Princeton University

One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of the human brain. After a particularly lacklustre discussion in my religion class, our teacher gave us an extra writing assignment. “Who is responsible,” she posed to the class, “...

Wellesley College

When I was first compiling my college list, I was resistant to the idea of including Wellesley. I was in the group of people who didn’t like the idea of college eithout y-chromosomes. For me, it wasn’t a social issue; I can have fun with whoever...

Yale University

The first rower I ever met was my proctor in my dorm. At the end of her senior year, her first year on varsity, I asked her how she felt about closing her career with a championship. “I would have rather been on third boat,” she said, “Less...

University of Puget Sound

I can’t stand carpet. The diverse and rugged terrain of the outdoors is undoubtedly superior. I find air conditioning annoyingly artificial compared with summer’s pure, refreshing breeze. And though it may be abnormal, I love to feel sweat...

Princeton University

A year and a day’s journey lay ahead of every fabled knight in search of the ever elusive Holy Grail, and if said knight was deemed worthy to find it, exhaustion would cause him to sleep at the feet of the Grail without ever truly seeing it. And...

Boston College

I am well known for having many strongly held personal convictions. Whether people look fondly on my convictions or harness utter disdain for them is a completely different story. Some are seen to be outrageous, such as believing that dipping...

Ohio Wesleyan University

I grew up in a family full of high school dropouts; completing school has not always been a top priority. In fact, I will be the first child in my family to graduate from high school, and first to go to college – this despite a constantly unstable...

Massachusetts Inst. of Technology

It was broken. Teams were gathering in the gym for the regional Science Olympiad competition and my electric vehicle sat useless on the cafeteria table. The motor simply would not spin, even though the lights said the circuit was on. The...

Boston University

I couldn’t find the elevator button. Minutes away from my first big meeting, my first real taste of corporate America, and the elevator seemed determined to snatch away my moment of glory. I tried to maintain my self-assured countenance, practiced...

University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh

Anne Frank once said, “How wonderful is it that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” Many people do not realize the impact the smallest good deeds can have on the human race. Some may even give up trying to make...

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

Touring historical museums, monuments or structures was never a shoulder drooping, heal dragging excursion for me; rather, I would spend the entire outing seemingly staring off into space at the visual delights and spiritual energy of what my...

University of California - Berkeley

My world has been exciting and supportive for all my pursuits in life, but I’m most thankful for how it has exposed me to science and welcomed me into research. Ever since my first encounter with science, I’ve been developing a grand theory in my...

California Institute of Technology

My legs dangled high above the ground as I sat next to my mom on the train. As I fidgeted the way little children do, my mother spoke to me. “You have plump fingers, not thin and bony like mine.” I frowned at her as she held my then tiny hands in...

Vanderbilt University

As the puck becomes tangled beneath my skates, my body tenses, and I frantically brace for the inevitable destruction. My senses are acutely alert to the heavy breathing that radiates from the opposing player barreling toward my backside. While...

University of Florida

We were inches from the edge; they were shouting “Dale la vuelta! Dale la vuelta!” (“Go around!”). Unless they moved their truck forward, we would plunge to our deaths, our tires were beginning to slip over the edge of the 2,000-foot cliff.

Our...

University of California - San Diego

My childhood began amidst a bevy of confusion – my parents worked several jobs and rushed in and out of the front door from one shift to the next, each time in a different uniform. Although my sister and I were able to take part in every school...

Bucknell University

Ireland was nothing like I had expected. Living in a small Irish city with my aunt and uncle for two months was much easier than it could have been. I wasn’t a total stranger, nor did I have to survive on my own. I was never homesick. There was no...

Carnegie Mellon University

Waving our banner wildly, we counted down the seconds, not at the homecoming game, but rather the 2009 FIRST Robotics Competition Kickoff. With only six weeks to build, wire, and program a 120-pound machine, my team jumped headfirst into...

New York University

1. I spent entire my last summer in Burlington County Footlighters, which is a small community theater. I was involved in two shows: The Secret Garden and The Odyssey, as a pianist for The Secret Garden rehearsals and a violinist for both shows. I...

Boston University

My open-mindedness, good sense of humor and diverse talents give me much to contribute to Boston University.

First, I am an open-minded person. I always have been courteous to people regardless of their backgrounds and personalities, and accepted...

Cornell University

Like every other year, a spectrum of color surrounds me on the first day of 2009. My January 1st mornings have always been shared with Grandma, a 91-year-old woman who still manages to scurry through the kitchen preparing the brunch that stares at...