Princeton University Undergraduate College Application Essays

Ever since I opened a National Geographic magazine to a five-page article on the Congo basin, I've cherished a secret desire to be a National Geographic photographer. I've always been fascinated by ecological biology, and I would love to learn...

I was born May 10, 1987, the third child in my family. I enjoyed the title of "the youngest" for exactly 754 days (and 3 hours) until I lost the coveted title on June 2, 1989 when my brother and sister were born. I now hold the often-detested...

Of course, the preliminary criteria for a roommate is someone who won't leave half-eaten food and wadded-up paper and underwear all over the floor, who won't blast AC/DC at 2 a.m. and who won't invite her new boyfriend over to spend the night. But...

My French teacher, a die-hard fan of existentialism, assigned Camus' L'etranger last year. I went into the book apprehensively, but came out enthralled. It was not the story linea man condemned for refusing to live by society's rules--nor the dark...

In my opinion, something which should be given a lot of weight in an application is the student's involvement in his or her community, whether it is in school or outside of school. Being involved in the community encompasses many things, from...

From Negative to Positive (Or Positive to Negative?) The lurid confessions of a member of Teeny-Bopper Anonymous

Wow. Wasn't I cool? Since this picture was taken, everything outside of myself - my appearance, my surroundings, even my superficial...

Recently, a seemingly small, insignificant memory stick changed my attitudes about the world and myself. The power of this small device was unleashed; all my aspirations for college were stored on the memory drive, but due to a moment's lapse, the...

I may seem to be a little bit unexpected, a tad too brash because I'm frequently rushing from one place to another, one meeting to the next, one errand to a physics lab: a windmill of both activity and laugher. However, if it seems slightly...

I graduated in 2000 from Rockway Middle School, at the time a "C+" crowded public school struggling to improve its programs; to the surprise of some, I did so having had the honor of being taught by several excellent teachers. They may not have...

To be given a year to spend as one chooses is clearly an unreasonable expectation, but for the sake of hypothetical situations I would say that I would spend that time around Russia's monasteries, helping rebuild those that a rise in awareness is...

When my family decided to move to the United States I was ten years old and thought little more of it other than to regret that I'd be leaving a city that I loved, a school I enjoyed attending, and the friends I'd acquired over four years. Because...

I only have to close my eyes to see this picture before me: A tall, old man standing in the middle of a semicircle of tired faces, grandiosely waving his endless arms as though he were swimming through the music. At five o'clock Friday afternoon,...

"If you only learn one thing all year, I hope it isn't which side won the Civil War, or how Kennedy and Krushchev saved the world," a middle-aged man with peppered hair and round glasses candidly stated from the front of the room, "but that school...

"What's honor?" The student's voice was careless and lazy, punctuated with a shrug of his shoulder. He asked the question without expecting a response, dismissing the very idea. "That doesn't exist here anymore."

It hurt me to hear one of my...

In this life, there are two types of questions: ordinary questions, of mathematics, logistics, and time; and questions of love, questions of faith, questions of life, whose truth is found not in answers, but rather in the journey to find them....

Leaping over crooked crevices in the sidewalk, my childhood self hopped a few yards ahead of my grandfather. As I paused to scrutinize a colorful candy wrapper, the smell of melting sugar drifted from a small blue cart where an old woman flipped...

I like to play with guns and knives.

It’s not what you think: I’m in color guard. Although events like the Virginia Tech incident have worsened the reputation of weaponry, color guard attempts to transform the traditional connotations of...

“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 “...

Soaring over rocky peaks, the colossal metal bird carried me in its belly, and after hours of flight, I finally reached my destination: Baltimore, Maryland. Despite the sea of people around me, I was alone on this voyage. During this sweltering...

I am breathing heavily, not from fatigue but simply the anticipation of exhaustion. My heart beats fast, waiting for the sharp pierce in the air. Finally, the gun fires, and I see fifty pairs of legs begin flying, and soon realize mine is among...

“I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” –Michael Jordan

It...

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...

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...

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, “...