flyingeagle

Although most of my EC's don't really reflect my prospective school and major (Human Ecology, Hum. Development), I know that I can show my fit through my essays. But how exactly could I go about doing this? I know the school is big on fit, and so I want to make sure I show in my essay how passionate I am. Should the supplement be more about me and what I like and am interested in and a background story or more about the school and Cornell and what I like about them and how I could do well there in preparation for the future?

This goes for all the other colleges too since fit is important.

csdad

Should be about how yor intersts match up with the college. Look at mission staement, look at bios of professors & their areas of interest & reseach, attend information sesion, all of those should help you find common ground between your interests, experiences, & strengths & those of the college

mikeyc765

In reading essays over the years from people on these forums, being specific is usually a strength. Weak essays I find are ones where the applicant tries to be everything. 500 words just isn't enough to be "everything." I think it's mostly about finding a balance in describing:
1) How/why you are a good fit for a particular program
2) What that program offers that you think affords you excellent opportunities that you can take advantage of
3) Overall demonstrating why you would be a valuable addition to the student body

Ultimately, the school needs to see why it should want you and why you want it, and demonstrating that you have a common mission with the university.

icollins26

Mikey I have a question for you.
It seems when your applying you have specify a particular program. But I have a problem I want to apply to CAS because I have varying academic interests. I'm not interested in a specific program but want to take the most varying classes to really broaden my world view. Is it ok to write like that or should I pick on thing I like and really focus on that only and that department at Cornell?

mikeyc765

I think varying academic interests is fine. A lot of people in CAS are undecided and technically, even if you have an intended major, you don't join the major until your second semester at the earliest.I think it would be tough to arbitrarily pick a major you weren't all that sure of just to write the essay you think admissions want. It's definitely fine to write about your interests. But be specific in describing how Cornell allows you to pursue those interests. You can do something like "I imagine there are few school like Cornell, where can I pursue my interest in computer science and take a class in Persian literature." And then expand on that.

flyingeagle

Thanks for the insight mikey and others!