Expert guidance provided by Mike Kleynman (PhD in English, 10+ years’ experience coaching admissions) and reviewed by Kevin Wong (co-founder PrepMaven, 20+ years’ experience coaching admissions).
Last year, Cornell had an acceptance rate of 8.4%, so making sure your essays are perfect is crucial if you want to have a strong chance of admission!
Fortunately, at PrepMaven, we’ve helped thousands of students craft compelling college application essays. It doesn’t hurt that many of our expert tutors have been admitted to elite schools like Princeton, Cornell, and Harvard themselves, and so they know exactly what works. We’ve also summarized that expertise in our Ultimate Guide to College Supplemental Essays.
In this guide, we’ll break down how to write the Cornell supplemental essays for the upcoming admissions cycle, explaining how to maximize your chances of acceptance.
You’ll notice that this post is broken up by individual College at Cornell. That’s because the supplemental essays you’ll have to write depend on which College (Engineering, Business, etc.) you apply to. Use the table of contents to navigate to the essays that are relevant to you.
As you read on, check out our free resource linked below: it contains real, successful examples of supplemental essays written for Ivies and other top schools—including real essays that got students admitted into Cornell!
Cornell is a little bit unusual because the supplemental prompts you’ll see depend on what college within Cornell you’re applying to. In reality, however, all colleges at Cornell except for the College of Engineering are asking the same basic question: Why are you interested in your major, and why do you want to pursue it at Cornell specifically?
The “Why Major?” and the “Why Us?” prompts are the 2 most common kinds of supplemental essay prompts, which is why we actually have a dedicated guide on the “Why Major” Essay and another in-depth guide on the “Why Us?” essay. Those pages are where you’ll find the most detailed guidance and the greatest number of sample essays.
Below, we’ll organize all the possible supplemental essays by College, including their word counts. But remember: the overall advice for how to approach these essays is the same for all Colleges except Engineering. For our guide to answering Cornell Engineering’s prompts, jump down to the appropriate section below.
Here are all of the essays, prompts, and word counts for Cornell’s 2026-2027 supplementals:
Applicants to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences:
What interests you about the major you selected? Tell us about experiences (both in and outside of the classroom), questions, and goals that influenced your choice. (350-word limit)
What draws you to Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)? Reflect on the learning, community, or impact opportunities that matter most to you, and share how they align with Cornell CALS (as you understand it currently). (350-word limit)
Applicants to the College of Arts and Sciences:
At the College of Arts and Sciences, your education is yours to shape. Describe an intellectual passion, question, or idea that has captured your attention—whether it emerges from your studies or extends beyond your coursework. What specific aspects of our liberal arts curriculum would you draw on to explore and connect your varied interests?(650-wordlimit)
Applicants to the SC Johnson College of Business:
What kind of business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you.
Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (the Dyson School or the Nolan School). (650-word limit)
Applicants to the David A. Duffield College of Engineering:
If you’re applying to the College of Engineering, you’ll need to write all six of these supplementals:
Fundamentally, engineering is the application of math, science, and technology to solve complex problems. Why do you want to study engineering? (200 words)
Why do you think you would love to study at Cornell Engineering? (200 words)
What brings you joy? (100 words)
What do you believe you will contribute to the Cornell Engineering community beyond what you’ve already detailed in your application? What unique voice will you bring? (100 words)
What is one activity, club, team, organization, work/volunteer experience or family responsibility that is especially meaningful to you? Please briefly tell us about its significance for you. (100 words)
What is one award you have received or achievement you have attained that has meant the most to you? Please briefly describe its importance to you. (100 words)
Applicants to the College of Human Ecology
The College of Human Ecology prepares students to respond to human needs through an education organized around the interconnected issues that profoundly affect individuals, communities, and the institutions that shape our lives.
