University of California - Riverside Undergraduate College Application Essays

“This has to be the worst summer ever,” I thought to myself. The only television in our apartment broke.

Unsettled by pure boredom, I started to flip through books on the shelf. I read voraciously that summer, and became inevitably fascinated with...

“Feminism is witchcraft.” someone said.

Adrenaline rushes through my body. Friends I’ve had for years vanish when we discover that we held polarizing stances on at least this issue and perhaps more. I found myself in a similar situation during...

I sat stagnantly in confusion with Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "One Hundred Years of Solitude" open in my hands. Bewildered, I closed the book. On the cover, transcribed in glittering gold, was a sticker with the words: "Nobel Prize Winner!".

How did...

As much as I loved the stars as a child, I was rarely given the opportunity to be outside at night. Since the annual Christmas reunion at my aunt’s house culminated after 10 PM however, I was able to spend some time on those nights staring into...

The first beats of the tabla played, and my body relaxed. I closed my eyes to absorb the rhythm, then I started to sing. The interweaving of melodies and micro-tunes required deep focus; I needed to block out all distractions. The tensions from my...

Biology. Cellular research. Diagnosing neurological diseases. These are my passions. I was eight years-old when my mother gave me a small but very real microscope. I first used it to examine the cellular structure of my father’s hair. A field...

As a son of first-generation Indian immigrants, stories of hardship were not unfamiliar to me. Hate manifested in the form of chants like "Go back to YOUR country!". Hate manifested in the form of fear- fear of wearing our traditional kurtas or...

"Hey Gran how have you been hol-"

"Graaan? Can you hea-"

"Great, she can't hear us. *Sigh*. Mom, I thought Dad fixed issues with her sound?"

"Well, what are we supposed to do?"During the initial lockdowns, I tried to keep in touch with my...

“Pass me a new toothbrush please!” I heard my father shout. As I opened the bathroom drawer, I was taken aback- why does it look like my family owns a toiletry business? Our drawer was stacked with a range of toothbrushes, soaps in different...

Opening the refrigerator door four years ago to feed my sourdough starter, I was shocked to discover that it had erupted out of its glass jar. It baffled me- how and why could adding just a half cup of flour and 100 milliliters of water cause so...