely to believe that institutions will save them or reward them for loyalty and hard work . But they are not babies, and they are not oblivious or naïve. And their ideas and actions cannot be dismissed just because some bad actor — no mass movement is without them — does or says something stupid.

I’m somewhat sympathetic to those who find protests uncomfortable. They’re always disruptive, as they’re supposed to be. And big loud crowds make me nervous now in a way that they didn’t when I was 22 and a big loud crowd was fun and meant I was at a club with oontz-oontz-oontz music and 73 of my closest friends. I now prefer political participation that is less hard on the knees. But I am exhilarated to see students using protest for exactly the reasons it’s protected by the First Amendment. It allows them to stand up for their values, invest in what’s happening in the world and hold decision makers accountable, even if it means putting themselves at risk. And most compellingly, it’s getting the attention of the president and other lawmakers who can effect change far beyond the walls of any university campus.

Elizabeth Spiers, a contributing Opinion writer, is a journalist and a digital media strategist.

The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips . And here’s our email: [email protected] .

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Why do books have chapters? How writing changed from antiquity to children's books and streaming

Nicholas Dames remembers the first time he really got thinking about a very obvious but largely invisible writing device.

It was around two decades ago, when he was completing a PhD in English and American literature.

"A friend of mine, who was not an academic, over drinks one night, just blurted out to me, 'why do novels have chapters?'," the Columbia University humanities professor tells ABC RN's Late Night Live .

"I realised I hadn't the faintest clue how to answer that question. It was one of those, 'why is the sky blue' questions."

In the years that followed, Professor Dames returned to this question again and again, so he decided to explore the history of the chapter.

The topic may sound deeply academic, but it's not all laborious details about medieval tomes.

At the heart of this history is how we tell stories.

And from a child's development to an evening on the couch watching Netflix, the chapter affects our lives in many unnoticed ways.

Chapter 1: A long history

For much of human history, texts were not divided into sections. They were words upon words upon words.

The earliest chaptered text that Professor Dames found was a Roman legal tablet from Urbino, dating back to the second century BCE.

The tablet was announcing a new law, explains Professor Dames, who's written the book The Chapter: A Segmented History from Antiquity to the 21st Century.

"It was a continuous law, but the law was segmented and those segments had brief titles," he says.

This is how early chapters were used — to organise informational texts on topics like law, medicine or language, to "tell readers where to look for the information they were seeking".

For much of antiquity, the most common type of text was the scroll. And these sometimes came with a chapter list, in an accompanying, smaller scroll.

Chapter 2: Different ways of writing

Professor Dames' research considered two millennia of Western literary history, which meant he also saw how the written word has evolved.

Today's reader would likely find ancient texts totally unrecognisable.

For example, up until the ninth century, written lines were continuous chains of letters with no breaks between the words.

"To try to get one's mind around how one read without the separation of words, it's a truly tricky task, but they seem to have done it without much difficulty," Professor Dames says.

His research shows that "the history of text is a history of ways in which we segment text".

"We currently live in a regime where text is very elaborately segmented, but that wouldn't have been the case 2,000 years ago," he says.

Chapter 3: Making a living by making chapters

Over much of its history, chaptering was not the responsibility of writers, but of editors.

This was called "capitulation".

"It was an ancient technique, and that extends well into medieval Europe, for taking a text that you have not written, a text that pre-exists you and …. dividing it in a way that makes sense," Professor Dames explains.

"It was an intellectual labour that was performed by scholars, particularly within the Roman Empire [and also] by medieval monks. It was a very, very long-lasting form of intellectual labour."

Depending on the individual editor, a book could be divided up in countless different ways.

Chapter 4: Dividing the Bible

Professor Dames says perhaps the "most visceral" chapter in the history of chapters is the Christian Gospels.

The Gospels were originally written without chapters, he explains.

But over the years, mainly between the fourth century and the 13th century, they were divided up in innumerable ways.

Some scholars chopped up the Gospels into extremely tiny chapters, others into larger ones.

It got confusing. For example, chapter 12 in the Gospel of John could mean one thing in one version and a very different thing in another. 

This changed in the early 13th century.

Although unconfirmed, it's thought that Stephen Langton, a theologian at the University of Paris, who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, came up with today's Gospel chapters around 1210-1220.

Another theory is that this chaptering system came from a series of religious institutions in England at this time.

The idea was to create chapters that were roughly of equivalent size, but that also made sense in the narrative.

But this form of chapters was "greeted with a bit of scepticism at the time … and continued to be greeted with scepticism well into the 18th century", Professor Dames says.