Think about an extracurricular/community engagement/work experience that most closely connects you to the CHE mission and your intended choice of major. Tell us what that experience taught you about your broader community and its needs, and the impact you can make. How will your intended CHE major help you make that impact? (Refer to our essay application tips as you write your essay.)(600-word limit)
Applicants to the School of Industrial and Labor Relations:
Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.(650-word limit)
Applicants to the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Discuss your interest in pursuing a major in policy at the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and what draws you to this field of study. You are encouraged to consider including details related to your personal experiences, values, academic influences, or extracurricular activities that have shaped your perspective and future goals.(650-word limit)
DC Start Applicants ONLY: Please describe why you are interested in being considered for the Brooks School DC Start program.(350-word limit)
Applicants to the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
B.Arch Applicants: How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP)? B.Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. (650-word limit)
BFA Applicants: How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP)? BFA applicants, you may want to consider how you could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice.(650-word limit)
URS Applicants: How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art and Planning (AAP)? URS students, you may want to emphasize your enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues.(650-word limit)
Below, we’ll dive deep into how to approach each of these supplemental essay prompts, laying out the tips, tricks, and strategies to help your essay stand out from thousands of others.
We’ll also be taking a look at real sample essays that got students admitted to Cornell and breaking down what allowed them to succeed.
As you read on, we’ll often be encouraging you to spend time looking through as many real supplemental essays for Ivy League schools as possible. Writing is easiest when you have a model!
Below, we’ve collected over 50 real supplemental essays that got students accepted to Ivy+ schools (including Cornell). You can download that collection for free by clicking the link below.
As if aspiring engineers didn’t have it hard enough as is, they’ll have to write 6 supplemental essays for Cornell instead of the single essay that all other applicants have to write.
True, these 6 essays are much shorter than the essays required by other Cornell Colleges, but it’s still more of a hassle than writing a single essay. Below, you’ll find detailed guidance on how to answer every Cornell Engineering prompt.
Cornell Engineering’s 2 Long Essays
Although every college at Cornell has its own essays, the College of Engineering is the only one that is significantly different from the rest.
Instead of writing one long essay, you’ll have to write two 200-word essays and four 100-word essays. It can definitely be a bit brutal!
Fortunately, the approach here is fairly straightforward.
The first Cornell Engineering question is a standard “why major” question. All you need to tell is the story of how you came to be interested in engineering.
Focus on answering 3 questions, doing so by relaying a related anecdote:
What specifically are you interested in?
Why, using specific details from your life, are you interested in that subject?
How has your pursuit of this interest led you to choose it as a major?
You should start with a specific moment from your life: perhaps describe the first moment you discovered your interest in this field. Or recount a particularly important moment in your journey of discovery.
Then, move on to what you’ve already accomplished with this interest and what you still hope to do.
Convincingly convey your passion for engineering here, and admissions officers will be far more likely to see you as someone who will seriously pursue your interests—which is, of course, what they’re looking for.
The second Cornell Engineering question is just the follow up: Why Cornell?
In other words, given the interests you describe in the first essay, why is it specifically Cornell Engineering that appeals to you? Here, you have to be very, very specific.
The first step here is research: identify specific, unique programs and offerings at Cornell that you hope to take advantage of.
Remember that admissions officers at Cornell will read thousands of these essays. If you write about the same things as everyone else, your essay will get lost in the shuffle.
So, put in the work to really dig up unique or little-known aspects of Cornell engineering, and make sure they connect back to your first essay.
A good place to start is the website for the department of whatever major you plan on pursuing. Additional, more interesting places to explore would be research opportunities, past student projects, and ongoing initiatives at Cornell Engineering.
Cornell Engineering’s 4 Short Essays
These four short essays are the perfect opportunity for you to tell 4 impressive stories about yourself!
If there’s one piece of guidance you need to remember for each of these essays, it’s this: tell a story!
Don’t even worry about the prompt itself: think of it as merely the opportunity to tell a particular kind of story. So:
Joy: use this prompt to tell admissions officers about something unique or meaningful that you do. The key is to stand out, so pick something unusual. Don’t pick things like video games, hanging out with friends, etc.
Community: This essay wants more reflections on community. The goal here is to focus it around the engineering community specifically. How have you built strong communities through engineering? What challenges does engineering as a discipline still face? How will you contribute?
