I hear the beep of my timer signal the start of my first affirmative speech at the Harvard Debate Tournament: “I affirm the resolution: Just governments ought to require that employers pay a living wage.” As a child, I would have determined the moral worth of such an action based on its consistency with the Torah, the scripture I was taught to be the word of God; but as I begin my speech, I reflect on how my beliefs have...

What aspect of the Columbia community, outside of the classroom, would you most want to impact and why? (150 words or less) I most want to impact Columbia's music scene. I have enjoyed playing bass in my school’s jazz band and love to express myself through improvising and creating music with others. Columbia’s Louis Armstrong Jazz Performance Program would provide me an unrivaled opportunity to create music with musicians from diverse musical backgrounds. Outside of the Jazz Performance Program,...

List the titles of the required readings from courses during the school year or summer that you enjoyed most in the past year. Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf Great Expectations – Charles Dickens Beloved — Toni Morrison Jane Eyre — Charlotte Bronte Hamlet – William Shakespeare Tess of the d'Urbervilles — Thomas Hardy Frankenstein - Mary Shelley Between the World and Me – Ta-Nehisi Coates List the titles of the books you read for pleasure that you enjoyed most in the past year. Islam and the Future...

Please tell us what you value most about Columbia and why. (300 words or less) I love to read literature and philosophy to experience those transcendent moments when I realize that I share many thoughts and fears with writers and thinkers who have come from different backgrounds and lived during different time periods. I am drawn to Columbia's core curriculum because I want to participate in an academic environment that promotes engagement in profound discussions with students from diverse backgrounds. I...

For applicants to Columbia College, please tell us what from your current and past experiences (either academic or personal) attracts you specifically to the field or fields of study that you noted in the Member Questions section. If you are currently undecided, please write about any field or fields in which you may have an interest at this time. I once read: “All of psychology is biology, all of biology is chemistry, all of chemistry is physics, all of physics...