Newest College Application Essays

One of my favorite TED Talks, “Why Some of Us Don’t Have One True Calling” by Emilie Wapnick, begins with a loaded question: what was the first time someone asked “what do you want to be when you grow up?” Wapnick explains that this question can...

Picture your dream getaway: White sandy beaches, crystal blue water, palm trees swaying in the breeze, waiters acting on your every command to bring you the finest foods and drinks available. If you ask any travel agent to send you to this...

What eventually becomes “intellectual curiosity” begins as a parent’s nightmare. “Noah… Stop! What are you doing?... We need that.” Eventually my parents bought my “toys” at thrift stores, old toasters, food processors, clocks… anything that I...

Two dogs with bladder problems, one screaming six year old, and one painful, fifteen-hour drive. After suffering through traffic jams, vehicle smog tests, and no privacy, my parents decided to uproot our San Diego routines and begin a new life in...

We arrived at Ho Chi Minh cancer hospital for the first time, full of determination. The moment we entered the hall, a scene captured my eyes: young children (between the ages of 4 and 9) lying prostrate in the aisle. The countenance of the very...

Above my fireplace is a framed 8x10 photograph of me before my first day of second grade. A half smile limps across my face, at the request of my mother of course. I’m dressed in a brand new white Old Navy tank top; the scratchy lace and fit made...

I watch quietly as one of my peers speaks at the podium, exposing the inadequacies of her life, and pouring her heart out for all to view. When she is through with her story, everyone lines up to share embraces and offer a kind word. Everyone is...

As a member of a military family and a resident of a military community in Hampton Roads, Virginia, I found a passion for a problem that not many people acknowledge: the high rate of veteran suicide. Tragically, an average of 22 United States...

I grew up hating history classes. They were always the same—read, remember, regurgitate, repeat—and I stubbornly insisted that no teacher could ever make the subject appealing to me. Freshman year of high school proved me wrong. With a focus on...

The movements are lucid in my mind: Lunge - contre de sixte - paré en cédant - feinte de riposte. Right on the arm to finally lunge and touch the foot. Green light. I got her. 13-13; only two more touches to win. I can hear her breathing through...

For decades, the classic dispute of “nature vs. nurture” in regards to our maturation has dominated the debate about how children develop. Does a specific gene passed on from your parents predispose you to a life of crime? Are children more likely...

When I was ten months old, I grabbed onto the coffee table and hauled myself up, arms shaking, fists clenched, knees wobbling; ten minutes later, much to my parents’ dismay, I was sprinting around the house, choppy bangs flapping in the wind like...

What was the common factor that linked visiting the Indian hill state of Tripura, researching rural development programs, studying forest agriculture, crossing of a river in spate of rain on a single bamboo pole bridge—and being aquaphobic? Me. I...

It’s the intangible aspects of blogging that I find fascinating: one becomes a better writer, a critical reader, and thinker; one learns to leads a life with more intention, to develop healthful habits—and gets to meet people well outside one’s...

The stage lights burst open, blinding and white. I trembled. I was at the citywide poetry slam, Verselandia, about to perform in front of hundreds.

Earlier in the month, I had qualified through my high school’s contest, which I had signed up for...

Recently, I attempted the ultimate in mailed communication; I mailed a potato to a friend at college. Another friend and I covered it in sticky postage stamps, attached an address label, and waited for the surprise to be discovered in the...

I dreamt of the crowd in the darkness, a single spotlight shining down on me as I graced the stage with my movement, a sparkling array of costumes, and the feeling of soothing, crisp air. From the moment I stepped into my first dance class, I knew...

In checkers, players must strategize and plan in order to make their moves and win the game. This is what my dad taught me when we played, almost every day after school. After I learned the basics, it was up to me to figure out how to beat him. He...

Throughout my short lifetime of difficulties and discouragements, education has

been the one constant and one motivation that helped me stay positive. When my life

seemed to be falling apart, I knew I could get on the bus, go to school, and enter...

This past summer, I tutored two summer school math classes for incoming freshmen in

my district. I've tutored dozens of students in my high school career, so when I was working with

these students, I wasn't expecting anything to be different....

When I was seven years old, I used to think my floor was made of hot lava or occasionally under siege by a pack of angry anacondas. So, at night when it was time for me to go to bed, I would have to take one giant leap to make it to the massive...

I remember the first time, for better or worse, that I ever visited New York City. My parents decided it would be a great idea to road trip there (creating the basis of my hatred for long car rides). After two long, exhausting days of torturous...

The athlete-to-captain relationship is the lifeblood of any functioning sports team. After all, the team captain essentially acts as a mediator between the other players and the coach. Some other jobs of a team captain include, but are not limited...

Diving in a pool is an experience like no other. It’s like immersing yourself in a world with no sound and no communication. Underwater you can do things that would be so much more difficult to do on land, for example: a backflip or a handstand....