Columbia University's wording, checked October 26, 2026“Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia.”
How to approach it
- 1Name two or three things that are particular to Columbia (its curriculum, its way of teaching, its place in the city) and check each on Columbia's own pages.
- 2Tie each to something you have done or want to do.
- 3Leave out what every big university has.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1The one thing about Columbia you find most compelling, and why it matters to you.
- 2A second distinctive thing, tied to something you have done.
- 3A closing sentence about how you would use them.
Where the 150 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| Your first, most specific reason | about 50 |
| A second reason, tied to your experience | about 50 |
| What you would do or add there | about 50 |
Mistakes to avoid
- "New York is exciting" as the reason.
- Prestige, rankings or famous alumni.
- Copying phrases from Columbia's website.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Columbia answers, this answer is read against these 5 areas. Each comes back Met, Partly or Missing with a quote from your draft as evidence, and together with the 150 words limit they set its readiness verdict.
| Area | What a reader looks for |
|---|---|
| Answers the question | The opening sentences answer what was asked, plainly, before background or a hook; every part of a multi-part question is answered. |
| Specific to this college | It names at least two concrete things that exist at this college (a program, course, research group, tradition, place, way of teaching) and could not survive a swap of the college's name. |
| Connected to you | Each thing named is tied to something the applicant has done, asked or wants, so the reader sees why it matters to THIS student, not why the college is good. |
| What you would do there | It shows how the applicant would use those things and what they would add (join, start, research, contribute), not only what they would receive. |
| Columbia's ask | Names aspects of Columbia that are unique and compelling to this applicant (Columbia asks for what is distinctive), not rankings or New York in general. |
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Questions
More on Columbia and this kind of question
- Harvard: How you will use your Harvard education · 150 words
- Brown: Your approach to the Open Curriculum · 150-250 words
- Dartmouth: Why Dartmouth · 100 words
- Cornell: CALS: what draws you to CALS · 350 words
- Cornell: Engineering: why Duffield · 200 words
- Duke: Why Duke · 250 words