Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, please share your story. (250-650) I looked down. An incomprehensibly vast, jagged ravine stretched toward the horizon, a line rendered imaginary by a terrifyingly abrupt cliff obscuring my view. Slowly, disbelievingly, my eyes widened: a colossal mountain of ink rose before me, its crags and cascades of thirty-second notes chaotically tumbling around one...

DUKE Share a perspective you bring or experiences you've had to help us understand you better-perhaps related to a community you belong to, your family, or cultural background (250) The town of Yanzibian is located in China’s Shaanxi province. Its citizens painstakingly carve out their lives on the rocky slopes of the surrounding mountains, fishing in the nearby Jialing River and growing crops. In order to attend school, students descend by foot during Sunday afternoons, find lodging in dilapidated school...

HARVARD Please briefly elaborate on one of your extracurricular activities or work experiences. 50-150 words If I were a religious person, I would point to the existence of music as proof of divinity. The immense, wide-ranging impact it can have on those who touch its surface is simply remarkable. There is a certain ecstatic rush that comes with the conclusion of a successful performance, and a kind of deep-seated satisfaction felt after perfecting a challenging passage. Music itself – with its...

HARVARD Topic of any choice, no word limit Witchcraft and Wizardry At some point in my now-blurry childhood, I decided – for a reason I do not yet know today (perhaps curiosity or stupidity or boredom) – to stage a personal race of sorts against my classmates: I would read a “gazillion” times faster and finish a “bazillion” more books than anyone else. Vague terms and imaginary numbers aside, this goal was largely accomplished during my tenure as a doddering tot in...

JOHNS HOPKINS Johns Hopkins University was founded in 1876 on a spirit of exploration and discovery. As a result, students can pursue a multi-dimensional undergraduate experience both in and outside of the classroom. Given the opportunities at Hopkins, please discuss your current interests (academic, extracurricular, personal passions, summer experiences, etc.) and how you will build upon them here. (300-500) Fate is a cruel mistress. Why must the innocent child born into destitution and the once-robust man wracked by cancer grieve and...

STANFORD Virtually all of Stanford's undergraduates live on campus. Write a note to your future roommate that reveals something about you or that will help your roommate -- and us -- know you better. (250) You need to read this note as quickly as you can. It will self-destruct in sixty seconds. You won’t turn into a splatter on the wall, but you’ll certainly be spending some time in the shower trying to wash out the smell of hair...

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA We are a community with quirks, both in language and in traditions. Describe one of your quirks and why it is part of who you are. (250-300) I am, without reservation, a science-fiction addict. King, Colfer, Asimov, and Patterson run through my veins; I have a head full of wires and a heart pumping petroleum (in the most fantastic of my dreams, at least). During my waking hours, though, I’m merely – albeit several hundred times – more...

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Most engineering students start small, by using engineering to make a difference in daily life. If you were given funding for a small engineering project that would make your everyday life better, what would you do? (250-300) It is hilariously irritating that something as simple as a zipper on a jacket or backpack can be so troublesome when it gets caught on the insulating strip that runs along the zipper’s teeth. This strip is actually quite...

YALE "Short takes" (50 characters for each) 1. The two qualities I most admire in other people are Restraint and lightheartedness 2. I am most proud of My achievements as a musician – especially on bassoon 3. I couldn't live without Wikipedia and headphones 4. Who or what inspires you? My extended family’s daily lives 5. What do you wish you were better at being or doing? Speaking, writing, and reading Chinese 6. Most Yale freshmen live in suites of four to six students. What would you...

YALE Why do your planned academic area(s) appeal to you? (BME, Biology, Chem Eng) (100-125 words) I’ve always found that, in movies, robots are portrayed as fundamentally dissimilar, even antithetical, to humans. The Terminator, Robocop, even C-3PO – no matter how realistically a “droid” functions, there appears to be an ultimately insurmountable barrier between metal and flesh. Yet, are we really that different from the bots we imagine? The more I learn, the more I ask this question....

I'm no Shakespeare or Gabo, and I don't possess the best work ethic either. I spent a (relatively) huge chunk of time on my personal essay, then procrastinated on all my supplementals until the week - or, in some cases, day - before the deadline. As a result, they're all pretty shoddy, in my opinion. Several of my essays for different schools were essentially copied-and-pasted, with a few edits here and there to fit my purposes. However, you won't see...

In case you haven't heard this enough, I'll repeat it: DON'T PROCRASTINATE! I did that, as I've explained in my essay section, and it may have ruined my results. Don't get me wrong - I'm pleased with the...

I didn't have a private admissions counselor, or any real counseling advice of any kind, because 1. I didn't seek it. If you want it, look for it (unless your school is above average and already provides...

I actually only ended up interviewing with two schools: Harvard and Yale. I also got an interview with the UVA Jefferson Scholars committee in my region; I'll touch on that at the end of this. (also for all you fellow lazy bums out there i've included a tl;dr at the bottom ur welcome) My Harvard interview went quite smoothly, and I left feeling satisfied and (relatively) confident about how I'd done. My interviewer was an incredibly chill, 20-something-year-old undergraduate econ major alumnus who was willing to talk about anything. He briefly asked me about the basics - who I...