Extracurricular: this is a straightforward chance to tell the story of an extracurricular that matters. Again, don’t just describe: set the scene of an important moment and really show us why it matters to you.
Award: Many students mess up their response to this prompt! If you fall into the trap of talking about how proud you are to have earned a particular award, you’ll come off sounding conceited or vain.
Can you guess what we suggest? Yep: use this moment to tell another story. Show us the process of getting this award, and you’ll write a way better essay than if you just describe the award itself.
Our team includes current undergrads at top universities like Cornell, PhD English scholars from schools like Duke, and professional writers who have helped countless students get admitted to Ivies.
Below, you can find over 50 real supplemental essays written by some of our tutors when they applied and were accepted to Ivy League universities!
How to Write the College-Specific Essay (non-Engineering Applicants)
While every other College at Cornell technically has its own supplemental essay, they’re actually all the same at heart.
Each of them is a combination of two essay types we’ve written full guides for: the “Why Major” essay and the “Why Us?” essay. The one exception to this is the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, which asks students to answer those two prompts separately, in up to 350 words each.
The other colleges’ supplemental essays are all simply a combination of both prompts, although with an exceptionally long word count: from 500 to 650 words! That makes this essentially a second personal statement. Think of this essay as your academic story.
The key to answering Cornell’s supplemental prompts about your intended area of study is to do 3 things:
Tell the story of where your interest originated from.
Describe how you’ve pursued that interest.
Identify specific resources at Cornell that will help you take that interest to the next stage.
NOTE: Because CALS splits this prompt into two separate essays, your first essay will address the first two bulletpoints (where and how), and your second essay will address the third (the specific resources).
Start with an anecdote about the source of your academic interest.
This story should be detailed, vivid, and unique. What moment sparked your interest in this field? What are the burning questions you have? How did you feel as you first began seriously looking into your future area of study?
You have to be careful here: this origin story needs to be at least somewhat unique and nuanced. The problem is that it’s often hard to tell, as a high schooler, what’s unique compared to other high school students.
That’s why we recommend working with one of our tutors to discuss your planned topic first. Because our tutors have read many, many real essays, they’ll be able to quickly tell you if your essay introduction is generic.
Use that anecdote to launch into your journey of academic discovery
Perhaps you sought out additional classes and learning opportunities. Maybe you reached out to a professor and worked as a research assistant. Or maybe you worked on an independent engineering project to better your community.
Whatever you did to pursue your intellectual interests, this is the place to tell that story. Narrate, don’t summarize. That means actually showing us how you undertook your projects, how you did the work.
But it also means telling us what questions this work raised, what thoughts you were having, and where you see the potential to do more advanced work.
Explain how you’ll use specific resources at Cornell to pursue your academic interests.
This is the school-specific portion of the essay, which you’ll have to modify for every school you apply to. And the first step here is research: identify specific, unique offerings that you plan to take advantage of.
Note: for CALS specifically, this third bullet point lines up with the second supplemental essay prompt.
Your best friend here will be the departmental website of the program/major to which you’re applying. Invest time in exploring that website: you’ll find all the information you need about curriculum, research, and work opportunities there.
Then, you’ll take this specific information and focus on 1-2 key points at the end of the essay, favoring depth over breadth. Don’t just rattle off the first 10 things you see on the website: pick just a couple and spend a few sentences on each, explaining how the particular resource aligns with your academic interests and goals.
Why do it this way? Well, the goal here is to:
Show Cornell you’ve done your research
Convince the Cornell admissions committee that you really do think they’re a great fit for you.
By picking just a few specifics and connecting them with your own interests and story, you’ll be able to do both of these things without coming off as inauthentic.
Some great things to focus on would be:
Research programs
Work/internship/coop opportunities
Unique curricular offerings
Unusual minors or specializations
Service learning opportunities
Thesis/honors opportunities
While you’re doing all this, there are a few things you should avoid writing. Some of the Don’ts we list below are just too cliché; others are actually red flags for college admissions committees.
Don’t:
Reference money as a primary reason for your major choice.
Say you have no idea. It’s fine to be undecided! But even then you should discuss what kinds of things interest you and why.
