Newest College Application Essays

As a teenage girl with hyperlexia - a communications disorder that causes some social problems - my life has had its share of interesting challenges. Although my disorder is not nearly as severe as it was during my childhood, it has left some...

Reading at a young age, I am told, is the best way to sharpen a developing mind. In the months leading up to the presidential elections in November of 1992, I was a seven-year-old with an undiagnosed case of attention deficit disorder and a...

My experiences with cultural diversity, while not necessarily limited to one particular event, have had a great impact on my life - most notably in fostering my fascination with world languages. Growing up in a half-Italian, half-Serbian home, I...

On July 1, 2001, the summer before my sophomore year, I was introduced to the University of Michigan's All-State Piano Program at Interlochen. Since I had never attended All-State, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect. Little did I know that this...

A petite young woman sits in the obstetrician's office, her four-year-old daughter in her lap. The little girl is restless yet unable to extricate herself from her mother's arms due to cerebral palsy. Both mother and daughter wear worried...

The pianist walks gracefully up the steps to the stage. She sits at the piano bench, adjusts the skirt of her white dress, and places her hands on the keyboard. She then begins to play. The simple, lyrical piece is unfamiliar to the audience, but...

They say "Patience is a virtue" and "Good things come to those who wait". I believe better versions of those statements are "Passion is a virtue" and "Good things come to those who work". These modified mottos are an explanation of who I am and...

On my first day of ninth grade, I stepped into my Spanish 1 classroom - a long, narrow room with desks arranged in a few rows backed by a wall covered in colorful posters. I had waited for years to take the opportunity to learn a foreign language,...

Kristina Roelefs was born on Christmas Day to parents who loved the arts - her mother was an actress and singer, and her father was a music professor. As a baby and toddler, not surprisingly, Kristina loved to "sing" along with her mother and...

I went home the other night, my mind full of ideas, words, and lines from a play.

Excitedly, I began to explain my outlook to those who would hear me. "It doesn't matter," I said with a smile on my face, "none of this matters." My audience was much...

One late Saturday afternoon, my friend Amelia and I were completely ravenous so I decided to order a pizza, not realizing how significantly that one pie could change not only the course of my day, but also my outlook on life. After shamelessly...

My life is filled with hantai, or opposites: potatoes and rice, forks and chopsticks, Bachan and Nana, and an English first name and a Japanese last name. When I was younger, it never occurred to me that I was any different than any of my...

I consider myself a food enthusiast. That is, I love food in all of its aspects; the obvious nutiritional significance, the delightful variations in flavor and texture, the cultural connections, and sometimes even the visual beauty of it. One may...

Admissions Board: In order to convey as much information as possible to you, I have written an essay that will help give an idea about what I am interested in, how I serve my peers and community, and the types of experiences that really stick in...

"Come on! Speed it up! Just a bit left to go!"

He was out of his mind.hell, they were both out of their minds. I was not going to be able to make it. I couldn't remember why I had ever agreed to go with them. The weight of the excessively large...

My academic passion is learning; from the trivial to the essential, I am excited by all. Until my sophomore year of high school I was completely unaware of the best feeling in the world, that of learning and embracing a new idea or concept that...

Demanding to be looked at, the unique landscape of Zion National Park presents an imposing image of unforgettable beauty to its beholder. It may not be contained in the Louvre, but I consider it a masterpiece nonetheless. It is not that I do not...

Does education have a value? Not one that is measurable. From my four years in college I expect to receive a wealth of knowledge and skill commensurate to the countless hours of hard work and dedication I intend to put into it. I believe my four...

I was about nine when I watched the PBS special "Yanni: Live at the Acropolis" with my extended family. My parents said Yanni was a piano virtuoso, for whatever that was worth to a nine year older. As I awaited in 'enthusiastic anticipation', our...

From Negative to Positive (Or Positive to Negative?) The lurid confessions of a member of Teeny-Bopper Anonymous

Wow. Wasn't I cool? Since this picture was taken, everything outside of myself - my appearance, my surroundings, even my superficial...

The smell of twenty-seven kinds of chili and one style of barbecue wafted through the air at the Palo Alto Chili Festival. It was a perfect day on a summer weekend, one of many I had spent volunteering for the Palo Alto Fire Explorers. The morning...

On a summer vacation with my family last year, my first experience of independence in Italy was of almost being arrested. My parents had decided that they wanted to go to Europe for our annual summer trip. Since I had studied Latin for three...

The advent of the year 2000 signifies a new world of hope and challenges for our country and the planet. With developments in technology such as the Internet, the world is coming closer together than ever. It is vital for the survival of our...

The doorbell rang incessantly. The rest of the NASA Sharpies (as we like to call ourselves) and I in the room looked at each other in confusion - the door was already wide open. Glancing over, we saw Kennedy walk in with a curious look on his...