Where do I put Spoken word/ slam poetry on my Columbia supplemental essays? Answered
Hello,
As I work on my Columbia University supplemental essays I'm unsure where to include the spoken word that I love.
"List the titles of the books, essays, poetry, short stories or plays you read outside of academic courses that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school"
I originally was going to list them here, but it says "read" and through spoken word it's not written.
They also said, "List the titles of the print or digital publications, websites, journals, podcasts or other content with which you regularly engage." and "List the movies, albums, shows, museums, lectures, events at your school or other entertainments that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school (in person or online)."
Where do you guys think it would be best fit for me to include the spoken word poetry?
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2 answers
As someone lucky enough to have gotten in ED for the Class of 2025, I will share my opinion.
This is an unprecedented year for college admissions. In spite of the overall applicant pool shrinking not only because fewer students comprise the applicant universe and there are fewer international students, but there were 49% more applicants to Columbia for ED than last year. And this year, although final numbers are not out yet, they accepted less than 10% compared to 15% last year. This will make RD even more competitive as well because those deferred are even better qualified than last year, and there are fewer spots since 15%-20% deferred admission from Class of 2024. So expect a admit rate of less than 4%.
So you want to be particularly precise and careful with every single word, period, comma, and punctuation on your supplemental essays and make sure you answer the prompt, versus interpret the prompt.
Spoken Word/Slam Poetry is an activity you either do or watch and listen to. It's not the same as anything written. Therefore you know the answer.
If you are not in the habit of having your essays combed over many times for grammatical or spelling checks and to make sure they flow and answer the prompt, by all means, do so.
My last tip is that make sure you answer the "WHY US?" prompt intelligently so they will advocate for having someone like on their campus. Do not drop names, programs, departments, or talk about how you will use the school. It's a trick question to make you think about whether or not you are a good fit for them, not how they fit your needs.
Good luck!
I would say under "List the movies, albums, shows, museums, lectures, events at your school or other entertainments that you enjoyed most during secondary/high school (in person or online)" because I would consider spoken word and slam poetry as entertainment. It's more specific than content.
To be honest though, I doubt they're gonna reject you because you decided to put it where you think it belongs.
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Congrats on your acceptance! And thank you for the advice, Columbia is most definitely a reach for me. However, I figured trying is better than not trying at all.