I gave up my omnivorous lifestyle halfway through my freshman year after reading a book called Skinny B*tch, which illustrated the horrifying methods that humans use to manufacture animal products and how environmentally detrimental the process is to our planet. I felt powerless when I thought about the state of the environment. Every day there was more news about disappearing pollinators and melting icecaps. It seemed to me that I was too young to do anything significant that could...

I am curious about everything. There is nothing more exciting to me than learning new material. From the moment that I discovered Scripps College one year ago, I have loved Scripps and its academic philosophy of educating women from diverse backgrounds through engaging discussion and participation in a community of women that care deeply about each other. When I stayed overnight at Scripps College, the Scripps community welcomed me into its arms. The women I met were inspiring; all were...

Interdisciplinary learning rules my life. As a Da Vinci student, I am challenged every day to see issues from different perspectives through the interconnected English and History curriculum that my school offers. My most profound experience with interdisciplinary learning landed me on stage, delivering a speech in front of my classmates, Congressman John Garamendi, and twenty veterans about how a humanities project changed my views on war. In this project, my team interviewed a veteran and analyzed Catch-22, a novel...

Explains family circumstances that led to some poor marks in my first year.

Show interest early on. Make sure you do all you can to visit the...