University of Southern California

One late Saturday afternoon, my friend Amelia and I were completely ravenous so I decided to order a pizza, not realizing how significantly that one pie could change not only the course of my day, but also my outlook on life. After shamelessly...

University of Southern California

My life is filled with hantai, or opposites: potatoes and rice, forks and chopsticks, Bachan and Nana, and an English first name and a Japanese last name. When I was younger, it never occurred to me that I was any different than any of my...

University of Washington

I consider myself a food enthusiast. That is, I love food in all of its aspects; the obvious nutiritional significance, the delightful variations in flavor and texture, the cultural connections, and sometimes even the visual beauty of it. One may...

University of Washington

Admissions Board: In order to convey as much information as possible to you, I have written an essay that will help give an idea about what I am interested in, how I serve my peers and community, and the types of experiences that really stick in...

Vassar College

"Come on! Speed it up! Just a bit left to go!"

He was out of his mind.hell, they were both out of their minds. I was not going to be able to make it. I couldn't remember why I had ever agreed to go with them. The weight of the excessively large...

Wake Forest University

My academic passion is learning; from the trivial to the essential, I am excited by all. Until my sophomore year of high school I was completely unaware of the best feeling in the world, that of learning and embracing a new idea or concept that...

Wake Forest University

Demanding to be looked at, the unique landscape of Zion National Park presents an imposing image of unforgettable beauty to its beholder. It may not be contained in the Louvre, but I consider it a masterpiece nonetheless. It is not that I do not...

Wake Forest University

Does education have a value? Not one that is measurable. From my four years in college I expect to receive a wealth of knowledge and skill commensurate to the countless hours of hard work and dedication I intend to put into it. I believe my four...

Yale University

I was about nine when I watched the PBS special "Yanni: Live at the Acropolis" with my extended family. My parents said Yanni was a piano virtuoso, for whatever that was worth to a nine year older. As I awaited in 'enthusiastic anticipation', our...

Yale University

The smell of twenty-seven kinds of chili and one style of barbecue wafted through the air at the Palo Alto Chili Festival. It was a perfect day on a summer weekend, one of many I had spent volunteering for the Palo Alto Fire Explorers. The morning...

Yale University

On a summer vacation with my family last year, my first experience of independence in Italy was of almost being arrested. My parents had decided that they wanted to go to Europe for our annual summer trip. Since I had studied Latin for three...

Brown University

The advent of the year 2000 signifies a new world of hope and challenges for our country and the planet. With developments in technology such as the Internet, the world is coming closer together than ever. It is vital for the survival of our...

Yale University

The doorbell rang incessantly. The rest of the NASA Sharpies (as we like to call ourselves) and I in the room looked at each other in confusion - the door was already wide open. Glancing over, we saw Kennedy walk in with a curious look on his...

Stanford Law School

As long as I can remember, I've wanted to make movies. There was a short period when I wanted to be the starting point guard for the L.A. Lakers, but that passed quickly enough and I was right back to the more realistic goal of being a...

University of Michigan - Ann Arbor Law School

On one hot late-summer day when I was in high school, my parents came back from a shopping trip with a surprise present for me: the legendary board game, Diplomacy. At first I scoffed at such an old-fashioned game. Who would want to waste glorious...

Baylor College Medical School

When I began my college career, in August of 2000, I was amazed at the number of freshmen who, like me, wanted to major in Pre-Medicine. More than half of the freshman class, it seemed, would become doctors some day. However, as time marched on,...

Dartmouth Medical School

I hated the doctor's office. Most kids put a heating pad on their forehead so they could fake illness and stay home from school. When I'd have a fever, I'd use a damp cloth to cool myself down so I could go. I knew it shouldn't be that way. I...

Dartmouth Medical School

I have been lucky enough to travel extensively as I've grown up. The money I have saved as a result of performing magic professionally for the last thirteen years, not to mention the traveling which was a result of the performing itself, has given...

Georgetown University Medical School

It is possible that an aspiring physician gets so caught up in rankings and lists during the application process that he forgets that he will actually be spending four years of his life in the city in which the school is located. A school may be...

University of Florida Medical School

Born in the snow, raised in the sand, I moved from Alberta, Canada to Sanibel Island, Florida at the age of two. Living on an island for most my life shaped me in many ways. My kindergarten classmates, became my high school buddies, and have...

William and Mary College

"Kai houtos manthano."* To most, they are meaningless words, incomprehensible and bizarre. But to me, their meaning is legion: secrecy, silence, concealment. They are Greek, and they mean subversive. I am a subversive, of the Greek persuasion,...

Duke University

Is it possible for a person to be the mentor of another, even if the latter were born twenty one years after the former's death? The conventional answer to this question would be no, but then, I have always favored the unconventional. For indeed,...