Newest College Application Essays

I hope to continue my commitment to helping uninsured and underserved patients. For over three years, I have been volunteering as a patient advocate and Vietnamese medical interpreter at the Pacific Free Clinic, a clinic that provides free primary...

As a visionary, I create challenging goals for myself and give them top priority. I have very specific goals I wish to accomplish in medical school before earning the privilege of become a doctor. I plan to evaluate my success on not only the...

Although I had assumed that my extensive knowledge of sailing as a sport would allow me to fulfill my role as coach without much difficulty, I learned immediately that I was much more than an instructor: everything I did had an impact on the kids....

Being in a hospital is not a pleasant experience, especially when the doctors are unaware of the diagnosis, and you, the patient, are left in the dark. Learning I had diabetes was an overwhelming experience, to say the least. I had gone in for a...

Homework was the catch to summer break. In middle school, it was all too common. We had two school-free months to do 100 pages of a math workbook. Back in middle school, I was quite confident in myself, so made a bet with a friend: if I finished...

When I was in grade school I wanted to be an engineer because my dad was an engineer. When I was in middle school I wanted to be a lawyer because my dad once tried to become a lawyer. I’m in high school-- my dad is still an engineer-- and I want...

Even though I ostensibly lack talent in the fields of drawing or painting, my appreciation and enthusiasm for art is unquestioned. Starting from a young age, I insisted on going to the Art Institute every time my family took a trip to downtown...

This summer, while attending a camp designed for the best high school policy debate students in the country, I noticed that only one-fourth of the participants in this camp were female. In the three and a half years I have committed to policy...

The two party system of American politics is obsolete. Politicians need to recognize the futility of polarization and instead realize that it is moderation and increased openmindedness that better serves the interests of the public. Instead of...

Two years ago I didn’t think twice about what brand name I was wearing, let alone where the article of clothing was manufactured. Mexico, Vietnam, China—until last year, they were little more than locations on a map to me. It was September, and I...

About 14 million people in the world identify themselves as Jewish, but what does that really mean? I struggle with this question because, to me, Judaism represents more of a culture than a religion. While I might say prayers and light the Shabbat...

The source of my family’s vision that is instilled in me is from Ephesians 4:12, “To prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” I believe that this will be facilitated at Messiah where the professors...

I’m a surfer, which means I spend many hours a week in the vast Pacific Ocean that meets the San Francisco County shoreline. I know my coastline like the back of my hand. I know the texture of the smooth, slimy kelp that flourishes in our frigid...

I stared deep into the dark green eyes of the seal that was lying on my surf board. She looked as if she were trying to tell me something. Her glossy grey coat glowed in the moonlight, and her whiskers twitched in the sea breeze. I could only...

We are sitting in an empty classroom, two hours after school has ended. Our hands are scribbling furiously across the page, trying to catch up with our torrent of ideas. It is the week before the debate final, and we are doing a dress rehearsal....

When I toured UNC Wilmington as a junior, I was immediately intrigued by the atmosphere of the campus from the Warwick Center to the Marine Science Center. The staff on campus appeared to be dedicated to teaching and helping students with anything...

When I first met my friend’s brother, she accented my introduction of myself with her own comment: “She’s a science geek.” Her impish smile assured me that “science geek” was meant to hold positive rather than negative connotations, so I laughed...

I drum my fingers on the desk, tapping out a horribly rushed “Washington Post March.” When I’m anxious, I tap. A chorus of “nous-nous-nous-nous-nous” accompanies the neurotic drumming; what else can I do but idiotically repeat that one syllable...

It was a less-than-exciting afternoon in the waning days of junior year when the mess began. My name, along with the names of two other speech and debate officers, was called over the intercom. We were wanted in the principal's office immediately....

I had heard it all before: life comes with no guarantees, no time outs, and rarely any second chances. Yet in spite of the currents against me, I sought to make for myself a second chance. When my junior year of basketball ended, my heart sunk...

People often tell me how much I look like my grandmother. They say we share the same eyes, the same nose, and the same eager smile. What they don’t realize, however, is that the five-foot, white-haired, 61-year-old woman beside me is not my...

I am breathing heavily, not from fatigue but simply the anticipation of exhaustion. My heart beats fast, waiting for the sharp pierce in the air. Finally, the gun fires, and I see fifty pairs of legs begin flying, and soon realize mine is among...

In the vast transience of life, with incessant changes occurring in everything ranging from scientific theories to the behavior of friends, truths can be difficult to find, and even more complex to explain. As the world is based largely on...

Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.

Day in, day out; week after week; year after year. She clocks-in and proceeds to a colorful room full of crying babies and children who have long overstayed...