Newest College Application Essays

July 19, 2012. On that day, 23 people lost their lives in a violent shooting. I was less than 100 miles away from this, sitting in the Cinemark Theater dressed up as Two Face as my friends and I waited eagerly for the same movie; unknown to me was...

My one place of contentment, in all of time and space, actually is a place where I am constantly moving. Literally. That one perfect, happy place for me is sitting atop the saddle of a horse. Although a saddle is not the most comfortable thing in...

Poker is Life. Life is Poker. So the saying goes. Now, my life does not revolve around poker, but I do learn a few things from it: luck, logic, forbearance, and risk. Life is full of uncertainty, and so is poker. Some people bet on luck, just like...

It was three o’clock in the afternoon. My first race was full of middle-aged men, and the decals on their cars weren’t all stickers like mine. They had been painted professionally. But paint jobs don’t impact speed and, to my advantage, I had the...

As I shoulder my bedroom door open, the cardboard box once secure in my hands flops to the ground. The resulting thud echoes off the walls, but my attention has already shifted. I start a calculated walk around the room, taking it in from multiple...

Each pounding step sends shockwaves up my body. My breathing is labored, but controlled. Inhale for two steps, exhale for two steps. Repeat. Midway through my run, my body has begun to complain. Amidst a sea of thoughts fighting for my attention,...

My hair used to fall out because I thought I was strong, my heartbeat used to waver because I thought I was in control, and my hands used to shake because, for the first time, I thought I was beautiful.

My hands have done great things. I used my...

The stress of the last-minute cram for a test could be seen in each and every one of my kids’ faces, which were contorting from determination, to anxiety, to confusion, and back again. My students were huddled in the back of the dojang, reviewing...

There’s a line out the door. Our youngest customers teeter on their tip toes to see inside the long glass cases. I work at Kilwin’s Winter Park, one of 90 locations in a growing confectionery franchise. We serve 32 ice cream flavors (memorized by...

One of my favorite TED Talks, “Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling” by Emilie Wapnick, begins with a loaded question: what was the first time someone asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Wapnick explains that this question can...

Picture your dream getaway: White sandy beaches, crystal blue water, palm trees swaying in the breeze, waiters acting on your every command to bring you the finest foods and drinks available. If you ask any travel agent to send you to this...

What eventually becomes “intellectual curiosity” begins as a parent’s nightmare. “Noah… Stop! What are you doing?... We need that.” Eventually my parents bought my “toys” at thrift stores, old toasters, food processors, clocks… anything that I...

Two dogs with bladder problems, one screaming six year old, and one painful, fifteen-hour drive. After suffering through traffic jams, vehicle smog tests, and no privacy, my parents decided to uproot our San Diego routines and begin a new life in...

We arrived at Ho Chi Minh cancer hospital for the first time, full of determination. The moment we entered the hall, a scene captured my eyes: young children (between the ages of 4 and 9) lying prostrate in the aisle. The countenance of the very...

Above my fireplace is a framed 8x10 photograph of me before my first day of second grade. A half smile limps across my face, at the request of my mother of course. I’m dressed in a brand new white Old Navy tank top; the scratchy lace and fit made...

I watch quietly as one of my peers speaks at the podium, exposing the inadequacies of her life, and pouring her heart out for all to view. When she is through with her story, everyone lines up to share embraces and offer a kind word. Everyone is...

As a member of a military family and a resident of a military community in Hampton Roads, Virginia, I found a passion for a problem that not many people acknowledge: the high rate of veteran suicide. Tragically, an average of 22 United States...

I grew up hating history classes. They were always the same—read, remember, regurgitate, repeat—and I stubbornly insisted that no teacher could ever make the subject appealing to me. Freshman year of high school proved me wrong. With a focus on...

The movements are lucid in my mind: Lunge - contre de sixte - paré en cédant - feinte de riposte. Right on the arm to finally lunge and touch the foot. Green light. I got her. 13-13; only two more touches to win. I can hear her breathing through...

For decades, the classic dispute of “nature vs. nurture” in regards to our maturation has dominated the debate about how children develop. Does a specific gene passed on from your parents predispose you to a life of crime? Are children more likely...

When I was ten months old, I grabbed onto the coffee table and hauled myself up, arms shaking, fists clenched, knees wobbling; ten minutes later, much to my parents’ dismay, I was sprinting around the house, choppy bangs flapping in the wind like...

What was the common factor that linked visiting the Indian hill state of Tripura, researching rural development programs, studying forest agriculture, crossing of a river in spate of rain on a single bamboo pole bridge—and being aquaphobic? Me. I...

It’s the intangible aspects of blogging that I find fascinating: one becomes a better writer, a critical reader, and thinker; one learns to leads a life with more intention, to develop healthful habits—and gets to meet people well outside one’s...

The stage lights burst open, blinding and white. I trembled. I was at the citywide poetry slam, Verselandia, about to perform in front of hundreds.

Earlier in the month, I had qualified through my high school’s contest, which I had signed up for...