Application Essay Excerpts

Do not be fooled by my ethnicity. I look Asian, but I am a hundred percent occidental in my thought. Biologically I am Filipino, but blood and genetics are not what define me: I am what I have lived...

Diversity is a term that Americans are proud to be associated with. However, on college applications and job résumés, diversity is limited to your sex and the color of your skin. Being the product of a poor, Catholic, Midwestern farmer’s daughter with fourteen siblings and a middle class Brooklyn Jew makes me who I am today...

I first visited Columbia in my junior year, and was struck by the impressive architecture of the old and new libraries, in addition to the well-planned layout of the campus. A second visit to Columbia confirmed how much I liked the combination of a vibrant city outside and a familial campus inside...

The question I wish you had asked me is, “What is one of your greatest personal achievements? I am a long time fan of strategy computer games because of the feeling of accomplishment I receive from executing a well-planned attack. My father attempted to turn my love of games into a learning experience by explaining the components of a computer, but I was not receptive...

At 12 I fell in love with the City. My mom introduced me to the museums, second hand shops, and performances that would become my obsession. She also dragged me to see her dream school, Columbia...

15. Quince. A woman...

I have always harbored a love for problem solving. In the physics class I am currently taking, I enjoy most the difficult problems that force one to think hard about which equations to use, what variables are actually given, etc. Most hate the work, but it invigorates me...

Other than the design lab for engineers, I love the Core Curriculum. It gives engineering students the opportunity to have a good liberal arts education...

The world is a highway. Populated by a continuous stream of cars and trucks and peoples and countries—Jeeps, Toyotas, Americans, Latinos—one comes to realize that people are fleeting. What is one car in comparison to the millions who pass by each day?..

I felt pangs of anxiety throughout my body as we stepped down the muddy hill toward the river community. As I clenched the plastic bag in my hand that was filled with hygienic supplies for the townspeople, my mind was racing with questions...