Stanford University Undergraduate College Application Essays

Things are not looking good for the Griffins. They have just lost the slight lead they had over their opponent and they seem extremely fatigued. To make matters worse, there are only a few minutes left in the game. My legs feel weak and tell me...

"Don't be such a wimp, just jump!" I glanced up to see the smirking face of a blonde riding the chairlift above me. For the past five minutes, I had sat perched atop a fifteen-foot boulder directly under Snake Creek chairlift, snowboard strapped...

I shuddered. Chills raced down my spine. My arms and legs were suddenly covered in goose bumps. I read the quote once again. âTo leave the world a little better; whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know...

"Pre-calculus is much harder then calculus, and if you can make it through pre-calculus, you will breeze through calculus." This is my math teacher, Mrs. Croft's, favorite statement. Until I took calculus, I never believed her. I walked into...

I love to play the violin, but I hate to practice it. I dislike what I consider to be the mundane but difficult process of going over each passage or line individually, trying to make each note perfect while still developing the piece as a whole....

Nothing better epitomizes today's motto of learning than Aristotle's analysis of education, "The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet." It seems that the fruits of education have bloomed even greater and sweeter than ever before....

The hum of the centrifuge sharpened to an insistent whine, clicking softly as the safety lock disengaged. I collected my vial and reached for the pipette -- that sixth extension of my hand. My fingers shook slightly, but I was careful not to drop...

The dust billowed down, coating my face and the inside of my lungs as I ran. Ahead, Heartbreak Hill seemed to stretch into blue infinity. My senses deadened by fatigue, I almost missed hearing the voices. They grew louder and louder and suddenly I...

Hey roomy, come to the local chili festival this weekend! I had a blast there two summers ago -- and not only as a chili aficionado. Let me explain. I was a Palo Alto Fire Explorer in high school, so during the summer I staffed first aid stations...

Quotes are like songs and musical tunes. You can remember and repeat only the really good ones. For some reason, they stay in your head and play over and over again after you have found the perfect one. Like songs, quotes can be stuck in different...

I used to be "Daddy's little girl." Because I dropped into the world in between my genius, future-Nobel-prize-winner sister and my attention-needy baby brother, my mom never had enough time in between attending math competitions on the weekends...

It is the usual hot, sticky day in the streets of Dhaka. You look in any direction, and you see people bustling about with business, family, or other important matters. I was in one of the seemingly endless number of rickshaws next to my...

This past year has been replete with indelible memories for me; there have been moments that have temporarily frozen my consciousness, and times that have called for deep introspection, all stemming from my father's unexpected battle with a...

You can use your enormous privilege and opportunity to seek purely private pleasure and gain. But history will judge you, and ultimately, you will judge yourself, on the extent to which you have used your gifts to enlighten and enrich the lives of...

"If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door." Harvey Milk

I am a martyr. I am passionate. I recognize the fact that I mean so little, but can do so much. I came across this quote in June of this year, and it...

As we all piled onto the aging tweed sofa, my dad struggled to get the fancy new VCR to work while my mom, my brother Jacob, and I continued to stare vacantly at the blank screen. It was Christmas Eve, 2001, and we were settling in to watch a...

A successful movie producer named Samuel Goldwyn once said, "Luck is the sense to recognize an opportunity and the ability to take advantage of it." As I read this quote recently in a magazine article, I immediately thought of the Manitou Springs...

The Pennsylvania Governor's School for Global Entrepreneurship was the most eye-opening experience of my life. In the five weeks I was at Governor's School I learned more about the world than I could ever learn in a high school classroom. With...

Hey Buddy!

As we walked home from CoHo last night, I was reminded of the unexpected connections that we share for two guys assembled from opposite corners of the globe. I must admit, when I learned that you were from Shanghai I worried we would...

I worked for months to prepare for the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) state office election. I designed my flyers and baseball-style trading cards, delivered my speech to the 150 electors, and campaigned during the state conference,...

Sometimes life throws us challenges that are unexpected and scary, as well as obstructive to our goals and dreams. A few years ago my mother became ill concurrent with the dot com bust. She was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, her third type of...

"Hey! Change your away message. It's so OLD!" The chat window pops up onto the screen of my computer. Cool. One of my friends just messaged me. Wait. What is wrong with my away message? Its font and color are conspicuous enough to alert others...

Sitting in a dingy, cramped restaurant waiting for the carts of brunch dishes to pass by, I look like your average American teen - Calvin Klein t-shirt, khakis, a look of disgruntlement and impatience on my face. I should be making up this week's...

The gold embroidered collar of the traditional Chinese blouse tickled my neck. The costume was old, musty, unwashed, and uncomfortable. Are family photos ever enjoyable? Far to my right, through teeth clenched by a top-heavy headdress, my oldest...