Chapter 5: Anti-chapters

Not everyone was thrilled that chapters were standard parts of texts.

In the 17th century, English philosopher John Locke was a critic of Bible chapters. In fact, he thought it shouldn't have been done at all, Professor Dames says.

"He thought that the chapter break disturbs the progression of thought as you read.

"[Locke believed] one should read in an uninterrupted fashion, following what he called a chain of argument from start to finish, and chapters were a disastrous way to address the text."

Chapter 6: Marking time

Next up is a big shift: The use of chapters moved into the realm of the writers themselves.

Chapters became part of the author's writing process, and stories were written with chapters in mind.

As the modern novel emerged in 17th and 18th century Europe, chapters served as timing devices, part of a story's rhythm.

"Authors made the decisions — to cut chapters short, or to sculpt them in certain ways," Professor Dames says.

Chapters became "a really wonderful place for authors, or one could say narrators, to directly address the reader".

"To remind the reader of their ability to leave or to take a break. To solicit the reader's attention. To apologise for taking too much of the reader's time. To establish a kind of communicative relation with the reader."

Chapter 7: Chapters in children's development

Professor Dames says that today, one marker of a child's development is the transition from picture books to "chapter books".

Chapter books are "a big developmental step in the experience of children with narrative … [they are] what children read when they are first really maturing into literacy".

This transition is analogous with "what psychologists call 'object permanence' — the moment in infancy when a child realises that just because you've hidden an object, it still exists".

"A chapter works that way, in terms of time, for children," he says.

"It says that just because the story has paused, you can resume it … It tells children that they are allowed to leave and re-enter narratives."

Chapter 8: Streaming

Technological developments over recent decades have seen the idea of chapters cross over into other ways of storytelling.

Chapters have become part of long-form TV or streaming shows, with episodes carefully curated into various segments, often using reintroductions and cliffhangers.

"It means that these narratives can sort of filter into our lives … when we aren't consuming fiction, we can let the experience diffuse into our day," he says.

For example, this year's FX series Shōgun started each episode with a written title, and then the drama unfolded in a fairly self-contained way.

Chapters are "so common and so flexible, and so unformalised that they can always be reinvented," Professor Dames says.

"So I think that in some sense, [chapters] are always going to be with us." 

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GOP advances Garland contempt charges after White House exerts executive privilege over Biden audio

The White House has blocked the release of audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel about his handling of classified documents, arguing Thursday that Republicans in Congress only wanted the recordings “to chop them up” and use them for political purposes.

Two House committees moved ahead with contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over audio from Pres. Biden’s interview with a special counsel, after the White House’s decision to block release of the recording.

Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, speaks during the House Judiciary Committee markup hearing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, Thursday, May 16, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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FILE - Attorney General Merrick Garland speaks during the 36th Annual Candlelight Vigil to honor the law enforcement officers who lost their lives in 2023, in Washington, on May 13, 2024. House Republicans are set to advance contempt of Congress charges against Garland for his refusal to turn over unredacted audio of a special counsel interview with President Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

President Joe Biden, right, sitting next to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, speaks at the beginning of his meeting with the Combatant Commanders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2024, before hosting them for a dinner. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden speaks at a memorial service to honor law enforcement officers who’ve lost their lives in the past year, during National Police Week ceremonies at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 15, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee markup hearing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, Thursday, May 16, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee markup hearing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, Thursday, May 16, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee markup hearing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, Thursday, May 16, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., speaks during the House Judiciary Committee markup hearing to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress, Thursday, May 16, 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two House committees moved ahead Thursday with contempt charges against Attorney General Merrick Garland for refusing to turn over audio from President Joe Biden’s interview with a special counsel , advancing the matter after the White House’s decision to block the release of the recording earlier in the day.

In back-to-back hearings that nearly spilled into early Friday, the House Judiciary and Oversight and Accountability committees voted along party lines to advance an effort to hold Garland in contempt of Congress for not turning over the records. But the timing of any action by the full House, and the willingness of the U.S. attorney’s office to act on the referral, remained uncertain.

“The department has a legal obligation to turn over the requested materials pursuant to the subpoena,” Rep. Jim Jordan, the GOP chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said during the hearing. “Attorney General Garland’s willful refusal to comply with our subpoena constitutes contempt of Congress.”

The rapid sequence of events Thursday further inflamed tensions between House Republicans and the Justice Department, setting the stage for another round of bitter fighting between the two branches of government that seemed nearly certain to spill over into court.

