Supplemental essays · 2026–27 application
List College The Jewish Theological Seminary supplemental essays.
All 3 essay questions List College The Jewish Theological Seminary asks this year, word for word, with the word limits and how to approach each one.
Checked against jtsa.edu and the Common App application on October 17, 2026
What you write: One short essay, up to 300 words, plus an optional one. Program-specific essays appear after you choose a program.
List College students study jointly at Columbia or Barnard.
Your place in the List community
How do you imagine contributing to the Jewish living and learning community at List College? In what ways will Columbia/Barnard bolster your co-curricular and extra-curricular experience?
The prompt opens by describing List College’s community: innovation, curiosity, exploring identity and camaraderie.
How to approach it
- Say plainly what the community is.
- Show your place in it with one real scene.
- End with what you’d bring to campus.
Optional: an hour with one Jewish person
If you could choose one Jewish person—an historical figure, fictional character, or modern individual—to converse with for an hour, who would it be? Why does this person intrigue you? What would you talk about? What questions would you ask them?
How to approach it
- Take the question seriously enough to play with it.
- Let your answer show how you think.
- Keep it honest under the fun.
Optional: other Jewish experience
If you have another type of Jewish experience or affiliation beyond synagogue, camp, or youth organization involvement that you would like us to know about, please share briefly below.
How to approach it
- Pick one activity, not your whole resume.
- Show one moment of what you actually did.
- Say why it matters to you, not only what it is.
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