Newest College Application Essays

Near the end of my junior school year, I ran for senior class president. My decision was based on a few different factors. For one, I wanted to play a larger role in my school. Although I have always participated in school athletics, I have...

Dan vs. Mr. Titelbaum. An epic showdown between the junior class and the math department. A crowd gathers around the table as Mr. T and I set up for the final point, the point that determines who will advance to the finals of the first-ever CPS...

As I watched my first black and white print slowly emerge from nothingness, the methodical ticking of the timer behind me, I smiled as a wave of excitement passed through me. Without thinking, I began to dance to the rhythm of the clock. From the...

At Brown, the Carrie Tower chimes, class beckons, and I walk in barefoot.

Barefoot like my abuela, who at the age of seventeen chased down the thief who snatched her purse. Armed with only indignation and pride, her feet pounded the soft earth of...

I sometimes wonder whether I've ever made any personal decisions. I think my parents have shaped my life to their liking: I attended Exeter in the footsteps of my father, and now I find myself in Rennes, where he studied thirty years ago. I do...

First impressions mean everything, I've been told from elementary school on. A person forms their opinion of you in the first few moments of meeting, and it's important to make a positive initial impact.

I suppose that's why my classmates seemed...

I was out of my element. Alcoholic fathers and abusive mothers? Gangs and drugs?! I had been thrust, suddenly, into the real world, exposed to all its horrors.

It was two years ago, and I had entered the Confirmation program at my church. The...

Paul Samuelson once told a joke about a physicist, a chemist and an economist who were stranded on an island with only a can of soup. The physicist suggested smashing it open with a rock, the chemist wanted to heat it with a fire, and the...

The name Kofi Annan formed my first impression of Macalester College. It was a school that had educated the Secretary-General of the United Nations, one of the most influential people in the world. In addition, a browse through the school...

Approximately sixty years ago, during World War II, Japan invaded and occupied parts of China, committing many atrocities. I learned something of these events in middle school, but didn't give them special thought at the time; WWII seemed marked...

It's generally taken to be a sign of desperation when a girl in the science stream sacrifices precious studying time to read books just so she can discuss the themes with Humanities students, but that is precisely what I did. Not only did I read...

I'm going to be honest. My mom has not been diagnosed with Huntington's Disease, my best friend has never jumped off the Sears Tower, and I am not scheduled to compete in the Olympic Games while sporting a missing leg, two broken arms, and a lazy...

Slapping away yet another mosquito, I scrabbled and slid on the rough, gravel path. The steam rising from the earth fogged my glasses and gave credence to the affectionate nickname we had for this place: 'Hell'. It was the summer after sophomore...

I was white. I was so unbearably white. I walked into this madhouse - this dizzyingly varied place, filled with new and different sights, sounds, and even smells. I plunged into the teeming throng of diversity with apprehension. Jostling my way to...

"Hindsight is 20/20." This common saying, while a comforting way to console someone who can not accept a past decision, is far from accurate. The problem with changing history - even just one little fact - is that the consequences of the...

If Oberlin is the metaphorical forest, then I am the tree, seamlessly integrated into the foliage, underbrush, and spirit of my fellow students, and the college that ties us together. Like any forest, the total beauty comes not from one single...

"Northwest, this is La Crosse Tower. Hold-short runway three-one for Cessna on final."

Knowing that I had personally delayed a plane full of commercial passengers on my sixteenth birthday was not what I had in mind for my first solo flight....

When I was just five months old, my father was transferred to the USA to represent Bangladesh as a diplomat. My cousin came along with us, and in the first three years of my life, I became extremely attached to him. When my father was transferred...

I eat ten apples a day, cores and all. My love for apples is an integral part of my identity, just like my passion for living, learning, and laughing. My teachers and peers have always recognized my drive; one math teacher even remarked in his...

I remember the smile on his face. My father had been stressed for eight years, and I didn't think I'd ever see that smile again. It was an exuberant smile-one that showed a man who was at peace. Even with my father's reassuring smile, I was...

My friends and family have always known that I'm a person with high aspirations. But aspirations matter little unless they motivate hard work and action. I don't think I surprised my parents the day I announced I would become a filmmaker. They...

During my time at the United World College, I have had the opportunity to spend every day of my school life with people from cultures very different from my own. It is hard to think of one specific situation which stands out from the others, but...

The question was "1. Having a diverse and exciting community of students is an important component in determining a great university. How can I contribute to that population?"

As I sat at my desk pondering this question, I grabbed my 7-year-old...

As a human being, one has the ability to conceptualize inside of the mind and to use this ability to physically create art of any medium. It is only a matter of being able to harness this ability either for oneself or for the good of society. As...