In the fall of sophomore year, I fell in love with a girl in the grade above me. Her laugh was infectious. Sometimes she would end up on the floor, curled up with the force of her own hilarity, gasping for breath. When she hugged me, it was all warmth. And when she realized that I had a hopeless crush on her, she pulled away. Stopped talking to me. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, not really. And I...

[essays for Tufts, Columbia, & Georgetown] The one and only time I burst out in uncontrolled laughter on a college tour was at Tufts. The tour guide told the tale of the misfortunes of Jumbo the elephant: a story at once never­ending, absurd, and tragic. I made eye contact with my mother, and both of us devolved into helpless giggles. At Tufts, everything has a story. The funny and the sad, the thought­provoking and the ridiculous—everything has a...

[Culture prompt from Princeton's supplement] The name my parents gave me means iris. Stand tall and proud, my mother wished for me, like spring green spear and purple-gold crown, bend in the wind but return unbroken, do not let life snap you in half. In her mouth, my name is beautiful. On the roll call, it is three syllables of stumbling tongue, whispered apology. I know my name comes next in the list by the pained pause, the bitten lip,...

Tufts prompt: "There is a Quaker saying: “Let your life speak.” Describe the environment in which you were raised—your family, home, neighborhood or community—and how it influenced the person you are today. (200-250)" My family has always been one based in faith. We pray before every meal and light candles to count down the weeks to Christmas, sing prayers in the car on the way to school. My father, a priest, gives me a blessing before I head...

Tufts prompt: "Science and society are filled with rules, theories and laws... Pick any law and explain its significance to you." Grammar has a certain kind of power: a simple tense change can affect the meaning of a sentence. To speak about things that have already happened, use the past tense. I ran. I studied. I applied to college. Slightly more complicated: to speak about things that have already happened but the time they are happening in is not yet...

Most of my essays revolved around aspects of my personality or family history that I thought significant - an ongoing attempt to tell a story about myself to the college admissions office. And while there was a lot of me trying to portray myself in a positive light, the writing that I found most authentic and true to who I believe myself to be was also the writing that my college counselor thought most suitable for submission.

I interviewed with Princeton (since I applied early action) and Georgetown (since they have mandatory alumni interviews). Both interviews were with alumni. My Princeton interviewer was a local, recent graduate who worked in pharmaceuticals but who wanted to go back to graduate school. She had done her thesis on public schools in New York. (A tip for Princeton interviews: ask about their senor thesis! It's a big deal and they're almost always guaranteed to talk about it for awhile, especially...

Personally, I struggled most with the "Why us?" type questions that schools posed on their applications. Talking about myself, while challenging, was nothing compared to coming up with something that sounded authentic rather than contrived when explaining why I really did want to attend a particular school. A strategy that worked well for...

One of the reasons I love Princeton is because they didn't have a "why us?" question....

Even though I got into Princeton under early action, I applied to several other schools...

I used my school's college counselor! She was very nice and helpful and encouraging, which was something that I needed. Probably the best advice I got was to avoid trying too hard to impress colleges, and instead to focus on telling them a story about...