What does the ‘Intellectual Interests’ mean in the Cornell supplement essay for Arts and Science College?
My intended majors are Physics and Maths
Basically, what you’re interested in ‘academically’. It doesn’t have to be a specific subject though. It could be reading books, painting, music etc. You can relate your intended major fields to your intellectual interests too.
I don’t want to be rude, but your question concerns me. If you don’t know what a question about intellectual interests means, maybe Cornell is not for you.
Well, I am not sure it is as basic as MOMANDTWOBOYSTOO makes it sound, and I think part of what Cornell wants to see is how you interpret it. There is a simpler side to it, certainly. Intellectual interests clearly doesn’t mean talking about how you like to play baseball, or Monopoly, or cards. Oh wait, could playing poker at a high level be considered an intellectual interest? Hmmmm, besides the probabilities, there is the study of human behavior at all sorts of levels such as body language, indicators of risk aversion, biological rhythms in long tournaments…maybe this isn’t so simple after all. Everyone would agree, I think, that many aspects of art appreciation is intellectual, but what about creating art? Is that considered an “intellectual interest”? So I think Cornell might be looking for you to indicate both how you are interpreting the term as well as specific subjects within your definition.
@fallenchemist How you approach baseball could also be intellectual. Perhaps you study baseball statistics to strategize your game plan. I don’t know much about baseball, but my point is that anything can be an intellectual interest depending on how you approach it. Which is why the question is fairly generic.
@sahil123 This question from Cornell seems similar to essays asked by other colleges. What stimulates you intellectually, maybe why and how you pursue those interests now, and how you plan to pursue them at Cornell. Research about specific Cornell resources that will help you further your exploration of your interests. Am guessing you could write about one thing in depth or multiple interests. There could be new interests you want to explore in college because your high school did not offer them.
I think Cornell wants to know that you can write well, that you have intellectual interests, and that you have thought about how you will engage yourself in them at Cornell specifically. That is how my son approached his answer. He wrote about his core academic interests for his desired major in engineering and minor outside. But, he talked about other interests as well and where at Cirnell he would be able to pursue them. He approached it like writing a paper for high school English, so he organized it well and threw in a few quotes from famous people, which he seems to like to do.
Good luck writing this! It’s not a trick question.
I think they are looking to see if you have intellectual curiosity, that you really have an interest in learning, and that you have not just racked up grades and test scores. In highly competitive admissions, your essays are about the only place to really distinguish yourself. If you can make an admissions person say, “hey, I’d like to meet this person. I’ll bet they would be interesting to get to know,” you have succeeded.