What Reviewers Look For in the Macaulay Essay 2: College Goals and Community
This essay explains what you want from college, why your chosen CUNY home campus fits those plans, what you hope to gain from both the campus and Macaulay communities, and how you would participate in them. Clear connections among your goals, campus choices, learning, and participation help readers understand why this community fits you.
Macaulay Essay 2: College Goals and Community review
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What We Check
Whether your reason for college supports your academic interests or career direction.
Whether your selected Macaulay home campus supports your stated plans.
Whether you explain what you would gain from the campus-based and Macaulay communities.
Whether you explain how you would participate in and contribute to the campus-based and Macaulay communities.
Mistakes We Flag
- Keeping your college purpose too general
- Saying you want a good education does not explain what you hope to learn or do. A career direction may still be exploratory; you do not need a fixed major or profession.
- Naming the campus without explaining the fit
- A campus name, general claims about New York opportunities, or a list of benefits does not show how the campus supports your plans. Explain what you would study, join, or use there.
- Listing resources instead of explaining what you would gain
- Scholarships, facilities, and broad promises to take advantage of everything do not show the learning or support you expect. Identify meaningful gains from both the home-campus and Macaulay communities.
- Making a vague promise to contribute
- Statements such as "I will give back" leave your role unclear. Describe how you would participate through peer learning, collaboration, creative work, service, or another concrete form of involvement; a leadership title is not required.
- Submitting an unfinished or overly extended draft
- The guidance is around 500 words per essay, with reasonable variation above or below. Remove unresolved drafting notes and make sure the response ends as a complete thought.
How this rubric reads your essay
- Built from published reader guidance — the sources are listed below.
- Scored per section against defined criteria, not general impressions.
- Calibrated for consistent scoring, so a better draft shows up in the score.
References
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to declare a major or name one specific career?
No. You can describe an exploratory academic or career direction, as long as you explain what you hope to learn or do through college. Affordability and access can also be valid motivations.
Do I need separate paragraphs for my campus and Macaulay plans?
No. Evidence can appear anywhere in the response, and no particular paragraph arrangement is required. A shared opportunity can connect the home-campus and Macaulay communities.
How long should the essay be?
The current guidance is around 500 words per essay, with reasonable variation above or below. It is approximate guidance, not a strict maximum.
Do I have to discuss private circumstances or past leadership?
No. Private context is optional, and a brief context statement may stand on its own without a required connection, explanation, transition, or conclusion. If you use a context fact as the experience, impact, goal, or relationship itself, explain that relationship as you would any other part of the essay; disclosure is never required. You also do not need past leadership to describe how you would contribute.
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