Randomly name-drop professors or classes just because you came across them on the website.
Forget to include a specific story, question, or hook to get the reader interested.
This essay is serious. It might sound harsh, but if the only things you have to talk about in this essay are experiences from class or school, you’re in trouble.
Fortunately, a good essay coach can help you develop a more nuanced, sophisticated essay that can make up for any shortcomings. But the key is to ask for help early! Starting these Cornell essays too late is a recipe for disaster.
Below, we’ve got 50+ real sample supplementals for you to read, free. These essays tackle just about every possible supplemental essay prompt you’re likely to see, and they all have one thing in common: they worked.
Below, we’ve collected 3 Real Supplemental Essays that earned acceptance letters for their writers!
We’ve got 2 sample essays for the College of Arts and Sciences, and 1 for the College of Human Ecology.
If you’re impressed by these essays—and you should be, since they worked!—remember that they were written by some of our tutors when they were applying to Cornell.
There’s nobody better to help you craft your own successful essays: our tutors aren’t just rigorously trained; they’ve also successfully navigated the college application process themselves to earn admission to top schools like Cornell.
Cornell Supplemental Sample Essay 1: College of Arts and Sciences
What started off as a group of students writing a paper for social science research class became the beginning of my academic interest in voting, government, and social justice and my career goal.
Our research revealed that increased awareness of voter accessibility laws could boost voter turnout in NYC, and we were confident that the judges for a local research competition would take interest in our work. We were disappointed when we never heard back from the judges during the pandemic but this did not deter me from my interest in voting as a civic duty and a way to achieve social justice. At the College of Arts and Sciences in Cornell University, I will explore my passion for political science and civic engagement through further research, student clubs, and engaging academic courses.
High school students often associate research with scientists in white coats and goggles conducting chemical experiments using beakers and test tubes. The Cornell Center for Social Sciences, however, offers a different kind of research that aligns with my own interests in the social sciences. I’m specifically drawn to the Institute of Politics and Global Affairs, one of the branches of Cornell Center for Social Sciences, because of the Campaign for the Future of Democracy and the Bipartisan Policy Review. The institute’s concern about extreme partisanship in America and its detrimental impacts on democracy is directly related to the research about polarization among American voters and politics that I’ve conducted in high school and could help expand my knowledge on this topic even further. Cornell is a place that values research for all sciences, including political science, where I’ll pursue my goals of ending extreme partisanship and making government more effective and representative.
At CAS, I am eager to be politically active both inside the classroom, as a government major, and outside the classroom through organizations like Cornell Dems and Cornell Progressives. I imagine myself taking classes like “Democracy” with Professor Mettler, where I can not only learn more about political polarization, but also identify other threats to democracy and understand ways to combat them. In a country where political dissent is prevalent and divisive, I’m also interested in “Disobedience, Resistance, Refusal” with Professor Livingston so I can educate myself on democratic and effective ways to express dissent. Minors like History of Capitalism, Public Policy, and Law & Society will provide a greater depth of knowledge in the humanities since work to solve societal issues requires an understanding of issues not just of the politics, but also the historical, economic, social, and ethical context surrounding these issues.
I’m excited about the unique opportunities that allow students to be civically engaged within the Cornell community. I’m specifically interested in joining Cornell Votes and working with the Andrew Goodman Foundation to create an active voting culture on campus. To address low youth voter turnout and voter suppression, I plan on participating in voter registration drives and spreading knowledge on voter accessibility options such as early voting. In fact, the voter turnout rate for the Cornell student body was only 66% in 2020, so I’m aiming for the number to be significantly higher as a future student of Cornell by creating more student events dedicated to election awareness and increasing the number of voter drives.
I already see myself expressing and exchanging ideas about current issues that affect the community outside of college as well as the opportunity to learn from guest lecture events. I firmly believe that having a space to talk about social and political issues is one of the most important civic duties a citizen can partake in.
At the College of Arts and Sciences, I can focus on my interests and also have opportunities to explore different fields of study. I’ll combine education with meaningful action by being politically and civically active through the unique communities, organizations, research, and courses at Cornell.
