Columbia-specific questions, also known as the writing supplement, tell the Committee on Admissions more about your academic, extracurricular and intellectual interests. These questions provide insight to your intellectual curiosity, habits of mind, love of learning and sense of self. They also allow the Committee on Admissions to learn more about you in your current community and why you feel Columbia’s distinctive experiences in and out of the classroom would be a good fit for your undergraduate education. We review your responses to these questions as an essential part of our holistic and contextual review, in order to get a fuller sense of you as a unique individual beyond the standard parts of the application.
A Columbia admissions officer talks about the Columbia-specific application questions, also known as the writing supplement.
2025-2026 Columbia-Specific Questions
Instructions
For the list question that follows, there is a 100 word maximum. Please refer to the below guidance when answering this question:
- Your response should be a list of items separated by commas or semicolons.
- Items do not have to be numbered or in any specific order.
- It is not necessary to italicize or underline titles of books or other publications.
- No author names, subtitles or explanatory remarks are needed.
For each of the five short answer questions, please respond in 150 words or fewer.
Questions
- List a selection of texts, resources and outlets that have contributed to your intellectual development outside of academic courses, including but not limited to books, journals, websites, podcasts, essays, plays, presentations, videos, museums and other content that you enjoy. (100 words or fewer)
- Tell us about an aspect of your life so far or your lived experience that is important to you, and describe how it has shaped the way you would learn from and contribute to Columbia's multidimensional and collaborative environment. (150 words or fewer)
- At Columbia, students representing a wide range of perspectives are invited to live and learn together. In such a community, questions and debates naturally arise. Please describe a time when you did not agree with someone and discuss how you engaged with them and what you took away from the interaction. (150 words or fewer)
- In college/university, students are often challenged in ways that they could not anticipate. Please describe a situation in which you have navigated through adversity and discuss how you changed as a result. (150 words or fewer)
- Why are you interested in attending Columbia University? We encourage you to consider the aspect(s) that you find unique and compelling about Columbia. (150 words or fewer)
- What attracts you to your preferred areas of study at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering? (150 words or fewer)
Updated Thursday, July 31, 2025.