Newest College Application Essays

There was something about the feeling of that squishy muck squirting through my toes after a heavy rainfall that simply made me feel alive. Or to feel the gritty road pushing against every inch of my sole and the rough gravel digging into my...

I prodded the chicken with my fork. The rest of the table was heatedly arguing about health care while I wondered how much longer the school fundraiser dinner would last. Then, an idle comment uttered by a boy I didn’t know made my head jerk up.

“…...

My father is a self-employed street artist. His work begins when he sets up his easel and paper on Fifth Avenue. Throughout the night, he sits patiently and draws portraits for people. No matter the weather, he is out on the streets. With his...

Although I woke up that morning and most likely performed my usual routine, I cannot recall what was going through my mind. I can tell you for sure that I had no idea that day would end up altering the way I value life. Before the sun ruptured the...

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K… As I enter the house, I hear the sweet melody of this song being sung in the playroom by a vivacious voice that can do nothing but bring a smile to my face. I tiptoe as quietly as I possibly can towards the...

I am an Asian, upper middle class, suburban kid, and I am not really that diverse if one simply looks at skin color, race, ethnicity, place of origin, or religion. But diversity is more than simple geography or socioeconomic status, especially in...

Stellar academics. A gorgeous campus. Endless opportunities. Northwestern University is the epitome of these three qualities. I do not know whether it was the top-ranked academics or the luscious campus which attracted me to this university;...

There is a friendly but serious white bench on court 1 that critically watches me from the sidelines, yet still allows me to rest upon it. The net stands at attention unlike the other courts’ droopy ones, and the court itself is bright blue with...

It’s 107 degrees and the sun’s hot rays are beating down on a family trekking through the busy streets of Dhaka. People, rickshaws, and goats alike are all rushing off to reach their respective destinations. As the parents of the family encourage...

Chino Hills: a city consisting mostly of matching, two story, track homes where families often attempt to hide their imperfections behind well-kept houses with flawlessly manicured lawns. I have lived in Chino Hills my whole life, and while the...

During the art camp’s Bead and Wire Sculpting class, a fish-shaped frame with wires running across it caught my eye. “Carly, what’s this?”

“An earring holder,” the freckled girl announced. “But I want it to stand up.”

We built a half-dozen wire...

My annual trips to Pakistan can be summarized with the use of a few basic words, including eating, sleeping, shopping, and complaining. If the car didn't have a fully-operating AC system, I'd curse the people and their lack of technological...

My greatest inspiration, and my greatest influence, comes from not just one person but from a group. This group is my non-biological family, and happens to be a small, homegrown nonprofit organization. Without this group, I would not be the person...

Staring into the dark emptiness at the back of my eyelids, I discern the sounds around me. I hear the water splash as I sit cross-legged on the moss-covered boulder in the middle of Bald Hill Stream. A raindrop falls somewhere to my left and...

Sliding in a zigzag pattern down the slope, I descend the mountain. Halfway down the trail, I reach a small terrain park. Below me lay a number of jumps and grind boxes. Seeing nobody below me, I push off toward the first jump. Snowflakes bash...

“I want to go to the Monkey Room!”

Slightly exasperated, I look down at the screaming six-year-old child and try desperately to remember the training on “collaborative problem solving.”

Step One: Find a place of empathy with the child.

“You really...

I lead a double life. You don’t often find someone who both dances and plays football. I suppose that makes me a statistical anomaly, because I go to tackle practice at six a.m. and barre class at six p.m. I love dance because it’s art with...

“If your house was on fire and you could save only one object, what would it be?” Juan answers, “My iPod.” Mary answers, “My flute.” Then it is my turn. We are rattling along a country road, playing the circle game to pass the time. The members of...

We tickle the roots, gently roll the stump into the pre-dug hole, and begin filling empty spaces with moist, rich soil. We work in silence. As the last layer of mulch is added to the donut ring around our scrawny oak tree, I wipe the sweat from my...

It began with a book. A simple title: “The Story of Philosophy”. I’m not quite sure how or why I came into possession of it, but one day I decided to take a peek into its well-worn pages. What is philosophy? I wondered. This was the first of a...

I hail from a family of successful engineers, and I have observed the profession carefully since my childhood. From an early age, I possessed a creative instinct and desire to work with mechanics. Simultaneously, my schooling revealed my keen...

Right now, my hands are wrinkled beyond recognition. I could literally draw a contour map of the folds on my fingers. They make it difficult to type: I've just spent ten minutes fumbling on the keyboard (now twelve), even though the words have...

My spacebar popped off of the keyboard for the seventh time that night. I snatched it from the floor and rammed it back in place, knowing that it was a futile effort. Apparently, my laptop was suffering from the tribulations of National Novel...

It’s a dirty, badly-lit, second-storey room. Inside is a desk, a pile of movie posters, a phone, an answering machine, and a trash can. The desk holds my modes of entertainment for the night: a couple of YA books and a drawing pad in which I write...