Cornell University has shared its supplemental essay prompts for the upcoming 2024-2025 application cycle. The university introduced a new required essay last year following the overturning of affirmative action in higher education. This year, Cornell adjusted the prompt to ask a broader question about the communities that have shaped you.
Students must also write a supplemental essay in response to a prompt from the college or school they are applying to within Cornell. Each college at Cornell has its own requirements for admission and a distinctive set of majors — and their essay questions reflect those differences. Remember that you can only apply to one of Cornell’s colleges or schools.
Applicants to all of Cornell’s colleges should be prepared to explain the reasoning behind their choice of college or school in an organized, clear, and personal essay. The required all-applicant supplemental essay has a word count of 350 while the college-specific essays range from 200 to 650 words.
Essay Guidance
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We asked Heidi Steinmetz Lovette, former Assistant Director of Admissions at Cornell and TTA Senior Private Counselor to weigh in:
At Cornell, with its decentralized eight undergraduate colleges, it remains essential to focus on the school you are applying to, as the specificity and length of the college supplements shows that these can be even more important than the general Common App personal statement.
For the 2024-2025 application cycle, Cornell University has a new community essay question required of all applicants, listed below. This is more straight-forward than last year’s version which confused many students and resulted in disappointing essays. The college-specific supplement prompts remain the same with two exceptions: Engineering and Human Ecology. Human Ecology has a reworded prompt with the same intent, but Engineering’s is significantly different: four mandatory supplements now replace the two from last year. Essay #3 “What brings you joy?” takes a definite cue from one of the MIT application supplements.
CORNELL: SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS 2024-2025
Required for all applicants: We all contribute to, and are influenced by, the communities that are meaningful to us. Share how you’ve been shaped by one of the communities you belong to.
Remember that this essay is about you and your lived experience. Define community in the way that is most meaningful to you. Some examples of community you might choose from are: family, school, shared interest, virtual, local, global, cultural. (350-word limit)
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Required: Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected? Please discuss how your interests and related experiences have influenced your choice. How will an education from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University specifically serve to support your learning, growth, and the pursuit of your goals? (650-word limit)
Instructions: The optional short-answer questions invite you to share additional information about your background, interests, and experiences as they relate to aspects of the Cornell CALS mission. The content of any responses submitted will be included in the holistic review of your application (which is also the case for any optional additional information submitted as part of your Common Application or uploaded through your Cornell Application Portal once you’ve applied).
Optional: At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are not simply driven to master their discipline, but who are also passionate about doing so to serve the public good. Please elaborate on an experience where you had a meaningful impact on people, a community, and/or an environment of importance to you. (200-word limit)
Optional: Cornell CALS is dedicated to purpose-driven study of the agricultural, life, environmental, and social sciences and welcomes students with interests that span a wide variety of disciplines. Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background or interest in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. An “agricultural entity” for the purpose of this question is defined as cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock (e.g., farm, ranch, greenhouse, vineyard, etc.).
Select all that apply:
- A primary source of income for my parent/guardian(s) comes from ownership of or employment by an agricultural entity.
- My extended family owns or operates an agricultural entity.
- I have experience working in an agricultural entity.
- I have interest in pursuing a career in an agricultural entity.
Please feel free to share additional details (optional). (100-word limit)
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? 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. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues. (650-word limit)
College of Arts & Sciences
At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences. (650-word limit)
Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals. (650-word limit)
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
What kind of a 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 (Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration). (650-word limit)
College of Engineering
Instructions: All applicants are required to write four supplemental essays. Two of the essays have a 20- word limit while the remaining two are limited to 100 words each.
Essay 1: Fundamentally, engineering is the application of math, science, and technology to solve complex problems. Why do you want to study engineering? (200-word limit)
Essay 2: Why do you think you would love to study at Cornell Engineering? (200-word limit)
Essay 3: What brings you joy? (100-word limit)
Essay 4: 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-word limit)
College of Human Ecology
How has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE) been shaped and informed by your related experiences? How will what you learn through CHE and your chosen major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should demonstrate how your interests and aspirations align with CHE’s programs and mission. (Refer to Cornell’s essay application tips before you begin.) (650-word limit)
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)
Personal Application Boot Camp®
Three days of one-on-one work with a Senior Counselor from the Application Boot Camp® team.
APPLYING TO CORNELL?
Are you thinking about applying to Cornell University? Confused on how to start writing these essays? Contact us to discuss our Essay Guidance Program or Personal Boot Camp. By working on your applications now, you will be able to reap the benefit of increased odds in the early round of admissions.
Top Tier Admissions is tracking the 2024-2025 supplemental essay prompts for all top schools here — we look forward to supporting you!
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- University of Chicago: Supplemental Essays 2025-26 - August 29, 2025
- Boston College: Supplemental Essays 2025-2026 - August 15, 2025
- Cornell: Supplemental Essays 2025-2026 - August 1, 2025
