Newest College Application Essays

Approximately sixty years ago, during World War II, Japan invaded and occupied parts of China, committing many atrocities. I learned something of these events in middle school, but didn't give them special thought at the time; WWII seemed marked...

It's generally taken to be a sign of desperation when a girl in the science stream sacrifices precious studying time to read books just so she can discuss the themes with Humanities students, but that is precisely what I did. Not only did I read...

I'm going to be honest. My mom has not been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, my best friend has never jumped off the Sears Tower, and I am not scheduled to compete in the Olympic Games while sporting a missing leg, two broken arms, and a lazy...

Slapping away yet another mosquito, I scrabbled and slid on the rough, gravel path. The steam rising from the earth fogged my glasses and gave credence to the affectionate nickname we had for this place: 'Hell'. It was the summer after sophomore...

I was white. I was so unbearably white. I walked into this madhouse - this dizzyingly varied place, filled with new and different sights, sounds, and even smells. I plunged into the teeming throng of diversity with apprehension. Jostling my way to...

"Hindsight is 20/20." This common saying, while a comforting way to console someone who can not accept a past decision, is far from accurate. The problem with changing history - even just one little fact - is that the consequences of the...

If Oberlin is the metaphorical forest, then I am the tree, seamlessly integrated into the foliage, underbrush, and spirit of my fellow students, and the college that ties us together. Like any forest, the total beauty comes not from one single...

"Northwest, this is La Crosse Tower. Hold-short runway three-one for Cessna on final."

Knowing that I had personally delayed a plane full of commercial passengers on my sixteenth birthday was not what I had in mind for my first solo flight....

When I was just five months old, my father was transferred to the USA to represent Bangladesh as a diplomat. My cousin came along with us, and in the first three years of my life, I became extremely attached to him. When my father was transferred...

I eat ten apples a day, cores and all. My love for apples is an integral part of my identity, just like my passion for living, learning, and laughing. My teachers and peers have always recognized my drive; one math teacher even remarked in his...

I remember the smile on his face. My father had been stressed for eight years, and I didn't think I'd ever see that smile again. It was an exuberant smile-one that showed a man who was at peace. Even with my father's reassuring smile, I was...

My friends and family have always known that I'm a person with high aspirations. But aspirations matter little unless they motivate hard work and action. I don't think I surprised my parents the day I announced I would become a filmmaker. They...

During my time at the United World College, I have had the opportunity to spend every day of my school life with people from cultures very different from my own. It is hard to think of one specific situation which stands out from the others, but...

The question was "1. Having a diverse and exciting community of students is an important component in determining a great university. How can I contribute to that population?"

As I sat at my desk pondering this question, I grabbed my 7-year-old...

As a human being, one has the ability to conceptualize inside of the mind and to use this ability to physically create art of any medium. It is only a matter of being able to harness this ability either for oneself or for the good of society. As...

Initially I was drawn towards Pratt by its alumni: Peter Max, Betsey Johnson and Robert Redford. I thought a college that trained such prominent artistic minds must be worth investigating, but the Pratt alumnus that persuaded me the most in my...

I remember sobbing with my face pressed against the wooden swing set in my backyard while my parents yelled at each other on the patio. I remember playing with my toys in my room only to go hide in the darkness of my closet because my parents were...

Her hands were as tough as leather, but they felt like velvet to me. She smelled unlike most grandmothers, constantly encompassed by a pungent aroma of fresh mimosas and blooming marigolds. I think it was her eyes that captivated me most as a...

Have you ever thought about having children? I've come to realize that most girls assume they will be mothers sometime in the nebulous future, but I used to be bewildered that my peers could say things like, "If I have a son, I'll name him Jude."...

At School of the Arts (SOTA) in San Francisco, film and video students set out to create independent projects twice a year. In spring semester of senior year, my friend Julian and I decided we would produce a movie so incredible, it would be...

It seems as though every day since elementary school people have been asking me the same daunting question: "So, what do you want to do when you grow up?" While my creative mind continues to come up with a different idea for each day of the week,...

I wrestled open the door, juggling the unwieldy fruits of my labor. Here I was again at Sequencing, that cavernous machine-laden room on the 15th floor of the Alkek Building in the Baylor College of Medicine Human Genome Sequencing Center,...

He walked into the classroom like any other student would on his first day of class. He carried the same books, same vaguely uncomfortable air about him, and same barely-concealed eagerness to learn as the rest of us. Yes, in all regards he was a...

After nine years in the public school system, I was used to locking everything away knowing that what I left in the open would be gone when I got back. When I changed schools, I encountered a new environment and a set of rules based on honor...