Newest College Application Essays

For my entire life, I have had an affinity for creating things. When I was young, it was by building Lego spires that seemed to stretch to the sky, or epic Lincoln Log castles that could win out over any dragon. But one thing that always...

“You’re not easy to figure out,” they say. I tell them I am the strength of Hancock, the wit of Tony Stark, the brain of Dr. Brown and the mystery of Anton Chigurh.

People find friends in novels, but I found myself in movies. Everything I do,...

Grasping my father’s hand, I descended the steps into the vast underworld. We were Phileas Fogg and Passepartout, documenting five hundred destinations, each neatly cataloged in a manilla notebook, one by one in our memories.

In the eight years I...

When I was seven I had my first crush. I remember the numerous sleepovers where I would be asked to divulge such a secret, with the stereotypical “so who do you like Dana?” I’d have no problem responding “I like Jessy,” which was always met with...

Momentary sadness descended on my face. The crescent moon in the night sky looks just as beautiful as ever, but today something is different. Is my smile mocking me, or does the moon look a little skeptical? Up until now, I’ve always thought that...

No matter how hectic my summer morning was, at 8:30 when I entered the Early Childhood Learning Center, all of my troubles were forgotten. Bubbly boys and girls filled the halls spreading a little piece of their happiness with whoever walked their...

It felt like I was flying and in control of where I wanted to go.

Expecting to spend most of my time on the ground, I surprisingly stayed on my feet loving every minute of this adventure.

Snowboarding has not only become a sport that I really...

It’s a strange moment, when your greatest passion becomes your greatest predicament. I have called myself an artist since pre-school, a writer since first grade. Back then, my creative projects only gave me pleasure because they were the bridges...

My transition from a mermaid to a scientist wasn’t necessarily my choice, but boy am I glad it happened.

“Five more minutes, dad!” was all you heard, and wrinkled hands waving frantically in the air were all you saw. I remember splashing around...

Photos freeze the world in place for just a moment. In the rapidly moving world, it’s refreshing to look at a photo, stop the earth’s spin, and live in the past for a few minutes. Photos are sentiments—souvenirs of a time and place that has...

“This looks not like a nuptial” - Much Ado About Nothing

For a split second hanging in the air, I could feel the forces of gravity drag me toward the packed-down snow. The knowledge that I had made a horrible decision swam through the pink folds...

Most ten year-olds have a themed birthday party, Minecraft, Disney princesses,shows, you name it. However, I had spent my birthday 18 hours on a plane, emotionally tense and sleep deprived.

Growing up, I wasn’t exposed to diverse groups of...

In a bustling early childcare classroom, it was a usual day with all sorts of wails and giggles in the background. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as a conversation between children escalated and as a fellow teacher made moves to intervene....

The only explanation why there are Cheeto-dusted fingerprints across a squash court could only be: little kids. Over the summer, my squash coach asked if I would help with her children’s summer camp. Naively confident, I accepted. Throughout those...

“Help, I can’t move,” cried a feeble voice. It was a trapped “victim.” At first, I froze in fear until my team leader yelled, “Radio out!” I composed myself, called our Incident Commander on the walkie-talkie, and reported, “Female, green top, red...

In The Office series finale, Andy Bernard remarks that he wished there was a “way to know you’re in the good old days before you’ve left them.” I know in my own life, there have been days where I ached for my childhood, the time when my days were...

The clear breeze that I could not feel but I could see, the smell of the gateways closing, the rush of checking in on time, and having to fit so much in little suitcases. As a young girl, that was my story every year, an adventurous trip from one...

“Seed-Free Spoon” is a product I tried to develop to benefit all watermelon lovers, in the hope that we can enjoy the juicy mouth feel of the fruit without constantly chewing on the annoying seeds. However, when I first shared my idea with my...

The smell of sweet plantain fills my room and beckons me into the kitchen. My mom’s on the phone. She speaks loudly across the world to my aunt, while on the verge of blistering her hands from the popping oil. She hears me enter, then tosses the...

I vividly remember my sixth-grade self sprawled out on my kitchen floor attempting to separate the misplaced recyclables in our trash can. I knew little of climate change or the nitrogen cycle at the time but was fascinated by the outdoors. Even...

My left foot takes a daring step, leading my body into the foreign environment, darkness enveloping me as an air of forbidden exhilaration rushes through my veins. The creatures of the night chirp vigorously and the dew-filled grass wraps itself...

Before I open my laptop I can hear it. Every beat, every base drop comes to life faster than my hands can sort it into sound. Melodies weave together and I can tell the stuffed animals on my shelf are in for a show. Now in the headspace to create,...

I wasn’t going home with my mom that night. She was waiting outside the clinic to pick me up just like she did every Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday night, and I heard my phone buzz with the predictable “I’m here” text. But instead, I told her to...

According to a British newspaper, The Mirror, “Four babies a day are born addicted to heroin, crack cocaine and other drugs, shocking figures revealed [that’s about 7,800 crack babies since 2009].” I was one of these children; born in Miami: no...