Cornell University's wording, checked October 26, 2026“Describe how your interests connect to architecture. Include an example of a creative project, design experience, or personal passion that sparked your interest in pursuing a 5-year professional degree in architecture. Reflect on how this experience shaped your understanding of the field and your motivation to study architecture.”
How to approach it
- 1Center one project or place and what it taught you.
- 2The prompt asks for an example and a reflection: give the reflection at least as much room as the description.
- 3You have 650 words, so a second, smaller example can show the interest is not a one-off.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1Open with the project, design experience or passion that sparked the interest, in concrete detail.
- 2What you made, tried or noticed, and what went wrong or surprised you.
- 3How it changed your understanding of what architects do.
- 4Why a five-year professional degree is the right route for you.
- 5What you want to explore next, and what in Cornell's program you have looked up that fits.
Where the 650 words go
| Part | Words |
|---|---|
| Where the interest comes from | about 230 |
| How you think about the subject | about 200 |
| Your path at this college | about 230 |
Mistakes to avoid
- Only admiring famous buildings.
- Writing about architecture as an admirer and never as a maker.
- Saying nothing about why the five-year professional degree suits you.
The checklist our grader uses for this question
When you check your Cornell 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 650 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. |
| Where the interest comes from | A specific, preferably recent experience (a class, project, job, reading, problem) shows the interest is real, not a stated passion. |
| How you think about it | The reader sees the applicant's own thinking: a question they pursue, a connection they made, a view of the field. |
| Your path at this college | It names how this school's curriculum, structure or opportunities fit the plan, specifically enough that it would not fit another school unchanged. |
| Cornell's ask | It ties the academic interest to what Cornell offers, not to the field in general. |
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Questions
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