Newest College Application Essays

“And the gold medal goes to…” My heart pounded as if it knew something I didn’t. My fingers gripped the sides of my desk, nails digging in. My teacher paused, her eyes scanning the room before landing on me. “Anna Kilasonia!”

For a split...

Growing up in a family with adulating parents, an over-the-top older sibling, and three ultra-hyper poodle breeds, I was no stranger to a full house. In fact, I expected that to be the norm for everyone. It wasn't. In fact, I never fully grasped...

When I was invited to join USC Star, a research program at USC Mann School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, I was simultaneously excited and terrified. Working alongside graduate students and deciphering their complex material was...

My greatest fear was stagnation, and it was not until four years ago that I learned how to conquer it. It was then, right in the middle of the monotonous quarantine, that I realized the power of finding purpose: the true strength of being...

Reality hits me, every time I gaze out of a window during a cab ride, or commute my way back from school. My observations in these moments exposed me to the human condition, so deprived of quality and respect, sharing living spaces with garbage,...

As the curtain rose on our school’s 50th annual program at Shilpakala Vedika, the spotlight operator looked confused. My heart skipped a beat. Minutes earlier, a last-minute change in the performance order had left the backstage crew scrambling....

Opening the refrigerator door four years ago to feed my sourdough starter, I was shocked to discover that it had erupted out of its glass jar. It baffled me- how and why could adding just a half cup of flour and 100 milliliters of water cause so...

March 2, 2006. Three immigrants: 2 parents and a child arrived in Rancho Cordova with three suitcases and $100. Due to the poverty of their home country, Moldova, the mother, and the father were willing to take a gamble in a brand new country,...

For most Gen Z, computers and smartphones are inherent parts of life. However, I only gained an appreciation for the details behind the screens in the summer of ninth grade when I created a chatting program to exchange jokes with my twin sister...

Blinking sweat from my eyes, I raised my chin up to the pullup bar one last time before dropping down, my muscles trembling. But despite my physical exhaustion at the end of the workout, mentally, I felt reinvigorated and stronger than ever....

To most Gen Z, life without internet or smartphones would be like life without food: (practically) impossible. However, I only gained an appreciation for the details behind the scenes in the summer of 9th grade when I created a chatting program to...

Hello, I am Aoi's phone. I think one of the good things about Aoi is that she is a person who cherishes her small things such as people who are always around her, or simple moments of everyday life. For example, she loves to take photos and videos...

Growing up, I often felt like an observer in the background, blending into the scenery of high school life. My shyness was like a shield, protecting me from the vibrant and overwhelming world around me. It wasn’t until my freshman year that I...

U, R, U’, R’, F, R’, F’, R. edges placed. There’s only one more piece, then I’ll finally move on to solvingthe third layer. It’s coming along more quickly than I’d expected, too.

I can vaguely hear the rhythmic click, click, click of magnets, the...

Every weekend, I clean the bathroom at home since the age of 11, and it is one of the things that I am passionate about.

In Japanese culture, the goddess of the bathroom is said to be very beautiful. If you clean the bathroom, you will become...

As I finished reading the last page of “We Need to Talk About Kevin” by Lionel Shriver, my first thought was, “I can’t wait to review this on my blog.”

I started my blog in the summer before sophomore year, when I’d moved from India to Singapore....

I am a simple person. My dad works with computers, my mom works with food, and ironically, my two favorite things are computers and food. Yet, no matter how hard I try to convince myself that I’m that simple, my thoughts always wander into the...

When I look back at the videos of my so-called dance performances as a 5-year old, I feel my soul cringe. Little 5-year-old Tara had herself convinced that even Beyonce couldn’t hold a candle to her dance moves. Why did my mother allow me to make...

“Alright, let’s go again. No sleep till it’s perfect.” A collective groan filled the room when our music Guru asked us to practice the beats for the tenth time in the past two hours. We were exhausted from continuous practice and little sleep;...

This summer, I fell for someone. Her name? India. This is our story:

In line with the classic enemies-to-lovers trope, we started as haters. Growing up, I dreaded the trip my family took to India every five years. I hated how dirty it was. I hated...

“But I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake!” we screamed at the top of our lungs as we danced and shook our bodies to the beat of the music, realizing we had just been on a three-hour long roller coaster of song, dance, emotion, and wonder with...

"Are you sure you want that one? You might not like it, and I won't be getting you another book this week." It was getting late, and my mother was making her final attempt to convince me to get a more age-appropriate book.

Nevertheless, I was...

In 3rd grade, I used to carry a copy of my passport to school. My after-school program teacher once asked me where I was from. “The US,” I replied. She dismissed my answer, insisting “Where are you really from?” Tired of the constant dismissal and...