Columbia Supplemental Essays 2026–27

Columbia asks a 100-word list of texts and resources that shaped your intellectual development, plus five 150-word short answers: an aspect of your lived experience, a time you disagreed with someone, a barrier you faced, why Columbia, and why your preferred area of study at Columbia College or Columbia Engineering.

That's a lot of short pieces. This guide shows how to make them work together, and how to write a list that actually says something...