Cornell is an Ivy League university that is globally renowned not only for being amazing, but also for offering many undergraduate programs, like those in agriculture and hospitality, that no other Ivy League university offers. The main campus for Cornell is in Ithaca, New York, a beautiful small city closer to Canada than NYC, and there are satellite campuses in Qatar, Rome, New York City, and New Hampshire, among others. The acceptance rate for the class of 2027 was 7.9%, and the most recent acceptance rate is estimated to be slightly lower.
The university is very large compared to other Ivy League schools, with 16,000 undergraduate students and over 26,000 students overall. Students come from 130 countries, and for students applying to enroll in fall 2025, standardized testing is not required. However, the actual test policy regarding the SAT and ACT depends on the college you are applying to within Cornell. You can check the policy for the college you’re interested in here. For students who apply for Fall 2026 and beyond, the SAT or ACT will be required by all Cornell undergraduate colleges.
In this post, we’ll break down the supplements for each undergraduate college at Cornell to support you in writing an acceptance-winning application.
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When applying to Cornell, there is one main essay that all first-year undergraduate applicants complete. We’ll start out, then, with this one before getting into the college-specific essays.
Remember that this essay is about you and your lived experience. Define community in the way that is most meaningful to you. Some examples of community you might choose from are: family, school, shared interest, virtual, local, global, cultural.(350 word limit)
This is a great essay prompt, but you need to be careful to not overlap significantly (or, ideally, at all) with your main common app essay. So, first look through your common app essay draft (which you should have, by the way) and identify what you’re not going to write about here. Then, it’s time to focus on what you will write about. The most important piece of writing about a community, and how it’s important to you, is to tell a story. Select a moment that is reflective of the whole, and use it as a jumping off point to explore purpose and meaning. For example, if you’re going to write about a place that you feel deeply connected to, think back to a moment you felt a strong sense of belonging and tell that story. Then, use that to reflect on larger themes and narratives that can help the reader of your application to identify how you’ll bring these same ideas and values with you to Cornell.
Once you’re done with this, it’s time to go on to the harder essays. There are college-specific essay questions for each of the 8 colleges. Some are optional, but none are really optional. We’ll break down each so that, no matter where you are applying, you’re fully prepared to ace your application.
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
By applying to Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), you are also applying for direct entry into one of our 20+ majors. From here, you would be part of a community dedicated to purpose-driven science; working within your major and across disciplines to tackle the complex challenges of our time.
Why are you drawn to studying the major you have selected and specifically, why do you want to pursue this major at Cornell CALS? You should share how your current interests, related experiences, and/or goals influenced your choice. (500 word limit)
Something to notes about CALS is that, unlike most colleges, you are truly picking a major when you apply. For most programs — at Cornell and elsewhere — the major you pick for your application is really just a suggestion. You may or may not actually pursue the major, and that isn’t a big deal. For CALS, it is a big deal because you are committing to a major. This matches the ethos of the college. CALS expects students to be career-oriented and very focused.
This supplement is your way of underlining this for them. So, start with a short story about your current interests and perceive career path related to your major, before sharing your intended major, a few classes you’re excited about, and a professor you’d like to study under and why. The “and why” is the most important part because they want to see how you’ll use what they offer. Next, though, you need to make it clear that you won’t just be using Cornell; you’ll also be offering something to the community, so include 1-2 clubs or student groups you want to join that are related to your major. Finally, circle back to your ‘why’ and reinforce your goals for the future.
Question #1:At Cornell CALS, we aim to leave the world better than we found it, so we seek out those who are passionate about serving the public good. Please elaborate on an experience where you were able to have a meaningful impact on people, a community, and/or an environment of importance to you.(100 word limit)
This supplement is quite short, but asks for a lot from you. This means that drafting, and trying out different ideas, is super critical. Focus on a particular experience within a broader commitment. This particular experience could be a relationship you’ve built, an event you’ve coordinated, or a moving experience in a place that is meaningful to you from a public good perspective (like a park clean-up). The more you can zoom in, the more impact you’ll be able to pack into this concise supplement. And, for context, this paragraph is 100 words long. Keep that in mind going forward.
