The past few years haven’t been easy for American higher education at large. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (in which case, we envy you!), you’ve probably caught wind of the turmoil that has sprung up on college campuses recently. From antisemitic student protests to the Trump administration’s high-profile campaign to strip schools of federal funding, it seems like elite colleges haven’t been able to catch a break. 

Or have they? You see, in response to the student encampments and hateful rhetoric during the 2024-2025 school year, some colleges opted to introduce a new type of supplemental essay question, which we at Ivy Coach have termed the “navigating disagreements” prompt. This style of prompt attempts to probe an applicant’s tolerance for ideological diversity and willingness to engage with other viewpoints in critical conversations rather than in reactionary protest.

Many schools have already been asking some version of this prompt for many years, but others, such as the two schools we have highlighted below, Emory University and Columbia University, have only just introduced this essay prompt for the 2025-2026 application cycle. What can be gleaned from the language of these two new supplemental essay questions, and how should an applicant to these schools go about constructing an answer?

Top Universities With a Navigating Disagreement Prompt

College / University	2026 US News Rank (“Best National Universities”)	Prompt
Harvard University	#3	Describe a time when you strongly disagreed with someone about an idea or issue. How did you communicate or engage with this person? What did you learn from this experience?
Yale University	#5	Reflect on a time you discussed an issue important to you with someone holding an opposing view. Why did you find the experience meaningful?
Duke University	#6	Meaningful dialogue often involves respectful disagreement. Provide an example of a difference of opinion you’ve had with someone you care about. What did you learn from it?
Columbia University	#13	At Columbia, students representing a wide range of perspectives are invited to live and learn together. In such a community, questions and debates naturally arise. Please describe a time when you did not agree with someone and discuss how you engaged with them and what you took away from the interaction.
Emory University	#24	In a scholarly community, differing ideas often collide before they converge. How do you personally navigate disagreement in a way that promotes progress and deepens meaningful dialogue?

Schools With New Disagreement Prompt in 2025-26:

Emory University

Emory University introduced the following prompt to its college supplement for the 2025-2026 cycle:

In a scholarly community, differing ideas often collide before they converge. How do you personally navigate disagreement in a way that promotes progress and deepens meaningful dialogue?

Emory University was among the many schools that experienced student unrest back in 2024, so it’s no surprise that this navigating-disagreements prompt has made its way into Emory applications. Students seeking to answer this question, as with many supplemental essays, should do so by showing, not telling. While anyone can lay claim to navigating disagreement “in a way that promotes progress and deepens meaningful dialogue,” few can actually cite an example of a time that they did so gracefully.

With that being said, it wouldn’t be wise to write about a time during which you acted out of character, did something a college admissions officer would find objectionable, or, of course, acted out of bigotry, hate, or intolerance. While these schools value growth and character development, no one wants to admit a student who has a history of not playing well with others. And, as always, applicants should steer clear of our six “third-rail” essay topics so as not to get their applications immediately tossed in the waste bin!

Columbia University

Of all the colleges plagued by campus antisemitism, Columbia University takes the cake for the most extreme case of irredeemable behavior on the part of the student body and the administration alike, in which the school’s long-term reputation has genuinely been called into question. So, when Columbia’s application supplement for the 2025-2026 year came out, you couldn’t count us as surprised that the school had introduced the following prompt:

At Columbia, students representing a wide range of perspectives are invited to live and learn together. In such a community, questions and debates naturally arise. Please describe a time when you did not agree with someone and discuss how you engaged with them and what you took away from the interaction.

This question is perhaps even more pointed than Emory in its solicitation of a specific experience of disagreement. The same guidelines apply as for Emory. But once again, just because they’re asking you to describe a debate, disagreement, or moment of friction, that does not mean that you should show them the worst side of yourself and expect them to value your honesty! Instead, focus on how this anecdote set you on a path towards intellectual and personal growth, and spare them the unbecoming details.

Ivy Coach’s Assistance with Navigating Disagreement Prompts on College Applications

If you’re interested in optimizing your case for admission to elite universities by submitting compelling essays that navigate this touchy subject with grace, fill out Ivy Coach’s complimentary consultation form, and we’ll be in touch to outline our college counseling services.