Cornell University's wording, checked October 26, 2026“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.”
How to approach it
- 1Choose issues connected to work, employment or policy.
- 2Ground each in what you have seen or done.
- 3Show you know what ILR studies; Cornell suggests reviewing ILR's course offerings.
A structure that works
One way to shape this answer. It describes moves, not sentences: the words have to be yours.
- 1An issue about work or employment you have seen up close.
- 2Why it matters to you.
- 3The questions you want to study and how ILR fits them.
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
- Issues unrelated to ILR's field.
- Law or business in general.
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 | Shows the applicant's interests align with the ILR School's topics (work, labor, employment, policy). |
Check your Cornell answers
Paste this answer (and any other Cornell answers you have). One report covers all of them: the checklist above for each, a note on every sentence, coaching questions and a revision plan. Half a token, or your first review free. We never write a word of it.
Check your college supplemental essays
Your first full review is free. Every answer reviewed in one report.
Not affiliated with or endorsed by Common App or any college.
Open the picker and search for a college to see its 2026–27 supplemental questions.
No card needed · one free full review per student · we never write your answers
Questions
More on Cornell and this kind of question
- Princeton: Academic interests (A.B.) · 250 words
- Princeton: Why engineering at Princeton (B.S.E.) · 250 words
- Columbia: Your preferred areas of study · 150 words
- Penn: College of Arts and Sciences · 50-200 words
- Penn: The Wharton School · 50-200 words
- Penn: Penn Engineering · 50-200 words