Question #2:Given our agricultural history and commitment to educating the next generation of agriculturalists, please share if you have a background or interest in agriculture, regardless of your intended major. An "agricultural entity" for the purpose of this question is defined as cultivating soil, growing crops, and raising livestock (e.g., farm, ranch, greenhouse, vineyard, etc.) Please feel free to share additional details (optional). (100 word limit)
If you are applying to CALS, you probably have some experience with dirt. Maybe you grew up in a multi-generational farming family, or maybe you want to innovate our agricultural system. Maybe you study how ants communicate on the weekends, or maybe you dream of doing rainforest preservation work in South America. Whatever your experience and future dreams are, you need to connect them to the major you hope to pursue.
College of Architecture, Art, and Planning
How do your interests directly connect with your intended major at the College of Architecture, Art, and Planning (AAP)? Why architecture (B.Arch.), art (BFA), or urban and regional studies (URS)? B. Arch applicants, please provide an example of how a creative project or passion sparks your motivation to pursue a 5-year professional degree program. BFA applicants may want to consider how they could integrate a range of interests and available resources at Cornell into a coherent art practice. URS students may want to emphasize their enthusiasm and depth of interest in the study of urban and regional issues. (650 word limit)
This is a very long “why us” supplement. The prompt is very long, and the word limit for your response is very long — 650 words! What’s most important for your response here, though is specificity through research. Sometimes supplements can be repurposed from one college to another. This is not one of those. You need to start by finalizing what you want to study: a B. Arch, a BFA, or a URS, and do a bunch of research about the program. Take note, and write down:
3 courses you are particularly excited to take.
2 professors you want to study under and why.
1 academic opportunity, like an internship, research, or field work, you want to take part in.
2 extracurricular groups or clubs related to the course of study that you’d like to join.
Once you’ve done your research, you need to pick a story that illustrates why you want to pursue your particular course of study. This story will serve as the lead into your supplement, building a bridge for the reader between what Cornell offers and your existing passions and interests. Next, you’ll make it really clear that you know the program by sharing those things you wrote down earlier. Finally, you need to reinforce why Cornell is your perfect fit.
College of Arts & Sciences
At the College of Arts and Sciences, curiosity will be your guide. Discuss how your passion for learning is shaping your academic journey, and what areas of study or majors excite you and why. Your response should convey how your interests align with the College, and how you would take advantage of the opportunities and curriculum in Arts and Sciences.(650 word limit)
This is very similar to the supplement above, and the basic guidelines are the same. You need to show the application readers why you are interested in your particular proposed major, and build a connection between yourself and the program at Cornell. The same research list applies, too:
3 courses you are particularly excited to take.
2 professors you want to study under and why.
1 academic opportunity, like an internship, research, or field work, you want to take part in.
2 extracurricular groups or clubs related to the course of study that you’d like to join.
The biggest theme in this supplement, though, should be your “passion for learning,” so when picking an introductory story from your life, it needs to really exemplify this. The story doesn’t need to have taken place in a classroom, but it should show a pursuit of new information, perspectives, or skills that you’ll bring with you to Cornell.
Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy
Why are you drawn to studying public policy? Drawing on your experiences, tell us about why you are interested in your chosen major and how attending the Brooks School will help you achieve your life goals.(650 word limit)
Again, this is a “why us.” We’re not going to repeat the research checklist for a third time, but we will reiterate the that you need to use a story from your life to connect your academic interests with what the Brooks School can offer you — and why you want to be at Cornell.
Cornell SC Johnson College of Business
What kind of a business student are you? Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should convey how your interests align with the school to which you are applying within the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business (Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management or the Cornell Peter and Stephanie Nolan School of Hotel Administration).(650 word limit)
Cornell loves these super long supplements, but it’s worth noting that you don’t have to use all 650 words. We recommend students aim for their responses to ring in at 500-650 words, but final word-count should be determined by what reads best. You don’t get bonus points for coming in right at 650.
As we’ve said earlier, you need to use a personal story to link your interests — and your visions for the future — with the program at Cornell that you are most interested in. Make sure to include specific details, like courses and professors, along with your why. Simply saying that you like a certain professor doesn’t tell them much about you. Instead, you need to give them reason, like perhaps that professor has a professional experience you’d love to learn from.
College of Engineering
Instructions:All engineering applicants are required to write two long essays and four short essays.
