Newest College Application Essays

I could feel the creative energy growing, pushing restlessly against the silence as they waited for me to finish reading the brief. As soon as I did, it released itself in an outburst; voices grew loud as they struggled to make themselves heard,...

Pfft. Pffffffffft.

Frustrated, I glared at the flute. It stared back at me as if to say, “bring it on.”

I consulted the beginner’s book, the red one that I hated: “Shape your mouth as if saying ‘whee-too,’ place the flute on your chin, and blow a...

The purr of the engine dulls the voices of the other passengers. The cabin is fiercely pressurized, and the economy seating is cocooned in the back. After we visited the fresh farmland and enjoyed accustomed smoked foods, the only taste that both...

Walking into St. Joseph’s chapel on the day before winter break, I felt as if I was walking through a portal. Outside was freezing and dark, but the inside of the stone walls was filled with a certain warmth and light that swelled through me the...

“We all need mirrors to remind ourselves who we are. I’m no different.”

The movie Memento closes with Lenny saying this. Given the chance, I would star in Memento. Lenny’s mirrors were his memory devices, but my mirrors are more tangible. When I...

“Miss? Why are you here?” I look down to see a little child tugging on my pant leg. The children at the Educational Theatre Company (ETC) think I am older than I am, so I often get questions like these from students who think I am wiser than my...

“You are going to a boarding school in Singapore,” said my parents one day.

The decision to send me off to boarding school came as a surprise for my family’s acquaintances. It came as a shock to me --- especially since I did not even know what the...

I had spent the whole morning preparing to execute an Olympic worthy backflip into my aunt’s community pool. It was the summer before 6th grade; I stood at the edge, took one deep breath, and launched myself into the air. I imagined the intense...

For as long as I can remember, my mother has been a singer in my church. I would tag along with her each week to watch the worship band rehearse, and I can recall just sitting there, absorbing the music, with my eyes always fixed on the drum set....

Nine - this number means the amount of times I have moved. I was five the first time I moved, and I remember looking at the big truck came and took away our packages. The fountain of water that bubbles near my new home was funny. Moving is great!...

"Come quick!” At six-years old, I struggle to Velcro my shoes on as I peer out the window to see where my father had gone. Eyes twinkling, he showed me a bright, green caterpillar chewing on a leaf, high in the branches. Hand in hand, we explored...

I jolt up, my head rapidly whipping around. I angrily slam my hand down, snoozing the alarm. I’m all ready to head back to sleep, concluding I accidentally left my school alarm on last night, but then I jolt up yet again.

Debate! Today is the...

Light, clear and ephemeral. A bubble is easy to pop. An onion on the other hand, has layers of tough, pungent membranes - breaking them brings tears to your eyes.

When asked where I was from, I would unthinkingly say ‘Karachi’. As I grew older, I...

I’ve had an elephant on my chest for as long as I can remember. On three occasions, I’ve been in a hospital bed not knowing if I would be alive the next day. The elephant was suffocating me. My divorced parents were forced to come together in a...

The room is spinning. The lights seem to burn straight into my skull. I look around, seeing nothing but eyes watching my every move. I feel as if I’m weightless, floating in the abyss of space. Suddenly, the white tile on the floor gets closer.

...

Snowflakes, soft and silver in the dark, drift past the window, casting shadows on the floor. The door creaks open as my mother peeks into the room to check on my brand new baby sister. She finds me crouched besides the tiny swaddled figure,...

Monday morning. I wake up to the birds singing and the sun radiating brightly, ready to conquer the day. I get ready, dressed in leggings and a long-sleeve t-shirt despite the 90º weather. I jog out the door, hop in my car, and speed away.

Once I...

If your dad asks you to cycle along the biggest saltwater lake in China-Qinghai Lake, what will you answer be? Hell yeah, that was my answer. However, I found the challenge was not easy. Qinghai Lake is 225 miles long and it is two miles above sea...

Sitting down in the authentic-looking Japanese restaurant, rated 4.5/5 stars on TripAdvisor, I find that my hopes are up. I sip my matcha latte and my mind buffers. After another sip, I ask myself, Do I taste the authentic matcha magic? Or does...

Crouched behind my yellow closet door, hearing glass shatter and walls banged, I kept hoping that something wonderful was about to happen. My parents were arguing over my father locking me in my room again. Whenever my mom was not home, he would...

For years, the first thing I would say to my mom everyday is, “Mom, did you wake up yet?”The answer I would receive across the phone has always been a yes. Some days, I called her too early and she would respond with a muffled yes, clearly half...

“Marylyn? The trouble-maker?”

Normally, you would not expect these words to be paired with smiles, but there they were, plastered on the faces of my classmates’ parents who loved to tease me. I laughed it off as if the joke meant nothing to me,...

I can’t eat Werther’s butterscotch candies anymore. For eight years Mr. Werth, my piano teacher, always kept a bag of Werther’s Butterscotch candies in his bag that he would share with me and my siblings. I have an enduring association between the...

I was at a loss for words.

Before we traveled back to New York, my dad insisted that we visit a nearby plantation. As I walked across the Carolina cotton field, I pictured myself in my ancestors' shoes. Imagining the verbal, physical and mental...