Cursive has a power to express emotion that print and type cannot match. There is joy in the fluid sweep of a curve, sorrow lurking in the shadow of a stem. No one ever saw tragedy in the cold lines of a serif. Today I'm writing love. It spills out of my hand onto forty-three blank slips of paper. The strokes are joined in an intricate dance – sometimes twining together, sometimes flowing apart; shaping meaning out of emptiness. My fingers...

Yale stands out to me because of its intellectual atmosphere and sense of community. When I visited Yale, I was struck by how the students were so passionately involved within the college community. I really admired how the residential college system creates opportunities to form deep friendships with other students and faculty members and to learn from a diverse range of people. I'd love to acquire different perspectives on topics through the residential college seminars, which draw lecturers from an...

I first heard of Carleton two years ago when I found a Carleton College frisbee on my doorstep. Since then, everything I've learned about Carleton has reinforced my first impression: from baking cookies at Dacie's, to hunting for Schiller, Carleton strikes me as a place full of unique traditions (and stunning natural scenery) where students can learn and live with equal passion. Carleton's academic program also stood out to me from the beginning. I've loved literature for as long as...

In autumn the leaves drift jewel-bright across Lake Carnegie. The air is crisp and cold; far away the geese sound, squawking shrilly as they continue their long journey south. I inhale sharply. With every stride forward the towpath unfolds before me: miles upon miles of a trail I’ve come to know as intimately as my own home. I recognize every bench, every tree root; as I run, I lose myself in the world around me, becoming part of the...

I've always been fascinated by math; it amazes me that processes powerful enough to reshape civilization can be modeled by deceptively simple equations. My interest in computer science developed more recently. In freshman year, I took an introductory programming class. At first I didn't realize that computer science was more than just coding. But when I learned about the applications of number theory in hashing and cryptography, I began to see how computer science applies mathematical principles to solve an...

I've always been fascinated by math. It amazes me that processes powerful enough to reshape civilizations can still be modeled by deceptively simple equations. Since middle school, I've been studying math in my spare time and going to math competitions, while taking the highest level math classes my school offers. My interest in computer science developed more recently. In freshman year, I took an introductory programming class. At first I didn't realize that computer science was about more than coding....

During high school, I often worried that I didn't have enough extracurricular activities or achievements to set me apart from other highly qualified applicants. Although I spent a lot of time running, I was never good enough to get recruited; I'd played piano for many years, but I had terrible stage fright and rarely competed. Sometimes...

I think teacher recommendations can be more important than people commonly realize. A truly excellent recommendation can convey your passion for learning, the quality of your class participation, and your willingness to...

I paid a private admissions counselor around $250 to review my college essays and give me an experienced estimate of what schools were in or beyond my reach. In retrospect, I probably could have done just as well on my own -...