Newest College Application Essays

Little grains of rice, smothered in my mom’s pomegranate-walnut stew, danced around in my mouth as my mind strayed away from my hectic day. Our shadows remained beneath us at the dinner table as the kitchen lights burned a picture of what I wouldn...

It’s clear why the Hudson Valley School of Art originated in the area surrounding Bard. Walking amidst the golden-crowned oaks, beneath swirling flocks of birds, one is instantly compelled to create something beautiful, to stop and ponder the...

I discovered science fiction in fourth grade, led by Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I expected reading to reinforce my view of myself as a “humanities person.” But science fiction made technology exciting and showed me...

It always started like this: I am in my room watching TV or doing my homework when I hear an excited knock on my door. Shortly after, my dad flings my door open, beaming, telling me that I have to listen to this song that he just heard on the...

I've never once questioned why I had to bring my teal-blue, TI-34, MultiView calculator with me to my driver's license test. It was outdated in design, and nearly obsolete in comparison to the sophisticated calculators my peers sported....

About six years ago, my mom decided to go back to school to pursue a degree in nursing. Every day when I would return home from school, I would be welcomed by the sight of her sprawled out on the couch surrounded by a mountain of textbooks and...

The glass doors swung open and two guards and an entourage of EMTs rushed in with the patient. I slipped between two burly EMTs and placed the blanket on the shivering old woman on the gurney. “M3 will do,” the nurse at the Triage station said...

At the tender age of five, I became a movie director. At night, I could entertain myself for hours at a time, lying flat on my back, in the dark, watching self-written films inside my head. These were the most exciting adventures, acted in the...

Few among us can report an encounter with Bigfoot, or really with any cryptid of equal reputation, but I came pretty close. It was a sweltering day in Atlanta, temperature somewhere in the high eighties. The iced tea in my stomach was nearing...

I met her when I was six. Though she stood two inches shorter, her intimidation towered over me. Yet, I saw beyond her hard exterior; I saw a friendship that has lasted over a decade. She’s more of a listener, only speaking when spoken to. She is...

Since moving to Nashville five years ago, I’ve seen how meteoric growth can displace disadvantaged communities from necessary resources. Last summer, I shadowed at a public health lab, exploring the effectiveness of grassroots programs at...

“Your order #30114391 has arrived!”

I examine the envelope. It’s bright red and covered with small, white doodles surrounding the words “Find Your Thing.” It looks chaotic and somewhat outlandish. Slowly, I open the envelope, revealing a purple...

“You walked four flights to take a selfie with a door placard?”

My dad wasn’t impressed by Louise Gluck’s office in Linsly-Chittenden Hall. But when I visited Yale this past August, it was my first stop. Gluck, one of my favorite poets,...

“To combat organ trafficking, we must allow people to sell their kidneys!”

Being a Model United Nations delegate has opened my mind to new ideas, whether representing Suriname on the issue of child labor, Iran on the problem of organ trafficking,...

A cow gave birth and I watched. Staring from the window of our stopped car, I experienced two beginnings that day: the small bovine life and my future. Both emerged when I was only 10 years old and cruising along the twisting roads of rural...

Moving homes is never fun, but the first time I stepped into our new neighborhood, my feelings could be best described as disorienting, if you want to be nice. The small, gray houses were a stark contrast to those found in my old suburban...

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...

As a careless child with no worries besides what my Barbie was wearing to our next tea party, I never cared enough about appearance or culture to be bothered by the clear difference between me most of my classmates. Despite the various lessons we...

Sprachgefühl. A word introduced to me by author Kory Stamper, in her book Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries. Sounds like the most exciting book ever, doesn’t it? A friend gave this book to me for my sixteenth birthday. My sweet...

Photography is like magic; they’re both about deceiving people. Since I was 14, I explored the world with my best friend, my Nikon D3400. I took thousands of photographs. Each one with less glare, less blur than the one before, but with the same...

I have fallen in love with Thursdays. Why? Because I volunteer in the ER at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, Florida, constantly madcap organization, a symphony of coughing and wheezing, as well as electric energy. Whether it is consoling patients or...

The humid morning breeze pulls me down 7th Avenue, the anticipation gnawing at my stomach. Glaring billboards advertising Calvin Klein Jeans, Disney Movies, and Starbucks Coffee surround me; however, only one sign truly catches my eye with its...

Growing up, I loved to watch magicians. Amazed at their impossible tricks, I wanted to be a magician myself. Then, I discovered medicine. Pulling cards out of thin air? I studied penicillin instead. Levitating objects? The respiratory system was...

After visiting concentration camps in Poland, I became deeply intrigued by the human aspects of World War II. Even though it was difficult, even painful, to learn about what happened to my ancestors, the experience was valuable because it nurtured...