Because our tutors are so talented, we’ve got plenty more real sample essays that got students accepted to Princeton, Harvard, Yale—you name it. Over 50 of those essays are yours for free in the resource below.
Cornell Supplemental Sample Essay 2: College of Arts and Sciences
Although nobody in my family is a healthcare professional, I am very passionate about science and the medical field. When I was twelve years old, I witnessed the loss of a close family friend, a young woman who had been my Sunday School mentor and a positive presence all throughout my childhood. I remember wondering what could cause brain tumors like the one she suffered from and why doctors cannot solve every problem that they encounter. This inspired me to apply to the Academy of Healthcare Sciences at my county vocational high school so that I could explore biology and medicine. As a future healthcare professional, I aspire to utilize cultural awareness in order to overcome communication barriers and deliver more personalized patient care.
As a daughter of immigrants, my identity and faith have shaped me in many ways, and I understand the importance of cultural sensitivity. I have seen the relief in my mother’s eyes when a doctor knows Arabic, or asks if she would prefer a female provider. I was born in Egypt but moved to the Northeast of the U.S. when I was six months old and have lived here ever since. I am fortunate to live in such a diverse community, and I hope to continue to learn more about myself in the context of society by embracing others’ cultures. I also enjoy learning about different cultures and languages by analyzing literature, though I have not been able to pursue this to the extent that I would like. I am interested in making connections between texts written in English, Spanish, and Arabic. The flexible curriculum at Cornell University would allow me to explore a variety of fields.
Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences would enable me to take the next critical step in my journey—as a student in CAS, I would be equipped with the resources necessary to delve deeper into my passions. I hope to engage in research with Professor Daniel Barbash and study concepts like germ-line stem cell genes, which could revolutionize cures for genetic diseases. By taking a course like “Environmental Issues in the Contemporary Middle East,” I could learn more about my culture. When I visited Egypt a few years ago, I noticed that there were many overpopulated regions with poor access to natural resources; I recognize that this is a problem throughout the Middle East and want to explore ways to alleviate this environmental concern. Over the summer, I enjoyed reading The Emperor of All Maladies, by Siddhartha Mukherjee, and was fascinated to see the origins of cancer explored through literature and history. Professor Elisha Cohn’s “Literature and Medicine” course would allow me to further explore the connection between the two concepts. Since CAS courses include students from all of Cornell’s seven undergraduate schools, I would be exposed to an unparalleled level of diversity in classroom discussions. I also intend on contributing to this truly global community by sharing my own background and academic passions with my peers. When I visited Cornell last year, I was excited to learn about the ample resources available to students in CAS. The John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines is especially appealing to me because in addition to the required writing courses and seminars, I want to pursue advanced writing-both scientific and literary-throughout my undergraduate experience. By utilizing an outreach effort like the Cornell Consortium for Writing in the Disciplines, I would be able to network with other students and professionals and gain valuable insight into becoming a successful writer across different disciplines.
Ezra Cornell’s mission “. . . Any person . . . Any study” appeals to me because I aspire to explore my interests through a varied academic course load—I hope I will be able to call Cornell University’s College of Arts and Sciences my home and to join the diverse community of scholars on Cornell’s campus.
Cornell Supplemental Sample Essay 3: College of Human Ecology
My palms are shaking to the point where I contemplate abandoning the mission. As my hands steer, the wheel glistens against the sun with the sweat immersing from my body. I step into the school and stumble through the hallways until I meet the watchful eyes of room B10. “Welcome!” the teacher says enthusiastically. Dragging my body into the room, I ask, “Who knows what a tampon is?” Ten girls raise their hands. Only ten girls out of thirty know what a tampon is. That day, I realized that we are in a public health crisis. The consequences of the lack of access to these small but basic necessities were presented to me in room B10. Our society’s system has failed to provide the materials for half of the population to thrive mentally, emotionally, and physically.
