University of Washington Undergraduate College Application Essays

Coffee. My beverage of choice, my trusted companion during long and lonesome nights, my stimulant and fountain of energy. Living in Honduras, I am surrounded by coffee, and yet, it is a crop that I knew very little about - until last summer, when...

I live in Saratoga, California: the sunny land of tutors, prep centers, and SAT classes. Everywhere you drive there are signs offering the best discounts, the best teachers, the best results. I always wondered, however, why my community didn’t...

It is often thought that the fastest route to Carnegie Hall is practice. I would never discredit the importance of practice, knowing its vitality in my own vocal development, but I believe confidence is equally important to success for any...

It was my turn to speak.

The Korean girl across the table and I had spent the past hour in a back-and-forth of stilted conversation. Our pre-collegiate institute had demanded that all disciplines “mingle,” and the silence told a story of two...

“Where from?”

“United States”

“WELL-COME,” joyously declared a little kid from a Bedouin tribe in Jordan. Surrounded by ancient tombs, a sandy landscape, and locals wrapped in head scarves selling items from their tents, I felt out of place. Yet,...

My mother’s hands tell the entire world of my life. They were the first to hold me when I was first born and feed me when I cried. It was her hands that have raised me on behalf of my busy dad, patting me when I behaved well and spanking me when I...

So ubiquitously sold in the streets of cold breezes of winter in South Korea, a red bean bun brings deliberate warmth and joy to many people. Sold at a price of only forty cents back in the 90s, the red bean bun was more than just a snack; it was...

My independence began with a walk.

One morning, instead of bursting into my mom’s room and shaking her awake to drive me to school, I quietly inched the door open. As I peeked down at a silhouette curled up in a fluffy mess of blankets, I couldn't...

First, it was my leg. I was three years old, running around the grassy backyard in my sparkly purple leotard, quietly catching glances of my neighbors flying up and down from across the lawn. With a misguided confidence, I determined that I,...

“Help, I can’t move,” cried a feeble voice. It was a trapped “victim.” At first, I froze in fear until my team leader yelled, “Radio out!” I composed myself, called our Incident Commander on the walkie-talkie, and reported, “Female, green top, red...

She won't even look at me. She has a cold aura surrounding her. I feel judged. I feel like I’m being held against my will and tested for some mental illness. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. I wish she could understand. I wish she would listen or...

I find it humorous when my family debates who looks more Asian versus White, me or my twin brother. My parents also joke that Brandon and I would be even taller or better at math had it not been for the “shortcomings” each contributed to our...

“Can’t you make it 40? I come here every day!” my grandma smirked at the vendor’s defeated face. She looked at me with a victorious smile as she claimed her trophy from the vendor. The vibrant color of the freshest produce, the unforgettable aroma...

My community can be seen through a window on a bus ride from my school back home. Safely tucked away in an air-conditioned bus, I glance out the window to see the world for what it really is.

The world beyond that window has shown me more than...

Its hairy back flashed across my line of sight. From the perimeter of our campsite, its growls haunted my family. My mouth suddenly dried up, bladder full, and a chill ran up my spine. For a second, my eyes were locked in contact with the bear's...

“Are you sure you want to make that move?” Grandpa asks.

I take yet another look at the board in front of me and walk myself through it one more time, step-by-step. He’ll take my rook―he has to―with his last bishop, which’ll allow me to corner his...

I showed up to school in thongs today... no not that type of thong. Indeed, Australians call flip flops, thongs. As my physcis teacher told me he 'reckons' I should take off my thongs and put on 'runners' (i.e. sneakers) to avoid labratory...

I was twelve years old the first time my ballet teacher looked at our class and told us she could see our lunches through our leotards. Before her comment, I had never really thought about the way my body looked in the mirror, I just enjoyed going...