Newest College Application Essays

The roaring waves crashed against the rocks. The sky was black except for two glowing fluorescent lights in a distance. I stood alone facing the Pacific Ocean and tears slowly trickled down my face but the wind quickly blew them away into the...

"BANG! BANG! BANG!" I slam the gavel on the desk to get everyone's attention. As I sit in front of the High School Site Council, full of administrators, teachers, students, and members of the community, I call the meeting to order. Serving as the...

As I stood on the wet beach assessing the oncoming wave, I threw the skimboard onto the sand, and jumped on. “How could I generate more speed?” I thought to myself. Calling upon inspiration from Mr. Harvie, my AP Physics teacher, I envisioned a...

I am not a runner, but I do it anyway to improve my fitness and endurance. Forcing my size nine feet into pink Pumas and my body into shorts and a tee is an arduous task, but I do it anyway. "I must." I pound the pavement, driving each foot...

I steal into her room when she is away. Borrowing make-up, clumsily applying too much blush, stabbing myself in the eye with mascara, and slicking on foundation like icing, I proceed with one goal: to be my big sister. She is the older one, the...

I firmly believe that there exists an inborn connection between the fields of mathematics and language. This understanding has always come to me intuitively, and yet every English teacher I’ve ever had has asserted his or her dislike or even...

In the summer before high school started, my family completed the year-long process of moving from our apartment in Brooklyn to the quiet suburbs of New Jersey. This extreme culture shock during such an important and transitory phase of my life...

What started as a simple chemistry project turned into a huge part of my life for two and a half months. Amanjeet, my partner, and I spent at least two hours each day in our school laboratory measuring acids and bases, calculating pH levels, and...

My high school is unique. It breeds a caliber of student that is both intellectually hungry and incredibly compassionate. This is, of course, high praise, yet this atmosphere has challenged me to remarkable ends throughout my four years here. My...

The day: December 27th, 2007. The time: 6:45 PM. The location: Karachi, Pakistan. There was nothing out of the ordinary on this crisp December day, or so I thought. I did not know that this ordinary day would soon become one of the most important...

“Holy s**t – you’re dad’s white?!” I guess that was the first thing my friend could think of to say after I introduced him to my father. His bulging eyes of shock and goofy grin barely surprised me. It’s the same reaction everyone has. Yes, he is...

“Peux-j'aller à... el baño? No… Me Permite ir…à la toilette? No…” My head spun, my bladder throbbed and my voice stuttered in some incomprehensible, newly invented language. Regretting all the water I drank at morning swim practice, I attempted to...

“The freshman 15” results from, starchy, processed, high calorie, bland, unhealthy and artificial food—typical college cuisine. Unfortunately, many colleges operate their classrooms with similar attitudes—artificial, pre-packaged experiences with...

“You would do the world a disservice by keeping your voice from it.” One of my best friends Kevin said this to me about a year ago. For years I actually refused to say I would go to school to study musical theatre. I simply told myself that it was...

It was an ordinary game of floor hockey. My palms were soaked, my skin unbearably itchy. The droplets of sweat were rolling down my back. But I couldn’t pay any attention to that. The offensive player was approaching me with the puck, trying to...

Giving up my weekend nights for swim practice was something I was used to by the time I reached high school. Swimming, I felt, was my niche, and with that niche came many sacrifices. Yet, for all the “hardships” that came with it, I earned the...

I would have never expected my life to change dramatically after a trip to the men’s room. However, on June 20, 2007, one did. I overheard a conversation that changed my point of view on nearly everything. “He didn’t even make it to Extemp...

When I was around nine years old, I would always sit at the dinner table with my mom, waiting for my dad to come home from a busy day at work. After changing out of his suit, he would come to the kitchen and start to talk about his day. The way...

The black and white keys mesmerized me, as always. They were of another ancestry - Steinway – different from the Yamaha I owned; but as I sat on the meticulously handcrafted ebony bench, I felt at home. My hands floated effortlessly upward, and...

There is something about me that I feel obligated to warn you of, something that may or may not surprise, alienate, or even horrify you. I’m an addict—hopelessly addicted to words. I thought you should know.

Due to this constant craving, you may...

“Poetry is a packsack of invisible keepsakes.”

~ Carl Sandburg

It is impossible to convey the art of words with more words. Case in point: try to find another word for “salty.” It isn’t bitter; it isn’t sour; it’s salty. Likewise, the terms “...

As a young aficionado of poetry and prose, I would love to develop my skills through a disciplined and distinguished writing program; Carnegie Mellon’s College of Humanities & Social Sciences offers just that. Believing one must be a great...

My mother was diagnosed with cancer. It all started in April of my sophomore year when she complained of exhaustion, nausea, a back ache, and bad breath. I remember the day perfectly. It was Easter morning and my mom was scheduled for a procedure...

As an individual fascinated with the universe and the potential questions it poses, I would quickly jump at the opportunity to spend a semester researching theoretical astrophysics. In this capacity, I have long considered academic study as...