Columbia University Application Essays

For as long as I could remember, becoming an attorney was the only option I saw for myself. It was not until my participation in the Belle Harris Bennett Fellowship program that I questioned this choice. The program was designed to equip and sustain young…

Something that’s always captivated me about cinema, apart from its rich and diverse history, is the way it intrinsically and inextricably ties to the fabric of contemporary society. It is a global language. When I was fortunate enough to be offered the chance to study…

I don’t know how exactly I fell in love with neuroscience, just that “The Brain!” was my favorite episode of Bill Nye, that I’d invariably perk my ears up during sleepy car rides whenever I heard neuroscience being discussed on NPR, and that I’d huddle…

“TZX Corp will buy Tyler’s store in a cash for stock transaction. Consider external economic factors and anti-trust regulations.” Cases like these at the DECA International Career Development Conference pushed me beyond my comfort zone, and helped me uncover my love for business strategy. I…

Columbia is still my absolute, number one, pick-of-them-all college. I intend to hold my ground here on the wait-list. If a spot does indeed open up for me, I will immediately enroll. Columbia matches me better than any other college. I alluded to three reasons…

I learned to write essays like prefabricated housing and sensible shoes—standardized, impeccable, identical. No flight of fancy dared disturb the military precision of my supporting arguments as they marched in brigades of four to five sentences, intent upon storming the fortress and seizing the A-plus…

The sweat trickling down my neck felt like the stickiness of a dinosaur’s breath. My muscles tightened as author Michael Crichton revealed the extent of scientific advancement in today’s world. The pages of Jurassic Park turned quickly in my hands. A young reader, I had…

Rolling a suitcase through the Morning Heights gates with a backpack slung over my shoulder, the view ahead of me is bright. Through College Walk, undergraduate students pace past me to catch the subway on 116th St. The breeze from their stride, reveals not haste,…

For as long as I can remember, the concept of currency and the exchange of goods and services has always fascinated me. Growing up, I observed cashiers nonchalantly letting people walk away with goods in exchange for nothing more than a swipe of a plastic…

I prodded the chicken with my fork. The rest of the table was heatedly arguing about health care while I wondered how much longer the school fundraiser dinner would last. Then, an idle comment uttered by a boy I didn’t know made my head jerk…