How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago. During the seventh grade, the English language was my primary method of achieving utopia. In this dark period, I relied on literature in order to escape my mother’s insults. Through brooks, I traveled to places like California and Puerto Rico, even though...

(University of Chicago) People often think of language as a connector, something that brings people together by helping them share experiences, feelings, ideas, etc. We, however, are interested in how language sets people apart. Start with the peculiarities of your own personal language—the voice you use when speaking most intimately to yourself, the vocabulary that spills out when you're startled, or special phrases and gestures that no one else seems to use or even understand—and tell us how...

(Princeton) Tell us about a person who has influenced you in a significant way. My father—Fausto Morquecho—was born in Azogues, Ecuador, on December 1, 1966, to a construction worker and a part-time market vendor. At that time, my father lived a simple life, one which was sustained by family values and hard labor as opposed to technological advances. Sadly, my father’s stay in Ecuador ended at the young age of 24, when he immigrated to the United States. After his...

(University of Chicago) Share with us a few of your favorite books, poems, authors, films, plays, pieces of music, musicians, performers, paintings, artists, blogs, magazines, or newspapers. Feel free to touch on one, some, or all of the categories listed, or add a category of your own. My favorite books are usually distorted from assumed reality because they refer to a reality that is not widely accepted or that will be revealed in the future. I feel that I am...

(Dartmouth) Every name tells a story: Tell us about your name--any name: first, middle, last, nickname--and its origin. Before I was born on the 29th of May 1998, my parents had a small feud over who would name the children. My father wanted to name me, but my mother didn’t want my father to give me an ugly name. They eventually reached a compromise: my father would name me, and my mother would name my sister. My mother agreed to...

Why Yale? I was raised in a very diverse community. Since Newark is a multicultural city, my life has been enhanced by people, traditions, and food that hail from every corner of the world. Therefore, I am impressed by the emphasis that Yale and New Haven place on multiculturalism. There are 120 countries represented in the freshman student body, and there are 230 restaurants in New Haven that offer diverse cuisine. At Yale, I will travel the world without leaving the campus...

(Yale) Why are you interested in English, Spanish, and History? Spanish runs in my veins, because is the language of my ancestors. Spanish unites me to my family and their homelands. History allows me to understand world affairs and America’s past so that I can understand the people and events that have shaped the world into what it is today. History helps me lead and serve because it explains how peoples’ needs were developed. English represents my future. It...

(Yale) Please reflect on something you would like us to know about you that we might not learn from the rest of your application, or on something about which you would like to say more. You may write about anything—from personal experiences or interests to intellectual pursuits. I remember the exact moment my opinion of myself was changed forever. One day, I was called to the guidance office because of my poor grades. However, before I could reach my...