The required community essay asks how you have been shaped by a community you belong to. This is about demonstrating you thrive in reciprocal relationships where you both benefit from and contribute to a group. Open with a vivid snapshot of yourself within the community. Show social interactions that made you grow. Conclude with how this community shaped goals related to your strengths.

• Required Essay (350 words): "Share how you've been shaped by one of the communities you belong to."

A&S wants to see that your passion for learning is genuine and self-directed. Open with yourself engaged in your favorite academic activity. Establish a personal connection to your area of study. Show how you went above and beyond coursework. Name specific professors, courses, and programs at Cornell. The reader should want you to study this field.

• Arts and Sciences (650 words): "Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey."

The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences values science that connects to real-world problems. Open with a personal anecdote that establishes your connection to your chosen major's subject matter. Show how you explored this interest beyond requirements. Demonstrate how your work connects to a problem you want to help solve. Reference specific CALS courses, faculty, and interdisciplinary opportunities.

• CALS (500 words): "Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected and specifically, why do you want to pursue this major at Cornell CALS?"

AAP asks different questions by major. B.Arch applicants need to show a creative project or passion that justifies a five-year professional commitment. BFA applicants should show how they will integrate diverse interests into a coherent art practice using Cornell's broader resources. URS applicants must demonstrate genuine depth on urban and regional issues.

• AAP (650 words): "How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at AAP?"

The Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy wants students who understand that the problems they care about are fundamentally policy problems. Open with a moment when you realized this. Show what steps you took to explore policy. The Brooks School emphasizes rigorous, evidence-based analysis, so show you can think critically about how policy works and where it falls short.

• Brooks (650 words): "Why are you interested in studying policy, and why do you want to pursue this major at Brooks?"

The Dyson School and Nolan School of Hotel Administration ask what kind of business student you are. Open with a topic or issue you care about. Explain why it matters to you personally. Show how you have already engaged with this issue through tangible action. Connect your interests to the specific school you are applying to and its curriculum.

• SC Johnson (650 words): "What kind of a business student are you?"

Cornell Engineering requires two long essays and four short essays. For "why engineering," give readers a front-row seat inside your mind as you solve a problem. For "why Cornell Engineering," write a hypothetical showing your life there, naming specific professors, labs, project teams, and courses. The short essays test joy, unique contribution, meaningful activity, and personal achievement.

• Engineering (200 + 200 + 4x100 words): "Why do you want to study engineering?" and "Why Cornell Engineering?"

Human Ecology asks you to identify a challenge and show how CHE's major and breadth of majors will help address it. ILR asks about topics related to work, labor, and employment that matter to you personally. Both want lived experience, not abstract interest. Show you have witnessed the issues you care about and taken action to understand them.

• CHE (600 words) / ILR (650 words): Challenge-focused and labor/employment-focused essays respectively.