Newest College Application Essays

My family and I immigrated to the United States when I was just seven years old. Although it was very hard for my parents to leave their home and family behind in El Salvador, they were motivated to give me and my siblings a better life in the...

"You are next." The words of the referee still resonated in my mind as I walked across the soccer field. After 90 minutes of intense play, the score was still tied. The outcome of the game was in my hands. Coach Alcaraz had entrusted me with the...

To the outside world, my high school is the antithesis of diverse. When my peers considered me a legitimate minority for being a redhead, I assumed “diversity” to be a dirty word within the ivory-skinned social scene. However, I discovered that...

When my mom gave birth to me, I weighed in at nine and a half pounds and measured twenty-two inches. One could say I was pretty big for a newborn, but whenever I tell this story, it is soon followed by a: “And that’s pretty much when I stopped...

When I was about fourteen, my dad lost his job. He wasn't at fault; the hotel he worked at was in a poor financial situation, so fingers were wrongly pointed at him, the director of sales. The moment I heard I felt that my comfortable world was...

Many share the same goal: to create and manage a website that will grow to be successful and well-known, with plenty of active users keeping it afloat. At the mere age of thirteen, I can't say that this was exactly what I was aiming for when I...

Despite the bleak November evening, the people around the kitchen table were filled with joy. We had just finished studying the first of the Ruhi books, a series designed to teach the basics of Baha’i, and the tutors, Mary Kay and Chet, were...

Hair a mess, eyelids heavy, and bags under her eyes: every day I would see my mom come home, looking like this, tired from a day’s load of work. My mother, who had me at a young age, was forced to raise and support me all on her own. Where was my...

“The main part of intellectual education is not the acquisition of facts but learning how to make facts live,” said Oliver Wendell Holmes. Anyone can pass a history test by memorizing the facts. Anyone can follow an essay format and make an A....

From the first day, one thing became painfully obvious--if I didn’t get moving, I would get run over. It started off easy; I made sure to travel in the right direction. The tempo was slow. It was a cinch to fix a mistake without being noticed or...

As I'm sitting criss-cross on my bed, my cats curl up beside me, purring quietly. There's music playing in the background softly, the melodious kind that floats through the air. It's so calming that eventually I don't realize there's music playing...

Ernest Hemingway once said, “I like to listen. I have learned a great deal from listening carefully. Most people never listen.” From going through twelve years of schooling so far, I’ve learned things far beyond the realm of the classroom setting...

Miles inward from the shimmering white beaches of Hawaii, I trekked along beaten island roads to my destination - a small animal refuge playfully named the “Boo Boo Zoo.” As the car pulled up, a heterogeneous mix of cats and chickens inhabited the...

From past to present, and soon to be my future, my development into a young adult has blossomed me into a witty and hard-working lady. As an Army child, my family moved around from base to base quite a bit; some can say my mindset is nomadic....

When asked how to get to Carnegie Hall, a wise musician replied simply, “Practice.” Although I did plenty of practicing leading up to playing at Carnegie Hall, it was performing in New York that launched me towards true musicianship. The first...

I get off of the train into the piercingly cold winter morning, anxious, not knowing what to expect. "So who am I supposed to be looking for?" I think as I nervously scan my surroundings. After a draining 20 hour flight and train ride to get to a...

As I strode into that all-too familiar gym, the memory of last year's defeat was still fresh in my mind. The court loomed ahead, lying smugly as if it were already aware of the game's outcome. The CIF Volleyball Championship poster smirked at us...

On Sunday nights, I take out my favorite fountain pen and write letters. The letters vary by week. Sometimes I use store bought stationery; other times my words are casually scrawled on index cards. The recipients vary, too. Many have received...

TAKE THE ONE QUESTION ROOMMATE QUIZ TO SEE IF WE’RE COMPATIBLE!

Your ideal roommate is similar to you because she:

a) is an athlete who loves waking up for early morning runs and lives for her next adrenaline rush.

b) likes drinking hot chocolate and...

It didn’t take me long to figure out my family wasn’t the typical white picket fence American family. Both my parents immigrated to the United States from China. Neither of my parents pursued a college education—my dad dropped out of high school...

It’s an uncomfortable topic. It makes people squirm in their seats. Avoid eye contact. Talk in hushed voices.

Suicide.

This year it was a fellow classmate, whom I never got to know. A year ago, it was a young middle school student who rode my bus....

Out of breath, I settle down in my three point stance. Everyone on the line is pointing and yelling to say who they are blocking. On the snap of the ball I exert all my energy to push the other opponent into the ground. While football may seem...

There is a certain type of rebellion that is advantageous. It is the curiosity that cannot be tamed, the courage to challenge authority, and the tactfulness to make things happen. It knows no bounds, for the ambition exceeds personal potential....

I have always had a passion for reading. I was the child that co,uld not be found without a book pressed up against her nose. I was never the biggest, strongest, or the most athletically inclined student. With a book in hand I could become anyone...