Boston University Undergraduate College Application Essays

I have been traveling since I was two weeks old. Denver is where I was born, but almost immediately after my adoption, my parents brought me to my home of 17 years, Rhode Island. I have had the fortune and privilege of having parents who love to...

Last summer, while aurally interpreting the script of Lorca’s ‘Yerma’, my biggest challenge was bringing to life the ‘shepherd’s horn in the distance’. My initial choice, the authentic sound of a conch-shell horn actually used by Andalusian...

I stare at the seven month old embryo suspended in fetal position in my mother’s ultra-sound image. I am amazed and thus unable to look away. This tiny being is confined to the corners of my mother’s womb, its umbilical cord still attached to its...

The idea of the character haunted my mind for days. I couldn't shake the feeling that while reading this novel, I had heard the ideas portrayed somewhere before, somewhere all too familiar.The first book I was ever to read in German struck a nerve...

We have a saying here in The Valley: The world will take us where we want to be. In essence, this little bit of wisdom accurately embodies the world I come from, what it has taught me, and the many ways in which it has shaped my dreams,...

A university is a community that is the sum of its parts. By far the most important part of such a community is its students and the individual qualities that they bring.

One of the most important qualities about me is that I am funny. I'm...

It was May 3, 2007, a warm, bright day. Every field was filled with blooming flowers and all the trees were covered with lime green leaves; everything seemed beautiful and normal besides this madness. I was in the back seat of a police car that...

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...

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...

I’ve lived with my grandparents all my life. My grandfather, whom I call “Pipo,” is like a father to me, and he is absolutely, no-doubt-about-it my favorite person in the world. He is intrigued by everything academic and has a photographic memory....

I have encountered a fork. Should I again submit to my father’s demands as I am sent to the kitchen to serve or should I refuse and risk tainting my role as the ideal Vietnamese daughter? I succumb, and fetch a repulsive-smelling platter of duck,...

I stepped out of the train. People pushing and shoving, back and forth, loud noises echoing down the narrow walls into the abyss. Searching for a way to the street, I too pushed my way through the barrage of people searching for the streets above:...

“All we have to do is use a straight razor to shave off the hair, and then use a 15-blade to cut off the epidermis,” said Carrie. She picked up a dead mouse by its tail and laid it on the table, then picked up the straight razor and started...

“If your house was on fire and you could save only one object, what would it be?” Juan answers, “My iPod.” Mary answers, “My flute.” Then it is my turn. We are rattling along a country road, playing the circle game to pass the time. The members of...

Although I woke up that morning and most likely performed my usual routine, I cannot recall what was going through my mind. I can tell you for sure that I had no idea that day would end up altering the way I value life. Before the sun ruptured the...

There was something about the feeling of that squishy muck squirting through my toes after a heavy rainfall that simply made me feel alive. Or to feel the gritty road pushing against every inch of my sole and the rough gravel digging into my...

Countless books, documentaries, and museums recount the story of the Jewish Holocaust. Comparatively few people, however, have heard of the modern holocaust that took place in Indonesia twelve years ago in my hometown of Jakarta.

One particular...

I watched my mother raise the hand that held the knife to wipe the tears falling down her cheek. “It’s just the onions,” she said, and then she continued chopping. Though I was only at the tender age of seven, I already knew better.

I am a hybrid...

“Clunk.”

“Home run!” my teammate yelled, laughing.

I winced, trying to hide my embarrassment; a home run would have been great if I had been playing baseball, but I was at my first high school tennis practice, and instead of the ball ending up on...

The finely milled sand was white-hot, almost as if a billion microscopic pieces of the sun had rained down and settled beneath the soles of my feet. As I scanned the beach, I took a deep breath of the muggy air, letting the dampness settle in my...

I often find myself momentarily stunned by small, jewel-like moments that make up this life. For this I must thank books.

I always loved to read, for reading allowed me to contemplate life in a way that reality never did. The novelty lay, I think,...

The Siberian tiger roared and twisted his massive body as he pressed his paws against the chain-link fence. Miniscule dirt particles trickled from his raised paws while saliva strings dripped from his gaping mouth. I stood on the other side of the...

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...

I grew up in a nonreligious household, but for as long as I can remember, I’ve been taught to worship my academics as the key to my success in the future. Instead of praying 5 times daily or memorizing biblical verses, nearly every day my mother...