Because this societal issue was not covered in a secondary school curriculum, I began to do more independent research to explore the adversities of menstrual inequity. I found that menstrual products, unlike condoms, are taxed as luxury items. It became increasingly clear to me how our patriarchal society has consistently stigmatized these “disgusting ordeals.” I advocated for free products in Virginia school bathrooms to combat this demeaning social construct. After avidly campaigning, Bill 232 passed as a miraculous success not just for Virginia menstruators but for the girls of room B10.
With a major in Global and Public Health Sciences at the College of Human Ecology, I’ll carry this same ambition for change by traversing through multiple academic disciplines, thoroughly educating myself on the period poverty population. Just by analyzing the GPHS Curriculum sheet, I understand the college’s deep appreciation for ranging perspectives. From health policy to macroeconomics to vegetarian diets, the curriculum covers all pockets of thought to prepare students for taking multifaceted approaches to address human needs. I specifically look forward to taking the Explorations in Global and Public Health capstone course. The class will help me critically strategize on how to target the neglected menstruators in refugee and crisis situations, learning from my peers and professor’s viewpoints in the process. Utilizing my newfound academic knowledge, I would be thrilled to conduct research with Dr. Andrea Parrot on cross-cultural differences in reproductive education. I can then integrate my academic discoveries into the real world by implementing proper education for schools worldwide.
Although I plan on focusing on reproductive health in college, I want to explore other dimensions of gender relations. While working at a practice, I often notice transgender patients correcting the physician’s misguided pronoun identification. In fact, I’ve come to realize that misgendering is a common mistake throughout the medical field. Understanding patients’ frustrations, I informed the doctors at the practice about the importance of proper gender communication. If a doctor won’t listen to your pronouns, how can you trust them with your health needs?
With the connections to the Sloane Program in Health Administration, I can revolutionize physician knowledge to our modern, more inclusive society. I’m excited to work with the Sloane Student Association (SSA) to advocate for gender accountability throughout medical administration. Outside of the Cornell Campus, I’ll educate New York doctors through the Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE). More than that, I’ll encourage a respectful medical ambience to make patients more active participants in the healthcare process. I also hope to enroll in Gender and Health: Concepts, Data, Theories, and Evidence to analyze the dynamic relationship between gender and healthcare knowledge. By prioritizing listening in patient-doctor relationships, I’ll reinvent medical treatment by deepening its service for the patient—consequently uplifting global health as a whole.
Whether devoting my service to the girls of room B10 or the misheard transgender patients, I intend to focus on my singular goal of promoting greater inclusivity and receptiveness. The College of Human Ecology will support my complementary interests for progressing public health and paving new intersections for a more collaborative global ecosystem.
Next Steps
Once you’re ready to start writing supplemental essays for Cornell and your other schools, we have two main pieces of advice.
First: read real, successful sample supplemental essays that helped get students into elite schools like Cornell.
Most people don’t really know what colleges like Cornell actually want from the supplemental essays, and the best solution is to spend lots of time reviewing sample essays. We’ve collected over 50 of these essays in the free resource below.
Second: get expert help. Whether you’re a brilliant writer or just an okay one, you’ll benefit tremendously from the advice of someone who’s already successfully navigated the high-stakes college application process.
Unfortunately, not all college essay tutors are created equal: picking the right one can be the difference between getting into your dream school or just wasting your money.
That’s why we had our experts come up with the definitive ranking of the 15 Best College Essay Services, evaluating everything from tutor credentials to customer reviews. Check out that list, and make sure you only work with the best.
And when you’re ready to work with our team of college essay experts—who earned admission to elite schools like Princeton and Cornell before undergoing a rigorous training process—contact us to get matched with a tutor!
Mike Kleynman is an expert test prep tutor (SAT/ACT/LSAT) and college essay consultant, with over a decade of experience and industry-leading results.
With average final scores of 34+ on the ACT and 1500+ on the SAT, nearly all of Mike’s test prep students score in the top percentiles. They also routinely earn admission to the most selective universities: just last year, Mike had students accepted to Brown, Dartmouth, MIT, UC Berkeley, USC, and Carnegie Mellon. The average final LSAT score of his students is over 172, and his law school application coaching students have been accepted to Harvard, Yale, and Columbia Law.
