Rather than disjointed sounds, Mandarin began to sound like musical cascades. The tones, initially strange, became the flourishes to phrases. As noise shifted into meaning, a previously inchoate feeling-- the need to be understood-- became absolute. Just as I had seen a faceless sea of anger on TV and allowed fear to dig its knuckles into my chest, perhaps some Chinese people let the label of “Japanese” control their perceptions of me. By high school, I became determined to defy...

I focused on topics such as studying abroad and music minors-- essentially things that represented my extracurricular passions as well.

I tied my love of knitting and some physics concepts together to craft my Harvard supplemental essays to bring across the point that I love communicating with others.

Eclectic, motivated,...

I interviewed with Harvard, Cornell, Penn, and Case Western. My experiences were varied depending on the interviewer, but...

I applied Early Action to one of my top choices that I...

College admissions officers have probably seen it all. I'd recommend focusing on one or two specific elements of...