If House Republicans’ efforts against Garland are successful, he will become the third attorney general to be held in contempt of Congress. The White House slammed Republicans in a letter earlier Thursday, dismissing their efforts to obtain the audio as purely political.

“The absence of a legitimate need for the audio recordings lays bare your likely goal — to chop them up, distort them, and use them for partisan political purposes,” White House counsel Ed Siskel wrote in a scathing letter to House Republicans ahead of scheduled votes by the two House committees to refer Garland to the Justice Department for the contempt charges.

“Demanding such sensitive and constitutionally-protected law enforcement materials from the Executive Branch because you want to manipulate them for potential political gain is inappropriate,” Siskel added.

Garland separately advised Biden in a letter made public Thursday that the audio falls within the scope of executive privilege, which protects a president’s ability to obtain candid counsel from his advisers without fear of immediate public disclosure and to protect confidential communications relating to official responsibilities.

The attorney general told reporters that the Justice Department has gone to extraordinary lengths to provide information to the committees about special counsel Robert Hur’s investigation, including a transcript of Biden’s interview with Hur. But, Garland said, releasing the audio could jeopardize future sensitive and high-profile investigations. Officials have suggested handing over the tape could make future witnesses concerned about cooperating with investigators.

AP AUDIO: White House blocks release of Biden’s special counsel interview audio, says GOP is being political

Speaking with reporters, Attorney General Merrick Garland says the audio from President Biden’s special counsel interview that Republicans have requested will not be released.

“There have been a series of unprecedented and frankly unfounded attacks on the Justice Department,” Garland said. “This request, this effort to use contempt as a method of obtaining our sensitive law enforcement files is just most recent.”

The Justice Department warned Congress that a contempt effort would create “unnecessary and unwarranted conflict,” with Assistant Attorney General Carlos Uriarte saying, “It is the longstanding position of the executive branch held by administrations of both parties that an official who asserts the president’s claim of executive privilege cannot be held in contempt of Congress.”

Siskel’s letter to lawmakers comes after the uproar from Biden’s aides and allies over Hur’s comments about Biden’s age and mental acuity, and it highlights concerns in a difficult election year over how potentially embarrassing moments from the lengthy interview could be exacerbated by the release, or selective release, of the audio.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed the White House’s move, accusing Biden of suppressing the tape because he’s afraid to have voters hear it during an election year.

“The American people will not be able to hear why prosecutors felt the President of the United States was, in Special Counsel Robert Hur’s own words, an ‘elderly man with a poor memory,’ and thus shouldn’t be charged,” Johnson said the during a press conference on the House steps.

House Democrats defended Biden’s rationale during the back-to-back hearings on Thursday, citing the massive trove of documents and witnesses who have been made available to Republicans as part of their more than yearlong probe into Biden and his family.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, said on Thursday that Republicans want to make it seem like they’ve uncovered wrongdoing by the Justice Department.

“In reality, the Attorney General and DOJ have been fully responsive to this committee in every way that might be material to their long dead impeachment inquiry,” the New York lawmaker said. “Sometimes, they have been too responsive, in my opinion, given the obvious bad faith of the MAGA majority.”

The contempt effort is seen by Democrats as a last-ditch effort to keep Republicans’ impeachment inquiry into Biden alive, despite a series of setbacks in recent months and flailing support for articles of impeachment within the GOP conference.

A transcript of the Hur interview showed Biden struggling to recall some dates and occasionally confusing some details — something longtime aides say he’s done for years in both public and private — but otherwise showing deep recall in other areas. Biden and his aides are particularly sensitive to questions about his age. At 81, he’s the oldest-ever president , and he’s seeking another four-year term.

At a news conference, House Speaker Mike Johnson says the American people will not get to hear the president’s special counsel interview.

Hur, a former senior official in the Trump administration Justice Department , was appointed as a special counsel in January 2023 following the discovery of classified documents in multiple locations tied to Biden.

Hur’s report said many of the documents recovered at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, in parts of Biden’s Delaware home, and in his Senate papers at the University of Delaware were retained by “mistake.”

However, investigators did find evidence of willful retention and disclosure related to a subset of records found in Biden’s Wilmington, Delaware, house, including in a garage, an office and a basement den.

The files pertain to a troop surge in Afghanistan during the Obama administration that Biden had vigorously opposed. Biden kept records that documented his position, including a classified letter to Obama during the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday. Some of that information was shared with a ghostwriter with whom he published memoirs in 2007 and 2017.

Associated Press reporters Zeke Miller and Eric Tucker in Washington contributed.