2026–27 application cycle
CUNY City College supplemental essays
Every writing prompt on the CUNY City College application, with word limits. All of it taken from the application itself. 2 prompts, including program-specific ones.
These prompts are program-specific.
They apply only if you’re applying to the named program or school.
- Macaulay Honors CollegeRequired500 words max
A moment that mattered
Describe an experience/time that impacted your life. It could be when you learned something new, faced a situation that challenged you, or anything academic, personal, or professional related that has made an impact on you.
How to approach it
The challenge is the setup, not the essay. Spend most of the words on what you did and how you changed. Readers are wary of a hard story used as currency. Growth is the currency.
- Macaulay Honors CollegeRequired500 words max
Why Macaulay
Why do you want to go to college and what are some of your areas of academic interest or career goals? How does your specific Macaulay campus choice fit with those plans? What do you expect to contribute and gain from the campus-based and Macaulay communities?
How to approach it
This is a why-us prompt. The trap is describing the school back to itself. Rankings and a pretty campus read as filler. Name two or three things you’d actually use. A program, a professor’s work, an open curriculum. Then tie each one to something you’ve already done.
Common questions
What do students ask about these essays?
How many essays does CUNY City College require?
CUNY City College lists 2 writing supplements for the 2026–27 cycle, all required. That’s on top of the main personal statement.
How long are the CUNY City College supplemental essays?
Word limits across the listed prompts add up to about 1,000 words. Budget real time for them. Supplements are where admissions sees your real interest in CUNY City College.
Do the CUNY City College supplemental essays matter?
Yes, and more so at the hardest schools to get into. Grades and scores put you in the pool. Supplements are one of the few places you control what the reader learns about you. A generic why-us essay is one of the most common mistakes students make.
What Spike does with this
Get help planning CUNY City College essays.
Spike helps you tie each prompt to something you’ve actually lived. It helps you outline and revise, and it won’t write the essay for you.
The full counselor launches in November.