Newest College Application Essays

Tell us about a personal quality, talent, accomplishment, contribution or experience that is important to you. What about this quality or accomplishment makes you proud and how does it relate to the person you are?

I stood at the edge of the small...

Describe the world you come from - for example, your family, community or school - and tell us how your world has shaped your dreams and aspirations.

I am a 'them'. In the 'us vs. them' mentality, I have been the 'them' to most people throughout my...

Open-Ended This question seeks to give students the opportunity to share important aspects of their schooling or their lives - such as their personal circumstances, family experiences and opportunities that were or were not available at their...

Write about a topic of your choice.

Point. Shoot. Develop. Print.

My daring choice to enroll in photography my sophomore year has awoken a slumbering giant. Initially, this giant (like most giants) didn't awaken as much as it slipped from deep...

Describe your dream internship and what it would entail.

When I walk into a room of real human corpses dissected and put on display, my initial response is not to shudder in horror as others might, but to inquire how it was possible to take an...

How, in your life, have you drawn strength from weakness?

Family turbulence, a new school, my grandmother’s illness – all have made me feel weak and sometimes hopeless, but I have emerged more emotionally secure and confident from those challenges....

Choose an issue of importance to you—the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope—and write an essay in which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your...

Write an essay in which you tell us about someone who has made an impact on your life and explain how and why this person is important to you.

I think it’s safe to say that, though he may not know it, Ian Lokey made me who I am more than any other...

The statement of purpose will provide an opportunity to explain any extenuating circumstances that you feel could add value to your application. You may also want to explain unique aspects of your academic background or valued experiences you may...

One of the most important events in my life was, oddly enough, a calculus project.

The assignment was to make a short film about trigonometry, which made sense given that our teacher was also president of the Movie Club. We had to make a movie and...

Why would you make a good candidate for our school?

I maintain that if we all spoke before thinking and took action without leadership, communication and leadership could not exist. As a result of this observance, therefore, I will try to describe...

By now, color and form are two essential ways I express myself. In my art I often draw myself as a stick figure with a shock of bright red hair. My family, friends, and even strangers have always commented on the thousands of freckles that pepper...

Growing up a vegetarian with hippy parents, reading feminist and pacifist literature, and listening to Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles has shaped me into a very politically charged person. Thus, while I admit that the Great Pyramids are amazing and...

The primary focus throughout my high school career has been the mastery of the Spanish language. For the past four of my six years in Spanish class, it has been my privilege to study the tongue of Cervantes under the fine tutelage of Mrs. Maria...

When the clear automatic doors opened to the humid air of New York City, my life would never be the same. The busy traffic with dozens of yellow cabs overwhelmed a girl who grew up in a place where a bike is an expensive transportation tool. While...

I grew up with my grandparents in a rural town near the coast of eastern China. I have never seen my biological father. This is not an obstacle, however, because my mother has always been my source of motivation. She first introduced me to the...

My mother first introduced me to the me-to-we way of life. She has always been my heroine and my source of motivation. Her primary concern as a physician is to help as many people as possible. At first, I did not understand why she always worked...

My body felt as if it had run a hundred miles in 98 degree weather. I was standing in a blazing hot room surrounded by bright lights. An overwhelming feeling of fatigue filled my body. The room was surrounded by mirrors, so I couldn’t escape from...

During the first months of my residence in New York City, the lavishness and consumption of the American lifestyle surprised me. As a new immigrant from rural China to the Big Apple, I was mentally unprepared for the sights and sounds of such a...

When I read through my first semester schedule, my face glowed with happiness when I saw Ceramics as my first period class. On the first day of school, I walked into the classroom with a smirk. I pitied the freshmen and sophomores for listening so...

Vijay Mallya, an Indian airline and brewing tycoon, is an unconventional businessman. He is the owner of the world’s second largest spirits company and also of one of India’s largest airlines, and his business success is one of many examples of...

His skinny figure stoops and meticulously cleans and wipes each green Dong leaf, then puts it into an small pile. Afterwards, he takes out a basket of peas and grinds them till they are as fine as wheat flour. Each of his movement is quick but...

During a trip to the US, my father brought back a boxed set of The West Wing DVDs. While I planned to watch them during my school holiday as amusement, the show instead became an obsession and an education in itself.

My greatest passion has always...

“The world is flat.” When I was little, I never believed this line. I would always show off in class, proudly proclaiming: “The earth is a sphere!” But now, I see the line again, on the title of a book by Thomas Friedman—and, this time, I have no...