Fundamentally, engineering is the application of math, science, and technology to solve complex problems. Why do you want to study engineering? (200 words)
It’s funny that they call these ‘long essays,’ given how long the supplements for the other colleges are. With 200 words, you have room for basically two ‘standard’ paragraphs, but don’t limit your responses to a conventional format. Students applying to the engineering program are creative, so let that shine in your response. You can use dialog, for example, to drop the reader into an experience or place that is your why for studying engineering. Don’t get too tied up in how to talk about Cornell specifically, though, as there is dedicates space for that in the next supplement.
Why do you think you would love to study at Cornell Engineering? (200 words)
While the previous supplement is “Why engineering,” this supplement is “Why Cornell.” Your response must be specific, so this is where to put your major, along with courses, professors, and programs that you are particularly excited about.
What brings you joy? (100 words)
We love this supplement because it’s human, and the best answers have nothing to do with engineering except that you’re someone with an engineering brain, so you happen to notice things and interpret things through that lens. Focus on something simple here. We’ve had students successfully reflect on walking their dog in the rain, helping a disabled parent navigate the world, and watching a jellyfish. Seriously, watching a jellyfish. Turns out, the engineering of a jellyfish is pretty cool!
What do you believe you will contribute to the Cornell Engineering community beyond what you've already detailed in your application? What unique voice will you bring? (100 words)
This prompt is important because they don’t just want to know what you will get from Cornell, but also what you will give back to the community. This could be something clearly tangible, like service work, but it could also be something less structured and more amorphous, like a particular perspective on the world.
What is one activity, club, team, organization, work/volunteer experience or family responsibility that is especially meaningful to you? Please briefly tell us about its significance for you. (100 words)
We love this prompt, but first we need to make sure that you aren’t reiterating anything when answering it. We strongly dislike redundancy on applications, so you don’t want to focus on anything here that is already touched on in your main essay or in another supplement. Once you know what you’re going to write about, and you’ve confirmed that it’s ‘fresh’, focus on a story that exemplifies the “especially meaningful,” to you. Saying something is meaningful is rather uninteresting and certainly unimpactful compared to being shown, and made to feel, that an experience has shaped you.
What is one award you have received or achievement you have attained that has meant the most to you? Please briefly describe its importance to you.(100 words)
It’s worth noting that if you don’t have something to write about here, you may not be a great candidate to Cornell Engineering. If you want to go to Cornell, you should be pursuing achievements and recognitions. They can be academic, or linked to an extracurricular. The options are broad, but regardless of source reflection is definitely required as part of your response.
College of Human Ecology
How has your decision to apply to the College of Human Ecology (CHE) been shaped and informed by your related experiences? How will what you learn through CHE and your chosen major impact your goals and plans for the future? Your response should demonstrate how your interests and aspirations align with CHE’s programs and mission. (Refer to ouressay application tipsbefore you begin.)(650 word limit)
This goes back to a similar format to the 650-word “why us” supplements we broke down earlier. The key thing to remember is to balance between what you have done already that built your interest in a particular CHE program, what you hope to do at CHE, and what your dreams are for the future. All of this is best done through a central story or narrative that links your past, your present, and your future at Cornell and beyond, combined with specifics of the program (courses, professors, etc.) that attract you to it.
School of Industrial and Labor Relations
Using your personal, academic, or volunteer/work experiences, describe the topics or issues that you care about and why they are important to you. Your response should show us that your interests align with the ILR School.(650 word limit)
This long supplement is substantially different from the earlier ones because it isn’t really a “why us?” It’s more of a “why this?” The School of Industrial and Labor Relations attracts a very particular type of student, and you don’t just apply on a whim — or, at least, you shouldn’t. There is only one undergraduate major, Industrial and Labor Relations, and there is really only one purpose for attending. Students in this program want to help address workplace issues that impact individuals, organizations, and families in every economy and every community. From negotiating for unions to studying the impact of technology, this program requires passion and commitment. Use a story from your experiences to show why this program is compelling to you, and how ILR can help you write your next chapter and launch a career that positively impacts peoples lives.
No matter which college you are applying to at Cornell, you need to approach your application with strategy, focus, and specificity. Research is key, as they really want to see that you understand what you’re asking to be accepted into. Cornell is an Ivy, but it’s also career oriented, and they really want to see a direct line between your passion, their program, and how you’re going to positively impact others.
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